Below is a brief video of Dave explaining the structure that Dave will build on the bus to make the 30 day experience safe!
LBW Team
It hit me this AM around 5… It is only four days left until I attempt to do this!
Yesterday, when I picked my daughter up from school she hands me a card that touched my heart… For the last month, my wife and I have been preparing her (and my son) with the information I have been sharing about living on top of the bus for 30 nights.
I told her that she’d see me everyday but that I would be living on a bus trying to awareness/funds so we can help people with #lovebeyondwalls. At first she was uncomfortable because she said, “It was dangerous and she don’t know how I would take a shower” (LOL). But, yesterday it clicked for her. She has been serving with her mom and I since she was a 1 year old. We have modeled our lives in showing her how to be a giving person.
So yesterday she walked up to me, and says, “Dad, I will always be your best friend, and will help you…I’m going to be there…” In fact, she has encouraged me more to start and finish. Check out out card with my beard all grown out…
This touched something deep within me, but it also caused me to start to think about the top four challenges I’ll face while up there. Here they are:
1) I’ll be staying up there at night in freezing weather. Although, I’ll have a power supply it will still be very difficult because the wind chills will get rough.
2) I will not be able to be with my family. Living on the bus will have me away from my family for a large number of days. I will see them, but it will be very difficult.
3) I will not have tons of social interaction. There are some days where we are going to ask people to come out, but I will be on top of the bus tons of hours and not around anyone. I am going to post my number so random people can call me and check on me.
4) It will be a battle mentally. Because I’ll spend close 700 hours on this bus it will be very difficult for me. I will have a lot of free time, and plan on writing, reading, and posting videos giving people updates.
I ask that you keep me in your prayers as I attempt to do this to glorify God, and hopefully mobilize people to help us get this bus up and going to serve/reach more people in Atlanta.
Terence
About a month ago now, I had a conversation with my family. Specifically, my wife. She looked at me and asked me a very important question. She asked, “What are you going to do to take a stand for what you believe in?” I responded. “What do you mean?”
It short she was making a bold implication, “If you believe that God wants you to make over lives with this bus, then be willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish that.” Thus we both agreed that I could live on top of the bus 30 nights in a row to bring awareness to several issues, and do whatever it took to help those we are seeking to help (Staying on top of the bus from Dec 14-Jan 14).
Therefore, yesterday I decided to publish the story and let the world know what I am attempting to do so #lovebeyondwalls can restore dignity back to more people through our makeover bus… I have gotten pretty negative responses, but I have also gotten some positive responses. However, what matters most is that I take a stand for our cause, and what God has placed on my heart to do. 30 nights is a long time, but with support I can do it…
My heart is filled with so much compassion for youth who live in single parent households (especially after the tragic events that have occurred recently), and families who struggle day to day in communities that are broken and often times lifeless. I know the makeover bus is not the full answer, but we could use it to start the process of helping/serving those we can touch and help, and mobilizing more compassionate people.
In fact, I overcame a number of odds myself and had a life makeover… I was once a high school dropout, juvenile delinquent, ex-gang member, grew up in a single parent household, was very misguided, and troubled in my teenage years and a portion of my early twenties. However, I beat the odds by God’s grace… (If you’d like to read some of my story, I wrote a book in my younger years called “U-TURN.” It’s the story of how my life was made over and how I turned my life around).
Therefore, this bus means more to me than lights and cameras or bells and whistles… It represents the power of life-change. It symbolizes that lives can change when people take interest in other people by helping them take a stand for their lives. It represents that hope is still near, and that dignity can restore brokenness. I don’t have a perfect story, but God used people to get me to where I am today. Someone helped me so we (#lovebeyondwalls) want to help others.
Honestly, I am asking people to do four specific things… 1) Pray, 2) Share the story, 3) Give so we can reach our goal, and 4) Serve by coming out to help us when we start the process.
I truly solicit your prayers as I attempt to take a stand for homeless people, youth, and broken communities that need more that words… They need makeovers. Pray that God helps us change this bus so we can possibly change lives.
