For everyone of us that succeeds, its because there's somebody out there to show you the way out ~ Oprah Winfrey
In Ashland every Wednesday under a tree in Lithia Park, you will find three very large boxes filled with random items. Everything from diapers to toothbrushes; shampoo to clothing; phone cards and food. These have been left for the homeless. They know it's there. If they need something they can take it. If they have something to leave behind they do. They are never greedy and like the Buddhists who left the boxes behind they share with love.
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. ~ Martin Luther King
49er truck stop in Sacramento, California offers sanctuary to the homeless every night. There are no beds, but there is hot food and a place out of the cold or heat.
Let everyone regulate his conduct by the golden rule of doing to others as in similar circumstances we would have them do to us and the path of duty will be clear before him ~ William Wilberforce
A little second grade boy runs in slow motion so the little girl with Downs Syndrome can 'tag' him during recess.
I am the conscience of all those who knew something, but did nothing ~ Oskar Schindler
A teenager gives his brand new Christmas coat to the homeless person and doesn't stick around long enough to hear the words 'thank you.'
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry
For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day
For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone
~Audrey Hepburn~
An elderly couple leaves behind a $100 tip for their harried waitress. Their bill came to $1.49
I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented ~ Elie Wiesel
A homeless man puts down his sign asking for help, to offer it to a woman with a stalled vehicle.
Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?" ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
A six year old gives up her favorite 'Hello Kitty' lunchbox to the homeless man because his sign says he hasn't eaten in days.
The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. the hard part is doing it. ~ General H. Norman Schwarzkopf ~
Manna from heaven continues to come to us daily from unknown angels who offer random acts of love:
In Tacoma, the homeless pooled their pennies nickels and dimes together and proudly presented us with a gift of $37.00. They were thankful for what we are doing. We were thankful for this act of kindness and generosity that come from those who have nothing to begin with.
In every town we have passed through the YMCA's have offered us free showers instead of charging the traditional $2.00 per person. They we honored that we came to them. We were honored by their simple act of kindness.
In Olympia the mechanic repaired our broken van for much less than he could have because he believed in what we are doing.
In Grants Pass the manager at Denny's made sure we were well taken care of by personally serving us. He has never charged us for our final meal. He believed in what we are doing.
In Portland we were given a standing ovation from more than 100 homeless men and were honored when they and 47 homeless women joined us in our walk through my hometown.
In Redding, someone gave us a small coin purse. It was filled with $30.00 in golden dollars. I carry that small purse everywhere.
Two days ago we were given an envelope in Sacramento and told it held a bit of gas money. Inside was a $100 bill.
We pay $59.99 per month for our wireless Internet service to be able to blog. We weren't told that there was a 5 gigabyte limit to how much we can use that service and our bill had an unexpected $57.63 charge we can't afford.
I spoke to a supervisor named Angie to tell her what we were doing and explained that we couldn't afford this charge each month. How much would it cost to upgrade to 10 gigabytes. $250 per month. I thanked her and told her it was something we couldn't do, we would just have to watch our usage. She asked if I could hold on for a moment. She came back 11 minutes later with an incredible surprise.
Unlimited usage is not something Sprint provides but because we are trying to make difference, they are giving us just that. The supervisors supervisor was able to override the system and now we are receiving unlimited usage which if offered to the public would be at over $500 per month.
Manna from heaven comes in random acts of love every day.
A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies and became the ransom for the world. It was a perfect act. ~ Gandhi~
What will your random act of love be today?
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