Acts 4 Ministry, Inc - Testimonial - 03/11/2008

Clothe the Naked

Yesterday the Monday crew put an order together for a family of five w/o transportation & I brought it to their 3rd floor apartment this morning. The people met me downstairs and carried the bags upstairs with me and I stayed and watched the young woman look at each piece of clothing and heard her comments about much of it. She was very pleased with everything--even the curtains and dishes and house wares. We spoke of church and God and she's looking for a Bible study which I will get back to her about. It was a very pleasant and upbeat visit for me.

Next, I drove to a Spanish Center which is a type of day care or community service for Seniors where they get lunch, too. I had only made the appointment yesterday with them & the last time I was there was in December. I didn't know how this would go because I cannot communicate with most people and feel as if the channel of Christian communicating is thwarted by that. I do know that most are very connected to their churches. People waited patiently while the director and I folded the clothing and placed it in category on the tables. Soon, people looked through it as they normally do with consideration for each other and helping one another find what they are in need of.

There was talk about 'saving' certain clothing items for one person who has been wearing the same clothing for two weeks straight. It was a mini-group task I was watching. Later when that woman came into the room they continued showing her clothing that would fit her. When the director asked this woman to remove her waist jacket so she could try on a sweater, she had her keep the jacket on until most of the room was clear. The director closed the door with only about four of us in the room and then had her take that coat off. She was only wearing a bra. This lady is about sixty and has the disease named Alzheimer's. While I learned more about her today, what I really learned was how much this group of people care about each other. It was a joy to see her layered in clothing today with the proper sizes and colors and even a beautiful full-length winter blue coat that fit her perfectly. That was her own word to describe the coat: "perfect."

Earlier I had wondered about the visit to the Spanish Center knowing the lack of verbal communication. I had even dreamed about it last night in color. Today God blessed me with the vividness of His Love in action as I stood back silent and motionless except for my tears.