Homeless men from Waco help repair homes in Galveston

GALVESTON—Four men from Mission Waco’s homeless shelter joined four Baylor University students and two-dozen other volunteers with Waco’s Church Under the Bridge on a recent mission trip to Galveston.

Volunteers worked three days on five homes, repairing damage caused by Hurricane Ike.

“The group bonded as they worked alongside each other, eating meals together and hearing one another’s stories of each day’s work,” said Jimmy Dorrell, director of Mission Waco.

Including homeless people in meaningful ministry fits into Mission Waco’s philosophy of honoring the dignity of the poor and working to empower them, Dorrell explained.

“Instead of feeling sorry for those struggling on our streets, we try to find ways to help them give back to their own communities, nation and world. These men were ecstatic to use their skills to help others who had experienced loss. They had something to offer and their talents were needed and used,” he said.

The backgrounds of the four homeless men illustrate the individuality of the homeless population in general, he noted. One man is a licensed plumber who “just ran out of money” on the way to see his family and was stranded for weeks without a job, Dorrell explained.

One suffers from mental illness. One grew up in a meth lab operated by his family until it was raided and his parents were incarcerated. The fourth man “had struggled with numerous issues, but his conversion to Christ had changed his whole worldview, and now he was trying to find stability in Mission Waco’s supportive housing program,” Dorrell said.

“All of these men were accepted and included in every aspect of the trip, with no exclusion or fear from other mission goers. They didn’t need a food pantry or clothes closet or handout. They most wanted to be seen a person with human dignity, having value and gifts which could be shared for the sake of others,” Dorrell said. “They were not ‘homeless men’ on this trip. They were individuals, with names, personalities and personal opinions.”

Ministries to poor people based only on pity can lead to dehumanization and dependency, he stressed.

“The poor can contribute and help. In fact, their spiritual and emotional maturity depend on it. They have talents, time, and hearts of compassion like all of us,” he said “And each time they are included as an equal member and loved and accepted, something deep inside happens that moves them past the stereotypes of ‘those people.’”