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.

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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