Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene- vol.181   3/31/26

A woman sitting in the back of a vehicle surrounded by bags and items, looking at the camera with a relaxed expression.

It was a fantastic night for street outreach. I’m proud to tell you about it. Magdalene’s Mission team worked in tandem with a medical team. We also worked with a harm reduction volunteer that gave us people and places that could sorely use our help.

Our first client lived several miles away. The first person we served was an old man at an intersection on the way there. Traci grabbed a meal and a hygiene kit. Nick passed it out the window to him. Drive-by love.

When we got there, Traci saw a black cat. He was at the end of the alley. I wanted to feed him, but he ran off. It took a long time, but eventually we were able to meet a few people so that we could make sure they were clean and fed. It’s what any good mama would do.

We stayed on the same road for several miles. We pulled over behind some boarded up apartments. People came out one or two at a time. We were able to help a lot of people at that spot.

My Aunt Bobbie procured a donation of fifty sleeping bag coats! They are literally lifesavers. I wish you could have seen their faces light up when they got one.

One woman who we had served came back up to the van complaining about a hair in her food. I mean, she still ate the entire bowl of mac ’n cheese. Then she came back and complained that she had found a hair. I apologized (even though I doubted it) but she was starting to get rude about it.

So, I asked her if she wanted a refund.

She said she did.

?!

I handed her three more bowls, and she said that would do.

?!

Adventures with Jesus, as I like to call them.

But THEN, and here’s a big surprise- We saw our Classy Lady! One of our original girls from the east side, 5 years ago!

She looks great. She’s definitely a lot healthier. She’s no longer homeless. She remembers fondly the unconditional love she was given during her darkest days.

She was all set for food and clothes, but a new purse with a hygiene kit was all she needed for her to remember that she is loved.

It was a very poor neighborhood. Eventually, at least three men came out of their houses to see what was going on. They walked back and forth, and around the vehicles. Eventually circling close enough that we asked them if they needed anything. They were very appreciative for the thing they received. One man just wanted food and hygiene. One man just wanted hygiene. One man came to tell us we were doing good work and to thank us for our help in the community. By the time he left, his arms were full of things he needed. His voice was full of praises to God.

The next stop was a weird one. It was dark out by then. I’m not sure what part pf town we were in. It was one of those neighborhoods that has a lot of empty lots, next to okay houses, next to boarded up houses. The medical volunteers were going to visit someone specifically. I couldn’t see exactly where they were going to find someone. Was it the pile of trash? The broken down garage? The house with an attic light on? I had no idea. Eventually they came back to say he was locked inside of wherever he was. He would accept food but not open the door. They weren’t sure whether he couldn’t or wouldn’t unlock the door.

We pulled over for an old man who was lying on some blankets in front of a store. There was another guy with him on a bike. They were listening to music. I watched the medical team from the van. They were with him for a long time with gauze and what looked like a cast. They had to roll him to give him a blanket to sleep on. I’m guessing that he couldn’t move on his own. I made sure he was fed and clean. The guy on the bike went into the store while the guy on the ground was being helped. He came back just before we left. He got back on his bike, like it was his post and he was still on guard for the old man on the sidewalk.

The last stop was another four older men sitting outside a store that was closed for the night. I let Nick handle this one. He passed out the last of the meals to the last people we saw. He told me there was one meal left, just as a lady walked up towards us asking us if we had food. Very serendipitous.

She talked about the church nearby where they could come in and get a cup of coffee and just sit for a while. It reminded me of the Justice In Mental Organization office that I used to work at in Lansing. As she talked, we were picking up clues that she had some cognitive difficulties. That was probably why she was homeless. She asked us if we had a broom, a dustpan, and a mop in the van so that she could clean up the area.

She was so kind. She was so sweet and thoughtful.

And now she and I are both praying for one another.

Also, we went out last week, too. But we only hit 2 spots and we emptied out the van. I need a bigger vehicle. We did run into a guy we hadn’t seen in about a year. He’s still homeless, but he’s not using heroin anymore and he is picking up construction jobs a little at a time until he can get out of there. He did have truck for a couple of weeks. But he couldn’t afford the insurance. He got pulled over and the now the truck is gone. But he’s still working at it. Never giving up until he reaches his goals. Because that’s how you succeed. And…

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission blog

Peace, Love & Hygiene: vol.180   3/17/26

A raccoon crouched on the ground near a brick wall, with bright eyes reflecting light.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! What a great night for street outreach, for giving hope and the ability to carry on another day to the homeless people in Detroit.

It was freezing cold, but my team was on fire connecting with people. Let me tell you about what your donations did last night.

I made spaghetti and meatballs. Nick packed up cookies, popcorn, oranges, Gatorade and water into plastic bags. We had hygiene bags/purses, blankets, clothes, socks and coats, plus, handwarmers, pepper spray and flashlights.

Nick drives, I’m lookout, and Traci was squished in the back seat.

Our first stop was only a few blocks away. A homeless man was living in a tent on the sidewalk. He kept part of his tent over a manhole cover for heat. I dropped off some food and hygiene while the other teams did their thing.

A few more blocks away, we saw the girl who lives by a bridge. She had her little sign up. She waited patiently for mercy. We passed her supplies out the window of the van. Then we drove around the block until the other teams could finish helping her. A couple of blocks later, we saw the guy who lives in a tent near hers. We passed his supplies out the window, too. Drive-by service with a smile!

We went to an abandoned school in the area. It was gated off, so we gave some bags of food to other teams to deliver for us.

The next stop was a big one. We went to Ms. GG’s house. She’s in the process of acquiring her own place to live, but she’s still in the process. Traci gave her some new larger sized jeans to fit her new healthier body. We helped at least 10 women and another 5 men at just that stop.

Some of the volunteers from the other teams were new. They stood on the curb and just stared at the swarm of people surrounding the van. So, I started handing them meals, flashlights and pepper sprays and told them to pass them around.

One young man was so sweet. He only accepted the food, but he was hanging out with an older woman in a wheelchair. He said that he was so touched and felt so blessed. He didn’t know that people came into his neighborhood to just help people. What a beautiful smile.

We seen the man who lives in the abandoned building. He’s still there. I stopped asking why and when.

I saw my buddy downtown! The guy who builds the forts and has a son in college is finally not homeless. He looked so clean, I hardly recognized him. He still needs a bit of help. He has MS and can’t stand up straight. We helped him out with food and hygiene. He remembered Nick and was super happy to see him. I got a big hug from him in return. He looks great. Thank you for helping me keep him alive long enough to see this day.

There was a very young person huddled up next to a building across the street. They desperately needed all kinds of help. I’m glad we found him. While we were there, a woman came out of the store looking like she was ready to be confrontational with the young person sitting outside. Traci stepped in and did her thing. She spoke to the homeless person before the other woman did. The woman slowed down once she heard the person’s story. She told Traci that she was most afraid of another overdose happening in front of her. Traci asked her if she had Narcan. She didn’t, so Traci got some and showed her how to use it.

Blam! Fear subsided. Another life could be saved.

We stopped the angry guy’s pile. He wasn’t there.

We ended up on the east side. There was a man huddled in the doorway of a church. We jumped out and helped him. Another lady was walking by, and we took care of her, too. Best of all, I GOT TO FEED A KITTY!!!

Our last meal went to a homeless old man on the side of the road. We gave him food, hygiene, blankets, and most importantly, a darn belt. His pants were falling off. He was holding them up so he could walk. Traci gave him another pair, a warmer coat, and a belt. His smile was all the thanks anyone would need.

The luck o’ the Irish followed us last night.

Last night, a woman asked Traci about Magdalene’s Mission. She was concerned that we would be sucked dry by energy vampires. That all this goodness and light we exuded would get used up on a scale exponentially larger than the returns. She was worried we would burn out.

I just laughed.

The source of love and goodness inside me and Traci comes from a source that is bottomless and eternal.

You know the one I’m talking about.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission blog

Peace, Love & Hygiene: vol.177- 3/3/26, Blood Moon, Lunar eclipse

A white minivan parked with its side door open, set against a backdrop of tall skyscrapers illuminated at night.

What a great night for exploring the shadows in Detroit!

We had a new helper this week. He is the friend of our other newest volunteer. This new helper just got off the streets himself. He is a wounded military veteran who was living under bridges.  Our volunteer got him connected with VA and housing.

We were busy packing up new hygiene kits. I asked him about our kits. Were they useful? He said they were excellent. Everything was useful, and necessary. Giant bottles of shampoo did nothing for him unless it was a rainy day. Our kits are very well thought out. That made me feel proud.

