What a wonderful season we have had for Room In The Inn. Our class served for three Saturday nights and assisted one other class on another night. We have cooked food, made lunches, set up beds, gone without sleep, watched movies, given out clothes and Bibles and met some interesting new friends.
Some observations -
More of the men have never been homeless before, have recently lost their jobs and are traveling across the country trying to find work.
This was the coldest winter we have had in many years and a warm bed seems like very little to ask.
We had some repeat guests and all who were here were profoundly thankful for the help they received.
Room in the Inn celebrated their 25th anniversary this year with a new building, but the same Godly intent to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Room In The Inn partners with more than 170 local church congregations in the Nashville area to provide shelter for more than 1200 homeless individuals from November to March.
Here's a comment from Charlie Stroebel, founder of Room In The Inn, on what the homeless need.
“They need everything I need—everything you need. Of course, there’s Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs starting with the fundamental things like food, clothing, shelter and basic personal things. And then they need education, social support, recreation, employment and those things on the next level. But then Maslow talks about the highest level of need is the need to find meaning in life and purpose in living—to resolve the riddles and mysteries of our world and our life. I don’t have to understand them anymore than I need to understand myself. If I understand what drives me and what are the obstacles and roadblocks in my own life, then it’s easy to understand the homeless. We’re not that different.”
Thank you to all of you for what you have done to show God's love.
