Good Eats and Great Fellowship

This Thanksgiving was my first one away from home. Although, I missed my family, and the tradition of eating together that we have celebrated for as long as I can remember. I had an amazing day. I was invited to a neighbors house last week. I was very excited to receive the invitation.

I went over to Mrs. Rouse's house around two and did not get home until almost nine. I had a blast. Started off by playing some Xbox with one of the kids from S.A.Y. Yes! Then from there went and watched some football with one of Mrs. Rouse's relatives, Casandra. I enjoyed great conversation with her as we watched the game.

Then came one of the best parts of the day, the food. We had all the fixings. There was also some foods that I have never experienced at Thanksgiving. One was collard greens; although, I have had those before. The second was chitlins. In case you don't know chitlins are pig intestines, and they are delicious. The whole meal was amazing, and the fellowship within the meal was very enriching. After the meal some sat around the table and talked others enjoyed the Dallas/Redskins game, and the kids played video games. The whole experience was a huge blessing.

I had worried about what I would do for Thanksgiving, but I was very thankful to be invited to have Thanksgiving at Mrs. Rouse's house. I felt as though I was part of the family. As I was on my way out the door Casandra invited me over for Sunday football games. It was a great experience. I left full both physically and emotionally.

Thanks for reading! May grace and Peace follow you.

In Christ,
Adam Quick

Sorry I missed you

I want to start by apologizing for not putting a blog up last week. I want to reiterate my appreciation to everyone that has been following my blog. It means the world to know that folks are at home praying over and joining me in my journey here in Atlanta.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but S.A.Y Yes! celebrated early. On Thursday we invited all the kids parents down for a time of fellowship and eating. We had three kids have family come. It was a wonderful time to share what is going on with the kids, and to get to know the families better. We had a wonderful meal of turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mash potatoes, and rolls. I can still taste it. All in all this was a great time of fellowship, and I really enjoyed getting to spend the time with the kids and their families.

As an incentive for good behavior the kids can earn an ice cream social by receiving marbles for behaving in various activities throughout the day. They earned the ice cream social this week. So not only did we celebrate Thanksgiving this weeks with the students, but we got to enjoy sundaes after eating dinner. It was awesome to see the kids reap the reward of good behavior. The after effect of all the sugar was a sight to see. Overall the day was very blessed. I am very blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group of kids.

Thanks again for reading.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Experiencing Homelessness

For our last two trainings we have gotten a little taste of what it is like to be homeless. The first training everyone was split into teams, all the teams were given a scenario, and we had to find housing and any other help that we could find. That means finding out if our kids could get Peach-care or Medicaid. My teams scenario was: You just recently kicked your husband out because he was being abusive. After kicking your husband out you could not afford the bills and was notified of a court date to see if you could keep the house or if you would be evicted. The judge ruled against you, and you now have seven days to leave your residence. And you have two children one in school and the other child is not yet attending school.

There were stations set up for us to visit that represented actual resources in Atlanta. Our first plan of action was to find housing. This in itself is a strenuous process. There are multiple places one has to journey to gain housing. We were awarded transitional housing (housing that is granted for a certain amount of time allowing someone to get back on there feet and find another place to live), but in order to except this housing our family would have to change counties. Just in the simulation this process was tiresome. I could not imagine having to do this while actually having a toddler and taking public transportation. It would take multiple days! The whole time you have the time frame in the back of your mind. I thought, we only have seven days to move out before our stuff literally is put on the street. This is a very sobering reality.

Many of the shelters do not fulfill all needs or help to solve the problem of homelessness. Section 8's (affordable housing)  waiting list has not been opened for over eight years in Atlanta due to the high need. Transitional housing is very hard to receive, there are very specific requirements that have to be met, and the process is just all together difficult.

Today, Nov. 3, 2012, I was able to experience homelessness first hand. At seven A.M. we were awoken and given only five minutes to get ready. Then we were taken to a thrift store where we filled out a three page application to receive a clothes voucher. Once inside the thrift store we were rushed to make a selection, much like people are rushed in clothes closets. Then we were given breakfast and the day was explained. We were taken to downtown Atlanta and dropped off with no cell phone and no money. I was dressed in pants that were two sizes to big, a shirt that was a size to big, and a suit jacket that was to big. I spent eight hours on the streets of Atlanta talking to and sharing time with those in the margins. It was a very blessed day. God opened my eyes to my own selfishness and pride.

As I sat on a corner at the very beginning of the day, people would drive by and just stare looking at me in disgust, or people would walk by with there nose in the air not even giving me a second look if they looked at me at all. This was very sobering and humbling. After sitting on the corner for awhile I thought I would go try to find some food. As I walked a gentleman I had seen earlier in the day directed me to a place called The Shrine where I was served hot soup and given a couple bags of food for the rest of the day. After eating, I walked around the city for awhile stopping and talking with some of the homeless in the city. I met a couple guys, Tim and Sam, we spent a good hour talking. The conversation ranged from sumo wrestling to the injustice in the shelters. It was one of the best parts of the day. It was an amazing and beautiful experience.

Unfortunately I can not put all of my experience in this blog. I wish I could literally share the experience with you. Both of these trainings reshaped my thinking on the homeless community. The saying put yourself in someone else shoes became a reality for me today. I think God for the joy (from the conversations), frustration (from the stares), trust (from everyone being so helpful), and all the other emotions I was allowed to experience today.

I hope this gives you just a little insight in the life of the homeless. Even after experiencing this I realize I still have no idea what it really means to be homeless.

What is homelessness to you? Take a second to look at how you view God's children on the streets. Lift up a prayer that God will open your eyes so you can see people the way he sees them.

God I thank you for all the experiences I was allowed to walk through today. I thank you for all the friends I made and I pray that you allow those friendships to grow.God I pray that you continually open my eyes to your will. That you would allow me to see others the way you see them. Lord I pray that you break me of selfishness, pride, and vanity. Thank  you for your love and grace! Amen.

May grace and peace fall upon you.

Shalom,
Adam