In honor of the Pistons, I made homemade Beef Stew. I had delicious peanut butter cookies and some other rando snacks to put with it.

This week, our first stop was the lady under the bridge. She uses propane to keep warm. Not every panhandler buys drugs with the money.

Traci and I carried food and hygiene bags through a wooded area beside the highway. The first tent we came past was empty. We kept trekking through area finding more evidence of human life as we walked.. The pitch of the hill next to the highway was very steep. The trail we leveraged was only a few inches wide. It was a bike path. I would have been too scared to ride a bike right there on a tiny track next to a bust freeway. But it looked like it was well-traveled, so someone does. Yikes!

We got to her tent, and she was so grateful to see us. Her area is neat, organized, well=kept. I saw a bike parked next to the fort she had put together. She’s a brave little woman surviving out there.

We went to a couple more places where we had seen tents, but no one was inside.

We went to Ms. GGs. At least 10 or 12 people poured out of there. Everyone was so sweet and grateful. Nick and Traci were amazing at helping people.

Ms. GG didn’t come out. I haven’t asked for her yet. I hope it’s because she found a real place to live.

We drove out to a shady hotel. There was a lady standing outside wearing pajamas. The caravan pulled over and she didn’t move. I got her some food, hygiene, flashlight, and pepper spray. I walked it up to her. She was hungry and happy about the pepper spray. I could tell she was absolutely suffering from mental illness. But at least she is fed, warm, and safer than I found her.

The next homeless lady we helped was overjoyed that we had found her. She complimented my bright red hair. She told me, “That hair fits you. I’m not just saying that because you gave me stuff either! I tell the truth!”

What a sweetheart!

We hit a couple more places on the east side. One was for just one lady who needed everything. I thought she was going to cry when Traci took her back to get new coat.

The last spot was a swarm of people. We pulled up next to an old, abandoned brick house. People trickled out from every shadow. Honestly, it was kind of scary. Mostly just creepy. It was a new place. New people.

We got out of the van, and the three of us covered our stations. Nick passed out hygiene and blankets. I passed out meals. Traci covered the chaos that is clothes. They were so grateful. So many praises to God that they were cared for that night. I hope we come back.

Which only proves:

The path of God

will never lead you

where the grace of God

cannot keep you.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: vol. 175-   2/3/26 

Last night was well worth the work. This report has some of the best news I have ever reported! 

Also: To the person who donated a case of sleeping bags off from Amazon, you rock. All the handwarmers, boots, and blanket donations lately are perfect, and stupendous. 

 You saw the 12 suitcases that I loaded for bear? They were supreme. I packed each one with: 

1. sleeping bag 

2. blanket 

3. hygiene kit 

4. warm hooded sweatshirt 

5. several pairs of warm, insulated, socks 

6. handwarmers 

7. emergency blankets 

8. flashlight 

9. tea lights 

10. notebook and pencil 

11. hat/gloves/scarves 

12. Bible (while supplies lasted) 

All in one transportable rolling suitcase that one could live out of. Magdalene’s Mission donors are brilliant and generous. Thank God for you, and for all of us together. 

It’s a beautiful thing. 

 We haven’t seen the large groups that we’re used to. This time of year, people are hunkered down. They are definitely not wandering around in this freezing weather.  

You can’t really predict how a night will go or how many people we’ll see. 

There was just enough room in the van for me and Traci; 12 suitcases, a warm pot of chicken, rice, and veggies that I buttered and seasoned up, a small bin with pants, a small bin of boots, and animal food.  

We rolled out as a team and hit the streets of Detroit with gusto.  

Our first stop was the house where Ms. GG stays. We had not seen or heard from her in months. No one had. 

We pulled up beside the large house, and ten people poured out of it. Everything people begged for was already in their suitcase. It was brilliant. It also emptied out the van at one stop. 

One of them was Ms. GG! She had just got out of rehab. She looks great.  She’s put on weight. Her eyes twinkle. Her smile still takes up the whole street. She ran up to me and Traci and yelled, “I did it, girls! I did it! I made it through rehab!” 

I screamed at the top of my lungs, “YOU ARE FREE! FREE AT LAST! THANK GOD, ALMIGHTY! MY FRIEND IS FREE! HALLELUJUAH! “  

We all screamed and yelled so loudly that we gave the angels in Heaven an earache from all our joy, and hollering. 

Her grandbaby is three now. Her daughter is deaf, so her tiny granddaughter is already bi-lingual in English and sign language. She gets to visit her sister soon, too. The first thing people talk about after recovery is all the family members they will get back.  

She said the next thing to do was get the hell out of where she was. 

I asked her if she had talked to a housing resource person yet. 

She didn’t know whaat I was talking about. Oh, dear Lord. 

I got her a card from a lady who works for NOAH. They do amazing work in the homeless community. This lady gets people into housing. I promised her that she was great at her job. She promised she would call her first thing in the morning.  

And THAT’S why we do it. Because there are too many stories with happy endings just waiting to be written.  

We are the pen and paper. God is the ink. 

Ms. GG is a beautiful story. 

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. 

Amen. 

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace Love & Hygiene: vol. 174- (1/27/26)

Wow. What an intense night of helping the homeless. The temperature hovered around 0 degrees, but with the windchill it was actually colder, much colder. It’s the kind of weather that kills. We loaded up every blanket we could find, and all the handwarmers and emergency blankets, as well.

It was brutal, but we do what we do. Especially when it’s hardest. Here is the night’s breakdown:

Our first stop, we saw the Man Who Always Laughs. He looks like a big tarp in a doorway, but there is an actual person living underneath all of that. We handed him more blankets, and more survival supplies. He laughed as he thanked us. He laughed when I told him my name. I could hear him still giggling as he disappeared beneath his tarp. Aw, buddy.

The next person we found was also living beneath a pile under a tarp on the ground. I lugged his survival pack through the deep snow to the bushes he was laying under. One of the other volunteers was able to speak to him in Romanian. It took several minutes, but finally someone was able to get proof of life from him. We left him enough to survive, then traveled on our way.

The next person we found was awkward. He was another lump on the ground under a blue tarp. There was some random trash on the ground in the snow around him. We offered him warm blankets and food. He sent the volunteers away. He told us he wanted nothing from us. Whatever we left he told us he would throw it away.

Okay.

The next person we found was asleep under a bridge. He was ecstatic about seeing us. He thanked us, and thanked God for the blankets, handwarmers and food. He was a very sweet man. He was excited for coookies. Nick and I decided he looked like Gregory Hines.

The next 2 places were abandoned properties. We must be careful not to get caught trespassing while we try to find more people hiding from the weather. It’s fascinating and freaky at the same time. There are strict lines between obeying Detroit laws and obeying God’s laws. But we strode that line like Jonny Cash last night. No human left behind.

The next people we helped were staying at a seedy hotel for the night. One of the girls normally sleeps on the street, but a friend let her stay in her hotel room that night. They were thrilled with feminine hygiene products and warm coats. They were starving and super grateful for the food we gave them. The poor, dear things. They were such sweet girls doing whatever it took to keep one another alive.

There is a small group of people living behind a bridge and under some trees. They have been there for a little while so they must be doing a good job of staying hidden. They have tents and propane heaters. One of the other teams had propane to help them stay warm enough to live another day. They aren’t drug addicts. They are survivors.

Our last stop of the night was to help 2 elderly men. They were very surprised and very grateful. Many heartfelt praises and thanks to God.

I was bundled up in all my warmest gear, but I noticed something. After being outside for more than just a few minutes, my clothes were cold. Every layer on me froze and I felt like I was wrapped in ice blankets. I could not keep my body heat. I tried everything to generate body heat, and there was nothing I could do about it. It was like breathing in ice cubes.

At least I had the blessing of a nice warm van to stagger back to. The snow was deep. No matter how many times I see it, I can’t believe people are living like this. But as long as they are out there, so are we.

We stayed out on the streets until after 11 pm. The other teams stayed out until 1 am. I got home just after 1 am.

Looking back on the night, I felt as though we made a real life or death difference to many people. Thank you for saving lives with us. All your donations go directly to saving lives.

It’s a wild and crazy thing to wander through snowy fields looking for homeless bodies, and tarps cover people sleeping on the ground in arctic temperatures.

But Nick, Traci and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace. Love & Hygiene: vol. 173- The Light. Be the light. The Season of light is now.

“There is a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.”

