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The
Homeless try on jackets and receive supplies prepared by San Jose
Center on November 20 at Palo Alto.
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[San
Jose] On
November 20, a chilly morning before Thanks-giving, fellow practitioners
from the San Jose Center gathered to distribute supplies to a group
of about 100 homeless people. Everything went wonderfully, and the people
were very happy to see us. We went to a place called Urban Ministries,
which provides the homeless with hot coffee in the mornings and a place
to sit and relax for a while. One of the differences between this place
and where we went last year was that many of the people from last year
were "homeless", but were living in shelters. These people
seemed to be living mostly outside in the streets.
One
of our fellow brothers had spent some time as a homeless person living
under a bridge in Palo Alto, and this was a place he used to go in order
to get some warm coffee and camaraderie. So, this activity was a wonderful
opportunity for us to bring Master's blessings back to his old friends.
We
showed up at 8:00 in the morning with boxes of thick army jackets and
thermal underwear. We also had put together gift packages, including
a wool cap, socks, a toothbrush, a razor, razor blades, shaving cream,
gourmet cookies and one of Master's magazines. The people were very
excited by our offerings.
They
looked like they were really having a lot of fun trying on the different
jacket sizes and styles. It seemed as though they were being pampered,
in being able to put on jackets, model them, get opinions on the fit
and style, and then try on others. One woman, after trying on several
jackets and finally finding one to her liking, became choked up and
said it was just like Christmas should be. "You are the only ones
who have come here and given us these things we need!" she said.
"You are all angels!" We just smiled, knowing it was God's
blessings and Master's love.
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Second
delivery at Sunnyvale right before Thanks-giving on November 22
at Sunnyvale.
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Some
of the homeless were very cold and chilled when they came to us, wearing
only very light jackets and no hats. You could tell how grateful they
were to have something warmer to put on, and
it was very gratifying to be a part of our group and to be passing out
these blessings to them.
On
November 22, we also made another delivery at Sunnyvale to the homeless.