Have we been busy or what!!

My apologies to those who regularly read this blog, I have not really abandonned you, it's just that I haven't been able to find a way to fit 40 hours of work into a 24 hour day, but I'm sure someone will invent a way soon, after all they have now marketted through pharmacies a drug that eliminates the need for 8 hours sleep, yes I know speed has been around a long time, but one didn't use to be able to purchase it from a legitimate pharmacy.

Recently a friend wrote me with a very good question, she asked just how in a country like Australia, it was possible for there to be people who are homeless, pointing out that we have Centrelink? Her question was accompanied by some very simplistic statements, such as the youth who are homeless are mostly those who reject parental authority and that the adults are unable to manage their income either as a result of gambling or alcohol. I thought today, that I would post my reply to her, as I realise now how little people in our society know of the homeless, and how the prevailing assumptions such as those stated by my friend, may be influencing decisions made by authorities.

I realise that nothing may come of this, the likelihood of anyone who has the power to make changes to legislation, etc., actually reading this blog is very slight, but I haven't ignored God's direction for many years, and I see no reason to start doing so now. My friend's query is first, my reply follows afterwards.

Hi Margaret,

I am just wondering how you and Jeze are. And I am wondering if you can explain something to me, please.

I have never personally had anything to do with homeless people; and in theory I am surprised we have any, because if someone can’t find work, Centrelink makes financial provision for them.

I realise this is a very simplistic attitude. Naturally I am aware that some people are homeless because they can’t handle money, spending it in unwise ways like drinking or gambling. And I guess some young people are homeless either because they don’t like restrictions at home, or because they are being abused.

What are the other causes; and with your insights into the problem, how do you think it should be dealt with?

I remember seeing a beautiful sight in New York once. We are always hearing how tough the New York cops are. My husband and I were waiting at 7 a.m. one morning at Penn station for a train. A group of New York cops came and went over to all the homeless people who were sleeping on seats in the station in the waiting area. The cops woke these people quite gently and explained that since the peak hour was coming the seats would be needed for bona fide passengers. Even if homeless person was intoxicated, the cops would still escort them gently out. It was a beautiful thing to see, I was most impressed.

Take care!

Helen


Hi Helen,
Jeze and I have been extremely busy, but otherwise we're well. We've not had the time to update my site, but I doubt either you or Grantley are surprised at how little time is available every day, lol, after all we've only 24 hours to to 40 hours work each day.

Your view about the homeless is very simplistic, but not unusual. You would be surprised how many aren't even aware that there are homeless in Australia, Government officials included. Many believe that Centrelink and the welfare system in general ensure that there is nobody left destitute. However this is far from the truth.

Firstly there are two main groups of homeless and/or street folk. There are the group that still maintain contact with Government and welfare agencies, and then the larger group that has dropped through the cracks, and reject all contact with the day community. The latter are the ones I have most dealings with as I have not been called to help those who are able to maintain contact with some agency or another.

Unfortunately Government reform to our mental health system is one of the major contributors to the homeless problem. I'm not saying that institutions of any kind are ideal, but when the Government decided to close psychiatric institutions, etc., in favour of 'community based homes' they did not do their homework or follow through with their so-called commitment. Whether you or I or those in authority agreed with institutions or not, they were 'home' to a lot of people, many who had known nothing different either because they were so severely disabled or their families were not able to adequately care for them. After all, having a severely disabled infant puts a huge strain on any family, and in the days when there was not much research into disabilities of any kind, it was common for the medical profession to recommend that a severely disabled child be removed from the family, put in an institution, and for the family to get on with it's life, often being recommended to 'forget' the whole experience. Sadly this was the case with my friend Jordan, who I met some years ago. He had a congenital deformity of his face, which combined with his extreme height and breadth, gave him an almost 'monstrous' appearance. He was considered of such low IQ as to be unable to learn, and so was institutionalised virtually from birth. His facial deformities were worsened because unfortunately others urged him to do incredibly unwise things which resulted in a great amount of injury, and he was also prone to being bashed by others who thought his size and appearance meant that he was indeed a monster. However a more gentle man you would be hard pressed to find.

