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Homelessness

Terence Lester
In Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Diversity, Education, Engagements, Fighting for the Hopeless, Give Miles Away, Global, Homelessness, Life Change, Love Beyond Borders, Mission, Missions, Movement of Doers, Overseas, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serve, Sociology, The Local Church, Uncategorized, Vision

Homelessness & 5th Graders

Yesterday was one of the best speaking engagements I’ve ever had! Why? Because I got a chance to speak to a classroom of bright, articulate, intelligent, and hope-filled 5th graders at Cheatham Hill Elementary.

I was invited by an educator who recently learned about LBW (Ms. King), and what we are doing to raise awareness about homelessness and other issues in the city (ATL) and country. Ms. King asked me to share stories with her class that paralleled a non-fiction novel they are reading. The novel contains stories of homelessness, and the stories I’ve experienced (while homeless for three days) bring those non-fiction stories to life.

As I shared, I began to see many student(s) faces light up while they listened intently… Also, I started to see lights go off in their heads.

After I gave my talk, it then dawned on me–homelessness is connected to so many educational topics! One student asked, “Why are families broken…” another “Why are people poor in this country…” yet another “What are we so wasteful in this country…”

These bright students raised questions about sociology, psychology, economics, politics, and public health. I was intrigured and even inspired with how concerned these kids were with people who they don’t know (the under resourced).

I answered a couple of questions, and then this group of students asked if they could help #lovebeyondwalls with a project. It just so happened that #lovebeyondwalls is adopting 30 orphans in India (from the Dalit community) in the month of April.

They are in need of shoes and other small items, and these students vowed to raise the resources needed to supply these orphans with resources. It became a class project instantly.

So not only was my conversation filled with different areas of study, it became a beautiful picture of kids serving kids that do not have anything. Below are the two pictures! One picture are the orphans, and the other picture are the students that will help the children in India through our #lovebeyondborders campaign.

Orphanage2014-03-13 10.12.15-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terence

Terence Lester
In Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Diversity, DRIVES, First Office, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, LBW Home, Life-dares, Mission, Movement of Doers, Needs, Raising Awareness, Resources, Vision

Great News!

Last week, we received a phone stating that “#lovebeyondwalls is approved for the office/storage space…”

Now, (over the next month) before we take a step into the space we have several things to do! Be on the look out for those details and how you can help us move forward to reach more people! Below is a simple picture of our potential spot and first start… It may not be much to many, but it is a great start for us…

Home

Terence

 

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, DRIVES, Give Miles Away, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, Life Change, Life-dares, Mission, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness, Second Homelessness Ribbon, Serve, , Transform, Vision

30 Miles & 7 Leadership Lessons

This morning, I am reflecting on last Saturday. Why? Because not only did #lovebeyondwalls make history (walking the longest distance in GA for homelessness), we got a chance to meet some really cool people along the way. Below are seven lessons I learned while walking thirty miles… Maybe these can apply to you in some way! I share these because I almost did not make it walking 15 hours straight!

2014-03-01 17.04.55-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) In order to persevere, you must keep your mind focused on the main thing — Whenever you set out to do something, staying focused on the bigger picture will help you to make it through… This one of the reasons we made it! We remained focused on the vision God had before us.

2) It’s okay to push the envelop to help others — Taking a risk can move people to respond and get involved. However, sometimes you may have to start alone and trust that God will bring others along to help. One of the reasons #lovebeyondwalls walked was to give those who have no voice a voice.

3) You cannot complete anything great alone — Whenever you set out to do something great, it takes a team. There were thousands supporting #lovebeyondwalls via social media, hundreds supporting along the way, and several others who made the walk with #lovebeyondwalls.

4) You must rest for long journeys — This point is synonymous with life. There is no way around resting. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. If we did not take small breaks, our bodies would have shut down.

5) You must have a plan — You’ve got to have a plan before you attempt to do anything. Knowing, studying, and preparing the route before hand helped my personal trainer and I mentally/physically prepare for the walk.

6) You must be vulnerable — In order to grow, or accomplish anything you’ve got to be open. There was a point where I had to use two brothers as crutches to make the last 9 miles. My knee was shot, and I had to let go, and ask for help to make it.

7) You’ve got to resolve not to stop until you’re finished & trust God — Sometimes you’ve got to have a resolve in your heart and know that this is what God has called you to do. This takes determination, resilience, and faith. If it wasn’t for my faith, I would have given up. But, God strengthened me every step of the way.

