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Leadership

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Community, Community Service, Diversity, Fighting for the Hopeless, Great Commission, Interview, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Leadership, Life Change, Life-dares, Love Beyond Walls Story, Love In The Trenches, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Movement of Doers, Plant Love, Poverty, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serve, Serving, , Sole Beauti, Struggle, Vision, Volunteerism

10 Reasons I Want To Quit The Bus Campaign

Today is rough. In fact, I am literally exhausted. For the last 23 days/nights, I have lived on top of a bus (because of my own decisions) to raise awareness, and hopefully transform the bus into a #mobilemakeovers unit for underserved communities, and displaced homeless individuals in the city of Atlanta. And now, there are only 7 nights left and I am tired. In all honesty, I want to give up. I want to throw in the towel and pack up my bags and go home. Why? Below are the top ten reasons I want to quit:

1) I have gotten very little sleep. In fact, last night I have only gotten on average 2-4 hours of sleep a night.

2) The weather is a challenge. I have lived in the rain, cold, and wind have been forces to be reckoned with.

3) It is very uncomfortable being in a very confined space. Because of the weather, it has caused me to be in a confined space multiple hours.

4) It is exhausting. When this journey is completed it will be over 700 hours invested in this project, and that is a lot.

5) It has been opposition. There are several challenges that have come up along the way.

6) I have had to face myself. This has forced me to face multiple fears, and even some things I had had to learn about myself.

7) Limited access to normal things. This has stripped away every attachment I have had to things that I was accustomed to…

8) The unknown. You never know what is to come, or anything will come at all.

9) Loss of enthusiasm. Having to deal with many issues can strip away your spunk or get up and go. I have had to overcome this many times.

10) Having to communicate constantly. For the last thirty days, I have documented most experiences that I have had during this period of time, and have shared them publicly. But, you get tired of communicating sometimes.

However, although many of these may be true it is God’s mission, people, and the cause that is keeping me going. This morning, I read a scripture that reminded me that this whole project is greater than me. It is because it’s about the people who have been impacted, and the people we have yet to impact. It’s about sharing the good news…

Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily… (Luke 9:23)”

With that being said, I am going to continue the journey until I complete every single night on top of the bus (of the 30 night journey).

thecountdown

Terence

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Community, Community Service, Diversity, Empowering Youth, Family Values, Fighting for the Hopeless, Great Commission, Homelessness, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Leadership, Life Change, Life-dares, Love Beyond Walls Story, Love In The Trenches, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Movement of Doers, Needs, Plant Love, Poverty, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serving, Sole Beauti, Struggle, Vision, Volunteerism

20 Nights – The 10 Night Countdown

Last night made 20 nights on top of the bus! This has been the most difficult time ever. For the last couple days it has been raining.

However, I am grateful and willing to the distance! I have made up in my mind that I will complete the full thirty nights on the bus, and do all things through the power of Christ (Phil 4:13).

Below is the countdown graphic!

thecountdown

Terence

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, CarryATL, Collaboration, Community, Community Service, Corporate Sponsorships, DRIVES, Education, Family Values, Fighting for the Hopeless, Homelessness, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Leadership, Life Change, Life-dares, Love Beyond Walls Story, Love In The Trenches, Mission, Missions, Movement of Doers, Movies, Organization Update, Partnerships, Passion, Plant Love, Poverty, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serve, Serving, Sole Beauti, Struggle, Thanksgiving, The Local Church, Vision, Volunteerism

Night 19 – Progress update

Last night made 19 nights on top of the bus! So far, we have raised enough to start the first phase of the bus project (barbershop/salon). Below is a snapshot of where we have landed with the bus project.

MMOupdate

 

Terence

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Community, Community Service, Diversity, Education, Empowering Youth, Fighting for the Hopeless, Gospel, Great Commission, Homelessness, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Leadership, Life Change, Life-dares, Love Beyond Walls Story, Love In The Trenches, Love Kits, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Movement of Doers, Needs, Organization Update, Partnerships, Party for a Cause, Plant Love, Poverty, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serve, Serving, , Sociology, Sole Beauti, Story, Transform, Vision, Volunteerism

Night eight – My friend joins me!

Last night was extremely hard (however I have made 8 nights of the 30 nights I am aiming for), but God sent me someone to help. In fact, last year on today I met my friend Robert while sleeping under a bridge in the heart of downtown Atlanta. He was homeless, and we formed a friendship. Today, he is living with someone, and is hoping to join a program that will provide housing.

Earlier this week I spoke with him and he decided come up here and stay on the bus to help me go the distance. This means a lot to me because last year we were under a bridge, and this year he is helping me raise awareness about this bus project.