Now when the Government closed these institutions, they set up community homes, supposedly educated the residents of the old institutions in living skills etc, and placed them into these community cottages, each with a lead tenant to assist them and regular visits from community nurses and visitors to assist them with their medications. However, those in authority failed to realise that while a person may have completed the living skills course, they were incapable of retaining the information to the degree necessary for them to manage their own affairs. Also a lot of these people were well advanced in adult years, and had never dealt with having more than a few dollars, carefully doled out by whoever managed their institutions. Suddenly they discovered all this money that was now available in a 'bank account' and they could take as much as they wanted, whenever they wanted. They didn't comprehend though that this money was not inexhaustible and that it had to be budgetted, few were able to reason that they had 14 days living that had to be covered with their fortune. Yes, they were taught how to budget, the necessities, etc., but as I said often they could not retain the information or else they could not apply it. Often they had no concept of how long a fortnight is, just as a child can easily spend all their allowance on 'nothing' and then not understand why it's not just a matter of getting more from the bank. Another threat was that others took advantage of them, sometimes even the lead tenants that were supposed to be helping them. I know in Jordan's case, his first pension payment was stolen by the lead tenant of the house he was in, Jordan was tricked into believing that this man would look after all his money and that the bank would 'steal' it. When Jordan realised he'd been tricked, he tried to make the lead tenant give his money back, unfortunately he was so upset that he was unable to make himself clear, and because the lead tenant called the police and claimed that Jordan had gone beserk and was wrecking the place, Jordan became frightened and fled from that home too. That was the beginning of Jordan living on the streets, and because he thought he was in danger of being gaoled or otherwise punished by authorities, he shunned contact with everyone until finally he was 'protected' by his new street buddy. I first met Jordan at this stage, he was unable to read, but otherwise very happy. He asked me for a Bible, which I provided and I deduced by the fact that he was holding it upside down whilst diligently studying it that he was illiterate. However, contrary to his previous assessment, I discovered that he was indeed teachable, and once his 'protector' realised I had no intention of taking Jordan anywhere he didn't want to go, we became firm friends.

Unfortunately Jordan's story is one that is not uncommon among those to whom I minister. A second cause of homelessness is actually redevelopment. Traditionally, the areas where low cost accommodation used to be available were around St. Kilda and inner city areas (and in other states generally close to the CBD). Now a combination of new 'fire safety regulations' and high land prices, have made these areas attractive to developers. St Kilda has gone from an area where the mentally ill and poor were accepted to being a yuppies paradise. The cheap accommodation places have not been able to meet the new fire safety standards imposed, often requiring investment of well over $1million just to bring them to a minimum safety standard. I don't believe anyone should live in a firetrap, however, many owners of these establishments received as little as $10 per night per room and could not scrape up the necessary cash to fulfill the standards imposed. So they sold their establishments to eager developers, the buildings were razed and in their place arose very high priced flats and apartment buildings. The local shops etc., responded to this new expected upgrade of clientele, and those people who called the old accommodation places home were on the streets with nowhere to go. There are not enough hostels around to cope with this sudden growth in homelessness, and there is usually a requirement to either limit a person's stay to 6 weeks maximum, or in some they are ejected at daybreak every day with their belongings and have to queue and hope they get a place the next night. Because of the competition for the few places, there is commonly violence, and many tire of the cycle and therefore reject society totally.

Thirdly, while Centrelink payments are supposedly available, they are paid into bank accounts, rarely can they get cheques or cash. You're probably aware how much you have to go through to open a bank account, imagine how much harder it is when one does not have an address to speak of, a bank won't recognise 'the hole behind the third dumpster down the laneway on your left' as an address, it must be able to have mail delivered and have utilities connected. Therefore even if the people to whom I minister were willing to make contact with the day community, they would be extremely unlikely to receive Centrelink payments because of lack of identification to open the necessary bank account. Those who do have contact with a hostel are lucky that most can use the hostel to collect their payments and then pocket what isn't used for the accommodation, but that is short term except in a very few exceptional cases. There are also few jobs available to the homeless, even those with good qualifications, and there are many. If one has no permanent address to place on a resume, the likelihood of getting any job is slight, I mean would you hire say someone to work in a bank if he/she had no fixed address, even if they had impeccable references and qualifications??