Terence

 

Terence Lester
In 90 Days, Campaigns, Collaboration, Diversity, DRIVES, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, LBW Home, Life Change, Life-dares, Mission, Movement of Doers, Passion, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Serve, , Story, The Local Church, Transform, Vision

90 Day Celebration!

Today marks 90 DAYS since we officially launched our site, blog, and went public with #lovebeyondwalls… It has been an amazing ride so far, and we hope to continue to change and impact lives all over the world.

It has been really cool to see our ten year history (severing the community) start to impact so many lives. God deserves all the credit.

Below is a quick update charting our movement over the last 90 DAYS… Of course it includes numbers (which I don’t like sharing), but it at least reveals some sense of measuring. I have chosen to share this because we have had many supporters, donors, and people to sow into to our organization. We want to reveal to our supporters how they are helping us to move and impact lives!

20 FACTS FOR #LOVEBEYONDWALLS  IN 90 DAYS

  1. We have led 3 people to faith.
  2. We have baptized 1 individual.
  3. We have gotten 3 people off the streets.
  4. We have established over 50 relationships with people who are homeless.
  5. We have served over 1K homeless men, women, and children.
  6. We have mobilized over 1K volunteers both local and nationally to get involved with our campaigns.
  7. We have generated over 30 partnerships.
  8. We have raised over 12K socks from local and national supporters to distribute to the homeless community.
  9. We have raised over 1K hygiene products to distribute to the homeless community.
  10. We have partnered with 5 churches to mobilize people.
  11. We have secured 5 drop-off locations.
  12. We have stopped three evictions.
  13. We Have raised over 1K shoes to distribute to the homeless community.
  14. We have had over 15K website visits around our awareness campaigns.
  15. We have grown our social media following by %1000 (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
  16. We have set up our first educational campaign.
  17. We have worked with two major news stations, and 1 radio station.
  18. We have mobilized over 200 students in K-12 schools to get involved in our efforts.
  19. We have partnered with 5 schools.
  20. We have inspired over 100 people locally and nationally to start their own community work.
  21. We have made history with the first 30 mile walk for homelessness in the city of ATL.

 

There are more facts….but I can’t share them all right now. However, I want it to be known many of the numbers above are not to pat ourselves on the back, but to track what God has miraculously done as we have selflessly given ourselves to the work of God.

WE WANT TO THANK EACH OF YOU FOR SUPPORTING!

We hope to continue to have more of an impact in 2014 as we share more of our creative efforts. I ask that you keep our efforts, campaigns, and ideas in your prayers.

90days

Terence

 

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Diversity, DRIVES, Education, Engagements, Give Miles Away, Great Commission, Homelessness, Interview, Journey, LBW Home, Life Change, Life-dares, Mission, Movement of Doers, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Reflective, Resources, Second Homelessness Ribbon, Serve, , Sociology, Vision

Not About Me – 48 Hours Later!

I’m up thinking (5AM)… I cannot believe I made thirty miles walking! In fact, my eyes are sweating (LOL). I don’t think I was strong enough to make a 15 hour walk, but God saw me through it…

Over the last two days, I have gotten many pats on the back, encouraging words & well wishes for walking thirty miles on behalf of homeless people in Atlanta (and this country)… BUT, I don’t think I deserve the credit…

Why? Because without God, and the good people who were around me, I would have not completed the 30 mile walk–literally! The pictures below (among many others) prove my point:
DSC_0065DSC_0073There were many individuals & social media followers who pushed, encouraged, and stood with me the whole way (even people I don’t know). Additionally, there are many people on the #lovebeyondwalls team that helped make the “LOVE RALLY & WALK” possible. Many people on the team even stayed the night with me in the parking lot at Crossroads Church (I’m extremely grateful for them).

DSC_0246

What am I saying? I’m glad you asked. Without God, my wife/family, & a solid support system, #lovebeyondwalls wouldn’t be anything. Of course we would do work, but not without the support from good people that God sends.

So instead of making this blog about me, I would like to make it about the people who made history with me, and the people we advocated for–people who face homelessness by living on the streets, in shelters, or living with loved ones without a residential address. It’s over a million of you! And, If you fit this category, YOU DESERVE A VOICE!

It’s the people that go through life without support that need a voice!  It’s the individuals who have a heart to serve and help others that need the platform. NOT ME. I’m just trying to be obedient to God, and follow Jesus’ model… I know if he were walking the earth, he’d be involved in broken communities and loving on the poor.