This is the direst time of year. Magdalene’s Mission has been working to expand our unconditional love to everyone who we can reach. A couple of weeks ago, we worked in a coalition with a huge group of other nonprofits in an event to cover as much of Detroit with as many resources as we possibly could. There were doctors and nurses, veterinarians, housing resource specialists, harm reduction advocates, rehabilitation councilors, preachers, churches, shelters, and even Magdalene’s Mission. We gathered enough love and resources to last for at least 9 hours helping the homeless all over Detroit.

I spent 2 days packing and loading the most useful goods we had. Magdalene’s Mission’s contribution to the event filled 2 vehicles. Maggie the Van was loaded with warm meals, and hygiene kits. I had sloppy joes, and then I made mac n cheese with sliced hot dogs. We loaded the bags up with chips, cookies, and best of all, love.

The hygiene kits were extra special this week. We loaded them with lots of goodies, including extra handwarmers, emergency blankets, notebooks & pens, gloves, a hat, scarf, and 2 pairs of clean socks. Nice, huh?

Nick rented a cargo van again. This time we filled it with even more blankets. Every blanket in that church basement was packed into the van. We brought as many coats, boots, extra hats/gloves/scarves, socks and bibles as we could fill.

We were loaded for polar bear!

Tuesday morning, we met up with all the other teams. Everyone was excited to work together. We knew that we would have a day of real impact upon the shelter challenged who are living in Detroit.

The morning was overcast and gray. By the time we left Fort Street Church together that afternoon, the sun was extra bright and overpowered all the dark clouds. The sun was screaming to be noticed.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness.

Only light can do that.”

The first stop…

Wow. I still can’t get it out of my head. I’ll never forget it.

One of the girls from another group who rode in the van with me had been to that spot before. She said it was a “swarm spot”. Meaning that a lot of people would be there. It was an abandoned gas station. There was a long, overgrown alley behind it, and an empty lot behind that. We sat and looked out all the windows.

First one, then a couple, then another couple, and another couple. The next thing I knew, the vans were surrounded by homeless people. Most of them looked like they were senior citizens, but not all. I saw every age and every ethnicity you could imagine. The crowd of people begging for coats and blankets was so thick that volunteers from other groups had to go and help Traci before she drowned in a sea of dirty, calloused hands. My volunteers and I were passing out food/hygiene bags from our van to them as quickly as possible.

Their arms were reaching out to us through the windows and doors of the van. There were so many tears. Cries of desperation to survive. Men and women wailing to us for food and blankets. I would hand them a Mag Bag, then send them to Nick and Traci.

After they received their gifts and blessings, they wept again. The praises of thanks to a merciful God rang down the alley. It was what we prayed for.

We went through 75 of the 100 Mag Bags and meals there in under an hour. All but 5 blankets were given away. Every coat, all the boots, gloves and hats, was gone. Every bible was taken. I feel as though we could have stayed another 15 minutes and emptied out both vans completely.

There was just enough left to eke through the rest of the night.

The other teams spent longer periods of time helping individuals after that. Which was fine. The veterinarians took care of a lot of homeless animals.

The goal was to help 100 homeless people in one day. With your help and God’s blessing, Magdalene’s Mission did just that.

I heard that a few bodies were found lifeless. I don’t have any more details than that.

I know the temperature outside is deadly cold.

I’m not exactly sure what I’m taking out tomorrow. I’m just well enough to make it out there. But I must go. I must be the lamp upon a table, high enough for all to see and to feel its warmth.

“For I have great works prepared in advance for you to do.”

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.                                                                

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: vol. 171- 12/2/25

Chutes and ladders. Sometimes you climb a bunch of ladders and do all the work to make it to the top, then one random roll chutes you back down to the bottom. But you’re not out of turns! So, keep rolling until you get back up there again.

Yesterday was a day like that. Plenty of plot twists. Plenty of good to be found along the way.

Plymouth Thrift Store isn’t working out. I couldn’t make it last week because I had a health issue. I’ve been fainting, heart issues, the family freaked. Now they aren’t collecting for me anymore. That’s fine though. They only donated clothes. And as you know, clothes, we got covered. I’ve got a stellar army of clothes donators. We are grateful for our time working with them. Moving on… (Chutes)

Our volunteers from the Fort St church returned and we got a lot of stuff sorted and organized. We packed a tight van full of warm clothes, blankets, tons of food, and lot of flashlights, pepper spray, etc. (Ladders)

Then I realized that I hadn’t seen or heard from the other outreach team all day. (Chutes)

After 2 hours, I never heard back from anyone. A random volunteer from another group showed up. She didn’t know what was going on. We finally confirmed that Magdalene’s Mission was going to do street outreach on our own that night. We agreed on a route. Thus, Nick, Traci and I said our prayers and away we went. (Ladders)

We couldn’t find anyone. Not a single soul anywhere. It was cold. Bitter cold. Wet cold. No one. If I had more notice, we could have planned for it. But by the time I realized what was happening, the warming centers and drop-in centers were closed. I don’t know where everyone is. I have a van filled with everything and there is no way to get it to people who need it. (Chutes)

I’m going to investigate other places or shelters for people who may need our clothes. I’m on a tight work schedule Thursday through Saturday (sometimes Sunday if it’s a home Lions game). If you know of anyone or anywhere who can utilize warm clothes, coats, etc., get a hold of me. (Ladders)

I think we are finally able to launch the Magdalene’s Mission Boutique! I may finally have a volunteer to help with selling the high-end donations in an online store. Of course, 100% goes back to Magdalene’s Mission to fulfill our mission of serving food, warmth, and hygiene to those people living without shelter on the streets of Detroit. It’s a goal, years in the dreaming! (Ladders)

Details to come on that…

We’re going to keep plugging away. (Ladders)

We’re going to keep serving and filling needs. (Ladders)

We’re going to wait for orders from above. (Ladders)

We’re going to keep that Devil down in the hole. (Ladders)

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene vol. 166- 10/7/25  

This is for you, Paul.

It was an extra moist night in Detroit. My best buddy Nick came out with me this week. I love doing street outreach with him. He’s 6’4”. People tend to calm down when Nick’s around. All he has to do is get out of the vehicle and stand there. It’s great. Plus, it’s always a bonus when the men see other men helping one another.

We started off behind a bar where a few friends live. One of my buddies got a place, and he has been doing well keeping it together. His son is excelling in college and promises to not do drugs like his dad. He made his son make that vow.

I was able to help the only 2 females we saw. They are precious sweethearts, and I’m glad we saw them. Everyone was super hungry. I was proud to have plenty of food. One of the ladies told me, “I love to see you guys. It’s always the best, because you have the best stuff.”

Our meals are fresh and healthy.

Our hygiene kits are useful and well thought out.

Our clothes are clean and wearable.

Our blankets are bagged up for carrying.

We (often) have pepper spray, flashlights, and sometimes tents.

Thank you, donors.

I saw the homeless dog again. He’s in the same place. He still doesn’t trust anyone to get near him. His tail is fixed between his legs.

For the most part it was a mellow night. We cruised the area for a bit. We saw a shelter challenged person who we knew. We spotted him digging through the trash can in front of the gas station. We pulled over for a quick drop off out the window. I handed him a meal. He thanked me.

I recognized him as the guy who was staying in the same spot my buddy, Paul, was staying in. I asked him, what’s up with Paul.

“Paul overdosed. He went into rehab for a few months. He was in transition. He started messing with Girl thinking he’d be okay.  But he got into Boy, and it killed him.”

“What’s ‘Girl’ and ‘Boy’?” I asked him.

He replied matter-of-factly. “Girl, is crack. Boy, is fentanyl.”

“Oh.” I replied quietly. “Thank you.”

We reminisced upon Paul for a minute, then parted ways.

Next, we saw some bridge people. They have maintained their area of privacy for some time. I gave them blankets to help prepare for the winter.

We went to the abandoned school. Four or five young men and two older men came out. They were very sweet and respectful. Mostly they were grateful for food, blankets, hygiene and a backpack.

People are asking about winter gear, like hats and gloves already.

I miss Paul.

Traci and I nicknamed him ‘Big Hands’. The first time we met him was the very first night Traci and I went out on Tuesday night Outreach. He asked if we had any gloves. We did.

“I need big gloves! I have big hands! I have extra big hands! I need big gloves! Big gloves, for big hands!”

I leaned over into the back of the Denali to get him some gloves, and he positioned himself right behind me, uncomfortably close to my rear end. Traci went full-on Chihuahua on him. She yelled and hollered and scolded him right quick. He cried and ran back to the other volunteers.