As regards the young people who are homeless, very few are actually on the streets because of not liking family home restrictions. That is a huge lie perpetuated by people who make assumptions based on what they have heard of maybe a handful of kids. Some of the young people come from families who are themselves homeless, are you aware for instance, that our housing authorities will not allow families with children under the age of 5 (in most cases) to gain emergency accommodation in residences where there are internal stairs, apparently their children may sustain injury by falling down the stairs, and apparently the relevant authorities are too stingy or unaware that there are such things as stairgates/guards, that would block off the stairways. Another problem is if the family consists of say a mother and her son and her daughter. If the accommodation has only two bedrooms, this mother too would be denied the place, because the authorities cannot fathom that two children of opposite sex can actually sleep in the same bedroom without sexually assaulting each other, or that the children can each have a bedroom and the mother sleep in the loungeroom, or even that the mother and daughter can share a room and the son have the other. So you see, even the authorities that are supposed to be assisting people who find themselves in a homeless situation, have so many regulations from which they will not deviate, that they themselves increase the problem. Sometimes the homeless youth of larger homeless families realise that they are an increased burden to an already stretched situation and so that their siblings can benefit from accommodation, they leave the family unit and try to survive on the streets. Then too, some are safer on the streets than they would be in their families. If you haven't already, I suggest you read Fr Chris Riley's book 'Mean Streets, Kind Hearts.' While it is about the Sydney homeless youth problem it is basically the same type of problem I encounter on a nightly basis. Of course Fr Riley is fortunate to have the backing of welfare agencies and so he can provide some sort of accommodation and/or training for these young people, whereas I don't have funding of that type, however, I do have contacts and occasionally I can help someone who requires something.

This email in itself only 'touches' a few of the issues faced by the homeless, but I think you'll begin to realise that the problem is not as simplistic as it is often portrayed by the media, etc. If you want to know anything else, I'll answer what I can. Thanks for asking though, instead of being like so many others and making snap judgements. It's easy to deem someone as being lazy when one has no knowledge of the problems that are faced.

10th February

I haven't been posting for what seems like ages, so much has been happening. At last the pile of laundry has been got through, it's surprising how even the most worn item of clothing can survive laundring. I've been successful in locating some items that needed replacing, and patched some of the others so that at least they can serve as clothing until I can get suitable replacements.

Fortunately it seems that the Bibles that I had separated the pages of are still serviceable, although I doubt they'll survive another dousing. Hopefully that isn't in the near future. It seems that none of the street folk that are in regular contact with me were killed as a result of the flooding, praise God!! There seems to have been considerable relocation however, I've discovered some of the street folk that were regularly in other locales in totally different locations post flooding. I haven't quite caught up with any name changes that have happened, although being that their names are extremely portable items, there's bound to be some. I just have to be careful not to immediately refer to anyone in a new area by the name I knew them by before.

Anyway, there is much to praise God for, as always. Those whose Bibles were not able to be rescued, have been provided with new ones, there have been more of the street folk accepting Jesus as their Saviour and Lord, and the Bible studies are getting back to normal attendance.

God's blessings to all who read this blog.

Southbank, Melbourne CBD, Wednesday morning. Just a bit of excess water, it's a wonder the street folk got through this ordeal as well as they did. God truly was with them! 

My Ministry

The people to whom I’m called to minister are often viewed by society as lazy, welfare cheats, alcoholics, drug addicts; in short, as the ‘dregs of society’. It is true that some are involved in these activities, but the overwhelming majority have completely rejected contact with what I describe as ‘day people’. This is the term I use, theirs is far more explicit, but I choose not to use the language that is necessary to reveal it to you.

Other Christians often view my ministry as a ‘difficult and thankless’ one. As a result, there are few who undertake it. There are many who minister to those in the shelters and short-term accommodation places that are still in existence in the City and suburbs, but the people I know rarely make contact with any of these, their feelings of rejection are so deeply entrenched.

Since they are without a valid address, ‘the hole behind the dumpster up the second lane on the left’ is not counted as an address, most are not receiving any welfare benefits. Centrelink payments are paid into bank accounts, and it is extremely hard to open a bank account these days in normal circumstances, it is impossible without an address.

