But she was initially cold to Wheeler, she says, admitting that she gave her a hard time, resisted all offers for help. What finally made the difference? The young woman says of Wheeler with a big smile, “She wouldn’t leave me alone.” Still, she’s not out of the woods yet. Wheeler knows this. She has seen too many young women make strides only to slip back into prostitution, proving the need for more people with the heart and the will to be the hands and feet of Christ in a world where healing sometimes seems elusive and where the church—a church that is fluid, visible, engaged and willing to move beyond the walls—remains our best hope. Epilogue I witnessed the church in the open air of a city street corner, the power of unconditional love, as volunteers emerged from Relief Bus equipped with gallons of soup and drink. Without religious pretension, expectation or that inevitable invitation to come to church, those volunteers touched, talked with and embraced folks considered societal misfits. “It goes beyond being fulfilled in doing this,” says Hoffman, standing in Harlem with his team of Transformers. “…It’s knowing that I am doing the will of God for my life. What more can anybody actually ask for?” It appeared to be enough. “This is church,” I remember someone saying spontaneously as we stood on that corner in the cold autumn wind. And I saw the hands of God.
Coming Soon 2013
A collection of columns by award-winning Chicago Sun-Times columnist John W. Fountain. Winner of the Chicago Journalists’ Association and Illinois Associated Press Editors Awards in 2012 for best commentary. Fountain’s columns provide a fresh perspective on the times we live in. “His writing is crisp and compelling as he tackles issues headon, giving his readers a look into his thoughts and feelings.”— Judges of the Chicago Journalists Association Awards To join our mailing list, write [email protected]
If you would like to find out more information or donate to the ministries mentioned in this article, click on their links below: www.breakthrough.org www.healthauthority.org www.reliefbus.org www.restorationministriesdc.org These ministries also will benefit from the sales of this issue of The Well Magazine.
The Well Magazine / Winter 2012
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