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Love Beyond Walls Story

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Community Service, Education, Empowering Youth, Family Values, Fighting for the Hopeless, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Leadership Development, Life Change, Life-dares, Love Beyond Walls Story, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Movement of Doers, Needs, Passion, Poverty, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serve, Serving, , Story, Struggle, Transform, Uncategorized, Vision, Volunteerism

Night 1 – Doing it for the people!

Yesterday was unreal.

Around 10pm a small group of us arrived back at the office where the bus is parked… I talked to my wife and kids, we prayed, and I climbed up to start living on top of the bus for the next thirty nights straight. My friend Dave built a pretty secure platform on top of the bus for my safety. It includes a porta potty, a small heater, and a little power so I can blog about my experiences.

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However, I know people are probably wondering “what in the world does living on top of a bus prove. Better yet, why in the world would you do it in the middle of winter. It makes no sense.”

Well, to me this means everything. This past year, our organization encountered thousand of people through service. We served tons of apartment complexes, and served a couple thousand homeless individuals in the heart of the city, and I noticed something very unique among all those we served. People have lost hope, a sense of self-worth, and even dignity. It is hard looking into the eyes of people and knowing that the only self-worth they have is their existence (meaning they feel they only feel worth because they are alive). In fact, I can remember encountering a lady in the apartment complex where we serve that said, “I feel like I am forgotten about… and I’m all alone…” This same lady said that she hadn’t eaten in a week because she was a senior citizen and had few resources.

No matter how you slice it, communities and people who live in poverty deserve to have a sense of self-worth, dignity, and even receive help that could possibly help them rebuild the pieces to their lives. We’ve seen recently in the news a underlining call for all people to start working in communities to restore the broken pieces that leave stains, and scars that never go away.

One of the ways #lovebeyondwalls would like to start helping the community is by reaching out to communities and homeless individuals by providing makeovers with our bus. These makeovers would be more than physical touchups, they would be like a launchpad for people to taking steps toward permanent change.

Still… This doesn’t answer why sleep on a bus…. does it…

Well, I am staying on this bus because we are serious about transforming the bus, and sharing compassion with many people who have no hope! We desire to go mobile to serve people in the city of Atlanta. It’s just that simple. I believe in what we are taking a stand for… And I believe that we will be able to band together with other organizations to help people.

Terence

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blankets & Socks, Campaigns, Collaboration, Community, Community Service, DRIVES, Empowering Youth, Fighting for the Hopeless, Film, Great Commission, Homelessness, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Leadership, Life Change, Life-dares, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Plant Love, Poverty, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Serve, Serving, Sole Beauti, Transform, Vision, Volunteerism

2 Days to before – Mobile Makeovers!

Below is a brief video of Dave explaining the structure that Dave will build on the bus to make the 30 day experience safe!

 

LBW Team

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, College Park, Community, Community Service, Diversity, DRIVES, Engagements, Family, Family Values, Fighting for the Hopeless, Great Commission, Homelessness, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Life Change, Love In The Trenches, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Movement of Doers, Partnerships, Passion, Plant Love, Poverty, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serve, Serving, , Sociology, Vision, Volunteerism

Sponsor a Makeover!

You can sponsor a makeover today by clicking the image below!

Mobilemakeover

LBW Team

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, College Park, Community Service, Diversity, DRIVES, Fighting for the Hopeless, Great Commission, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Love In The Trenches, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Movement of Doers, Needs, Partnerships, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Serve, , Sole Beauti, The Local Church, Transform, Vision, Volunteerism

Help Us Change Lives – Mobile Makeovers!

This past Saturday, we launched one of our most heartfelt campaigns called “Mobile Makeovers” on indiegogo! Simply put, we are aiming to raise funds to retrofit a 30 passenger bus and turn it into a mobile barbershop, closet, and shower to serve homeless individuals in the city of Atlanta, and under resourced communities.

Mobile Makeovers – Mobile Barbershop, Closet, & Shower from Love Beyond Walls on Vimeo.

In fact, the top five reasons we need your help getting this project off the ground is simple:

1) It will help us reach people who have no hope, and do not have a voice.

2) It will help us to restore dignity back to those who have been dehumanized or marginalized by poverty.

3) It will help us bring agencies, churches, and individuals together to do good in the city and love on people.

4) It will help us see total life change in the lives of those we serve that are ready to make that step!

5) It will help us educate more people about poverty, homelessness, and social ills that plague communities.

Mobilemakeoversart

Above are real reasons why we feel we should take this bus and do something amazing with it to impact real people experiencing real problems. There are four ways you can get involved:

1) You can pray–pray that God blesses us to complete this project.

2) You can share–share the story of this project.

3) You can give-give toward our 50K goal by clicking the image.

4) You can serve–volunteer to serve to help us retrofit the bus.

Overall, we would just like to give our small token back to society in a major way.

Terence

 

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Community Service, Diversity, DRIVES, Family, Family Values, Fatherhood, Fighting for the Hopeless, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Life Change, Life-dares, Mission, Missions, Movement of Doers, Needs, Partnerships, Plant Love, Resources, Serving, , Struggle, Transform, Vision

The day I was let go!

Everything is perfect right… You are taught, “Get a job… Be consistent in that job… Get tons of education… Apply what you’ve learned… Pay your bills on time… Take care of your family (if you choose to get one)… AND everything will work out for you as long as you are a smart, positive, productive, and a moral citizen…” Right? Wrong!

