11.29.2007

"the homeless" is NOT my name





My friend Mary sleeps in a tent under a carport, where she has lived for over 15 years. Once brutally raped and beaten, she is afraid to leave the safety of her home. Everytime we visit she offers us a gift; a cracker, a fresh picked fig or a wildflower. I take her blood pressure and give her vitamins. She won't let us leave until we circle for prayer and she praises God for the provisions we leave and asks that He protect and guide us on our way. She blesses me.

Danny always greets me with a hug. He is happy to show off his latest "home improvements," a new dog pen, a fence-lined path. He refuses our blankets because someone else might need one, but he loves the bread. Goes good with his pot of stew. He hasn't seen New Orleans since he was rescued from floodwaters and jammed into a crowded bus to be unloaded at a Red Cross shelter in Shreveport. He makes me smile.

Cowboy builds waterproof shelters with screen doors. He shows newcomers how to use vines, logs and tarp to build their own. Most times they're grateful. Sometimes they take advantage of him. I bring him mustard seeds and squash plants and steroid cream for his hands. He reminds me to share.

Jan has lived under a bridge for 17 years. She is a retired nurse and tells me who is sick and who she's giving her medicine to. She loves to "shop" in the clothes closet and wear makeup. Her boyfriend knocks her around sometimes so she moves across the river with her kitten. She reminds we are all one step away from the underside of a bridge. Sometimes she frustrates me, mostly she makes me want to shelter her.

Robert lost his way in the storm. He sits on a rail next to an overpass. He hides in plain sight, so well the mowers ran over his steel-toed boots. He walks miles to eat a meal at the clinic and walks back so he can wait at the day labor building for a job. He buys beer to forget the horrors of the floods and his fears. He breaks my heart.

Anthony wears his closet under a long heavy coat and a burlap hood over his dreads. He sits on a bus stop bench in a attitude of prayer or isolation and rarely looks up. He smashed my face in once , thought I was the devil after him. I spent months running from his ghosts, until God put my feet on this highway and opened my eyes to the angels that live in the scary places, the encampments, under the bridges and in the woods. Those who have taught me the value of a can of beans, a box of ibuprofen, a new cardboard box, a kind word, grace in life, mercy, redemption, courage, trust and faith. God knows each of us by name NOT labels. I am grateful and leave food for Anthony.

11.20.2007

Our Daily Bread




The Bread Angels score big!!! Pastor Ellen joined us for our Monday night bread run to the Cotton's Holsum Warehouse. We visited with our friends Jimmy and Johnny who work the night shift. There was an incredible amount of fresh bread and lots of sweet stuff just returned from the stores. We even got two cases of dinner rolls for our Thanksgiving feasts. For me, sorting and loading the loaves is an act of worship. Each package is a gift from God that He gives us to share with others. Ellen blessed us with her beautiful voice while we worked. We left plenty of food for the hog farmers, wished our friends a happy turkey day and headed off to make our deliveries. We stopped at Kim's Po-Boys and Seafood for gumbo and shrimp po-boys. Kim's family and Ellen shared memories about their evacuations from New Orleans floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina. Next stop, the Common Ground White House. Then to the Pool to fill the food pantry. The remainder goes to the van for homeless outreach. Our God supplies all our needs according to his riches in heaven!!

11.17.2007

Why We Do What We Do

As Christians, we are in the unique position of having been called by God to serve the poor, to minister to the sick, the lost, and the hurting. In Luke 10:9, we are told, " Heal the sick who are there and tell them, The Kingdom of God is near you."


Not only are we called by God, but we are held accountable for this call. Matthew 25:31-46 describes the consequences of not following his commands as He separates the sheep from the goats. "When those sent to eternal fire will cry….Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you? And He will reply, Whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me."


We see a call to medical ministry in the example of Jesus. There are more than seventy five references to healing in the New Testament. Jesus healed the whole person – physically, mentally, spiritually.