Although I cannot name everyone who helped, I’d like to say you know who you are! You rock, you are special, and God is using you to help uplift people who are looked down upon!

In closing, I would like to list four words that I thought about the entire walk that helped me finish:

1) Resilience – This word means to continue despite present difficulties, and to press forward continuously.

2) Love – This word is a verb, and must be shown through demonstration. This word also restores and protects.

3) Teamwork – This word means nothing in this world happens alone… There is always a team needed to achieve great goals.

4) Family – This word helped me to remember that I have a solid support system who believes in me–my wife, kids, and loved ones!

Terence

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blogging Journey, Collaboration, Diversity, DRIVES, Education, Family Values, Give Miles Away, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, LBW Home, Life Change, Life-dares, Mission, Movement of Doers, Project5K, Quotes, Raising Awareness, Second Homelessness Ribbon, Serve, , Story, The Local Church, Uncategorized, Vision

The Countdown Begins (LESS THAN 20 HOURS – Three Things)

Hey,

Below is a simple video explaining three things you can do to while I’m walking:

Terence

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Campaigns, Collaboration, Diversity, DRIVES, Give Miles Away, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, LBW Home, Mission, Movement of Doers, Needs, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Second Homelessness Ribbon, Serve, , Uncategorized, Vision

The Countdown Begins (2 DAYS LEFT STATS)

During my personal research this morning, I was inspired through many of the stats that I came across! Why? Because many of them touched my heart.

In fact, while walking thirty miles, I am going to post many of them on my social media platforms. Below is one stat that really hit close to home…

VFH-Stat 1

Terence

 

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Diversity, DRIVES, Give Miles Away, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, LBW Home, Life Change, Life-dares, Mission, Movement of Doers, Needs, Raising Awareness, Resources, , Uncategorized, Vision

The Countdown Continues (3 DAYS LEFT HELP US PLANT)

Are you like me? Sometimes it’s hard for me to be vulnerable and ask for help... LOL. Not in a bad way, but when it comes to asking for financial support it is tough.

Well, I’m in a place where I can’t be uptight any more. God is definitely doing something with #lovebeyondwalls, and is pushing us to take a leap of faith even more.

Last month, we were introduced to a local building in our area (the picture is below). This building could possibly be the starting place for the #lovebeyondwalls team.

In fact, it will give us a greater opportunity to HELP & SERVE more people. And, if we can do that, more life change can happen! Did you know in less than three months we have mobilized over 1K people to get involved in our campaigns, over 20 businesses, and have grown our social media platform by 1000%… This is not to brag, but to say maybe God is up to something!  

Here is the actual building:

possiblehome

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But, we still need your help… We need your help to secure our first office space. It will take at least 10K to get in this building and operate for one year. What will we do in the building? I’m glad you asked.

1) Base – This would be our base to work from, dream, raise up leaders, and collaborate more to impact the area around it, and the city of ATL.

2) Storage – We would use this place as storage and a place to get more organized to lead more community engagement projects.

3) Train – We would train, teach, and lead people on how to do what we do.

4) Restore – We would use it as a place to counsel, build relationally with people, and work to restore the lives of those we serve.

Our goal is to raise 10K… We have a gofundme page, and a starter amount of 5K. If we could get 200 people to give $25 this would give us half of our budget to secure this place.

Therefore, not only are we walking to raise awareness, we are walking to get planted to HELP more people.

If you would like to give, please visit our page [HERE], and consider making a contribution. I believe that we have the opportunity to change the world around us for God’s glory. I personally ask that you would consider helping us to get planted and established.

Terence

 

 

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, DRIVES, Education, Give Miles Away, Great Commission, Homelessness, Interview, Journey, Life-dares, Mission, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness, Second Homelessness Ribbon, Serve, , , Vision

The Countdown Begins (4 DAYS LEFT STATS)

Over the next 4 days, I’ll be Tweeting, Facebook-ing, and Instagram-ing stats on poverty, homelessness, and hunger! These stats and many more have fueled my attempt to walk #30miles straight. The stat that touched me this morning is found below…

1million

Why focus on education as it relates to homelessness? Because the other day, we had a group of brave students (who are not homeless) do a project on our organization.These students presented on what we stand for, how we mobilize people, our coming campaigns, and encouraged some of the judges to participate. This has encouraged #lovebeyondwalls to launch its Educational Campaigns soon.

2014-02-22 13.19.14

Pray for us as we gear up to walk for 1 million students who may be homeless.

Terence

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