YOU JUST NEVER KNOW!

DO NOT NEGLECT TO SHOW HOSPITALITY TO STRANGERS, FOR SOME HAVE ENTERTAINED ANGELS WITHOUT REALIZING IT. Hebrews 13:2. (NLT)

(4 minute read)

#homeless, #Angels, #food, #clothing #used car, #shed, #death,#fence, #God

Six years ago, my 37 year old son, Joshua, who lived with me, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was beyond treatment as the cancer had consumed 70% of his stomach and liver in less than 2 months. His death ripped my heart out. It all happened so fast. He was given 3 to 6 months. I thought I would have time with him. Time to talk about his fears of dying. Time to tell me what his wishes were. And time to tell him how much I loved him, and how proud I was of him. He had just finished editing a thriller that he had worked on for 3 years and was looking for a publisher. That didn't happen. After 3 weeks in the hospital, now on Hospice, I brought him home. Joshua died the next day! His death destroyed my world and life as I knew it. Every day, I cried hard tears. The mental pain was gut -wrenching. I did not want to live without my beautiful kindhearted son..That first year, I was trying to die by neglect. I was not suicidal, but I wasn't going to do anything to take care of myself and keep me here. Night after night I cried out to God. In my anguish, I told him that unless he gave me a purpose in life, a reason to live, then I was coming too. The hardest thing a mother can go through, is to put her child in the

hard ground and walk away. I did not want to leave him there.

I made it through the Fall, Spring, winter, and now Summer. It was a warm day, sitting on my porch, when I saw an old man walking down the sidewalk. He stopped in front of my house and then sat down on my sidewalk step. His head hung down as he rubbed his hands through his greasy, dirty hair. His clothes were soiled, tattered and torn, and his sneakers were different sizes with no shoelaces and no socks. I thought maybe he was an army vet cause in this heat, he was wearing a green army jacket with the sleeves cut off at his elbows. The smell of body odor was overwhelming. No doubt, he had not taken a bath in a while. I walked off my porch and asked him if he was ok? He said he just had to rest a minute and was hot. I asked him if there was anything I could do for him. He said; "water, I'm really dry." I went into the house and got him a cold bottle of water from the fridge.. He drank that down in one gulp. "Coffee?" He nodded yes. When I came out, there was a police officer questioning him. "Ma'am, is this man bothering you?" I said, "No, just getting him a drink, he's ok.."

The Policeman handed him a Homeless Outreach card and then left. Again, I asked the old man if there was anything I could do for him. His hand sheltering his eyes from the sun, his weathered face and missing teeth looked up at me and said, "Food, haven't eaten in a while." I told him I would be right back.

In the kitchen was a big box of Joshua's clothes to be donated. On top was his black backpack. I grabbed the bag and began filling it up with snacks. Small bags of potato chips. package of cookies. A pack of wieners and hot dog buns. I made 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and 3 baloney and cheese sandwiches. 6 little individual chocolate puddings, 4 little Miss Deb's pastries and 6 bottles of water. Plastic spoons and napkins. I went to the bathroom cabinet and put Joshua's razors and shaving cream in the bag along with a package of toothbrushes and toothpaste. A can of Right Guard and a bar of soap. 6 pairs of socks. He was standing when I came back out. I handed him the black backpack and told him he could keep the bag. Last, I told him to take care of himself. He did not break a smile and only nodded and said "Thank You Ma'am." I turned and walked away. When I got to my porch steps, I thought, ask him if he needs some clothes or a blanket. He was a tall thin man

and I was sure my son's clothes would fit him. I turned to ask him, but he was gone. I ran to the corner and looked up and down the sidewalks and streets in all directions. It had only been a few seconds since I last saw him, but he had disappeared. North, South, East, and West....he was gone!

It wasn't long after that, that I began my food and clothing ministry. I operate on donations and have been feeding and clothing the homeless for almost 4 years from my porch and my Blessing Box on the southwest corner of Mt Vernon and So. Topeka. I live a block east of the main street that leads downtown. My neighborhood is the homeless neighborhood. Many are meth addicts. They have to steal to support their habit. Unfortunately, they steal from me. I don't have a garage or Shed to store the food, canned goods, blankets and clothing, so they come upon my porch and patio looking for something to sell. I have a 4 ft metal fence in the backyard that is easy to climb over.

My food and clothing ministry is a small one, but mighty. I feed and clothe a lot of people. Occasionally, I get a chance to talk to them and pray right there at the Blessing Box for their needs, which are gigantic. Once a week I picked up boxes of food from food pantries. They allow me to take all the leftovers. My van was always stacked full.

Unfortunately, my car was hit from the back parked outside my house. They ran and I only had liability. The rear door will no longer open to stack the heavy boxes of food. I now rely only on the donations that are left on my porch.

So, Now. what do I want? #1. I need a 6-foot wooden fence for my backyard to keep the thieves out. My wagon was stolen and used to take boxes of donated clothes and blankets from my porch. #2. I do not have a garage. I need a large storage shed to store clothes, blankets, shoes, and food for the homeless. #3 A used van or truck to pick up donations.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME: I am a 73-year-old retired Registered Nurse and Grandma. I have a beautiful daughter named Shannon and my funny, loving son, Joshua, whom WE miss so very much.

I was homeless for 6 months and lived in a tent in the 80s when I was a student nurse in Pratt, Kansas. I know what it is like to go to bed hungry and wake up empty. I remember searching through trash dumpsters behind a grocery store for anything to fill my belly. I lived on stale donuts and rotten bananas. It is hard to sleep at night when your stomach is growling.

Jesus said, "When you have given a drink to the least of these, you have done it unto me." Help me make a difference in their lives! If you have questions, you can message me on Facebook under Jackie Castleberry Sanders. Thank You so much For any amount you can give., Jackie Sanders