what would you do?

Today I left work confused.

The day started off relatively normal (which, I must confess, I am not exactly sure what normal is at the mission).  We had a pretty full house but because we are still in the first third of the month we had a couple extra spots on the food/clothing list.

It was about 11:30 when a couple came in the doorway and made their way up the stairs.  I didn't recognize them.  I assumed they were new to Cross and Crown and so I did my best to explain how things worked.  They said they were interested in getting some food and asked if we were a shelter.  I told them some of the different things we were able to offer them but that we weren't able to offer much in the way of shelter.

They explained how they were from out of town.  They came with a fair, got fired while in Oklahoma City and now were stranded.  They said they could definitely use the food but shelter was their number one need.

Again, I explained that we weren't capable of housing individuals but the good news was that City Rescue Mission located downtown did a pretty good job of handling most housing/shelter needs.  As I started to explain how to get to City Rescue they quickly interrupted and said that they had already been several times and had been turned away night after night because the shelter was full.

I found that a little bit peculier.  First of all, City Rescue is a pretty large facility.  They have mens, womens and family housing available.  Secondly, most of the individuals we know and that come to Cross and Crown don't head down to City Rescue or any other shelter when it is as warm as it has been lately.  Generally they head that way when it gets cold.

So, after things slowed down on the food panty end I made a phone call over to City Rescue to find out what the couple needed to do in order to get a bed for the night.  The individual that I spoke with at City Rescue was very helpful and straight-forward.  She told me they needed to be there by 7:00 p.m. and to have one form of i.d.  Easy enough.  I asked her about the shelter being full the last several nights and she informed me that they haven't had to turn anyone away in several weeks.  Hmmm.

I reported back to the couple and told them what I had been told.  Be there by 7:00.  Have one form of i.d.  I also told them the woman I spoke informed me that they hadn't run out of beds in weeks and that there were currently beds available.....

"Yeah, but we aren't separating", they quickly replied.

After some q & a I discovered that they had been offered beds but were unwilling to separate into the men's and women's dorms.  They informed me how they had been married for less than 9 months and were unwilling to be apart.  Even if that meant having to sleep on the streets?  Yep.  They both explained how they had one thing going and that was each other.  Fair enough.

We talked for several more minutes and discussed some other options in the city.  I directed them to some other agencies that offered meals during the day and they seemed content.  I, in order to make sure they understood they had an opportunity but were choosing not to take advantage of it, rehashed their decision not to be apart for 7-8 hours in order to have a safe place to stay for the night.  But, they stayed true to their decision to not be apart and ultimately decided the risk of being on the streets was not a big enough threat to split up for the night.

I get that they love each other.  In all honesty, they were right, they didn't/don't have a whole lot going their way right now and so they have decided the one thing they do have going for them, each other, is too valuable to be without, even if it's only for a few hours.

 I, personally, in their position, would opt for my wife and I to be apart for a few hours each night to be in a safe place, rather than the streets.  I value my wife's safety in the long term and so I would choose to be apart at night, rather than together on the streets night after night.  But, I can't knock them for wanting to stay together throughout their hard times.  I might change my mind after having to be apart from her night after night.  I don't know.

So here's my question.  What would you do?  Do you live on the streets with your spouse night after night? Or, do you split up each evening to sleep in a warm, safe place?

Cinco de Mayo Celebration

This past Wednesday at Cross and Crown we had a little party.  We were celebrating Cinco de Mayo.  If you have been to Cross and Crown before you are aware that a large percentage of the individuals we serve come from hispanic/latino families.  Due to this fact we decided we would celebrate a day that many of across the United States already celebrate, but for different reasons.  If you are unfamiliar with what Cinco de Mayo really is I suggest you check it out here - What is Cinco de Mayo?

We had a great time.  We had pizza, chips, Oreos, cokes and margaritas!  Check out the picture below of Clyde... despite the way it looks, I promise, it was only ice, water and the margarita mix, nothing else.  We started off the celebration at 10:30 with several of the ladies from the neighborhood singing the Mexican national anthem, followed up by a time of prayer and then the festivities began.