Terence
This year has been really emotional for a number of reasons! Firstly, I think our country has been awakened to the fact that people matter. No matter what color of skin, all people matter and should NOT be treated unfairly, unjustly, or dehumanized.
We’ve seen the homeless epidemic rise, people battle and struggle with job loss, multiple youth lose their lives to police brutality, and poverty continue to place its firm grip tightly around those that are plagued by it.
Second and last, we’ve heard the underlining clarion call for people to unite band together, and take responsibility in their communities. If we have learned nothing else from the events that have taken place this year, we have learned that more people are needed to take a stand for something. Whether it be poverty, violence, employment, etc… more people are needed to stand up and become a bridge for those who are in need.
Right now, #lovebeyondwalls is on a mission to reach communities, those faced with poverty and (young and old) people who want to overcome and make their lives over. Our hearts have not only been broken for the recent killings that have happened in the news, but toward community, youth, and the family structure.
A few months ago, a church gave us a bus to transform into a makeover bus to reach communities and people. It has been a dream of our organization not only to reach people, but to use it as a platform to launch a program to teach people skills needed to function in life. We’d pass along this skills to help people take steps toward having a full life makeover!
In fact, we are so serious about launching this vehicle, we are going to attempt something that’s extremely hard in an effort to bring awareness to the growing need to help families, youth, and those who are homeless in the city. Additionally, we want to mobilize people to get involved in helping us create real solutions. We are going to take a stand to launch something to help make the lives of people over!
Below is a quick clip of what…
This past weekend, one of our church partners began collecting toys for our upcoming “Party for A Cause” one year anniversary! We are using this party as a way to give love away to over 300 children in need in the community where we serve (for Christmas).
LBW Team
This past Saturday, we launched one of our most heartfelt campaigns called “Mobile Makeovers” on indiegogo! Simply put, we are aiming to raise funds to retrofit a 30 passenger bus and turn it into a mobile barbershop, closet, and shower to serve homeless individuals in the city of Atlanta, and under resourced communities.
Mobile Makeovers – Mobile Barbershop, Closet, & Shower from Love Beyond Walls on Vimeo.
In fact, the top five reasons we need your help getting this project off the ground is simple:
1) It will help us reach people who have no hope, and do not have a voice.
2) It will help us to restore dignity back to those who have been dehumanized or marginalized by poverty.
3) It will help us bring agencies, churches, and individuals together to do good in the city and love on people.
4) It will help us see total life change in the lives of those we serve that are ready to make that step!
5) It will help us educate more people about poverty, homelessness, and social ills that plague communities.
Above are real reasons why we feel we should take this bus and do something amazing with it to impact real people experiencing real problems. There are four ways you can get involved:
1) You can pray–pray that God blesses us to complete this project.
2) You can share–share the story of this project.
3) You can give-give toward our 50K goal by clicking the image.
4) You can serve–volunteer to serve to help us retrofit the bus.
Overall, we would just like to give our small token back to society in a major way.
Terence
This coming Saturday will be pretty huge for how we share love in the city! For the firs time, we will disperse to separate serve teams out into the city to serve both downtown and in College Park for Thanksgiving!
Not only will we have an opportunity to share love with those who are homeless, but we will also take love to under resourced families in College Park! We are calling this #loveonthego
LBW Team
Next month, we will celebrate our one year anniversary! It has been an amazing journey with many blessings, challenges, and rewards. We are partnering with Midtown Bridge Church to have our “Christmas Party for a Cause” in Atlantic Station. This will be a time of celebration, but also a time of collecting toys/items for over 300 kids that could use hope through a gift of love! Below is the flyer! You can click the image to RSVP for free (with bringing a wrapped toy).
LBW Team
Received a phone call and picture yesterday from Robert! He yells and says, “It’s cold outside and I’m no longer homeless… I’m headed to church.” We are super happy for this young man who decided to take a step toward change! We are grateful God connected us… He has cleaned up well.
LBW Team
