I was in Austin this week for some meetings at Gateway.  I saw this card and was intrigued. Free portraits is a unique way to serve the homeless. Unfortunately, since my flight left as the event started, I couldn’t go.  When I landed for a short layover in San Diego, I read the following email from John Short, one of the serve pastors at Gateway.

Tonight I meet a couple of volunteers from Gateway that just started dating.  Jim and Debbie.  Jim is from the D (Detroit, as is our family), we hit it off immediately.  Then, Ramy walks up to me and says he met a “legit” guy that needs some help.  He wants me to check his story, so I look over to where Ramy’s pointing and Jim and Debbie are sitting down with this guy Kyle, who is about 19, talking. 

Kyle is tearing up, so I go over to check his story and just see what’s up …what kind of help does he need?  Kyle tells us he has a good job up by Domain as a forklift driver.  He’s from Kansas and he’s just run out of money to pay for a hotel. I Google his work and find a hotel right across the street. Jim and Debbie agree to go with me to the hotel.  Debbie follows us, with Kyle and Jim in car with me.  Jim and Kyle talk MMA all the way to the hotel.  When we get to the hotel to check him in, they give us a break on the price.  Jim and Debbie take Kyle out to eat and exchange numbers after I leave to go home.  They are going to Goodwill tomorrow to get him some shoes and shirts. They plan to bring him to Gateway on Sunday.  Kyle gets paid on Thursday and we we’re able to get him a room until Thursday morning.

Jim and Debbie are the story here.  They were going to go out after, hang with friends, but God had other plans. They potentially changed the trajectory of Kyle’s life tonight.  It’s not just a room, a meal, or clothes, it’s “Just Love.”

It’s amazing what God can do when people are simply willing to love their neighbors.