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The Countdown Begins (29 DAYS LEFT – Four Reasons to Walk)

Yesterday, I received a few emails from people asking me, “Why are you walking so far for homelessness?” or “Can I walk with you?” Well, you’ll find my answer in the four points and picture below:

 1) I am walking because I believe the voiceless often times go unheard — There are many people who have hit rock bottom, and have had a hard time recovering from that low place. You’ll never hear their stories, or see them on the news. Nonetheless, their stories MATTER (no matter where they are, or what happened). Therefore, #lovebeyondwalls would like to sacrifice our time and energy to do something that will uplift them.

Maybe you can relate with being voiceless… I know many of us who were trapped in cars the other day for hours and hours can relate.

2) I am walking because of my homeless friends under the I-20 75/85 bridge — There are many that I have befriended under that bridge. In fact, they call me every other day, and I truly care about them. Of course I don’t have tons of resources to pull them off the streets (yet), but I listen to them, know their stories, shed tears with them, model Christ to them, and consider them people that God loves dearly. And, if God loves them, I am going to love them too… Hopefully, my walking will inspire someone to come along side #lovebeyondwalls, and help restore “some” that want to be restored.

3) I am walking to teach people what I’ve learnedWhile homeless around Christmas time, I learned five lessons from walking in the shoes of the homeless. And, I would like to share those lessons. One of the lessons has to do with walking. When you are homeless, there is non-stop physical movement… especially during the winter months! Without the ability to walk, you could stay somehwere and literally die (if you don’t have that ability or support).

Do all people who are homeless have to walk? No. However, many people who stay on the streets do…

4) I am walking because of the picture below — Below is a picture of one of my homeless friends that uses socks for shoes. Have you ever walked miles in socks? I haven’t either. Therefore, not only am I walking to raise awareness, restore dignity, and mobilize people — I am walking to help some people get simple things like shoes to survive and live.

Short answer, YES people will join in at various points to walk… That information will come in later blogs…

Until then, continue to pray our strength as we prepare to make this journey…

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Terence

The Countdown Begins (DAY 33 STRUGGLE)

Yesterday was my hardest day! I left them gym, and thought to myself is this even possible? “Can I really lose 25 more lbs…?”

My old schoolmate Cooper suggested, “You can if you keep going…” Cooper is a new personal trainer who decided to train me after my last trainer dropped out due to schedule conflicts.

Now I’m 33 DAYS out and wonder if this is possible… I literally had to reflect on Jesus’ life when he was in the “Garden of Gethsemane…” His disciples were sleep, and he was thinking about what was about to happen to his life… Jesus prays, and asks God to take the cup, but ended up saying an incredible and encouraging statement in the face of a Roman scourging and crucifixion… Jesus says,

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42, NIV).”

Jesus did two things that are encouraging in the midst of tension! Firstly, he acknowledged the “cup” or hardship. Jesus had a healthy reality of what was before him, which gave him the proper strength to ask God for help…Having this perspective helps one to not live in denial about what has to be faced.

Secondly, Jesus asked. Although this did not remove the “cup” Jesus’ journey, Jesus asked. Sometimes asking helps us to accept and weigh what we are being called to do… Jesus gained strength from what he felt God was calling him to do.

I believe God is calling #lovebeyondwalls to raise awareness about homelessness on this daring journey! In fact, we will need God’s strength to continue. Today, I am reflecting on this scripture…

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13, NIV).

Below is a short video before we release the second campaign…

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Terence

The Countdown Begins (DAYS 36&35 Staying The Course)

Yesterday, I almost cracked and gave up on my weight loss journey…

It is so hard to stay disciplined, but I have made a resolve in my heart to keep going. Why? I received a phone call from one of my homeless friends (Rahkeem) yesterday. He is a 19 year old that stays under the bridge in tent city…

He reached out to say thank you for being a friend (and keeping our word)… talk about tears forming…

It was inspiring and moving to me that he considers me a friend, and trusts our team. He went on to say that everybody under the bridge appreciates #lovebeyondwalls having people help them while they are in transition. That alone is reason enough for me to keeping going, stay the course, and share more of what I have learned from going homeless around Christmas.

It is my prayer that God keeps me while on this journey! So far, I have lost 10lbs… I need you to pray for #lovebeyondwalls, and the second awareness campaign that I will release next week. 35 more days to go!

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The Countdown Begins (DAY 39 BIG PICTURE)

Today is day 11 of my training and healthy eating! Today kicked my butt, but I am determined to lose these 30+ pounds to raise awareness about homelessness. When days get rough like this, I have to force myself to think about the big picture! #lovebeyondwalls cannot wait to release the second campaign! As a matter of fact, this quote came to me while working out,

“Whenever you feel yourself becoming distracted, remind yourself of why your started out in the first place. Never allow second and third things replace the main things!”

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Terence

The Countdown Begins (DAYS 42&41 MUST STAY CLEAN)

Have you ever gone 3 full days or even a week without a shower or bath?

What about this… Have you ever stood in a line of 100+ to take a shower, and got discouraged by the time it got down to only 20 in front of you (because it took hours for you to go)?

Well, many of our homeless brothers and sisters experience this week in and week out. In fact, when I lived on the streets for three days, I found out that personal hygiene was hard to maintain if you are a homeless person (especially if you live on the streets). Why? Because there isn’t easy access to everyday products like toothpaste, soap, rags, lotion, q-tips, etc…  (products that are some times at arms length for us)

I remember day 2 when I went homeless… I decided that I wanted to take a shower… I wasn’t able to because a gentlemen fell out in the shower, hurt himself (causing blood to be on the floors), and they shut the shower down for a few hours (by that time, I was discouraged). It took hours for the shelter to clean it up and by that time, I was on day two without a shower… It was hard because I wanted to shower or at least keep clean, but wasn’t able to.

Point blank, it is hard. It is hard to maintain cleanliness when there are only “few” showers around the city for thousands of homeless people. Therefore, if you wanted to know why #lovebeyondwalls is collecting hygiene products, this is why… With walking in the shoes, and hearing the heart of many of my homeless friends… We have decided to provide hygiene “LOVEKITS”

In the month of February, #lovebeyondwalls is collecting “LOVEKITS” filled with hygiene items that will aid our homeless friends with items to survive on the streets. To participate, contact us [HERE], or simply drop-off items at one of our three locations on the flyer below.

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