My phone call with ‘T’

If you’ve been following along on my blog, you might recall me writing about my friend, T.  If you haven’t, or you need a refresher, here’s a quick reminder: (everyday miracles)

It’s been a YEAR since that last post (WoW), and this phone call was the perfect time to UPDATE…

T is was homeless.  He’s an alcoholic.  I’ve known him since I moved to Israel 2 1/2 years ago, and it’s been an emotional rollercoaster ride with him since that first day.  He’s been in and out of rehabs at least 4 times since then, and that is only in the short time I’ve known him.

Last year at this time he was in rehab and doing well…. but it ended soon enough.  A few months later he was out and living back on the streets of Tel Aviv.

Fast forward to about 4 months ago, when he had pretty much hit rock bottom (again), and was rescued by the Grace of God once more.  A dentist friend had pulled him in, gave him a place to stay, and found him a job on a kibbutz in the north.

And I’m so happy to say that T went.

When I got back to Israel after my furlough in the states, I had 4 voicemail messages waiting from him. I was a bit anxious to hear the news… was he back on the streets? was he ok?

So, as I called him this morning to check up on him, I wasn’t sure what I would find… but I found him to be HAPPY! (His exact word, which I have never heard him use before.)  He wasn’t aware that I had been in the States, so he said he was worried about me, not answering my phone

He is working, paying rent for his place on the kibbutz, reading his Bible (he made sure I knew that it was sitting right beside him during our conversation) and taking life one day at a time.

I know I’ve said it before a FEW times, but I’ll say it again and again…. this is what it’s all about! This is why we are ALL called to a life of loving and giving to others.  LIVES RADICALLY CHANGED!

One day at a time…..

Everyday Miracles…an update on ‘T’

Some time ago (last August, actually) I wrote about my homeless friend, T, and his battle with alcoholism and life in general.  (Click here for the re-cap)  Many of you had been praying for him and his journey into rehab.  Well, it didn’t quite work out back then.  He made excuses, went down, and came right back to the streets.  He didn’t come around as often, and I’m sure it was due to disappointment he had in himself….

That was last year, and no one had seen or heard from him in months.

The past month or so T has really been on my ❤ like crazy.  I asked around to see if anyone knew anything about him, and I found nothing.  I went to all his usual locations, and nothing. I was seriously worried and knew the only thing I could do was pray.

This past week at soup kitchen, the exact same day I had asked a friend if she had heard anything about T, there was a most pleasant surprise awaiting us.  T was there!  Not only was he there, but he was sober… ONE MONTH SOBER!!!  He looked good and healthy.  For the past month, he has been down in Ashdod, at the rehab he was originally supposed to go to, but didn’t.  Because he was doing so well, they let him come up for the day and visit us.

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was to hear this news…the tears were even falling.  The cool thing is that in a couple weeks I plan on going down there to visit him at the rehab, to show my support and how proud of him I am. They are even letting him use a phone, so we can call and encourage him whenever we can.

You might not think this is a miracle in the sense of the Red Sea being parted…but if you knew T and the life that he was leading, you wouldn’t hesitate to see this as one.  I call it one of God’s everyday miracles because they are happening all around us…. you just have to be willing to see them.

(Please continue to keep T in your prayers…he’s doing well, but the battle has only begun.)

Another wonderful surprise…

Today at soup kitchen, T (one of the homeless men), came up to me and said, “Maureen, I need to talk to you about something.”  This isn’t a rare occurrence… it seems like he says this to me every week, so I replied, “Sure, during clothes distribution.”  I was honestly expecting him to be asking for something (money, clothes, soap etc.), because he asks me every week.

BUT, this week I was extremely, pleasantly, wonderfully surprised when he told me he has enrolled in a rehab, down in Ashdod.  T is an alcoholic (as are most of the homeless), and pretty much every week you can smell the alcohol on him/and see from his appearance.  He told me he had previously been there a while ago, but ran away because it was too hard. 

“This time though, I am ready.  I want to stop.  I need to stop, or I won’t live much longer.” he said.

T is brutally honest when it comes to the difficulties of living on the street.  He doesn’t gloss it over or embellish the truth of how hard it really is. He’s a very intelligent guy (speaking 4 languages fluently), who got caught with some bad choices, leading to life on the street.  

Please remember to pray for T this week.  He leaves tomorrow, and he knows that the first 5 days are the most difficult, especially going through the withdraw process at the rehab.  He said to me if he can make it through the first week, he can make it through the 6 months.  He even asked to take a Bible with him in Russian and Hebrew, so he could read it while he was there.  God is moving…..

**out of privacy and respect, I have only written the letter T in place of his name.

Soup Kitchen

This week we were blessed with many extra volunteers, so I took the opportunity to take a few pictures.  I realized that I have never brought my camera to Soup Kitchen…I guess it was about time!  Enjoy some moments from my Thursdays!

Newbies at my table…

Today at soup kitchen for the homeless I didn’t have the usual group of Russian guys that I normally seem to get. (I jokenly named them the Russian Mofia, as they always sit at the same table with the same group of guys each week, speaking in Russian and basically talking to no one else…even though they are extremely sweet.)  

No, this week I had a group of Sudanese men who all speak Arabic, with one being the official translator for the group (he spoke Hebrew as well).  I was immediately curious as to why they were there when most of the Sudanese do not live in the area.  I didn’t want to just come out and ask them, so I waited till the end of the meal when we were serving them coffee.

I got up the nerve to break out my Hebrew and have a conversation.  It was give and go at times, but mostly it was a great talk.  We talked a bit about our connection of Africa, though I was in the south and they are from the north/central.  He told me a little about their families and why they were in Israel.  Overall, I was glad to have them at my table today (though I must admit I missed my RM a bit).  

For a while now I have been wrestling with the idea of starting a program for Sudanese children.  I know there is a huge need here to help them, but I just didn’t realize how big that need was until after today.  

I left thinking how awesome God works. He takes puzzle pieces, one-by-one, and begins putting them together; even when we have no idea what the puzzle will look like in the end. 

Out of all the tables, they sat at mine.  That’s a puzzle piece if you ask me!