Shores Cafe Testimony
Recently, I was serving at Shores Café, and on Sundays we open at 6AM because of the bike lane that is in front of the café. At about 7AM, we didn't have any customers, so I head outside and sat at one of the tables to do some art on our cups and enjoy the sunshine. A homeless man passed by, and when I thought he was going to keep walking, he came back and asked if I could serve him a coffee. I told him yes and invited him to sit with me! Marcos, who is a missionary at Shores, served him a delicious cup of coffee.
One detail to know about this man, whose name is Washington, is that he has a very serious speech disorder. Those who don't know him may think he is on drugs or drunk, but in fact it is just how he speaks. If you are not paying VERY close attention, you can hardly understand what he says. So when I managed to answer his questions, you had to see his face! He was so happy that he couldn't even hide the reason for his smile.
Well, we chatted for a while, prayed for him, and before saying goodbye, we asked him if he would want to take a shower inside our base. When I asked him, his eyes shone and he grinned and said he would accept. Marcos stayed close to the bathroom in case he needed help, and there was even a funny situation when it was taking a long time for him to finish the bath. When Marcos asked if everything was okay, he answered that the bath was incredible and that he wanted to stay longer!! At the end of the shower, I met with him again and he told me that he now felt good enough to go and visit his sister that he hadn't seen for a long time - all because he smelled nice and was well-dressed. His sister only lived 5 blocks away from where he slept on the street, but the shame of not being clean and presentable was greater than anything else. But because of a good morning and a cup of coffee, our friend could be reunited with his family.
Oh, just one more little thing... Look how cool this picture turned out! I took it from inside the coffee shop as Marcos was talking to Washington. When I took the picture, I realized that the little castle that I had drawn, symbolizing the Kingdom of God, was upside down. But when I saw the picture later, the Holy Spirit told me, "It's good, son, for this cup to be in the picture, because my Kingdom is not the same as any Kingdom on this earth. In my Kingdom, the greater serves the lesser, and the one who has shares with the one who has nothing. And He who is made himself smaller so that all might become worthy of being." WOW! Talk about a good message on unity, right?!
Text by Pedro Dias, Shores Recife Base Leader
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