The night people, again this is my term, are largely an entirely different society in themselves. There is a high prevalence of the mentally ill among them, as well as the addicts. They span a wide range of age groups. The youngest I’ve encountered claimed to be 15, however I doubt that he was more than 12. It’s hard to determine actual age. The night people’s lifestyle tends to harden and age quickly. I don’t know how many of you know of Fr Chris Riley’s ministry among the street kids of Sydney. If you haven’t had the opportunity, then read “Mean Streets, Kind Heart” which details the type of ministry that he does. Mine is a similar ministry.

The night people are often portrayed as violent, who regularly accost people on the streets, demanding money and/or cigarettes, and then use abusive language no matter what the result. It is true that there are many who do this, but what is not often realised, is the fact that these same people are often subject to the same type of verbal and sometimes physical abuse from the day people. I’m not offering this explanation as an excuse, but it sometimes is helpful to realise that they are only mirroring what they themselves have experienced from society.

These people are extremely generous, despite the hardships of their lifestyle. They are also very protective of each other, again, despite their apparent violence. They are capable of detecting the approach of a social worker, student completing his thesis, or do-gooder long before these are able to contact them. I’ve often warned people who have come with me, that they are likely to recall a lot more names than there were people. This is because the names the night people use are extremely portable and disposable, sometimes I’ve referred to someone as say “Bill”, and immediately realised by his expression that it is not his name in this particular location. Luckily, I am usually quick enough to explain it away with something like “I’m so sorry, you remind me so much of Bill, but he’s from Wheeler’s Hill”.

The death rate among these people is very high. Some die from the effects of overdose, or the results of years of abusing alcohol. Some suicide others are victims of violence. I’ve often been criticised for not giving cash, usually being accused of robbing a person of his or her dignity by buying the food that is requested rather than allowing the person to make the purchase. Many wrongly assume that it is because I am worried that they will use the cash for drugs or alcohol, or even on the pokies. The reason I rarely give out cash however, is that the having of this commodity increases the risk of being bashed and robbed, maybe even killed, and I fail to see what dignity is found lying dead in a gutter.

Most of my ministry is involved with providing food and sometimes clothing for these people. However, I have found myself conducting Bible studies with a steadily increasing number of them. Participation is entirely voluntary. Often they are held in a drain or a squat, even in a park. I provide Bibles to anyone who requests them; often it is one of the few things that they actually possess. There is a high incidence of illiteracy among the night people, and so often I find that I’m called to teach some to read and write. I can recall one who became my dearest friend, Jordan, asking for a Bible, which I provided. However, it soon became apparent, largely because he was holding the Bible upside down, that he could not read. This was one of the first times that I was confronted with the problem of illiteracy. I bought a tabloid Bible for him and that was the beginning of his reading and later his ministry. Just before Jordan was killed in a streetfight, while protecting someone else, he was the proud owner of a parallel Bible, such was his eagerness to learn. I was proud to call Jordan my friend and he made an excellent pastor to his companions. Despite their lack of education, I’m constantly amazed at the profound insights many have into Scripture, especially the way they can interpret certain passages and relate them directly to their lifestyle.

Inspite of the perceived ‘thanklessness’ of this type of ministry, I find it extremely rewarding. It is true that at times, I have been so disillusioned that I’ve questioned whether I’m suited to it, but these times are short-lived. I have been fortunate in witnessing quite a few of the night people asking Jesus into their lives, and I have seen some startling transformations. I don’t mean that, suddenly, they re-enter society, because most never do, but I’ve seen attitudes and choices change.

