Shoulder The Cross

Street Retreat in ATX, no birth certificate required ...

It was another awesome week serving the homeless in Austin TX. Shoulder the Cross was privileged to serve those on the annual Easter street retreat hosted by @MLFNOW - Mobile Loaves and Fishes. Rene came through the line this week and kindly said "Are you sure you can spare a sandwich for me?" We made 3 loaves of bread worth of sandwiches this week, so of course there were plenty to go around. Rene expressed interest in helping us with bus passes and socks. We also met Lamar this week. Lamar, @lamarstockton is a local artist who plays the bass guitar. Lamar fills in for the Justin Cofield Band, @justincofield from time to time and we know the JCB very well. Many of the members of the JCB have been out to "help Shoulder the Cross" in the past. There was a nurse who also stopped by for a sandwich and some hot cocoa. She also expressed her interest to help. One of the street retreaters needed a Band-Aid and some triple antibiotic cream. "You never know what you might need on the streets, then when you do need it, you find out how hard it is to get it" she explained. We were happy to help all those in need. Rene is a radio producer for a local Christian radio station, KLGO at klgo.net. She has invited Shoulder the Cross onto the show to bring widened awareness to homelessness in Austin Texas. Lamar plans on helping Shoulder the Cross real soon and I should hear from the nurse soon. I listened to Amy Dillon Live this morning. Alan Graham referred to a quote by Mother Teresa that really gets you thinking:

"It is very important that right from the beginning, we simply live the Gospel. Live the Gospel in prayer; live the Gospel in words. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t reach the height right away. The fullness of our heart comes in our actions: how I treat the leper, how I treat the dying person, how I treat the homeless. Sometimes it is more difficult to work with street people than with the people in our homes for the dying because the dying are peaceful and waiting; they are ready to go to God. You can touch the sick and believe, or you can touch the leper and believe, that is the body of Christ you are touching, but it is more difficult when these people are drunk or shouting to think that this is Jesus in that distressing disguise. How clean and loving our hands must be to be able to bring compassion to them!"

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

 

 

God with us

Shoulder the Cross has been struggling with allowing the ministry to grow. Sometimes it feels like blogging and talking about Shoulder the Cross is contrary to what is taught in the gospel of Mathew.

Mathew 6:1

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Matt Carter, the lead pastor at the Austin Stone Community Church, mentioned last Sunday that he was brought to tears when he felt the Lord spoke to him while on a mission trip in Belize. It was a great story of how God uses others to reveal himself to you, the sermon, God with us,  can be downloaded HERE. I was moved by his story and wished I had a similar story to share.

On Monday Shoulder the Cross was at the Dollar Tree getting some deodorant and body powder for our brothers and sisters in need. There was a woman standing behind us that seemed to be having some trouble breathing. Being allergy season in Texas right now, it was assumed that the oak pollen had gotten the best of her. Again we were drawn to her and weren’t sure if it was her breathing or what. This time she looked at us and asked "What ministry are you buying all that stuff for?" We almost always have people question us as to why we buy so much in bulk and usually are asked if it is for a quick stop store or for a resale shop somewhere but never has someone actually said to us "What ministry is this for" Quickly we asked "Why would you assume this is for a ministry? We never get asked that question" The bovine black woman looked and said "Because I am a profit of our Lord Jesus Christ, I was planning on shopping at a different dollar tree but God drew me to this one so I could meet you. I would like to get more involved in your ministry and I should let you know I think it is great what you are doing for the less fortunate" Tears rolled down my face as she continued to talk about how God lead her to this store and how He wants her to get more involved in homeless ministries. The conversation lasted about 5 minutes and ended in pleasantries. We expected to see her again either at the checkout or in the store but she disappeared. Shoulder the Cross believes that his was a sign from God telling us we are doing the right thing by blogging and spreading the word about our ministry. Later a book called "The Shack" was thought of and we could help but to compare the book to our meeting that day. We are more proud than ever to be serving our brothers and sisters on the streets with food, clothing, daily items and dignity and we plan to expand the ministry as much as God leads us to in the future.