Sleeping warm and dry

Janet and I have been hosting a volunteer team from First Baptist Church of Cleburne, Texas, this week. They removed five trees yesterday from two properties, and today they will begin the construction of the floor system for the climate-controlled tent at the New Orleans Mission. The tent, an emergency solution for these colder months, will help us bring 126 homeless people out of the cold and into a warm bed for the night. A partnership is being forged now between the City of New Orleans and Baptist entities to underwrite the cost of this operation. Keep me in your prayers today as I talk with people and try to expedite this operation.

I made a visit to Duncan Plaza yesterday and saw a hundred or more people at noon being fed from a truck parked in the street. This homeless community of 300 people has developed in the shadow of City Hall and has taken over all overhangs, porches, and pavilions in the area. The grounds of the plaza and surrounding buildings are littered with blankets, mattresses, and clothing. Heaps of used clothes are here and there. Truthfully, the place looks like a Goodwill Store after an explosion.

Neither the homeless nor those seeking to help can continue indefinitely to use Duncan Plaza as a distribution point. The site lacks everything that the homeless need: security, bathrooms, showers, drainage, shelter, and climate control. Its only advantage is visibility to the community. We realize that some of the inhabitants of Duncan Plaza will not want to move where they have a warm bed and bathrooms. But many of the homeless in our city are seeking warm and dry shelter every night.

When Mary and Joseph could find no room in the inn they were glad to accept the shelter and warmth of a stable. The accommodations we will provide for the homeless will be gratefully received by many of them and will exalt the Savior as we connect our good deeds with a clear presentation of the Christmas story.