In closing, I’d like to share one of the stories with you. I’ve received permission from this young man to share his story. I first met Azzle three years ago. He came into one of the groups in search of food. At the time he was heavily into the heroin scene. Eventually, he began to trust me enough to tell me of his life. Azzle had been on the streets since he was 10, supporting himself and his growing dependence on drugs by selling his body. When I met him he was about 17, although he looked more like a 60 year old. After a time, he joined the Bible studies and asked for a Bible. A very short time after that, he asked Jesus into his heart and then almost at the same time decided to stop using drugs. I asked him if he wanted me to try and get him into a detox centre and a drug rehabilitation support group, but he refused, saying that Jesus would help him with our group being the only other support. I knew that what he was intending to do, come off drugs after having abused them for so long a time, would be extremely hard and that many had failed even with professional help. Azzle went ‘cold turkey’ and withdrew totally without any other medication. I was amazed that he persisted, but eventually he was ‘free’ of the effects of heroin, and his body began to recover to a certain extent. Azzle then began coming around with Jordan and me. One time I was visiting a friend who owned a bakery, and Azzle appeared very interested in the workings there. My friend asked if he’d be interested in a job as a ‘roll boy’. I was hesitant at first because Azzle’s previous lifestyle choices meant that he could be HIV positive, and if he were, then he wouldn’t have been able to be easily employed in the food industry. But he was eager to get the job, so I arranged for him to have the necessary blood tests, fully expecting that the results would reveal that he was HIV positive. I was very surprised when the results came back negative, and so was the doctor who had done them. He was re-tested, and again they came back negative. Azzle started work the next day. But the day after he didn’t show up, and the baker was angry and contacted me. I suspected I knew the reason, but asked my friend to listen to what Azzle told him and treat him with respect, which he agreed to do. I then went and found Azzle and told him that the baker wanted to talk to him, that he was worried when he didn’t show up for work. I also told him that I knew why he hadn’t shown up and that I was sorry he hadn’t felt able to ask for what he needed. When Azzle did go back to the bakery, my friend was surprised to find that the reason for the no-show was that Azzle had been wearing his only set of clothes on the first day, and didn’t have anything to wear on the second. He had asked for an advance on his pay, but my friend had assumed that he wanted to use it up at the pub and refused. Azzle was too ashamed to reveal that he wanted it to get more clothes, so that he could get the ones he was wearing cleaned.

My friend immediately organised a clean uniform for Azzle, as well as offering him a room in the unused flat upstairs. He also arranged for the uniforms to be cleaned. Azzle has proved to be a very reliable worker, and this year proudly told me that there were only two apprenticeships on offer at the bakery and that his boss had given one to him. Azzle still regularly attends the Bible studies, and readily testifies as to how good Jesus has been to him.

Yes, my ministry can seem to be thankless and at times hopeless. But then someone like Azzle comes along, and the negatives are forgotten. Not all the transformations are as marked as Azzle’s, but every one is wonderful.

6th February

Today's entry will be short, I've also posted an article on my ministry. This particular article originated when I delivered a short talk about the type of ministry I was called to, at Tabor Bible College last year.

Jeze and I only went out for a short while last night. When we encountered the first of the street folk, we offloaded what we had brought with us, confident that it would be shared with the others. As I've mentionned before, there is a marvellous sense of community among these people, something that is often lacking in the day community.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading about my ministry. God bless all of you.

4th February

Jeze and I only ventured out for a short while tonight, we were out til about 9am on Friday morning, which is the reason why I didn't make a post last night, but am making two now. I'm going to need to find some dry clothes for the street folk, particularly in smaller sizes, so that I can then launder some of the clothes that are able to survive being washed and return them to their owners. The next couple of days are going to be extremely busy for me, I hope the weather remains fine enough so that I hang the washed clothing out to dry.

We're also going to try to dry out some of the Bibles and other books that haven't been too badly water damaged. That too will be a lengthy process, as the thin paper has to be separated page by page and kept separate whilst it's drying. If this isn't done, then the pages will be inseparable when they begin the drying process. So tonight was a process of exchanging dry, clean things, for wet belongings, marking each person's belongings so that they could be returned when the cleaning and drying process is completed.

I have to go now, another load has completed the cycle in my washing machine, and for tonight I'll hang the lighter stuff inside my unit, and later when I do the heavier items, I will be venturing outside to hang them on the line. With any luck a bit of wind will spring up, even without the sun being up, air movement will begin the drying process.

God's blessings to you all.

3rd February

Cleaning up the mess left by the rainstorm Melbourne and its suburbs endured over the past 2 days is going to take some time. There are houses where power still hasn't been restored, and there are fallen trees and debris left by the sudden flooding everywhere. Embankments too have collapsed, blocking footpaths and making travelling along footpaths, particularly on my scooter, extremely difficult, often the sticky mud is too deep for me to get through causing the motor on my scooter to cut out.