The next time we saw him, he apologized profusely. We warmly forgave him. He promised that no one on the street would ever disrespect us in that way ever again. And no one ever has.

The teams kept searching until we found some hidden away places where homeless lived, and then didn’t, and now they do again. Businessmen walked past us as we ran food and blankets down to a hidden sanctuary. I was glad we found them.

Paul and I used to argue over who was the king of Goth music. He defiantly claimed it was Peter Murphy. I staunchly argued that it was Robert Smith.

Amid deplorable human trafficking, rampant drug trafficking, a homeless epidemic, starvation, overdoses, and huge rats, Big Hands and I could be people. We had normal people conversations. We talked about real life (for us). He built amazing forts out of pieces of the city he saw lying around. That’s what else we had in common. We saw the value in people and things that anyone else would have thrown away and forgotten.

I didn’t save my Big Hands. I couldn’t. It’s not even what I’m out there for. But I know for a fact that when he died, he KNEW he was loved.

I love you, Paul. Until we meet on the other side.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Aunt Bobbie & me
Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: vol. 160 7/30/25 

“See that lady right there? That’s my Aunt Bobbie. She came to save me when I was a homeless runaway. She’s the reason I’m on this side of the van and not on the other side with you. She’ll give you something to eat. Go see her.” 

That’s what everyone I met in Detroit got to hear tonight. 

She stuck out the entire day with me. From making sandwiches, to packing clothes and hygiene kits at the church, outreach until 11:00, and back home again- she was a joyous gift. I got to show off the pretty church, have lunch at the infamous historical Tommy’s Bar, and peruse King Book Store with her as well.  

Aunt Bobbie received the full gamut of street outreach tonight. Let me tell you- 

Within the first mile from the church, she got to pull meals and hygiene kits out for me to pass through my window and to a homeless man with a sign as we waited for the light to change.  

Our first stop was an old one. Our very first as Magdalene’s Mission 5 years ago, to be exact. It’s one of the neighborhoods with more condemned property than occupied. It doesn’t take long for a trickle of people to become a small swarm there. We’re not there as often anymore, so most of the people had never encountered us before. 

I learned A LOT from the girls working that neighborhood. Pepper spray was enthusiastically appreciated. There are 3 or 4 serial rapists in the area. One lady told me that she actually reported the rape the second time it happened. I made sure every one of them had received medical attention and STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing afterwards.  

Dudes were even talking about how they were sick of these deranged men attacking their friends and family, or anyone. One young woman called a cab and was raped by her cab driver. 

I’m not trying to be depressing. It was just the overwhelming theme of the night from every single female we spoke with. I report what is really happening, not fairy tales. One of the girls pointed to a house nearby and told me it was a “safe house” for working girls. Then she rolled her eyes.  

I met some fascinating people in that one spot. We were there for quite a while. The first girl we helped had changed into one of the nice new outfits she found in our totes. She looked wonderful. She looked genuinely happy. We’re seeing a different crowd of people who are loving all the sundresses, and skirts, and cute clothes. Smiles are as endless as the gratitude. 

We helped a family. Well, a mother and son. He was grown, but very young. I gave her a pepper spray. She said it couldn’t have come at a better time. She was raped in her own home last week. Medical and police attention? Yes, yes. She did both of those things. Sweet lady. Her son was a very gentle, tall young man. He spoke very softly.  

The sick old man who lives in the corner of an abandoned building is getting into housing.  So, there’s good news. 

We talked to the guy who lives under a bridge with 2 big dogs. I was able to give him a bag of dog food. He was kind and grateful. But then we sat there in the vehicle for a few minutes. The man kept talking to us, but the more he talked the less coherent he became. He was definitely a veteran. He was obviously a paranoid schizophrenic. 

I saw a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. She’s been through a ringer. She had a surprise for us when we saw her. She found an abandoned baby kitten behind a dumpster. She was her little buddy. The little kitten was probably the first bright spot she had in a long time. Of course, I can some cans of pate for her. We named her Catniss. 

We hugged and talked for a while until it was time to move on to the next place.  

We went to an abandoned building. This one, I haven’t been in, and I don’t feel the need to. It’s big, and we always get there after dark. 

We passed food out the windows to a couple more people who were at the same traffic lights as we were. 

We brought survival supplies to more people who lived behind another bridge in a perfectly hidden spot. 

Our last stop of the night was sort-of ironic. The guy was walked around in an animated, but perturbed way. But he was holding a sign telling me I should smile. He ended up being a quite nice, super cool guy. His tentmate was a lot nicer than he looked as well. I guess you can’t judge a book by its grubby, tattered, cover. 

In the context of street outreach, you must be willing to go down in the hole where people are living their rock bottom. You hold the flashlight up to the top. Show them where to find the ladder. Remind them they are loved. Hold on one more day. Then watch them climb up and shine in the light.  

Because that’s how my Aunt Bobbie did it for me. 

And that’s how we do it in Detroit. 

Amen. 

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: vol.146- April 15, 2025 

This post is dedicated to Shellie Renee Hunt, whose infamous memory helps inspire me to believe I can run my own business. 

It was a successful night of outreach. It was a little bit of everything kind of a night. Someone donated the ingredients, so I made a big ol’ roasting pan of Spaghetti. We worked with the volunteer teams that showed up to help us out with sorting/packing donations on Tuesday morning. They are truly wonderful ladies and gentlemen. Traci and I would be less well armed without them.  

We started the trip bouncing from a lot of abandoned buildings. We were able to help a lot of sick people, people sleeping on the ground, in huddled up in doorways, packed hidden amongst dead trees, or just wandering shivering down the sidewalks.  

Whenever we park the van on a busy road, people will just start coming from every direction. The smell of homemade spaghetti was too much to overcome! I was able to purchase more pepper spray. Someone donated a package of flashlights, and that’s an extra special treat.  

We were helping a steady stream of homeless men and women who trickled up alongside the van. As I handed a lady a fresh pepper spray and flashlight, she jumped up in the air and hooted, then she told me, 

“These have saved my life three times just recently! Oh, thank God! Thank you, ladies!” 

 I asked her what she liked best in the hygiene kits. What was the most useful? What was in there she didn’t need? Was there anything I forgot? I wanted her to have what SHE needed, not just what I thought she needed.  

She reported that our hygiene kits are tops! Baby wipes are the best. Everything in there is perfect. I asked her if any other street team nonprofits had good hygiene kits. She claimed that they did not. It was all large bottles of shampoo and body wash that no one could use because they didn’t have a shower, let alone access to running water. 

For our Magdalene’s Mission Street Report Card, we received: 

Hygiene kits- A+ 

Food- A+ 

Clothes- A+ 

Everything else- A+ 

When I say ‘A+’ what I mean is, we set the curve for the class. I am a competitive person to a certain extent. Most of us are. I don’t have to be the best at everything, but when I pick a thing, I want to be the best at it. 

Our nonprofit is that. Every item we offer, every purse, every pair of socks, backpack, blanket, homemade cookie, is presented as a gift of love. We treat every person we meet with compassion, and dignity. Every blanket is clean, folded, and put into a bag, or rolling suitcase they can carry it back in. We think of everything and take requests for even more. 

When Maggie the van drives around, it’s like Santa’s sleigh rolling through Detroit ghettos.  

We have the highest quality of generosity in street outreach that I know of in Detroit. At least, that’s what I have been told by my friend who is a homeless sex worker. Her opinion of Magdalene’s Mission is more important than any award, or anyone else in Detroit. She is the reason we are there.

It means that we have become the change in the world that we want to see. What we can give to our species is more of a status symbol than what we are able to hoard from it.  

Magdalene’s Mission will collect all the extra’s it can hustle up and you’re willing to give. Then we find people who cannot afford to repay us. 

First, we offer them peace. 

Next, we offer them love. 

Then, we offer them hygiene. 

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. 

In Jesus name. 

Amen. 

Magdalene's Mission blog

Peace Love & Hygiene: Vol. 145- 

It was a SPECTACULAR day of outreach in Detroit. Lots of people helped us out this week, so we were able to truly meet the needs of a lot of people. As a matter of fact, we were helping homeless people in Detroit before we even arrived at Fort St. Church!

We needed to make a stop along the way. I pulled over on a side street downtown to search my phone. There were several concerts last night, so traffic and people were more chaotic than usual. As I was pulled over, a tall man came over and asked us if we were the ones who had those hygiene kits. Yes, we are! We flipped the van around the block and found a safe parking space. Traci jumped out and asked him if he was hungry. Indeed, he was. He was so thrilled we found him. The food still already warm, and ready to serve. I had a few hygiene kits, and some socks, hats and gloves still in the back of the van. 

