Spring 2007 in Denver Colorado I volunteered at a homeless rehabilitation center. I arrived early one day and ate lunch with the homeless and I met a man named Lester. Lester was your typical homeless man and his most prominent feature was that he had only one tooth in his mouth. Lester told me what has been happening in his life as we sat and ate our lunch. He had shared with me that a year prior, his wife, mother, and sister had all passed away in a car accident in New Orleans. The accident left him devestated. He lost his job and all of his money paying for the funerals. His only family left was his daughter who lived in Denver. Lester found his way to Denver and ended up on the streets. His own daughter did not have room for him or the finacial stability to care for him and so Lester fended for himself on the streets. Lester told me he wanted his life to be over by the end of the day. I began to panic and asked if I could pray for him. I had no idea what I could pray to spare this mans dignity so I asked him for his requests. He had told me that all he wanted to do was see his daughter one more time and if he didnt see her before the end of the day he was going to end his life. I prayed that God would bring this man a miracle and he would be able to see his daughter. Lester got up and threw his food away and went back to his room and I started my volunteer work. About a half hour later Lester came looking for me. When he found me he had the biggest, most beautiful one tooth smile I have ever seen in my life to this date. He began to cry and said his daughter had wrote him a letter saying she had missed him and wanted to reconcile thier relationship. Most importantly inside the letter was a bus pass that would enable Lester to visit his daughter whenver he wanted!
I believe that God was watching after Lester. I belive God offered a man who was broken at the center hope. I believe that God answered my prayer fo Lester and most importantly God will answer prayers! I have no idea where Lester is today but I believe he is putting his faith in our God of grace. This experience has inspired me to spread the hope found in Christ and trust that God is changing lives. I believe that while in South Africa God is going to be impacting lives and transforming people through our team in the same way Lester has experienced and it excites me. I cant wait to share with you all that happens durring and after our trip!
