July 28th

It's a long story but I promise it is worth the read! 

Normally I post about my burrito bike ride the night of, but after last night I couldn't put into words how much my heart broke on this ride, so the next day later here we go....204 burritos, 35 hot dogs loaded up in the heaviest backpack I have carried since volunteering. The hour before riding it was thundering, lightening and pouring outside. I didn't think we would be riding with the weather as bad as it was but someone said we always ride no matter what condition is outside, there is a need on the streets. While standing outside waiting to fill my backpack to begin riding, a gentleman came up and asked if we had an extra shirt for him to have. Someone went in the building to get him a shirt and I asked if he wanted anything to eat, he responded by saying "no all I would like is a dry shirt." I couldn't talk anymore, because you how many times I changed my shirt today in between all of the activities I had going on? 4. 4 times I changed my shirt and all this gentleman had was his one wet shirt. He walked away with 3 dry shirts and a bag of food. As the night came to an end, we saw this girl and decided to give her the last of the food we had. We pulled up beside her and you could tell by her demeanor she was dealing with some type of traumatic situation. She was very hesitant to take the food, barley spoke to us and looked terrified. We asked her if she needed anything to help get her at night and she shook her head no. We told her we would be back with a bag of stuff for her. We rode back to the church to grab food, water and hygiene products for her. One of the guys in my group and myself loaded up the stuff on our bikes to take to her while the rest of our group went home. As we approached her, we thought it would be best if I approached her alone. The guy in my group stood away from us but close enough to hear everything going on and be in eye sight of us. I slowly approached her and put the bag down on the seat she was sitting on. I first asked her what her name is. She told me and we continued a small conversation. I explained what was in the bag, what we were doing on bikes, when she can expect to see us around, and if there was anything else we could do for her. She looked at me for the first time in the eyes and said no thank you. I walked away from this girl who looked to be younger than me and my heart just broke. After arriving back at the church the guy I was with got in contact with someone to hopefully get her help. Today I strongly encourage you to go out and make a difference in someone's life, it doesn't have to be a big gesture, maybe it's just the shirt off your back.

This story is by Kristin Decker, a UBFM volunteer.

The Simple Luxuries

This is a social media post by UBFM member, Frank Rouse. Frank submitted this the morning after a Wednesday night ride. 

Good Morning! I wanted to share something that I was a part of last night at the Carpenters House. 

As most of you know, we will give our friends whatever we can to make their time on the streets a little more comfortable. Not only do we hand out food, water, clothes, socks and hygiene products; but there have been team members pull their shoes off and hand them over during a ride. We even take requests for things with the promise of finding it during the week and showing up the next week with it. Our friends will hold you to your word too! I've been cornered a couple of times over the promise of a backpack that had slipped my mind. Needless to say, I handed mine over. 

Last night I was asked by a gentleman in the lot there as we were getting things situated if I had a pair of reading glasses. I carry a pair with me pretty much 24/7 and I have about 400 pairs of back ups, located at various places in my house, office and car. When the man asked for them I said yes, I have a pair let me see if they will be your strength. I grabbed the "readers" out of the console of my jeep and he put them on. PERFECT! he exclaimed; followed by a prompt thank you. I said no problem and went on about getting things ready for the nights ride. 

Fast forward to about 10 minutes later and I walked by him again. There he lay on the concrete landing with a western paperback out and his readers on. It seems that he had lost his pair about a month ago and hadn't been able to read his westerns since. It didn't hit me until I got home that night and saw a pair of glasses on every table in every room in my house just how precious those glasses must have been to him. It's just one more reminder of how many things we take for granted in our day to day lives that others look upon as a luxury.

eTown News

Last December I was invited to be a guest on eTown News in Boulder Colorado. During this visit I was interviewed and awarded the eChievement Award in regard to the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry. I also met some amazing people and it was an honor to part of this great organization.

Here is the video they presented to me for visiting.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdfSg4cLzrE

Compassion

This is a Facebook post from UBFM volunteer David Page:

Any of you ever find yourself saying "thank you" after giving food to someone out there? I have and I have heard others do the same. The first time I did it, I caught myself and thought "why did I just say that"?
Then, I realized what I love so much about this ministry. Being the hands and feet of Christ, and doing acts that connect people with the love of Christ feels so amazing, that it leaves you with an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness.
When I was contacted about Cassy Colunga's Bucket List, and was told that one of the things on it was to feed the homeless, I got it.
It was my pleasure to help get the bags that members of Crosspointe Baptist Church in Millington had prepared on Cassy's behalf to the UBFM last Saturday. What I didn't expect was the response of the UBFM members who came and took part in handing these 60 bags out, telling our downtown friends about Cassy's story and that she wanted to bless them with these gifts, and arranged a team to follow along and document the whole thing on video. This will allow Cassy to see what was done on her behalf in the name of Christ.
I was very proud to be a UBFM volunteer! Pretty amazing stuff!

Cassy and her supporters send their thanks to all of you and so do I!

Click here to see the video.