This past Wednesday, our church was given an opportunity to participate at a Montrose Street Outreach Service. They meet in the small parking lot behind near downtown. We met up at 6:30 pm and there were quite a few people already, some from other churches and good portion from the street.
Since there were too many people, I tried to stick with just one person. There was a rather outspoken lady in a wheel chair. Don’t let her disability fool you, Terry, or as she said she prefers to be called sometimes, “Sister T”. 🙂 A Caucasian lady approximately of age over 60+. She seemed to have her entire life strapped onto that chair.
At first, she seemed a bit… intrusive and … wordy. We struck up a conversation about Elvis, of all people! 😀 She told me how she met Elvis before he was big. She also asked how many grammies he had won. I said maybe at least 50? She said ‘no’ and answered “3”. All were from gospel music. Not sure if that’s true but if true, wow.
She had a rough past since childhood. She is from the west Texas and things have never been easy. She eventually turned up in Houston and has been here ever since. In all the 2 to 3 hours I spent with her, in worship service and conversing, I was able to see through her mean-looking exterior and discovered a beautiful lady who was beyond confident when it came to one: Christ. Despite her environment, she was able to always find God and his providence and protection for her. It was hard to think that she was a homeless person. Not just that, but she had an uncanny researching skill using the Internet!
Her electric wheel chair was given by helping this one guy who had been trying to find some info on a property in the northwest of Houston. When she said she could help, many around her scoffed at her, but Terry is a very strong person. She ignored those people and got him the answers. That’s how she wants to make a living and it’s evident when you find out her e-mail address: neighborhoodrenewal@yahoo.com. She’s something else.
She does speak. A lot. And can seem irritating at first. But when I got past that, her confidence in Christ and His provision was just astounding. Simply put, shameful for someone like me… that my confidence in God is not even close to her level. She was also a veteran homeless. She didn’t care so much about “less useful” things like candies, but wanted clothing and socks. There was never a dull moment being with her.
Additionally, after nearly 3 hours on the outside, it was hard to imagine how the homeless without shelter survive these tough winters. My hands were shivering and my head was spinning from the weather. I can only pray that there will be more opportunities to help. It was a humbling experience, one that I didn’t expect. But then again, that’s God. 🙂