A beautiful example of friends helping a friend overcome obstacles to health care can be found in Luke's portrayal of a paralyzed man. One day as Jesus was teaching, scripture says the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. In this instance, health care was available, but inaccessible to the man because of the crowds. His friends carried him on a mat up to the roof. They had to work together to dig and remove the tiles to break through the roof to lower their friend to Jesus. The scripture says that when Jesus saw THEIR faith, the paralytic was ultimately healed.


As Christians, we are called by God to action. To act, we must first perceive a need. Perhaps we should ask not "what would Jesus do" but "what would Jesus see?" When we see the world through Jesus' eyes, we see the lost, the hurting, the suffering. We see the person, not the crowed waiting room. We see the lost sheep, not the dirt-caked homeless man. We see the children who want to kneel at His feet, not the woman with the six crying kids in tow and a switch in her hands. When we see through Jesus' eyes, we feel what He feels, we are broken and moved to compassion and are compelled to act as He would. "When He saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick." Matt 14:14


Often, even when we recognize the great need for health care, we turn a deaf ear to the cries for help. We have become immune to daily newspaper headlines describing the national health care crisis, the uninsured, underinsured, rising health care costs. Emergency rooms are overcrowded, hospitals filled to capacity. Patients are readmitted again and again, developing irreversible complications because they cannot afford medications or treatments.


Statistics add grim proof that there is a great need. Of the more than 47 million uninsured persons in the United States, a surprising majority are employed. In contrast, data from LSUHSC collected over a three year period for the Cedar Grove neighborhood showed over 13,700 visits. 80% of those visits were by patients in the 18-69 year old range. Almost half of the patients had no insurance funding at all. Many were unemployed. Major diseases recognized in that group were diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, asthma and obesity. Each of these diseases carries significant risk for disabling complications and death if inadequately treated. Many of the patients had multiple illnesses.


In spite of the ready availability of government funded health care and social services, many people continue to suffer due to lack of medical care. Some are hindered by extreme poverty, illiteracy, lack of transportation or assistance; others have conditions exacerbated by lack of understanding and improper use of medications and treatments, by failure to recognize warning signs and symptoms or by high-risk behaviors and substance abuse. State and local hospital and clinic services are physically overburdened and financially strained by frequent clinic visits and hospital readmissions directly related to medical non-compliance secondary to lack of medications or lifestyle. Additional local healthcare services are necessary to improve the quality of medical care by providing a mechanism for education and awareness, early recognition by identification of risk factors and screening, providing basic medical care and maximizing utilization of available services and resources.


The Pool was founded to share the love of Jesus through a ministry of healing. When God called us to this ministry, he gave us a plan to meet the health needs of the medically underserved through education, preventative medicine, screening, basic medical care, and referral, with emphasis on the utilization of existing social programs and agencies. The ministry is housed at the New Room of Grace Community, a United Methodist Church in the Mooretown neighborhood of Shreveport and is open to referrals from Shreveport-Bossier and surrounding communities.


The road to implementing those plans has been a long and sometimes frustrating process, but throughout we have witnessed the power of God at work. The board of directors was officially founded in April 2003 and our bylaws adopted. Our 501(C)(3) application for designation as a non-profit organization was completed and approved. We have been blessed by many faithful providers who have donated exam tables, equipment, and supplies. God has touched the hearts of many volunteers who have come forward to plan and design the clinic, to teach classes, provide patient care and to write grants.


We have learned to trust God in every aspect of the ministry and have learned that God equips those He calls. In November of 2004, the Pool board of directors met with Dr. Robert Kimmerley of Minden who presented the clinic with a gift of $50,000. The same week, we learned that the Community Foundation had awarded us an operational grant. These funds allowed us to open our free clinic in January 2005 for three patients. We now have over 700 patients in our active database. Since that time we have received gifts and grants from Grace Community Methodist Church, Christian Community Health Fellowship, the PA Foundation, the Chest Foundation, Glide Methodist Church and numerous other donations.


The Pool office hours are Monday through Friday 9:00 am- 1:00 pm. . Available services during these hours are registration, medication assistance, referral, laboratory services, screening and confidential rapid HIV testing. The general medicine clinic is open on Wednesday evenings at 6:00pm and Saturdays at 9:00am. A women's health clinic and diabetic eye clinic are available by appointment. Scheduling of other clinics is available and flexible to accommodate hours of physicians, counselors or other specialists.