“God is so good!” he kept saying. His luck was turning around! He had been homeless for a while, but he was staying in a shelter now. He just got the job working as a parking lot attendant for events. We had clean clothes, a warmer jacket, and a kit to help keep him looking sharp. Best of all, a warm, homemade meal to make it through his first shift. 

If God can lead them, I can feed them. 

Winning the Channel 4 Go For It Award on TV last week has really gotten us a lot of attention. As far as I know, all of it good. Keep the wipes, bags, pepper-spray and flashlights coming!  

That Springtime joie de vivre had everyone in top spirits. The sun was glad to have us back, too. The first person we approached as a team wasn’t homeless. Awkward. But she did asks Traci and I if we could help her. She asked us if we could give her a ride to the rehab where her brother was living. She had come a long way by bus, and according to her map, it was going to be another 3 miles to reach her destination. She was carrying all these bags of clothes and food for him. I told the other teams we would catch up with them. 

She was a nice younger lady. You could tell that her brother had gotten on her last nerve, but it was her brother so had to help him or no one would. We took her to where her brother was. I offered to wait for her and give her a ride back to the bus station.  

She wasn’t allowed to see him, so it was just a quick drop off. That turned into a 20-minute wait. She had to wait while the nurse individually inspected each and every item she brought in for him. I walked in just as she was inspecting the items in the hygiene kit I gave her. I tried to tell them what stuff was, but they were not interested in who I was, or what I was doing there. 

It was going to be another hour until the next bus was coming to the side of town she lived on. So, Traci and I offered to take her back downtown to the Rosa parks station. She was a nice lady. She really appreciated the big black bag and hygiene kit. She tried to give us money for gas, but of course, we wouldn’t hear of it. 

We met some new friends. One of them was an amputee. The girl looked new. She was so young, and shocked by all the generosity and kindness we had for her. The other guy carried himself as though he had been there a long time. The open sores on his face proved it. 

We drove around and found a couple of elderly men curled up against a fence together. As they were being helped, a few more people came up and looked at us with huge eyes, and we benevolently offered them food as well. 

Traci and I fed and provided warmth for people living on every side of Detroit last night. We saw our favorite couple from the eastside! We’re out of women’s tiny pants (size 00) or leggings but we were able to supply them with just about everything else. 

We parked in a bust area and waited for a while. It didn’t take but a few minutes for a woman to come scurrying along the sidewalk and making a beeline for Maggie, our Magdalene’s Mission van. 

After we gave out the last of the food, we called it a night. We drove back to Fort St Church. We helped one more person with a couple of extra blankets on the way back. We unloaded our wares, then headed home. Traci saw a stray dog running through traffic. I just so happened to have a gallon size zip-lock baggie left in my van that I forgot to unload. He was afraid of me, but curious. I got his attention and then emptied the dog food along the edge of the sidewalk. 

And that was our last homeless encounter of the night. 

Venimus, vidimus, amavimus. We came. We saw. We loved. 

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. 

Amen. 

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: vol. 144-

The outreach kept going for the past three days. Presently, I am in a quaint, East Lansing cafe drinking coffee with an old friend. Here we go-

Affirmation:

Street Outreach– What an intense and wonderful trip! Maggie the van was loaded with hygiene kits, clean clothes, socks, jackets, and most importantly- lots of food. We started out in a neighborhood that was absolutely dilapidated. It looked like projects, rows of government housing. More of the buildings were condemned than livable. A lot of plywood windows. I heard that everyone is being evicted by the end of the month. No one knew who we were, so we had to approach people as they began lingering and watching. 

“Are you hungry? Do you need clothes? I have some really useful hygiene kits!” 

Most people did. One gentleman was confused and took the entire tote of mens clothing back into his house. Traci and I looked around and noticed it missing. He must have been fast! We didn’t even see him! But when we asked him about it, he looked embarrassed and brought it right back. I told him that the clothes were for a lot of people, but he was more than welcome to take what he needed. Just DO NOT take my totes. We are in desperate need of more totes. That’s why I have to put a hold on clothing donations. It’s not that I don’t want them. I don’t have any place to put them.

We took advantage of the daylight and wandered outside our usual zones to find anyone who may need us. One woman we stopped to help told us that she could use our things, at first. But before we could hand her anything, she told us that she didn’t know us. She would rather not. That’s fair.

We started travelling towards more familiar territory. People who recognized us started pouring out of the shadows. I heard my name screamed from across the street more than once. The ladies came running up with looks of pure joy and comfort on their faces. I saw quite a few familiar faces all at once. I saw my Angel baby! She’s alive and kicking!

I received the best, perfect compliment from my Working Girls that night. They told me that they knew that I genuinely loved them. They told me that I cared for them like no one else did. One lady said, “No one says good things about us, or truly loves us like you guys do. No one else is as genuinely on our side. We love you. Thank you!”

That moment was so real, so affirming, that it felt like Jesus Christ himself came down from Heaven all the way to the ghetto to pat me on the back. 

If you ever wonder why I’m not more focused on the business aspect, or building my company, blah, blah, blah… that would be why. 

Because there is no money to be made. There are people. There are needs. There are people who can all put in together a bit at a time, according to their gifts, and we, as a species, we win. In case you somehow missed it, I, Kayla M. Donaldson, won an award for community service from Detroit WDIV Go For It! The link to the segment is below. It was great to be acknowledged by a Detroit Community icon.

When I hear how much we mean to the most vulnerable, persevering people I know, then we ARE doing the right things for the right people for the right reason. We made good things happen.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit!

Amen.

Go 4 It: Woman supports, aids vulnerable Detroit communities: https://youtu.be/_2sDVs3_5io?si=AQpPsWO2U-tD5zh_

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: Vol. 143

This report is about the 2 people Traci and I served yesterday. With all due respect to their privacy, I’m still not going to sugar-coat it. This is who we serve:

They are an adorable married couple who have been together for nearly two decades. They came here from another state to be near their family. After a series of unfortunate events, they were left with nothing but the streets. Like my girl said, “The real gate-way drug is the trauma that happens to make you think you need that stuff.”

Or, as her husband put it, “Heroin was bad, but we quit that. After the relapse, now there’s this fentanyl crap in everything and you’ll die before you get it out of your system.”

When they got together, they built a successful family, and a pretty little all-American life. The house, the cars, the kids, all of it is gone now.

The first thing she wanted me to see was how well her face had healed. The last time I had contact with her husband, he called me in the middle of the night. He told me that his wife was ‘working’. She was attacked with a knife. The man told her he was going to kill her and throw away her body. She cleverly escaped the trunk of his car (somehow, thank you, Jesus) and made it back to him. “What do we do, Kayla? I can’t take her to the hospital!”

The stitches scars on her face reminded me of a rag doll. She is right. It did heal nicely. One can hardly see it.

They live in an abandoned property on the eastside of Detroit. They said that the neighbors have left them alone for over a year now. They keep the property clean, and don’t allow drug use in their den. He’s found a way to access electricity, and they bring water back in five-gallon buckets for drinking and cleaning. 

It was a beautiful day. Every once in a while she would move herself backwards into the van. “I’m trying to not let them see me.” She said, “That guy is weird.”

The husband blocks her from view. 

“Those are just customers. We don’t need to deal with them right now.”

We talked about all the people we knew from that area that we hadn’t seen in a couple of years. The list of names of people who have died was extensive. Just about everyone we knew from that house on the eastside we used to see every week is gone. Not all though. A few still survive.

I assumed overdoses, but the Wife claims it is the resurgence of AIDS. Too many girls aren’t using protection. The diseases spread like a wildfire.

Traci and I loaded them up with supplies. Shortly after I left, the husband thanked me for the feeling of clean socks. We got them plugged in with some people who can help them get their lives back again. They don’t give up on eachother. We won’t give up on them. They knew that finding that mangled up business card was going to turn their luck around. Here’s to hoping, my friends.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Post-script: The Fort St. Church volunteers are nothing short of heroes behind the scenes.

Also, the basement we are in is also THE FIRST INDOOR BASKETBALL COURT IN THE UNITED STATES! Every week, I found out something historically amazing about this place! Beauty in every cobblestone. I choose to see it. 

