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I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

I have the privilege at CFOT of listening to great stories of ministry and growth in the lives of our future leadership, and we often share these with you.  Then I’ll hear a story that moves me at my core because it resonates with the heart of God the Holy Spirit living in me.  This is one of those stories, and the name has been changed for anonymity of the person in the story.

From Kirkland Lake/Timmins…Relayed with permission.

Tuesday, Claude and I had a very special experience and I want to share with you. That afternoon a man came to The Salvation Army, and told us he found a man in the woods, and he asked us to come with him to help so Claude and I decided to go with the man.  We walked 15 minutes in the woods trough the river, fallen trees and brush to find a small clearing, a home set up for an elderly gentleman living in the harsh elements.  When we arrived the man was sitting there wapped in a piece of plastic for a blanket.  We had coffee and soup that we brought, and we offered it to him.  He smelled so bad from living in the woods without anywhere to shower.

We had to convince him, to go with us and we would provide somewhere warm and comfortable to spend the night because the snow was coming. He said yes but he did not have the strength to walk so Claude and the good Samaritan who found this man went to find help and I stayed in the woods with the man.  The emergency service called me on my cell phone and they ask all kinds of  strange questions, but I did not want the man to lose confidence in us.  Anyway, as I was talking on the cell phone the man decide to walk, but I did not want him to go because he may get lost in the woods.  Instead, I suggested that he go for a walk with me. We walked a bit and a police truck arrived on the trail to bring us back.  I could feel that the man was scared, and I told him that I will stay with him.

The police wanted to take the man to the hospital, but he was afraid, and looked to me for help.  I told the police that we had a safe place for him to stay.  They took us to the Corps, and we packed him a suitcase with soap and clothes.  He is 65 years old, and he had nothing with him. When Claude took him to the room we had for him, the owner of the place told our new friend he would have to take a shower before going into the room, but he refused until she told him if he didn’t then she would wash him if he didn’t.  He almost ran to the shower.

I called the lady yesteday and she said that people had come to visit the man to help him with things he needed to live because this man cannot take care of himself.  With the help of the police, and the service providers the man was transported to the hospital because living for 3 weeks in the cold wet forest had taken a hold on his life.  We visit him every day.

Now we have another Homeless man to take care of because God brought him our way.  His name is Bill and he is 71 years old.  He has been sleeping in the streets and he has problems with his hands, but he doesn’t want to go to the hospital.  I had to take care of his hands to prevent infection from setting in.  The other day I found Bill making a fire behind the donut shop for warmth.  Bill comes to the Corps every Tuesday morning for breakfast, and the other day his hand looked so much worse so Claude told him he had to go the hospital or it could make him very sick.  Bill said he couldn’t go because his feet were so dirty.  It turns out he was terribly embarrassed to have anyone see them.

Anne-Marie shared this part of the story with me over the phone, and I had to choke back the tears.  Claude took Bill to a chair and told him to sit down, and like Jesus in the Upper Room, removed Bill’s shoes and socks, and yes, his feet were terrible.  Claude washed Bill’s feet and applied ointment to his sores, and gave Bill fresh socks and shoes.

Anne-Marie shared that they are working with the police to help find people who need help and to clean up some of the unsafe dwellings in their town.  Their goal is to work in collaboration with the police to go out and take soup, coffee and blankets to people when the police find them in the town.

Anne-Marie continues…We are really surprised by the poverty of this little town.  I can continue to tell you sad stories about kids and youth with nothing to do except get into trouble, and we are working with local schools.  Also, (in perfect Anne-Marie fashion) I want to ask the town if they can help us with our project to reach people in our community who need our help.  The secret of starting things is to find the volunteer before you start the project and that is what I did.

Blessings,
Anne-marie

Claude and Anne-Marie are members of the Witnesses for Christ Session 2007-2009, and were appointed to Kirkland Lake/Timmins this past July.