From tears of fear to tears of joy

Love In Action President Ken Tuck (left) and LIA board member Susie Tuck talk with Kilbert, a homeless Hispanic man in Dothan, Ala.


God had a plan for the Southeast Alabama Coalition for the homeless cookout at Kinney Park in Dothan, Ala., on Saturday, Feb. 28. Once the hotdogs were ready it started raining. Some of the homeless braved the weather, but it was a light turnout.

It stopped raining around 1:30 p.m. and 10 minutes later a Hispanic man named Kilbert walked through the doors of Mama Tina's Mission House. He took his plate of food back outside and sat down on a bench on the porch. Several of us went outside to chat with him. He spoke broken English, and a few of us spoke broken Spanish. He looked tired and hopeless. He was. He tried to explain his situation to us. He was homeless and lived on the streets. As he talked, tears started streaming down his face. He was afraid. Fearful of what might happen to him next. Little did he know, God had a plan for him.

Mama Tina's Mission House and T.O.P.S were the host for the cookout. Ken Glasgow, the founder of T.O.P.S., told me that they had just gotten a house for transitional housing, but they didn't have any beds. I asked him if they had a bed could Kilbert stay there. Ken said yes, so Martha, my mom, our new friend Richard and I immediately went to our warehouse and loaded a box springs and mattress onto our trailer, as well as sheets, pillows, pillow cases, towels, hygiene items, socks and food.

We pulled up to the house and unloaded everything and sat up the bed. When Kilbert arrived he walked into the house and saw everything we had set up for him. Immediately tears started flowing down his face again. But this time the tears were different. They weren't from being fearful, they were tears of joy. The complexion of his face changed. He smiled and I could see hope in his eyes. We stood in the kitchen and prayed. He kept patting my back as we prayed. He was so thankful. As we were leaving, Kilbert was standing on the front porch pointing toward Heaven and raising his hands in praise to God.

It's amazing how the love of God can change a person's outlook on life. It's also amazing what can happen when Christian organizations work together. T.O.P.S. had the house and Love In Action had the bed and other supplies. Put them both together and a homeless man filled with fear had a safe place to stay and hope entered his life.

Go to our Web site at www.loveinactionministries.com for a photo slideshow.