It was a great time and I look forward to doing it again next year already.  Enjoy the pics (all the good ones were from Ron's phone, thanks Ron) and sorry for the poor quality of video but at least you can hear it, right? Here's the video... Mexican National Anthem

ShareFest 2010

The first three pictures are of the recently completed fence at the home of Clyde and Judy.  They are a couple that are very familiar with the staff/volunteers at Cross and Crown.  Clyde actually works Monday-Thursday at Cross and Crown and is a regular attendee at several other churches and ministries across the city.  He is the self-proclaimed 'minister of song' and claims to know over 2,000 church songs/hymns.

The fence was a large portion of a project done by North Church headed up by a good man, @clintsmithxp . In addition to the fence they also did some major cleanup and dumpster work as apart of ShareFestOkc 2010.  Check it out. Oh, the last picture is of their dog, Missy Poo.

Yikes, Missy Poo looks grumpy.

now hiring

Position: Lawn Maintenance crew member
Hours: Thursday 8:00-3:00 (or anytime you have some free time)
Requirements: must know how to operate lawn mower, weed-eater, leaf blower ect.
Pay: none

Yes, this is a joke but it's also half-way serious.  The joking portion is that we aren't really hiring anyone to cut, edge or keep up with the lawns on the properties Cross and Crown owns.  The serious portion is that every spring and summer, whenever the grass and weeds start to sprout up, we have an additional responsibility to keep up with several lawns.

Ron and I are generally pretty capable of knocking out the yards at Cross and Crown, Rock Island and the apartments across from the mission.  But, in the last couple years through the, "Rebuilding the Walls", program (which is currently on hold) we have acquired 4 new properties.  As we all know, each property represents a front and back yard, which also represents a new opportunity!  Also, we have several neighborhood friends, one which just happens to be a widow (James 1:27 anyone?), that either aren't physically capable of mowing or don't have the resources to cut their yard.

Especially during the summer, because many volunteers are either students or have children that are school age, there tends to be a increase in willingness and ability to help out at Cross and Crown and Rock Island. Well, if that's you or even if that isn't you but you still desire to help out join the Cross and Crown Lawn Maintenance Team, aka, C&C-LMT.  This also serves as a great way to knock out required volunteer hours for students and/or those who have to do community service.

By the way, Thursday is not the only day we need this kind of help.  If you or someone you know decided to help out with this need it can be done any day and any time of day.  It's not restricted to just when we are cutting the lawns.

Email me at lwhitmire1@gmail.com or leave a comment on the blog if you're interested in helping or have questions.

Here's a picture of the C&C-LMT team leader, Clyde...

Rockin the goggles full throttle.  Safety first.

Speaking of Clyde, I want to thank www.NorthChurch.tv and @clintsmithxp for their help during ShareFest this past weekend.  They came, they saw and they conquered at Clyde's house on Saturday despite the rain.  The did serious demo work, disassembled a struggling fence and are still in the works of completing a brand new fence for Clyde and his wife, Judy.  I'll post pics as soon as the job is done.  Thanks again for all the individuals that were apart of the effort.

Here are some additional pictures from Thursday morning breakfast with a couple of the Rock Island boys.  They did some shopping in the clothing store at Cross and Crown and came up with these outfits...

Ron and I decided our favorite part was that the three of them were actually excited about being dressed up in nice pants, collared shirts and ties.  We figured they would think it was funny to dress up and make it a joke but they actually were concerned about looking nice.  As you can see from the bow tie...they looked real sharp.  Oh yeah, the boy in the middle, he's wearing a snowman tie with a little speaker sewn into it that plays, "Frosty the Snowman".  Real sharp.

catchy titles are alot tougher to come up with than it seems

Like most, I go in and out of blogging from time to time.  When I don't blog it doesn't mean there isn't much going on but, rather, it usually means there is too much going on.  And, on the flip side, if I am blogging a lot it means one of two things...either there isn't much going on or I am forcing myself to blog because I know I won't later.  (Is that confusing? That's even confusing to me as I re-read it.)

So, based on the happenings at Rock Island and Cross and Crown lately I haven't been blogging much.  But, that won't stop me from showcasing this update.  Here goes...