For those without homes, though, the lack of electricity means little. Some have lost what little they treasured. I've promised to do what I can to help replace what was lost. I have some clean dry clothing, and will visit opportunity shops over the next few days in an attempt to get more. I know that many of you will not understand the next loss, but some of those who have become Christians have also either had their Bibles washed away, having been caught in the drains, or severely water damaged. Luckily I have a good supply of Bibles at my home and should be able to replace each one that is needed. To try to explain my comment that some of you may not understand this need, perhaps saying that a Bible should be the last thing replaced, those of the street folk who know Christ depend on reading their Bibles every day, as do many other Christians, myself included. Many Christians use their daily Bible time and meditation to commune with God, and it is as much a part of daily life as breathing. Hence the need to replace the missing and damaged Bibles.

Many of you would be surprised at the sense of community among the street folk and the homeless, I am aware that there are some in the day community who only know of the violence so prevalent on the streets. Yes there is violence, what many don't realise is that violence is a recognised form of communication, and while I don't condone violence in any form, I understand why it is so. But I believe many of you reading this would be surprised at the compassion that is found among the street folk. The frail man, with barely enough clothing to keep himself warm, passing his threadbare blanket to another who is wet and shivering. A young girl who is helping an older man gather together what is left of his memories, tied up in plastic bags.

I know many of the day community view belongings of the street folk as just rubbish, there have been many occasions on current affairs programmes where a homeless person sets up residence in a section of a neighbourhood that is deemed 'inconvenient' to the acceptable residents. They point to the pile of tied up plastic bags, filled with 'rubbish', and complain that they are an 'eyesore'. I feel enormous compassion for these street folk, firstly I admire their courage , to actually set up residence in an area they would normally go out of their way to avoid. Secondly, what others class as 'rubbish' are actually the remnants of what remains of their memories. Yes, there may be an odour, but has anybody ever thought where they are meant to wash and if there are facilities to do that, what point is there when they don't have clean clothes to change into?? Another criticism is that they toilet in the streets. Have you ever tried to find an unlocked public toilet between the hours of say, 6pm and 7am? I can tell you from personal experience, it is very rare, yes there are some in 24 hour stores, and takeaway chains, but staff actively prevent the streetfolk from making use of them. Have any of you who criticise the street folks' toilet habits ever tried not to go to the toilet between the hours of 6am and 7pm? Try it one day, and then think of the street people, who are active at night because it is often the only way they can keep warm. It's far better to sleep when the sun is up when you only have one blanket at the most to provide warmth.

My last two posts may be seen as 'whinging', however, it distresses me the way that the day community lacks understanding for the plight of the homeless, and jumps to judgement, something only God is equipped to do, because only He is in possession of all the facts. Yet I know there is misunderstanding on both sides, the street folk too go to great lengths to avoid contact with the day community, and when they do they often use 'abusive' language. Yes there are faults in both communities, I pray that one day there may be a breakthrough, and that both communities, the day and the street will learn to both tolerate and respect each others rights. May God bless each of you.

The Red Rattler recharging 

2nd February

It's been bucketting rain all day and into the night, far too heavy to even attempt going out on the scooter, I can waterproof the control pad with plastic bags to a certain extent, but horizontal rain can get through anything. I at least have four walls with a reasonable roof above me in which to shelter, the street folk will be having difficulty finding somewhere dry. Most prefer sheltering in drains, but there will be no shelter found in them tonight, the rain is widespread, affecting most suburbs of Melbourne. Hopefully there won't be too many caught and unable to escape the torrent flowing through them.

Last night, too was a wet one, I didn't see many of the street folk at all during the short period I was out. Today I'm busy baking some filled rolls to take out to them after I've been to my doctor's. I'll be around earlier than normal, but I'm sure the street folk won't mind, they'll find me in any case. The rain is a blessing for farmers and water storage, but it increases the difficulties faced in the everyday lives of the street folk.

