My Sunday morning view... just a tad different than people living on the streets. Friend's invited me to speak to their business retreat, held at a beautiful resort in Indian Wells, CA. Woke up early Sunday morning and snapped this photo out the window before heading down to the convention hall. We arrived in time for dinner Saturday night and needed to leave shortly after speaking Sunday morning... even still... thought how wonderful a gift to share in the wealth of the resort and have the opportunity to tell the story of Jackets for Jesus to so many people who live and work in Los Angeles but may have never heard some of the good things happening in the darkness. While speaking, looking into the faces of people who'd paid a great deal in time, money and personal sacrifice to experience the weekend- I saw the same look I see each Sunday night in the eyes of men and women waiting in line for a meal, a jacket, a friendly word... hope. We're united in our hunger for hope... we all want to believe something more is out there... that Someone cares... Walking the line Sunday night, shaking hands with friends, hugging and greeting people I'd missed the week before, I wished every person I'd spent the morning with could close their day with us on the streets. There's a powerful message of unity when the walls that separate wealth and poverty are obliterated by friendship. A greater message is preached in love on Sunday nights than I have the ability to convey... even while lifting up God's Word. Telling friends on the street about the "fancy" resort I'd been in the night before- it occurred to me how much fun it'd be to schedule a weekend retreat for the homeless in Indian Wells. Great food, speakers, time at the pool, incredible rooms... what fun we'd have! I'd invite some of my friends who own businesses to tell their stories of inspiration. It might be a step in the right direction away from the darkness. I know each time they invite me a small part of my heart longs to be able to spend a week or two at the resort!

Our stories are important. When we're reminded we're not the only one who ever faced challenges, we find unity. It's a part of the healing message of the church- we use to call them testimonies. It's part of the healing message of every 12 step group. It's part of every success and every failure as well... our stories unite us. A friend in line told me his story Sunday night. Abandoned as an infant into an orphanage in a southern state... after eight years put into one foster home, than another... with a bitterness that still cut to the quick, he told me how he could never be on a little league or soccer team because no one at the orphanage had time to take them or pick them up. Then in HS when he finally got involved how no one from foster care sat in the stands to watch, stood to cheer when he was shining... how he gave up... how he ended up on the streets. Looking into my eyes with an intensity that was difficult to embrace, he said: "I could come and talk to the kids in that orphanage you guys have in Mexico... I might not be a success story, but I know how they feel... I've been where they're at... I think I could do something good." It's what we all want to do- something good for God with our lives. We're weak and we fail horribly all too often. This friend wasn't trying to hide his failures- he was just reminding me that I don't know how the kids feel... I grew up in a family... empowered... I'd spent Saturday night in luxury. Never thought of the two works: Jackets for Jesus and Siempre Para Los Ninos being uniquely intertwined... my friend's story reminded me that it's the same work - His Work -loving people in poverty. Couldn't help but want to take this guy down into Mexico with me and let him spend the day with Siempre's kids. It may be where he'd begin to find healing for his pain and find his first steps toward a real home away from the streets. Our stories, different as they are, empower us, unify us. Unity is power.

"She's turning violent Eric... please pray for her." Pointing at an older woman in line, once her friend, now confused, angry and isolated... she said: "They've changed her medication and she's not the same person anymore. I'm afraid of her. Worried about her. Please keep her in your prayers." Her face has stuck with me this week. She's the face of too many in our nation who have poverty as their only retirement plan. Health challenges having robbed them of their vitality, youth long gone, what little they depended on... quicly depleted... the elderly stand in our line and wait... for the pain to end, the fear to recede, the anger to slip away... for death. We can do so much better as a church, a nation, a people. Unity is power. When I see an older woman- much older than me -fight for survival in our line, it seems that someone should rescue her... no one does... she'll pray we return next Sunday night... that she'll make it through the week... health declining, medication changed, no one to help her through it all. Don't know what you're retirement plan is... if you have family who care... know that you're invited to share our work on the streets. We feel a little like family when we're together and it makes be a whole lot less afraid of what might lay before me in the years to come knowing that I'm aging with some of the best people in our nation- going to the heart of our city in love. Praying that we can reach out to those slipping through the cracks of our social fabric and let them know they're not alone. Unity is power.

You're invited to join us on the streets this Sunday night. We'll do our best to make a place for you in the van. So many are waiting to share your story of hope. You're needed, now, more than ever.

for changing lives,

Eric M. Denton