As I reflect on the trials, struggles, and blessings of the years since April 2002, I am humbled that God has chosen His children to share in the ministry of healing in the example of His son, Jesus. What an awesome responsibility we have to be faithful stewards of His finances and to care for His sick and hurting.





11.16.2007

I Met a Man

I met a man last night.

he answers to "danny."

my own age, but ageless

displaced homeless

a Katrina evacuee

he lives in the woods

next to an Office Depot

invisible

down a hidden path,

cleared and lined with branches

fashioned into an elaborate fence

decorated with discarded toys

little trucks and cars

a tiny sandy beach,

with rocks and palms

a bedroom built of boards

and plastic

no doors, no locks

but windows into the soul

campfire in the "kitchen"

the woods a latrine


we brought blankets

and boxes of rations

medicines and bandages

maps to the mission

I invited him to clinic

to breakfast, to lunch

he's just down the road

our neighbor

life his choice,

in his own words

"i am not homeless

i am houseless"

Next time, I'll bring mustard seeds

and tomato seedlings

i met a man

who lives in an

enchanted garden

i met a man

unwashed, unshaven

laughter rains like music

from a toothless grin

clothed in dirt,

and Salvation Army jeans

I met a man

It might have been me

I met a man

i saw Jesus

__._.___

11.11.2007

Our Mission

The Pool of Siloam Medical Ministry was founded in 2002 to share the love of Jesus by providing accessible healthcare to the medically underserved in Northwest Louisiana.
We believe that by building relationships of trust, mutual respect and Christian love and providing the necessary tools of education, screening, excellent medical care, medications and necessary medical supplies and equipment, we can empower our brothers and sisters to care for themselves.

We are funded by grants, gifts, awards and in-kind donations. We are blessed to have over 30 volunteers who provide hundreds of hours of service.

Bednar Clan on a Mission

Bednar Clan on a Mission
the Bednar family of Cleburne, Texas spent the day volunteering at the clinic. Amy took over nursing duties and lab draws, former Navy medic Dave helped with vitals and intake and the rest of the clan worked in the food bank and pharmacy.

ELEVATOR SPEECH

The Pool of Siloam Medical Ministry and Free Clinic is a non-profit faith-based organization created to share the Love of Jesus through ministry to the medically underserved. We believe that by building Christ-centered relationships built on mutual trust and respect and by providing our patients with tools of education, screening, medication assistance, medical supplies, equipment, counseling and accessible excellent health and dental care, we can empower them to take better care of themselves. Our services include free adult medical care, women's health clinic, mental health counseling and lab testing. Through our diabetic program, we provide routine diabetic eye exams and limb and wound evaluation. Our Breathe Free Program provides pulmonary function screening, medications, nebulizers, oxygen, CPAP and BiPAP equipment where indicated for cardiopulmonary patients. In partnership with other ministries at the New Room, we are able to provide meals, food and clothing. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, we join our friends from Hope for the Homeless to make rounds on the streets and in encampments to provide care and first aid.

With the exception of an Executive Director / Clinician, an Administrative Director and a counselor funded by the Methodist District, we are staffed by volunteers who provide hundreds of hours of service. We are housed by rental agreement in the New Room, an outreach mission center of Grace Community, a United Methodist congregation. We are funded by grants, gifts and in-kind donations. Your support makes it possible for us to continue to provide services for our patients.



Living by the Clock

to live each day without regret
to move to the tick of a finite clock
to live each day as if it were the last
before you stand before your God

to imagine that the person you love
might be gone tomorrow
that the moment for reconciliation
may be lost

that the friend not met
might have been your soul-mate
that the child left behind
might never be found

that the word not spoken
might have been someone’s salvation
that the life not saved
might have saved the world

that the wound not dressed
might fester and kill
that the path not taken
might have led to home

that the call not answered
might have been the voice of God
to live each day
as if it was your last

to celebrate each Sabbath in rest
like your life depended on it