Displaying Empathy To Others

Having “Empathy” means:

1. Having the ability to “walk in someone else’s shoes” for as long as You need to connect with them in order to be able to feel what they are feeling.

2. Wanting to understand what they are going through and show them they are not alone.

3. Not judging their situation in any way, not making yourself the Saviour and them the Victim.

4. Seeing them as they are. Offering them the space of your empathic presence allows them to feel seen and accepted. From there on, change and healing can take place.

Be empathic and #lovebeyondwalls

LBW Team

Jasmine Shepherd – The Doers Podcast

We are often asked, “How do you really get someone off of the streets?”

It is probably the most complex question we are asked because everyone experiencing homelessness doesn’t arrive at the experience the same way.

Some people experience job layoffs, some people lose family members, some women experience abuse, some teens find the experience because they timed out of foster care, some people use drugs and addiction to cope with life, and many other reasons.

We’ve come to find out that many people experiencing homelessness have several challenges, but the one of the greatest challenges is community.

Having community and people to catch you when you fall is important. If you could point to one person that has helped you through a difficulty—you will automatically know what I’m talking about.

This week we get to share the story of community with Jasmine Shepherd.

She’s a young lady that instead of talking decided to take a step to help a man (Mr. Philip) experiencing homelessness reunite with his family after 40 years.

When I asked her what pushed her to serve in this way, she responded with these words,

“My greatest desire is to travel to the ends of this earth serving the overlooked, the underprivileged, and spreading the Gospel. The Spirit led me to #lovebeyondwalls with Mr. Philip. After watching the documentary “Voiceless” and praying for God to use me to reach His people, I became intentional about making a difference in my community. Shortly after, our paths crossed and I saw a need. Once I got to know Mr. Philip, something about his story and genuine personality tugged at my heart and I just couldn’t give up on him.”

From her story, we’ve learned that sometimes getting to know people, and taking a step can transform someone’s life.

In the words of Jasmin, “to me, #lovebeyondwalls means to love one another just as Jesus loves us. It means we are responsible for meeting people right where they are, looking past their circumstances. We must build one another up, provide support, hope, and the greatest of all-LOVE.”

Check out her incredible podcast interview above.

Terence

You will not believe this!

Over the last couple of months, our organization has been intentional about giving people experiencing homelessness untraditional housing to get them off of the streets, and provide a place to stay that’s safe.

If we can be honest, it’s been messy, hard, confusing, and fun all at the same time. We’ve laughed with them, have had the privilege of celebrating successes, and have talked through struggles.

Long story short, we’ve just taken what’s in front of us and have used it to serve those who are forgotten.

Little did we know that a family was watching our work with using trailers to provide housing.  Well, this same family reached out and donated our organization this RV trailer! Wow is all we can say!

We can’t wait to reveal what this will become for our next campaign. 

LBW Team

Day of Love & Christmas Deliveries

This past Saturday, we partnered with Revolution Church, CoveredBridge Church, Bronner Bros. & a well-known studio to serve many families for the Holidays.

We had over 50 volunteers loving on 250+ families in College Park. Not only did we serve them, but we prayed for tons of people who expressed their pains, hurts, and fears.

This coming Saturday, we are delivering the gifts collected for the families we adopted for Christmas.

Check out some of the pictures below!

If you’d like to make a year end contribution, support our work [HERE].

 

 

 

LBW Team