I know I’m a few days past when I usually posts my report. I didn’t get to bed until after 3:30 in the morning, then pre-Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, post-Thanksgiving clean-up, I barely sat down for 4 days. You can tell on me to the owner, but, I am the owner!
We had the van locked and loaded. I brought out these adorable Christmas bags that my friend Kelly made. Another nurse volunteer provided meals this week. That was an enormous help. Once we got to Detroit it was already dark. More volunteers from the medic team packed Maggie tight with blankets.
As you know, we focus heavy on our friends who live outdoors right now. I found the coolest squats hidden in dark corners of Detroit. It reminded us a lot of The Boxcar Children.
Let me tell you about my new friends, Mr. & Mrs. Hobbit (that’s what I shall call them). The Hobbit’s are an adorable couple who live outside in Detroit. They are resourceful, inventive, humble, and vulnerable. They have a tent in the back of a vacant lot littered in random refuse. Behind a clump of trees in the corner, they have pieces of plastic tarp hanging from ropes and branches to surround the campsite. Once behind the plastic wall halls, there is a small area they have made into a home. It’s just a small tent and a campfire.
Mr. Hobbit spends a lot of time keeping Mrs. Hobbit safe from predator’s. We have to keep our lights low, and make sure no one spots us heading towards their camp. He has to make sure no one else finds their fort. There are also coyotes, coons, other animals, and the persistent ghosts to always be aware of. He’s been using bricks to keep the heat up on their campfire, and also to cook on. He gathers scraps of wood to burn for heat. Mrs. Hobbit says she has gotten to be pretty successful at mastering campfire cooking. She can even make cinnamon roles, and biscuits! I have a little hibachi grill that I never even used last year. I asked him if it would help. He tried to be humble, but he admitted it would be a dramatic game changer. I think I have enough in donation cash that I can buy them a bag of charcoal. I have some canned food in donations that she said she can cook by putting the can right onto a brick in the fire. She was so cute and funny.
I think what connected me to them was their spirit. They both had the attitude of, ‘we’re not poor. we’re just broke right now.’ Mrs. Hobbit was a woman who was not going to let her situation define her. I get that. It’s important to remember who you really are. Mr. Hobbit is a scrawny little guy, but he defends his wife and builds for her the best house he can provide. His first concern is always that we take care of her first, her safety.
I was able to connect Mr. Hobbit with a social worker who was out with the medical team that night. Mr. Hobbit was having a heck of a time getting his identification back. She was able to connect him to the resource he needed so that he could continue on his mission to get him and his wife into an inside home. They really are powering through it, saying their prayers, and doing the best they can to survive through the winter. I love Mr. & Mrs. Hobbit.
We walked away from the Hobbit’s Home and immediately saw a tower of smoke and flames in the distance. Stan was champing at the bit to save someone, or attend to a serious wound, deliver a baby, reverse on OD, etc… So we drove to where the drama is. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be us!
Those are the pictures I posted on-line. A lot of our people live in that area. We’ll find out through the grapevine if anyone got hurt.
I met a woman who was mute. I could look into her bright eyes and read everything she tried to say. Every time I handed her somethings she put her hand together in prayer, and thanked God. Her pretty hazelnut eyes told me everything she felt. I found her a pair of new tennis shoes to wear because her sandals were worn all the way through.
At our last place we parked, a women pulled her vehicle off the road and pulled right up to us.
“Do have blankets in there? My grandbabies ain’t got no blankets! Can I get something for them? They are freezing at night and my daughter ain’t got nothin’ for them.”
Of course.
“Thank you, ma’am. My babies need these for Christmas. I’m so grateful I saw you!”
You never know, do you?
I’m thankful to have a useful purpose. My friends in tents are thankful they were not forgotten. That random lady is thankful her grandchildren are sleeping under blankets through these winter nights.
Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.
Amen.
#peaceloveandhygiene #magdalenesmission
post-script: My plan is to work on updating the web page today. So keep your pages peeled for updates!