The homeless among them who are sheltering in their cars face even more difficulties, there are a few with children, and keeping young children confined in a relatively small space tests the patience of even the most loving parent/s. When I think of the ones who have been denied emergency accommodation because they either have too many children to live in a 2 bedroom house (apparently the authorities can't accept the fact that boys and girls can actually share the same bedroom, if the age difference is too wide, then the children can have the bedrooms and the adult/s can sleep in the lounge); or there are internal stairs and it is unsafe to allow children under 5 to live there (have they never heard of stair gates?). So, instead of these families having decent accommodation they are forced to live on the streets, if they're lucky they have their cars for shelter of sorts, if not, then they join the other homeless, searching for what little is available in the way of squats. I learnt long ago that authorities cannot be reasonned with, rules are rules, no matter what.

Well I guess I've vented enough for now, til tomorrow. God bless.

Cool! eh? 

For some time now, I've been concerned that Jeze might get something in her eyes while we're on the scooter, mine are protected by my glasses and sunglasses, but Jeze was completely unprotected. At times she would attempt to get her head in a protected place, and although the scooter is in no way a speed machine, she would rub her eyes with her paw after we stopped.

So when I had the opportunity I bought a pair of doggles for her, tastefully co-ordinating them with our scooter, and despite her initial attempts to remove them after I managed to fit them properly, once she was outside on a very glary day, and riding around on the scooter, I think she actually began to appreciate their advantages. Now all she needs is a flight helmet and a long flowing scarf!!!



Of course, even though our ministry involves little exposure to sunlight, the doggles will still offer protection from wind blowing things into her eyes. Tonight will be our first run with them on, I'm sure she will attract even more attention from the street folk than normal, I just hope there aren't too many treats been saved for her, as now that I find it hard to walk, even with the aid of my frame, she is starting to put on quite a bit of weight, as I am too.

It was relatively quiet for the short time we were out on our rounds last night, of course there were the usual wounds that needed to be attended to, there is a high incidence of 'cutting'. One sufferer of this tragic condition confided in me that she was attempting to let 'the bad out' by cutting herself. Lately she has been fairly good at resisting the urge to cut herself, I don't know whether it is because on the last two occasions, she has managed to nick an artery, or whether she has found another way to deal with her pain. I wish she would begin to rely on Our Lord more, to comfort her when memories of her past flood her thoughts, and there are a number of her friends on the street, and myself as well, who are praying that she will be shown another way to deal with her pain. It's so tragic to see this attractive young woman, whose arms, body and legs are deeply scarred. Her case is not unusual in the street community however, there is so much emotional tragedy that has been suffered, both by the young and the old. Fortunately there are a growing number who have accepted Jesus into their hearts and lives.

Of course, becoming a Christian will not automatically cure their pain, nor will it necessarily lead to a change in their environment or lifestyle. What I have noticed is, that those who are beginning to know Jesus experience a remarkable change of attitude to the frustrations of everyday living, and this change in attitude in turn attracts more of the street folk who become interested in how this can be.

Well, it's time we were off. Til tomorrow. God bless!

Let Us Introduce Ourselves

Greetings Everyone,
Let me introduce my companion and co-minister Jeze (she's the one with darker hair). Jeze is a Schipperke (Belgian Barge Dog) and we adopted each other about 2 years ago now. My name is Margaret, and I have difficulty walking because of limited co-ordination in my right side. Unfortunately I don't have a barge, but she happily co-pilots my scooter, and if I forget to disengage the key whilst we're stopped chatting to someone, Jeze is just as likely to decide it's time to go and presses the throttle. God has blessed us with an outdoor ministry, I say I am fortunate because I am unable to be in crowded rooms etc., I cannot tolerate too much background noise.

Jeze is a favourite both on the streets, and at our Church (Camberwell Baptist) where we are both members. We've been called to minister amongst folk who have all but abandonned normal society, they shun contact with other welfare outlets. Jeze and I offer a listening ear, what food and clothing we can provide, basic first aid when needed, and to those who wish, regular Bible studies and worship meetings. To each of the street folk who accept Jesus as their Savior we provide a Bible.

I am also a book distributor for New Life Mission and this enables me to give out other books free of charge. You can view the books available at www.bjnewlife.org
If any of you who are reading this blog would care to receive free copies of any of these books, please email me. A donation to help with postage of large orders or orders from outside Australia would be appreciated, however it is not necessary.

Heading off with co-pilot in position 

A gift from a talented friend 

Constant Companions 

A Christmas gift for Jeze from her friends