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: Vol.142-

Tonight’s report is dedicated to Rodney, who always had a smile and a hug for me and Traci. To Chief, a veteran of the Vietnam War who begged for money while leaning on his crutches. He wore a size 10 ½ shoe over what was left of his feet. Prayers to Heaven for the old man who looked out for, and took care of Ms. P. This is dedicated to all my brothers and sisters who didn’t survive through February.

Hi! To all my beautiful friends on the street that read what I write about you,  I love you.

Traci is still trying to recover from her flu, so she couldn’t make it out last night. I didn’t fly solo, though. The father of one of the other medical team volunteers rode with me. He was kind, yet also fearless and full of service in his heart. He’s so proud of the work his daughter does.

We saw a whole mix of people last night. I heard some pitiful stories, and a couple of hope filled ones, too.  

We started off going to a few isolated spots. It was light outside for the first hour or so of outreach, so that was a bonus. The sun shone brightly to show me that it was as glad to have us back as we were to see it. While my volunteer and I waited for the medical team to come back, we served 4 more homeless people who wandered past us.

We went into a few different places. Some had people there, some didn’t. One place was an abandoned school that was perfectly hidden. There was only one broken window that we could enter the building by. We all crawled in and wandered through the building calling out our presence through the clean, empty hallways. Every clock was stopped, but at a different time. It was dark, but I could see into the different classrooms. Many rooms had the remnants of homeless people on the floor. Lots of blankets, piles of handwarmers, food wrappers, and random bottles. There was a book from Alcoholics Anonymous sitting on the window ledge. I hope they were reading it because there were liquor and beer bottles all over the place.

Next, we found some bridge people. They had a tent and propane. It was well hidden, but the cops kept finding their spot and taking their stuff down. So, they must start over somewhere else. They somehow don’t “disappear” just because they aren’t wanted. She was a kind, sweet lady. I heard her say she is 36 years old. Her husband is 41. They just want to survive.

This next part was THE craziest thing. We went to an abandoned building we have been to many times. This time, we noticed something was different. First, the area in front that used to be filled with trash was all cleaned up. Cool. Then, we noticed that the large hole in the side of the building where we used to enter was completely boarded over. Okay. Then, as we walked around, we noticed that everything, every opening, was boarded and sealed up.

Not cool. There is an old man who can’t walk that lives on the top floor of that building. One volunteer was frantic that he could still be in there. We found a loose opening and tore it open so that one person could go through and check it out. We had to be sure. The first thing he found was a dead dog. Our brave volunteer ventured in further on until he made it to the top floor.

Sure enough, the old man had been boarded up inside the building! The volunteer informed us of another opening. The rest of the volunteers trekked through the brambles to find that missed hole in the wall. We all climbed in and made our way through the graffiti covered building to bring food to the old man.

By the time I got there, I heard him telling the other volunteers about the housing resource caseworker. “List? I’ve been on that list for so long, I don’t even think about it. I used to look forward to them coming to put me someplace I could live, but that’s not happening. It’s better to pretend there is no list. Thank you guys, for coming to check on me. I appreciate it. God bless you folks for seeing me.”

He asked us to pray over him before we left. If you could, keep him in your prayers, too. One of the volunteers is going to address his case manager.

Eventually, we made it to the main strip where a lot of people I know are. Right away, ladies flagged down the van and were running up to see us. A pair of girls grabbed me, hugged me, and cried telling me how much they missed and loved me. They were so happy to be loved on. They were also starving hungry, desperate for hygiene items, and in need of a sleeping bag. I loaded up the hygiene kits into backpacks that I had already extra loaded with socks, handwarmers, emergency blankets, gloves, scarves, and more socks.

I must admit it. I have a special soft place in my heart for the street walking sex workers in Detroit. AKA victims of human trafficking, AKA prostitutes. These girls are relentless. They are always working. They are always in the thick of it. They have such a perilous job. They are the least judgmental to me. They are the realest of people. They subsist on the underbelly of humanity and still find time to laugh with me  I asked them where they are staying. If they have a regular safe spot to sleep. They all said, no. They sleep when, where, or if they can. They all also were begging for mace. I haven’t had any in quite a while. I told them I would tell you that’s what they really need right now.

They also told me that the cops were arresting people for loitering and then serving 90 days jail. The plan is to remove the addicts from the areas so that the dealer will go away. We’ll see how that works out.

Another girl told me that a lot of the drug houses had been raided and taken out. That is good to have less drug dealers. But…

Unfortunately, drug houses will let pretty much anyone crash on the floor. I noticed that it has been common in the winter for a lot of these homeless girls to deal with living in one of those places just to get inside for a few months. Are they evil? Yes. Were they also warming stations? Uh, kind of. Weird, right?

That’s also how I found out about the 3 men who we’ve been taking care of for a few years now, who didn’t make it through the winter.

On a happy note! My Mama Bear is still clean, sober, and living on her own in an apartment! You have followed and supported that woman’s journey. How at first she had an apartment that a lot of the other sex workers, including her daughters, would find safety in. Then her husband died. Then she lost her apartment. Then she lost her will, and the addiction got hold of her. Then she lost her daughter to overdose. Then she looked just like a vapor of a woman. A faint impression where a whole woman once was. Then she wanted to be clean again. So, I prayed over her until we both felt our bodies levitate. We prayed our hearts raw.

Then she did it. She was saved. She got out! She lives; she doesn’t just barely exist. We never gave up on her.  I know she wishes that her other daughter could join her in a safe and sober life. Until then, we’re both praying for her, and we won’t give up on her either.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.   

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene Vol. 141-

I asked the Captain of Street Outreach how many people we have lost to exposure so far this year.

“A lot.

Too many.”

I didn’t make it out last week. Traci got the dang flu.

Street outreach changed up again, anyway.

We’ve been driving to more abandoned buildings. Those people are opposite the street people we normally see. We don’t even get out of the car. They don’t come out to see us. The Building People are super private. They don’t want any attention AT ALL. They don’t want anyone to kick them out or rob them, so they want no activity near them. They are lot of people, many who are too ill to move, who keep to themselves and abhor sympathy or attention, because they cannot defend themselves.

It’s weird, but I get it.

I’ve started seeing a few more people out and about again.

I’ve seen a picture of my friends baby! He is beautiful!

Remember my “Classy Lady” from a couple of years ago? We stopped going to that part of town, and I lost contact with a lot of people. Some, not all, though. Our Classy Lady is doing alright. It looks like she’s been working diligently on getting a legit life going for herself and has even been able to take care of her children again.

Thank you. No one forgets what you’ve done for them. They’ll forget my name, if they ever remembered it. But no one ever forgets that feeling. That feeling that makes you believe you can go on. That, you’re going to be okay, eventually.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: Vol. 139- 

Kayla & Traci grinning and bearing Detroit cold winter night

We survived the coldest night in 8 years! We survived, as well as every homeless person we could find last night. We literally drove from one end of Detroit to the other, and back again.   

It was another week where the account was bare and all I had for food was peanut butter and jelly. Between the amount of donations that showed up on my doorstep, and what I collected from People’s Church it was enough to make me weep. A few people stepped up and sent some money to MagdalenesMission@Venmo. That was our gas money to get out there and back.  

You people. Our people. People are good. We were created to be good, to love one another.  We are all connected. Last night, you connected with people you will never meet, but you saved their lives with blankets, socks, handwarmers, cups, bread, and spare coats, hats, scarves and gloves. 

By the time we left, we were packed from floor to roof with all the above. Every atom was imbibed with prayers of love.  

Traci and I gave out our first blanket before we even made it to the church. A woman we recognized was standing at an intersection with her tiny cardboard sign. We grabbed a large comforter from behind my seat. I shoved it out the window at her and told her we would be back out later with the rest of the team. Her eyes got huge when she saw the blanket.  

“Oh! Thank you! God bless you guys!” 

“May God bless you, baby girl.” 

Once we had the team together, we were on a fort finding mission. We drove down a hundred back alleys behind every type of building. We looked under bridges, and searched large, abandoned fields. It took nearly three hours in that deadly cold, but we gave away all the food, all the sleeping bags, blankets, and 3 tents. 

The last swarm we had kept us outside of the vehicle for a while as we served more and more homeless who came out when they saw their friends coming back. I was blessed to be wearing leather with rabbit fur lined gloves.  Even so, after fifteen minutes, my fingers were already frostbitten.  One of the nurses came and took over food distribution.  