These two index cards are notes that our friend, "Mitchell", gave to Don at Cross and Crown this past Tuesday.  The cards read, "Bro Don, I am writing you, this note or letter to let you know that I did not attend, Bible class, this Tuesday.  I enjoyed it, last Tuesday, and I hope that I will do good because the guys that were in the study last wk. seems very ahead of me. I hope that I will be good enough and I hope I know enough to be a regular participate of the Bible class." - "Mitchell"

Mitchell came to the Bible class that Don teaches every Tuesday morning before the food pantry and clothing room open.  He attended last week but, unfortunately, he wasn't able to make it this week.  It is completely voluntary and is open to any and everyone interested in participating.  Most studies include 8-12 individuals and the role call looks something like this...4+ homeless men/women, 1 widow, 1 mid-twenties orphan, 1 former stripper, 1 married couple, 1 middle-class man.

As you can read/see Mitchell is concerned that the other Bible study go-ers might be a little to far ahead for him to keep up.  But, he wants and hopes that he can keep pace.  I think Matthew 5:6 is appropriate here...

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

give me a break, Spring Break, that is

It's the week before Spring Break for Okc schools, so, you know what that means...Luke and Ron have started planning the schedule for Spring Break.

Here's what we have decided upon for next week...

Sunday 14th - Rock Island Hangout - 3:30-5:00

Monday 15th - Rock Island Hangout 10:00am - 12:00pm
                                                      
                        Lunch and Movie Day 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Tuesday 16th - This day is still a little bit undecided.  In years past we have tried to do some on-sight hangouts and time at Rock Island but have also discovered that if we spend too many days in a row inside with all the kids things tend to get a little...somewhat...kinda, ridiculous.  Kids get rowdy,  space becomes cramped, pizzas are thrown across the building and the next thing you know, someone ends up with a nacho cheese helmet.

Because of the potential chaos we usually take some sort of "field trip" or off campus trip to keep these things from occurring.  Previous Spring Break trips have been funded by individuals who have expressed a specific interest in sponsoring off campus experiences.  This year that has not happened.  So, as of now we are planning a "park day".  Football, basketball, lots of gatorade and other outside activities are what we have on the agenda if nothing else develops.  Which isn't a bad thing.

Sunday 21st - Rock Island Hangout - 3:30-5:00

There you have it.  The immaculate Rock Island Spring Break schedule of 2010.  If you are interested in being apart of the festivities or giving towards food,  travel or something else creative, please, don't hesitate to hit us up.

lwhitmire1@gmail.com

a hope for the future

A young man named "Brian" has been hanging out with us at Cross and Crown as of late.  Brian is younger then most of the men we see in his situation.  Most of the men that live a life similar to Brian's, or that we are in relationship with, tend to be in their 40's and 50's.  Brian is 23.

Personally, this is the first time I have been in relationship with someone, other than a jr. high or high school student, that has come seeking guidance, help and direction and has been younger than myself.  This means two things:  I am getting old (currently 26) and Brian is way too young to be in the situation that he is in.

I say that Brian is too young to be in the situation that he is in, but on the other hand, he shares the same struggle that countless other young men and women his age struggle with on a daily basis.  He struggles with alcohol, he admits.  He says that he got caught up with the wrong crowd early on and didn't do much in school.  He jumped schools a few times and ended up dropping out.  Rich, poor and somewhere in the middle families each have their fair share of children that battle addictions but fail to address these issues head on.  I can't be sure of it, but Brian's family appears to have addressed it head on.

Brian is homeless.  He, unlike many of the older individuals who struggle with addictions, talks to his family relatively often.  He stays at the Salvation Army most nights, he tells me, and he has acquired a locker at the Municipal gym as a place to keep his few possessions.  He is very like-able.  He is pretty quiet.  He's a kid.

He should be a senior in college or have just graduated.  But he's not.  He is on the streets.  He made adult decisions while he was still a kid and now, daily, he deals with the consequences.

I think that's what scares me most.  He is 3...4...5 years older than a lot of the kids I work with on a daily basis.  Just thinking about some of the boys we have in our Rock Island group now and comparing tendencies they have to past mistakes Brian has made scares me.

I have hope for Brian.  Honestly, a much greater hope for him than I do for a lot of the older men with his same problem.  Is my increased hope for Brian fair?  Maybe not.  I guess it's his youthfulness (which I get a glimpse of when he plays video games after hours with us).  Maybe it's because every time I am with Brian he is sober.  He is able to suppress, to some extent, his addiction for certain amounts of time.  Maybe it's because I know there is some Biblical/spiritual foundation instilled in him from his family who I met last week.

Maybe it's these things along with my belief in God's power to restore life to brokenness that gives me hope.

"The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and it it to the full" - Jesus