Friendship and Hope
On an extremely hot, humid, and busy food distribution day at Dallas-High Shoals Christian Ministry, a young man was walking down the sidewalk past our parking lot. When one of our dedicated and faithful volunteers greeted the young man with a friendly "good morning," she noticed that he was sweaty, exhausted, somewhat downtrodden, and just might be hungry. She introduced herself and explained that she was getting ready to take a short break and invited the young man, Ezra, to join her for a bottle of cold water, a pack of crackers, and a seat on the bench in the shade of our building.
As the volunteer and Ezra drank their water and ate their crackers, they were able to talk about Ezra's life circumstances and the services we offer to our neighbors in Dallas, High Shoals, Stanley, and Alexis. Our volunteer quickly learned that he was living in an abandoned home with no water, power, food, or hope. On that hot summer day, he found hope in our friendship, love and care.
Another volunteer enrolled him in our Hope for the Homeless program. This program provides food assistance and essential items to our neighbors who are living in tents, cars, abandoned buildings, campers, and other similar and less than ideal situations. Through our Utility Assistance program, we helped restore power to Ezra's home.
Ezra recently shared about the first time he utilized our ministry, “You all were really nice, so I kept coming back." He continued, "If it wasn’t for Dallas-High Shoals Christian Ministry, I wouldn’t eat nine out of the ten times that I do eat. And if it wasn’t for the heater that you gave me, I would have frozen this past winter. So, I thank you for all you do for me.” Ezra continues working to improve his life situation and, with the help of our ministry, he can focus on getting the mental and physical help he deserves.
Your time, talents, treasures, and tangible gifts make it possible for us to provide life-sustaining items to our neighbors in need. As always, we appreciate your kindness, prayers and support that enable us to help our neighbors like Ezra improve their daily lives.
*Names changed to protect the privacy of clients.