every summer, friends from our church get together every few weeks in a downtown park to grill dogs and burgers, snack on chips and desserts, and play soccer or frisbee. we drive around the hangout spots downtown to invite local lawrencians and the homeless to join us in a "family" cookout. we started doing this 3 years ago after making friends with a couple that was homeless and hearing them describe how it feels to be looked down on, or worse, overlooked; to not have friends, or even friendly conversation; and to never be touched. my good friends casey, jon and i decided we may not be able to do much to thwart poverty and hunger, but we could at least be friendly and welcoming to people who don't often feel welcomed among friends. hence, the cookouts. here's a group of us last saturday. even though it was stinking hot, we had a good time!
4 comments:
Let me know if you ever run into my homeless Uncle Jerry Nyhoff in your times in Lawrence. He may ask you for a ride somewhere...Feel free to say no.
seriously?! i've never heard about your homeless uncle jerry. i'll keep my eyes open for him!
It is sad, but he choses to live that lifestyle. He has become a very hateful person, not like the uncle I knew growing up. It is very sad.
i'm sorry. lawrence has a unique brand of homeless people...unlike my experiences in KC. it seems a lot of people here CHOOSE to stay homeless, not all, but quite a few.
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