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Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, DRIVES, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, Life-dares, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness, , Vision

The Countdown Begins (DAY 33 STRUGGLE)

Yesterday was my hardest day! I left them gym, and thought to myself is this even possible? “Can I really lose 25 more lbs…?”

My old schoolmate Cooper suggested, “You can if you keep going…” Cooper is a new personal trainer who decided to train me after my last trainer dropped out due to schedule conflicts.

Now I’m 33 DAYS out and wonder if this is possible… I literally had to reflect on Jesus’ life when he was in the “Garden of Gethsemane…” His disciples were sleep, and he was thinking about what was about to happen to his life… Jesus prays, and asks God to take the cup, but ended up saying an incredible and encouraging statement in the face of a Roman scourging and crucifixion… Jesus says,

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42, NIV).”

Jesus did two things that are encouraging in the midst of tension! Firstly, he acknowledged the “cup” or hardship. Jesus had a healthy reality of what was before him, which gave him the proper strength to ask God for help…Having this perspective helps one to not live in denial about what has to be faced.

Secondly, Jesus asked. Although this did not remove the “cup” Jesus’ journey, Jesus asked. Sometimes asking helps us to accept and weigh what we are being called to do… Jesus gained strength from what he felt God was calling him to do.

I believe God is calling #lovebeyondwalls to raise awareness about homelessness on this daring journey! In fact, we will need God’s strength to continue. Today, I am reflecting on this scripture…

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13, NIV).

Below is a short video before we release the second campaign…

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Terence

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blankets & Socks, Blogging Journey, Collaboration, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, Life-dares, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness, , Uncategorized, Vision

The Countdown Begins (DAY 34 FOR THE VOICELESS)

Below is a picture of me and my brother (Rahkeem)… These reason why I post this picture is because I truly believe in this young man. Currently, he lives under the bridge with his mother, and is only 19 years old. I make it my goal to spend time with him once or twice a week.

Why? Because I am building a relationship with him, and hope to grow #lovebeyondwalls enough to remove him from the streets. Yesterday, he read a poem/rap to me that he wrote for us… It went something like this, “Been struggle since I was thirteen seeing homelessness for me…”

He is only a kid, and still has so much future ahead of him! However, he is voiceless! This must end… I am going to sacrifice my life a little this year to make sure that people like Rahkeem and others get help, or at least be heard.

There are three ways we are planning on helping this young man, and his wife. I ask that you keep us in your prayers as we make preparations to do so in months to come. I consider this young man not only a friend, but a younger brother that needs a “hand up” not a “hand out…”

2014-01-25 10.28.09-1Terence

 

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, DRIVES, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, Life-dares, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness,

The Countdown Begins (DAYS 36&35 Staying The Course)

Yesterday, I almost cracked and gave up on my weight loss journey…

It is so hard to stay disciplined, but I have made a resolve in my heart to keep going. Why? I received a phone call from one of my homeless friends (Rahkeem) yesterday. He is a 19 year old that stays under the bridge in tent city…

He reached out to say thank you for being a friend (and keeping our word)… talk about tears forming…

It was inspiring and moving to me that he considers me a friend, and trusts our team. He went on to say that everybody under the bridge appreciates #lovebeyondwalls having people help them while they are in transition. That alone is reason enough for me to keeping going, stay the course, and share more of what I have learned from going homeless around Christmas.

It is my prayer that God keeps me while on this journey! So far, I have lost 10lbs… I need you to pray for #lovebeyondwalls, and the second awareness campaign that I will release next week. 35 more days to go!

35daysTerence

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, DRIVES, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, Life-dares, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness,

The Countdown Begins (DAY 39 BIG PICTURE)

Today is day 11 of my training and healthy eating! Today kicked my butt, but I am determined to lose these 30+ pounds to raise awareness about homelessness. When days get rough like this, I have to force myself to think about the big picture! #lovebeyondwalls cannot wait to release the second campaign! As a matter of fact, this quote came to me while working out,

“Whenever you feel yourself becoming distracted, remind yourself of why your started out in the first place. Never allow second and third things replace the main things!”