It was a night we’ll never forget, but our journey did not end there. On the way home, I usually take the back roads. It’s a safer drive, and it gives us time to discuss and process the evening. We stopped at a little gas station on 6 Mile. While I was waited for Traci to come out, the kind man behind the counter started small talk about the weather. I cannot go anywhere without bring up Magdalene’s Mission. God finds a way to inject it into all sorts of random encounters.  

The man told me that there were tons of homeless people who wandered in and out of his gas station. By the time we left, we had another spot to drop of hygiene kits packed with hats, socks, and gloves.  

God doesn’t only work in mysterious ways. God also works in obvious ways. God works in simple ways. God works in random ways. God works always. 

1 Corinthians 12:21-27 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. 

Amen. 

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: Vol. 131

Last night’s outreach was dedicated to my recently departed ex, Cecil Johnson. He had been living in a homeless shelter in Indiana for the past couple of years. No one I knew was aware of that. He had severe liver damage, and that is what he finally succumbed to. My dear friend of decades, Julie Miller, who runs the Lansing branch of Punks With Lunch, knew Cecil in his glory days as well. She said that she hoped someone like us was out there to give him a sandwich from time to time. Cecil’s addiction destroyed our relationship. It eventually destroyed him too, but he was still a human being.

Now you are connected to this, as well.

            The theme for last night’s street outreach was- Plot Twists!

My brakes and rotors are still waiting to be repaired. Still no vehicle for outreach. I was dealing with work and Cecil’s death at the same time all weekend and didn’t line up an alternative vehicle. I thought all was lost. Traci and Lilli insisted we could pull it off in Traci’s little matchbox car. She drives a Chevy Spark for goodness sake. Also, Lilli works at Little Caesars in Brighton now, and she found a way to donate 40 pizzas. I can’t let it go to waste. Allyn dropped off amazing coats and hats and gloves (and cookies!). And Alicia sent me a package of gloves everyone desperately needs. It’s going to stay below freezing for a few days. I couldn’t bear to hear the list of people we would lose to exposure by the next time I came back to Detroit. So, we made it happen.

            Lilli is amazing. She made all those pizzas. She packed up the car with everything somehow. Another example of loaves and fishes. I don’t know how she did it! She impresses me.

            We made it down there packed with what we could fit.

            The first stop was a huge old, abandoned factory by the train yard. I climbed through there a couple of times with Cecelia. This time, it was dark. We needed flashlights to find our way through. We found forts and tents in various corners. I climbed up wooden ladders, pallets, and over large holes to get to an opening on the roof. I love climbing. I love climbing on tops of buildings. We were able to leave some food and blankets for the people who were too shy to come out and see us. It’s a very private group who stay in there. They abhor the attention.

            Next stop, Ms. GG’s abando-minium. There are a lot of people in that one house. One of them is a lady, Ms. GG’s age. She told me that the next day, today, she will get her apartment! She was so thrilled and proud to have her own door and key. You can do anything for yourself if you have a door and a key.

            There was a man there who was very tall and slender; gratefully accepting socks, gloves, a hat and food. As he was going through the coats there was a red puffy jacket. It was super warm. It was a 2XL so it fit him all the way down his arms and covered his bum. The other folks around him cheered and congratulated him on such a clever find.

            It was a motley crew of people rummaging joyfully through what little we had. I hope Cecil had a warm coat to wear. One old lady who we helped had a large bag of clothes, blankets, food, etc., that she was having a hard time carrying. She yelled at a young man riding by on his bike.

            “Get off that bike, boy! Come help an old woman carry some stuff!”

            And he did. He jumped off his bike and took her garbage bag into the house for her. Before she left, that same old, black, toothless, bald woman told me, “I love you girl! Gimme some dap!”

            “You want what?” I replied.

            Then she held her fist out to me, like a fist bump. “Gimme some dap, girl!”

            “Ah!” I said. “You want bones!” Then I held up my fist and we had our fist bump moment and laughed.

We went down a few more alleys looking to see if we could find anyone we knew.  All we found was a gray and white kitten. We got to at least feed her.

            Then we saw our Crazy P. I swear she might not even be 4 feet tall, but you could hear her holler! I couldn’t understand a single word of it, but she was mad about something. One guy from the medical team and I know her best. We kept trying to get her to calm down, take food, take a few bucks, anything. But she just kept hollering and screaming incoherently. So, I prayed for her at least 10 times.

            A man who must have been almost seven feet tall was walking down the street with his little white pit pull puppy. He had a long, puffy, white coat, and long, black, neatly dreaded hair.

            I asked him if I could pet his cute puppy. The guy was super sweet and friendly. He let me try to pet her. She feared everyone and everything. What an ironic pair!

            Our last stop of the night was to see my Little Red-Haired Girl. She was busy working, as always. We were able to give her the last of our food, some gloves and handwarmers. Most importantly, we shared unconditional love with her. She had a beautiful smile for us in return.

            I couldn’t save Cecil. I can’t save anyone. When Cecil and I were good together, it was some of the most magical in love times of my life. I know it was for him, too. We gave each other warm memories. The bad was really bad. I don’t have nightmares anymore, just wise experiences. Remember my Writer Dude? He died of the exact same thing in the exact same way as Cecil did.

I just wanted Cecil, and everyone else I see and try to help on Tuesday night to know- I even if I can’t fix what’s wrong, in the moments we have together, you are truly and genuinely loved. That’s what I can give.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

#magdalenesmission   #peaceloveandhygiene

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: Vol. 130

The theme for this week is Gratitude. First, the Comella’s are humanities Heroes of the Week. They graciously let me borrow their van for street outreach last night. I know, I know, I said I would write this when I came home. Traci and I didn’t get home until after midnight. It was the longest day. Another angel on the hero list was Julie G for driving bread, fruit and snacks all the way to my house from Flint in time to bust out 50 sandwiches and meals. Off to Detroit! I had more prayed over blanket donations, etc. to bring with us. Our monthly hygiene donation was there waiting in the Magdalene’s Mission area. A lot to be grateful for! 

The food must be prepared before we leave. Extra hands from Lilli and Marley make it move faster. I have a volunteer scheduled plan for that. Message me if you want in on it. Warm food season is coming. I’ll accept canned food donations. Anything non-perishable, really. I am a very creative cook. You’re welcome to be creative one week, too. 

About 2 o’clock is when the next work for the week begins. I pack p hygiene kits while Traci packs clothes. Then we both put together the odds and ends. If anyone would like to come help put together a night of street outreach, between 2-5 is when we get it all together at the church. 

When Traci and I finally took our dinner break, we returned to the same Middle Eastern restaurant. There was a thin blanket blowing over a bump that was covering a steaming manhole cover. Traci and I looked at the man on the ground. Then we looked at each other. She grabbed him a blanket, a meal and a backpack. Then she laid the blanket over him and gently placed the brown paper lunch bag and backpack beside his shivering, huddled frame. 

The Street Outreach Medical Team was a loaded team tonight. Doctors, Nurses, dentists, it was great! We saw our harm reduction buddy, Andy, before we went out! He’s been beside us the entire journey. He informed me of a certain young lady (the one who gave me the Care Bear air freshener) who was in desperate need of all the supplies and clothing. I gave her a quick text before we took off to let her know we were on the street and ready to see her.  

We didn’t make it far down Fort Street before the ambulance pulled off to the side of the road. It was the guy in front of the place where Traci and I eat. We let them know that we had given him basic supplies, but not medical. After a few minutes, one of the doctors came up to Traci’s window. She had a look of horror and disgust on her face. “He told us that a lady had already helped him. But that he could use a cigarette. I figured I could ask you.” 

Of all the inconveniences a homeless person experiences, I have learned that it’s often the tiniest luxuries that can have an intimate impact. I always say that I approach every person I meet on the street like my friend. Not like my client, or my donation recipient, or like a homeless person, or a sex worker, or anything other than a friend that I am glad to see. I buy smokes and bum them out to people all night long. It starts a lot of conversations. Builds a lot of trust. It’s what your friend would do.  

Yes, I am trying to quit. But until I do… 

Our next stop was to a tent fort where a lady was very ill. The tents that were donated are keeping people alive long enough to get out of there. Tents are not simple luxuries. They are life or death survival supplies. It’s worth way more than a Camel. The doctors were with her for a long time. We prayed that she’ll be okay. 

My favorite part of the night was when we drove away and were cruising through the neighborhood. One yard was overcrowded with broken cars, toys, furniture, etc. Random semi-useful items were piled up held in by a chain-link fence. Traci commented about how houses like that one reminds her of Sanford and Son. And then immediately in unison- “Bum-bum waa waa!” 