I am grateful for him and our friendship! He has helped to understand why it is so important for people to have dignity. Below is a picture of my friend on top of the bus.

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Terence

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, College Park, Community, Community Service, DRIVES, Empowering Youth, Family Values, Fighting for the Hopeless, Give Miles Away, Great Commission, Homelessness, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Leadership, Life Change, Life-dares, Love Beyond Walls Story, Love In The Trenches, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Movement of Doers, Needs, Organization Update, Partnerships, Party for a Cause, Passion, Plant Love, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serve, , Sole Beauti, Struggle, The Local Church, Vision, Volunteerism

Seven nights – Hardship & one week

If I could be honest, I have experienced many hardships in the first week of living on top of the bus for 30 days! Below are the top seven hardships:

1) It has rained two nights out of the seven nights. Both nights I got very little sleep.

2) I have received hate mail, and shots taken at me for sleeping on top of the bus.

3) I have spent tons of hours in solitude (which can be a great thing as well)

4) I am sleeping in a very confined space, and it gets tiring being in a cramped up space.

5) It has been very emotional at times knowing that we have a strong desire to serve those who are less fortunate.

6) It has been very cold. Although I am in a warm space, it ca be very difficult when I want to get some fresh air, and the cool air pushes me back into the tent.

7) I still have a long way to go. In fact, I have 23 more nights to live on top of the bus.

Although these hardships are real, I know that God is with me, in me, and leading #lovebeyondwalls to do more good for people who are often times forgotten about.

Terence

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Community Service, Corporate Sponsorships, Empowering Youth, Engagements, Fighting for the Hopeless, Great Commission, Homelessness, Journey, Leadership, Leadership Development, Life-dares, Love Beyond Walls Story, Love In The Trenches, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Needs, Partnerships, Passion, Poverty, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serve, Serving, Sociology, Struggle, Transform, Violence, Volunteerism

Night 4 – How do you survive?

Many people have asked, “How do you survive up there living on top of the bus?” Well, below is a video explaining how…Terence

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blankets & Socks, Campaigns, Collaboration, Community, Community Service, DRIVES, Empowering Youth, Fighting for the Hopeless, Film, Great Commission, Homelessness, LBW Begins, LBW Home, Leadership, Life Change, Life-dares, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Plant Love, Poverty, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Serve, Serving, Sole Beauti, Transform, Vision, Volunteerism

2 Days to before – Mobile Makeovers!

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

Terence Lester
In Be the Church, Blogging Journey, Campaigns, Collaboration, Community, Community Service, Diversity, DRIVES, Give Miles Away, Great Commission, Journey, Leadership, Leadership Development, Life Change, Mission, Missions, Mobile Makeovers, Movement of Doers, Passion, Poverty, Purpose, Raising Awareness, Resources, Serve, Serving, Sole Beauti, Story, Transform, Uncategorized, Volunteerism

Servant Leadership – Mobile Makeovers!

I don’t claim to be the best leader, but I have learned what my favorite leadership style is… It isn’t the most popular leadership style, but it is one that most aligns with how God has made me.

In fact, when you look at the New Testament, you’ll see that Jesus used the same model of leadership. What is it? That’s simple. It is “servant leadership.” It’s leading by serving others. Let me warn you though it’s not popular in a culture that tells you to place yourself first ALL the time.

In fact, if you were to do a google search right now on leadership styles all types of styles would come up that are often used by those leading organizations of all sorts. However, one leadership style you’d be hard pressed to find is servant leadership.

Why? Because servant leadership “is an age-old concept, a term loosely used to suggest that a leader’s primary role is to serve others (Haskett, Forbes)”

This past year, I have led with this style because it places people as the main priority. It’s grassroots, time consuming, and has high involvement, but is totally worth it when you see people touched and impacted…. In fact, it doesn’t always come out perfect, is messy, and has high risks, but the end goal is always to serve others. That’s what I believe God is most pleased with.

This morning, I felt the need to mention servant leadership because this is what we are aiming to display by getting our mobile makeover unit off the ground. Of course our approach is a little untraditional sometimes, but we are aiming to serve others in such a way that #lovebeyondwalls can play a major role in seeing people’s lives transformed. No agenda, no motives, no gimmicks,  just servant leadership.

Some have asked why live on top of a bus for 30 nights straight (and even called me crazy for attempting this)… But it is simple… To help us serve more people as we aim to get our mobile unit off the ground. I care about people, and have a deep desire to see people receive love, hope, and life transformation.

I ask that you keep me/us in your prayers as we embark on our next servant leadership journey. Additionally, think about supporting our cause by “Getting on the bus…” and clicking the image below.

LBW-TakeTheBus4

 

Terence

 

 

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