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Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blankets & Socks, Blogging Journey, Collaboration, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, Life-dares, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness, , Uncategorized, Vision

The Countdown Begins (DAY 34 FOR THE VOICELESS)

Below is a picture of me and my brother (Rahkeem)… These reason why I post this picture is because I truly believe in this young man. Currently, he lives under the bridge with his mother, and is only 19 years old. I make it my goal to spend time with him once or twice a week.

Why? Because I am building a relationship with him, and hope to grow #lovebeyondwalls enough to remove him from the streets. Yesterday, he read a poem/rap to me that he wrote for us… It went something like this, “Been struggle since I was thirteen seeing homelessness for me…”

He is only a kid, and still has so much future ahead of him! However, he is voiceless! This must end… I am going to sacrifice my life a little this year to make sure that people like Rahkeem and others get help, or at least be heard.

There are three ways we are planning on helping this young man, and his wife. I ask that you keep us in your prayers as we make preparations to do so in months to come. I consider this young man not only a friend, but a younger brother that needs a “hand up” not a “hand out…”

2014-01-25 10.28.09-1Terence

 

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blankets & Socks, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, DRIVES, Homelessness, Raising Awareness, Serve, , Uncategorized

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.

LBW-LoveKit-Location copyTerence

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blankets & Socks, Campaigns, Collaboration, Homelessness, Journey, Life-dares, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness, Serve, , Uncategorized

The Countdown Begins (DAYS 44&43 WE NEED A SPACE)!

Hey everyone,

Today is the day after Martin Luther King’s Birthday, and I am reflecting on many things… Firstly, I am reflecting on Martin Luther King’s legacy, and my top three favorite quotes spoken by King… Here are those three:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.”

These quotes are not only inspirational. They speak to the core of who I am… I believe life should be about God’s love, faith, justice, community, and relationships.

Second and last, I am reflecting on how tough this journey has been trying to lose weight and prepare myself for the next life-daring campaign to raise awareness. Also, #lovebeyondwalls is growing fast. Although we have many supporters, it has been a challenge trying to manage it all with a few. In fact, we need admins, social media managers, people to pick up donations, speakers for campaigns at schools, love team leaders to lead people out in the streets, and other roles to expand the vision [if this is you, let’s meet to see if you’d fit on our team… contact me [HERE].

Most importantly, #lovebeyondwalls needs a space. We are looking to secure an old office in the back of a church, a storage space we could fix up, or somewhere we can plant in for a year and build more (800-1200 square feet). Currently, we are a mobile organization with many working pieces. Why are we looking to plant and build? Simple. We have outgrown our home! Our garage in my home is no longer a place to store stuff. We have gotten so many donations in the last 30 days that our garage is filled to capacity (we can’t park our cars in it anymore).

If you are reading this, I need you to pray… Pray that we find a generous person, church, or business to donate an office space (in ATL), and pray that God keeps me strong while losing weight for our next big social campaign. Can’t wait to share next week!!!!!!

Why do I care so much? Because when I go out and saw that many of my friends lost everything when the city cleaned up under the bridge, it hurts… Below is a picture of the area without tents after G.D.O.T cleaned the area. I care because I would like to collaborate with people, organizations, and other agencies to sit around the table and collectively come up with solutions. Real solutions!

Many of my friends have to start over from scratch. Also, the video will give you a story to connect with and explain what happened… Could you imagine having a few things one day, and losing everything the next? Well, if you have questions… That’s why I am going forward with #lovebeyondwalls and our next campaign.

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Terence