A Sunday Night @ The Palm House

Last night I showed up to lend a hand at The Palm House.  On Sunday nights we feed the neighbors.  I'm not usually involved in this but they needed help and called me in.  They've been having up to 40 people.  Last night was a little slow.  We only had 11 come by but what I experienced was Community.  We had 7 kids ranging in age from 5-16 years old all sitting at one table together (the kid table!) having a ball eating hamburgers/hot dogs and chowing cookies.  But it was the other table that held me in fascination.

A man came in that had never been there before.  He told us he was homeless and had been living in an abandoned house for the last two years.  He is disabled from an accident from which he's awaiting yet another surgery.  He can't go through with the surgery until he has a place to recuperate in - that's when the cool stuff began to happen.  I watched a most amazing woman sit with him and go through the mound of paperwork he brought in from his car in an effort to try to make some sense of the red tape he was facing.  She assured him she would make some phone calls to see if she could get him some assistance.  That's when he said, "I really appreciate it.  I'm a black man, ya know.  Nobody listens to me.  They just want to scam me."  So here he is handing over his problem to a white woman and trusting her to find a way.  And now he has an advocate.  But it didn't stop there.  After she got up two of the men who help sat with him and began to listen.  Another guy who comes regularly for the meal on Sundays got up and quietly left in the midst of this conversation.  About 10 minutes later he came back in with a piece of paper he had written 4 or 5 names and phone numbers on.  He went over him, leaned in and explained who they were and how they could help him.  Then he sat down and they all talked for awhile longer.  There they were - four men listening to one who has felt unheard.  Amazing.

Before

After

This's what The Palm House is all about.  This is what our vision was for this house - that it would be a place where stories were told and people were heard.  That a community would form and restoration and healing would become commonplace.  We prayed over our new friend and after he left we prayed once again over the house, asking God to continue what He has begun there.  It was a really cool night.  I left there more blessed than when I arrived.