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Terence

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blankets & Socks, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Diversity, Homelessness, Journey, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness, Serve,

Love Beyond Walls Story (Pt 1)

Below is a piece of the LBW’s story and how it started.

-LBW Team

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Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Campaigns, Homelessness, Journey, Life-dares, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness

The Countdown Begins (DAY 42 PERSEVERE)

Today my inspiration to continue my weight loss journey for the next #lovebeyondwalls‘ campaign comes from a Duracell commercial. It briefly highlights the story of Derrick Coleman. If you have not seen it, allow it to push you to persevere!

Terence

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Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blankets & Socks, Campaigns, Collaboration, Homelessness, Journey, Life-dares, Movement of Doers, Raising Awareness, Serve, , Uncategorized

The Countdown Begins (DAYS 44&43 WE NEED A SPACE)!

Hey everyone,

Today is the day after Martin Luther King’s Birthday, and I am reflecting on many things… Firstly, I am reflecting on Martin Luther King’s legacy, and my top three favorite quotes spoken by King… Here are those three:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.”

These quotes are not only inspirational. They speak to the core of who I am… I believe life should be about God’s love, faith, justice, community, and relationships.

Second and last, I am reflecting on how tough this journey has been trying to lose weight and prepare myself for the next life-daring campaign to raise awareness. Also, #lovebeyondwalls is growing fast. Although we have many supporters, it has been a challenge trying to manage it all with a few. In fact, we need admins, social media managers, people to pick up donations, speakers for campaigns at schools, love team leaders to lead people out in the streets, and other roles to expand the vision [if this is you, let’s meet to see if you’d fit on our team… contact me [HERE].

Most importantly, #lovebeyondwalls needs a space. We are looking to secure an old office in the back of a church, a storage space we could fix up, or somewhere we can plant in for a year and build more (800-1200 square feet). Currently, we are a mobile organization with many working pieces. Why are we looking to plant and build? Simple. We have outgrown our home! Our garage in my home is no longer a place to store stuff. We have gotten so many donations in the last 30 days that our garage is filled to capacity (we can’t park our cars in it anymore).

If you are reading this, I need you to pray… Pray that we find a generous person, church, or business to donate an office space (in ATL), and pray that God keeps me strong while losing weight for our next big social campaign. Can’t wait to share next week!!!!!!

Why do I care so much? Because when I go out and saw that many of my friends lost everything when the city cleaned up under the bridge, it hurts… Below is a picture of the area without tents after G.D.O.T cleaned the area. I care because I would like to collaborate with people, organizations, and other agencies to sit around the table and collectively come up with solutions. Real solutions!

Many of my friends have to start over from scratch. Also, the video will give you a story to connect with and explain what happened… Could you imagine having a few things one day, and losing everything the next? Well, if you have questions… That’s why I am going forward with #lovebeyondwalls and our next campaign.

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Terence

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blankets & Socks, Collaboration, Diversity, Education, Engagements, Homelessness, Journey, Project5K, Serve

The Countdown Begins (Day 45 BUSY WEEK)

We have a pretty busy week this week…

On Thursday, we will be partnering with Mundy’s Mill Middle School (interviewing with 40+ students about homelessness, and discussing ways in which we can combat it).

On Saturday, we will be passing out socks again from 8AM-9AM (in many locations downtown Atlanta), and afterwards we will be partnering with Area 1 Young Men’s Conference at South Cobb High School (to speak with 200+ young men about DREAMS & making wise decisions).

On top of these, I am still on my 50 day journey. It’s been five days of eating healthy, and drinking water. Continue to pray for my strength, and #lovebeyondwalls. We are making small steps forward.

QUOTE123

Terence

Terence Lester
In 50 Day Count Down, Blogging Journey, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serve,

The Countdown Begins (Day 46 ONE MONTH UPDATE)

Today we celebrate what God has done and will continue to do! We have a different scorecard… We don’t count how many people sit in seats, or dollars & budgets… We measure the feet we mobilize on the ground loving people with the love of God. Below is our one month update for #lovebeyondwalls

TerenceUpdate14

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