Happy Winter to all!
Our temperatures have dropped and the rain is falling. Our Clothing Closet is doing good work distributing warm, dry clothes to our folks in need and we have seen an uptick in attendees for our fellowship. We are still packaging our hot meals to-go, but some folks choose to eat under the canopy with us and hear the sermon. Our partnerships with local churches and outreach organizations continue to help us do good things. We couldn’t do it without everyone’s help.
It’s hard to live on the streets any time of the year, but it’s especially tough around Christmas. While some of our folks are able to see friends and family for the holiday, many others are all alone. Our own Big Kevin has spent Christmas homeless. He chose to share his experience with us:
“The Christmas I remember was about 12 years ago. It was me and one other guy, we were sitting outside and it was freezing. We were wearing two pairs of socks on our hands because we didn’t have gloves. Everyone else in the camp was asleep. They were just sick of it and asleep. That’s the only way to get away. To sleep. At some point, we started singing Silent Night and it was amazing. There was nobody telling me my singing was bad, there was no pretense. It was just me and this guy and he said “This sucks. I used to spend Christmas with my family.” and I said, “Me too. But we’re here now. And if we’re ever gonna get past this, we have to accept that.”. So we sat there and commiserated together. I think we both cried.”
“My friend found a Duraflame log and we made a firepit and everything, but as soon as you light that thing there’s nothing but smoke. And you’re telling the fire department “Hey, I’m right here.”. And then they call the cops and bring them with ‘em too and we realized hey, we gotta get rid of this, we can’t do it. But it was hard because it was warm. And it was freezing. Like you feel like you’re slowly freezing to death. So we sat there and after a while, I started humming Silent Night. Then I started singing it and I have a crappy singing voice. And we were looking up, looking at the moon with no clouds in the sky. And we told each other we loved each other because we did. When you’re in the trenches like that, when you tell someone you love them, you better prove it. You gotta sell it.”
“It was the best Christmas I ever had. It was the hardest Christmas I ever had, but the best. It was incredible. And every year since, at Christmas, I think about it. It was the right thing at the right time and I light a candle every year. I don’t explain it to anybody because it’s for me. That’s mine.”
In this giving season, we thought you might want to know how far your donation goes. All amounts are helpful, and Street Life Ministries is proud to convert your generous donations into delivering care and comfort to those in need. Every $3 you donate provides 2 nutritious meals for our neighbors. Your contributions help ease the burden of affording wholesome meals this holiday season. We wish you health and happiness in the New Year.
Kev’s Korner
Here we are, the last month of the year. Welcome to December!!!
It’s been a crazy ride the last month or so, and I wanna tell you all about it. First though, go get your coffee topped off, find a nice comfortable place to relax, and let Big Ol’ Kev take you for another ride…
Well, guess I should clear the elephant out of the room first – I AM A GRAMPA!!! My daughter birthed a son on December 6th!!! Logan Avery Caulfield came into the world weighing 7lbs 15oz. Both Mom and baby are doing well.
Logan has jaundice right now, but his Mom and Dad are doing everything they can to make it better. My daughter and I are pretty close, and she made sure I knew everything they knew every step of the way. I really appreciated that, because way back when my daughter was born, I was kept in the dark for most of it. My Ex’s family didn’t (and still doesn’t) like me at all. So they wouldn’t tell me things, or show me pictures, or really anything – so this was a breath of fresh air. Anyways, little Logan is gonna be just fine. I look forward to taking him places and showing him things. I look forward to all the Grampa things. God is good, and He shines most brightly in the face of a child…
Man, it’s been crazy cold the past couple weeks. Our numbers have gone down a bit just due to the cold and the rains. Still lots of new faces coming through the food lines. Of course, that also means lots of attitudes. Had to boot a guy for vaping weed in the food line a couple weeks back, wasn’t too happy he was being told to leave. Had another guy that thought making fireballs was a great idea, when I confronted him, he thought it’d be a great idea to fight me. Wish you could have seen how big his eyes got when I deployed my flashlight tazer and told him I didn’t need to square up – just had to touch him with it. He was kind of a little guy, so I think I was more trying to make a statement than actually go after him with it. Anyways, we had to call the RCPD about him, but he hasn’t been back around. You kinda gotta figure for every 10 or 20 new faces I see, at least one is going to have an attitude. Comes with the territory, I guess…
I had planned to write a totally different column for the end of the year, but then Logan was born. Think I’ll save the other column for a month or two. Always good to have a plan, right? Well, being as this is it for the year, I want to wish each and every one of you a FANTASTIC Christmas and a life-changing New Year!!! All my love to all of you…
Dear Father, on a personal level, I’d like to ask you to watch over my daughter, her husband, and my little grandson Logan. Please keep them safe and show them that they are loved every second of every day. I can’t wait to watch that little boy grow up. I honestly never thought I’d live long enough to be a Grampa, but You did. You knew that some of the best stuff in life comes later on, and I thank You for it. I thank You also for the chances You’ve given me when I know I didn’t deserve them. Please stay close to all of us through this holiday season that culminates in the Birth of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We may not deserve it, Father, but we keep on trying to be worthy. Sometimes we make it, and sometimes we fail, but I believe that Your pleasure comes from seeing us try. When we fail, we dust ourselves off and try again. You are the Lord of Hope, Father, and I hope that one day we will all be worthy. I pray this all in Your Holiest of Names – Jesus Christ.
See you on the streets. Merry Christmas!!