Life has a way of taking even the simplistic desires of our heart(s) and flipping them upside down…leaving you to wonder, “Is something wrong with me?” or better yet, “Am I not doing something right?…”

How do I know? Well, life was going well…I was working on staff at a church, caring for my family, and started Love Beyond Walls in my spare time… Well, seven days after Easter of this year (2014) I was called into the church office (where I was on staff), and laid off for starting Love Beyond Walls. I think the phrase was, “I think you should go do that 100% because you are not a fit anymore…” 

If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is where life flips everything upside down…and I was left on the bottom… My heart stopped…In fact, I’m in tears writing this because I felt ashamed to share it at first.

Initially, when I started #lovebeyondwalls I was only devoting part-time energy to it, and had tons of volunteer help (still have a great team). In fact, the organization’s success is not because of me, but because of the team my wife and I have around us…

But, soon LBW began to grow,  gain a little attention and involvement, and suddenly I was told “You are not a fit anymore…It’s not what we do…”

But wait, isn’t this the church’s mission? Love God, Love People, and Serve the least of these? It is….But, at some churches (NOT ALL) it is more about what goes on inside the four walls of the church instead of the people outside the walls that need the love of God, and the good news (not apologizing for stepping on toes, but it is true).

Yes, you heard me… I was given a pink slip, and even told not to come back to the church anymore. Why? I hadn’t done anything criminal or out of line. I just wanted to love on people who I know that God loves, but do not have a voice. However, I have chosen to forgive the mistreatment I received.

In fact, it happened about five days before we launched a campaign called #closetstrike… A campaign where our organization raised awareness about children who attend title 1 schools, and have to wear the same thing every single day because they lack resources at home. I started wearing one outfit every single day (for 90 days), and had to deal with not having a job because of a lay off.

Not only has this been the most difficult journey of my life, it has been the most rewarding too… I have served others with love, compassion, and grace knowing in the back of my mind I could relate to them even more. How have I been able to do it… Simple. HOPE, FOCUS, SUPPORT, AND GOD’S STRENGTH!

Since my layoff, God has provided for my family, and the work we are doing through selfless individuals who see value in our work.

But, if I could be honest this layoff has been both a blessing and a challenge. It has been a blessing because I have been devoted more to building our organization and seeing more impact, but it has been a challenge because I haven’t been able to find more employment with four degrees in one of the worse states for the jobless (GA).

Why put this out there? Simple. It’s to let people know that God does still move in the midst of pain, and in the midst of loss. It is to let people know that you can persevere and build something even though HELL itself is suggesting you should stop and quit. The only thing that has keep me going has been my family and knowing that I am supposed to take hope and love to people who want to throw in the towel.

But here is the good news…We have grown a little more, and in about 15 days, I’m going to release one of the biggest projects we have ever worked on in our lives as an organization.

I can’t wait to write more about the journey I am weathering and our attempt to beat it by doing more good, and serving more people with the love of God.

Below is a picture of a bus we were recently donated… We will share our vision for how we will reach more with it in the coming days.

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Terence

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Community Service, Current Events, Diversity, Documentaries, DRIVES, Education, Engagements, Global, Gospel, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Life Change, Life-dares, Mission, Missions, Movement of Doers, Organization Update, Plant Love, Poverty, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Serve, Serving, , Techie News, Vision, VLOG, Volunteerism

Short film (Ga Tech LeCraw Auditorium)

We are excited! Yesterday we visited GA Tech, and snapped a few photos of the facility! This will be our first attempt to gather all of our social media videos, photos, and tell a unique story of why we exist and want to stay around. We ask that you support us by purchasing a ticket (if you haven’t already). You can get a ticket by clicking the image below. Every sale will go directly to helping us grow as an organization to reach more people!

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Below are a few pictures, and a cold interview from John Springs (a homeless guy we met earlier this week).

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Terence

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Interview, Journey, Purpose, Story, Videography, Vision

The Countdown Begins (DAY 18 God uses failure!)

Have you ever failed at something?

I mean really failed to the point where you become paralyzed, numb, question your dreams, God’s purpose for your life, and if you’ll ever gain traction again?

I have.

In fact, this happened at the beginning of last year! 2013 was a really hard year for me and a lot of other people (not dwelling in the past at all)…It was so rough, I thought I was a failure. One of my dreams collapsed right in front of my eyes! It was tough, and horrible at the same time. But what I was counting as a failure, God was using as the moment to prepare us for #lovebeyondwalls!

That’s why I love the passage written in Romans where the writer professes that, “All things work together for good to those who love God…” Wait, when you fail, you fail right? Wrong. When I reflect on where we are today (one year later), I can’t help but say “failure is a liar… failure can be used… God has the last say!” 

Failure will make you think you should quit, throw in the towel, bury your dream(s), and grab your bat and ball and go home! In fact, if you feel like you are failing, it is the perfect place for you… Why? Because when all is stripped away, there is an opportunity for something new to be born in and through you!

The three top things I have learned from failing forward are:

1) Failure is not fatal — Just because you failed at something does not mean it is over… It means that you have gained more experience and insight for your next assignment. Once you think failure is fatal, you’ll give up completely. That’s not an option because “life goes on…”

2) Failure should not be worshipped — There is always a temptation to hang your head for a long period of time, have a “woe is me attitude,” and become a victim. When we assume this posture, we worship what has happened to us, and forfeit the opportunity to see what is happening in us. No bad event deserves that much attention.

3) Failure has oppotunities inside of them — If we are wise, we can glean insights into what we should be doing, how we should grow, or who we are to become through our failures. Every failure or experience can lead you to a clue of what’s next in your life. Although tough, failure has tremendous opportunities imbedded in it.

Watch the video below! It is another piece to the LBW story and how failure was used to help start this organization!

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Terence