The day I was let go!

Everything is perfect right… You are taught, “Get a job… Be consistent in that job… Get tons of education… Apply what you’ve learned… Pay your bills on time… Take care of your family (if you choose to get one)… AND everything will work out for you as long as you are a smart, positive, productive, and a moral citizen…” Right? Wrong!

Life has a way of taking even the simplistic desires of our heart(s) and flipping them upside down…leaving you to wonder, “Is something wrong with me?” or better yet, “Am I not doing something right?…”

How do I know? Well, life was going well…I was working on staff at a church, caring for my family, and started Love Beyond Walls in my spare time… Well, seven days after Easter of this year (2014) I was called into the church office (where I was on staff), and laid off for starting Love Beyond Walls. I think the phrase was, “I think you should go do that 100% because you are not a fit anymore…” 

If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is where life flips everything upside down…and I was left on the bottom… My heart stopped…In fact, I’m in tears writing this because I felt ashamed to share it at first.

Initially, when I started #lovebeyondwalls I was only devoting part-time energy to it, and had tons of volunteer help (still have a great team). In fact, the organization’s success is not because of me, but because of the team my wife and I have around us…

But, soon LBW began to grow,  gain a little attention and involvement, and suddenly I was told “You are not a fit anymore…It’s not what we do…”

But wait, isn’t this the church’s mission? Love God, Love People, and Serve the least of these? It is….But, at some churches (NOT ALL) it is more about what goes on inside the four walls of the church instead of the people outside the walls that need the love of God, and the good news (not apologizing for stepping on toes, but it is true).

Yes, you heard me… I was given a pink slip, and even told not to come back to the church anymore. Why? I hadn’t done anything criminal or out of line. I just wanted to love on people who I know that God loves, but do not have a voice. However, I have chosen to forgive the mistreatment I received.

In fact, it happened about five days before we launched a campaign called #closetstrike… A campaign where our organization raised awareness about children who attend title 1 schools, and have to wear the same thing every single day because they lack resources at home. I started wearing one outfit every single day (for 90 days), and had to deal with not having a job because of a lay off.

Not only has this been the most difficult journey of my life, it has been the most rewarding too… I have served others with love, compassion, and grace knowing in the back of my mind I could relate to them even more. How have I been able to do it… Simple. HOPE, FOCUS, SUPPORT, AND GOD’S STRENGTH!

Since my layoff, God has provided for my family, and the work we are doing through selfless individuals who see value in our work.

But, if I could be honest this layoff has been both a blessing and a challenge. It has been a blessing because I have been devoted more to building our organization and seeing more impact, but it has been a challenge because I haven’t been able to find more employment with four degrees in one of the worse states for the jobless (GA).

Why put this out there? Simple. It’s to let people know that God does still move in the midst of pain, and in the midst of loss. It is to let people know that you can persevere and build something even though HELL itself is suggesting you should stop and quit. The only thing that has keep me going has been my family and knowing that I am supposed to take hope and love to people who want to throw in the towel.

But here is the good news…We have grown a little more, and in about 15 days, I’m going to release one of the biggest projects we have ever worked on in our lives as an organization.

I can’t wait to write more about the journey I am weathering and our attempt to beat it by doing more good, and serving more people with the love of God.

Below is a picture of a bus we were recently donated… We will share our vision for how we will reach more with it in the coming days.

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Terence

More Hygiene Products!

Over the last few months, we have served tons of families but have noticed something unique. Many families or individuals that we have helped have asked for hygiene products. Why? Because as one lady said, “These are hard to come by when you are unemployed…”

Therefore, we have vowed to launch another campaign to collect more “LOVE KITS” in the month of October to help more people that we encounter. If you’d like to support this campaign please see the flyer below for more details.

LBW-Oct

LBW Team

10 Days Away – Ga Tech

Today marks ten days away from us showing just a small small part of our story at Ga Tech (LeCraw Auditorium). Additionally, we will talk a little about where we wish to go as an organization in 2015! If you’d like to purchase tickets, click the image below…

10daysaway

LBW Team

Not by chance, God alone did this!

Earlier this week, I (Terence) met a pastor through a friend in Madison, GA and shared our story. We walked outside to this thirty passenger bus, and he said, “this should help you guys out a lot…” In fact, he said they think it would help in serving those in need up in ATL… I don’t know how this all happened (other than God), but this church is donating this bus to @lovebeyondwalls! Can’t wait to share what we are going to do with it next month!!!

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Terence

 

First #leadersource!

Next week, we will take a lot of principles we have learned (through experience) and pass them along to other leaders (about 5-7). We want to teach leaders some of lessons we’ve learned about social media, storytelling, and launching campaigns.

How will this help? I’m glad you asked. It will help other leaders start the process of thinking through ways to make an impact in the areas they feel called to. Everyone needs a little guidance and help!

Also, I’m excited about giving the talk! If you’d like to attend, click the image below. I think we only have 3 more seats available.

Leadersource

Terence

Labor Day – #CarryATL

Today, officially starts the #carryATL campaign! However, we got a jumpstart on passing out carrying bags to Atlanta’s homeless this past Saturday. We encountered some very signifigant stories that confirmed the great need for resourcing our homeless friends with carrying bags.

We met a lady named Maria who has been homeless for a year! She was in the parking lot earlier that morning before we started to go out and pass out bags, and she made a statement that stuck with us the entrée day (and days to come), “A bag helps me because everything I own is in them…” She was basically saying that if she didn’t have anything to transport her items, she wouldn’t have anything.

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Assist us this month as we collect bags, and hygiene items for the homeless in Atlanta, GA. Below is a video o another lady we met who stopped by the headquarters! Listen as Michelle speaks on why bags are important. To donate, click [HERE] or send us an email to info@lovebeyondwalls.org to drop off resources at our headquarters in College Park.

LBW Team

Short film (Ga Tech LeCraw Auditorium)

We are excited! Yesterday we visited GA Tech, and snapped a few photos of the facility! This will be our first attempt to gather all of our social media videos, photos, and tell a unique story of why we exist and want to stay around. We ask that you support us by purchasing a ticket (if you haven’t already). You can get a ticket by clicking the image below. Every sale will go directly to helping us grow as an organization to reach more people!

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Below are a few pictures, and a cold interview from John Springs (a homeless guy we met earlier this week).

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Terence

Closet #1 Filled – Riverdale Elementary

On Wednesday of this week, we visited Riverdale Elementary School and met with Ms. Veal (Principal) and Ms. Vazquez (Community Liaison) to present the “Uniforms of Hope” we raised during our #closetstrike campaign! The principal immediately grabbed a few children and shared the news with them! Below is a picture of their reaction when the uniforms were presented. Thank you if you were a part of us resourcing these schools!

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LBW Team

Over 200 kids served!

This morning (5AM), I don’t know what to say… Yesterday we saw children SMILE! Have you ever had a moment where you know you’ve experienced something great but didn’t know how it came about? Well, I had a similar feeling when I walked around Sheltering Arms yesterday watching 20+ corporate professionals (from our corporate sponsor) serve, read to, teach, and paint the faces of 200 kids in that community.

We even had a nutritional superhero (Super Cooper) come out to teach kids the importance of eating healthy and exercising.

It was our first annual back to school kick-off promoting education in early childhood learning centers. Additionally, Northwestern raised over 256 books to help us promote literacy among families in the College Park community. It was an amazing day serving alongside Northwestern, Sheltering Arms, and Get Well Soon.

Below are a few pictures taken from the amazing day!

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