And we recreated the entire Sanford and Son theme song. Which was also written by… the nearly departed Q, the late Quincy Jones. Which meant that while we waited for the ambulance at the gas station, Traci had to listen to Secret Garden, my favorite Quincy Jones song. 

Up and down the boulevard we went looking for our people. We found couples here and there. The blankets went fast. The dental hygienist was out with us. She can kill the nerve in cavities with this silver stuff. It’s awesome. Another man walking by was grateful to see us. Every person we served, I prayed for them. I told them they were so loved, and that Jesus did not forget them, no matter what. Not even in this dark hole. God was there in the donations. “You are not forgotten” 

God believes in us, so that we will believe in God. 

Every single person returned the blessing. Every single person prayed right back over us, and thanked God for Magdalene’s Mission.  

A women saw the ambulance and ran across the street to meet us. A moment later, she ran back searching for a $20 bill that she dropped. She was frantically going through her blanket and bag, searching the sidewalk and curb like a detective. I felt so bad for her. 

We saw my Little Red-Haired Girl. She smiled at me! Traci told me she told her how grateful she was to see us that night. She apologized for cutting it short, but there was a car waiting for her. That girl is always working every time I see her. I think she is the hardest working women on the streets of Detroit. 

After serving a couple of more people huddled in doorways, we made our way down the dark, narrow alleys behind the buildings. The first alley we went down had been cleared out of homeless people. The next alley had a three people huddled up in the shadows. Two men and a woman. We pulled over and they came out to us.  

We found a couple of senior men out walking on our way to a large, abandoned house with many elderly people all living together. It’s where Ms. GG stays. They took the last of the food, coats, and hygiene backpacks. 

The one request we heard over and over was for gloves.  

We are out of gloves.  

We are out of purses.  

We are out of brakes. We are out of a rear passenger tire.  

We have a food hook-up, and volunteers. 

We have blankets and clothes, hats and scarves.  

I just need a way to get them there.  

I believe in God. God believes me. So, I pray. 

Then I get to work like I am grateful for the honor to be useful to this world, to God. I am grateful that I have found a way that I can give back to the world, to God. 

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. 

Amen. 

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: Vol. 127

Last night was excellent! I have so much great news to share about some of our friends on the street. To share a Golden Girl Moment- “Thank you for being a friend!” Like a fan of the Journey, you “Don’t stop believing!” Excellent adventure we had last night. We got to the church about 1pm. We worked until 4:00, then we packed up Maggie the Van, and went to a tiny little bar to eat named “Tommy’s Place” right around the corner. It’s located at the end of the alley behind the church. Stevie Wonder was back to play a show in Motown last night. Being from Lansing, let me tell you how much we LOVE our Stevie Wonder. (P.S. Songs in the Key of Life is a perfect album) Great food, awesome prices. They have Faygo and Vernor’s on tap. I’ll be back there for sure

We met our first client before we even left the parking lot. Traci and I walked past him sitting on the front steps of the church after we got something to eat. We said “hello’s”. Later he walked across the parking lot to the van and asked if we had anything to eat. He was hungry. Of course we did. I also made good use of the giant rolling suitcases. I packed them with big, fluffy, comforters and pillows. I would squeeze a hygiene kit into the front pocket, and a towel if one would fit. The old man was delighted to have warm, dry, bedding to sleep safely under. I try to make sure that all of your heartfelt donations are utilized in the best ways.

Now, some people comfortably believe everything happens for a reason. Some people greatly appreciate when randomness and probability aligns in their favor. Me? This stuff is too much coincidence to be a coincidence… again. It was a clothing donation from a lady who own a thrift store in Portland that my Sissy, Jennifer, met and connected me to a couple of years ago. She had a wonderful clothing donation of newer small sized clothing. There were small and extra small sized, Fall maternity clothes. They were packed and folded neatly into a tote, and then lost in the piles of clothes spread out between 2 cities.

Last night, in the comfort of a gymnasium with all our donations organized in one place, Traci found those beautiful clothes. She packed them neatly into the street outreach totes. Our first stop was to see a girl whom I had not seen in a while. The last time I saw her was when the medical team informed her that she was pregnant.

The first patient was my dear friend, who is also my biggest fan of my Memoirs of a Changeling, is also pregnant. She ran up to me and held me tight for a long, genuine embrace. Next, she excitedly and proudly flipped up her shirt to show off her swollen tummy. She bragged about what an active boy she has bouncing around inside of her. She’s keeping as healthy as she can. We were able to supply her with an appropriate wardrobe for her changing body. Street Outreach medical volunteers are helping her keep up her prenatal care. I love it.

A lot more people were helped at that same parking lot. I recognized them all. My Pretty Red-Haired Girl came up. She’s so strong and self-sufficient. I never see her coupled up with other street people. Just in the area. I see her get in and out of a lot of cars. I think she’s the kind of person who is too thick-skinned to ask for help. I’ve been building a relationship of trust and mutual respect with her over the past couple of years. That way, when she’s ready, it will be on her terms, and she will have an advocate she can trust. Everyone needs someone on their side.

The crowd of people hovered over totes filled with clothes and shoes like crows. They stood guard over their food and bedding bags. I howled loud enough for everyone in Detroit to hear me. “YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN! GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU! YOU! ARE SO LOVED!”

And just like when I was sitting on top of the church as the bells rang, I was right there when the praises rang out from the sidewalk to the sky.

Eventually, we rolled on up the road. The police have been busy the last couple of weeks tearing down peoples tents and forts. I heard that no less than 5 people we know had their shelters destroyed. The next side street we parked on, we had just begun to help our friend, when I got the message to leave immediately. Some people from the business next door were video recording us. Time to go!

The next spot we parked at was to help a couple who were living in the trees behind an empty building. More and more people made their way over to the van. We must have seen another 15 or 20 people. We had one meal left, and one sleeping bag. It was exactly enough for our next stop…

DARLA & BABY! She was happily greeting the volunteers from the medical team when I approached her. She ran full speed up to me and jumped into my lap and smothered me with happy kisses. I told it was time for me to hook up my best friend, and she made a bee line for the van, and hopped right into the driver’s seat! I pulled out some of the dog food and treats that I always bring with me in case I see her. She climbed right in the back of the van and ate the entire baggie of treats from my hand. Then I opened the zip-loc bag of dog food and just let her shove her pretty face in and go to town. Their Person needed medical attention, so Baby, the puppy came and hung out inside the van, too. They were so happy. I’m going to be riding the vibes of that love bomb from those 2 dogs for a while. Even better than that?

Darla & Baby’s Person got an apartment!!!! He’s been working hard at it, and I’m so proud of him. What a long hard road my friend has survived. We talked about the impact that having a home after overcoming sever homelessness has on your head. We had the same conversations with God. “If we could ever be safe inside with access to food again, I promise, I promise God, I will never complain about anything ever, ever, again.”

Now that we have survived all that, nothing on a day-to-day basis compares to that level of fear and vulnerability. Having safe shelter makes everything else in the world feel like a blessing. I love being there to hear and share these stories of success. He’s still panhandling every so often to make ends meet up, but with an address, anything is possible.

When Darla’s Person came to collect her, a large man approached him with a Little Ceasar’s Pizza box, then spoke briskly, but gently. “Here’s for your dogs, man.”

“Thank you, so much!” Darla’s Person replied.

A few minutes later, he opened the box and passed slices back and forth between the pups.

Darla’s Person has a few pots and pans. I have some dishes. His goal is to find a television, radio, furniture, anything to break up the monotony of silence and to get out of his own head for a while. He’s a non-fiction reader. I’ll see what I can do.

My Little Red-Haired Girl asked me if I would please request underwear for the ladies. I have some affordable packages on the Magdalene’s Mission Wish List on Amazon. I have a link to the Wish List on the webpage on How To Donate.

Winter Is Coming…. I’m almost out of coats, and hats. I’m out of gloves and handwarmers. Blankets and socks are on-going needs. If you’re purging your closets, my porch is still the preferred donation drop-off location.

I’m also making a new page on the Magdalenesmission.com website for people to sign up for a meal, or even donating food so that I can make a meal.

Also, if you, or your company, would like to volunteer time at a non-profit, I have a place in Detroit to put you and your co-worker to good use.

For people, by people, through other people, to get to people. People matter.

Remember the friend from the beginning of the report who was pregnant that reads my book? She is the same lady who I sat in the grass with on top of the bridge and I talked to her for a long time while everyone was busy serving everyone else. That day she told me that she bought a beautiful star stone for her daughter. That she was so peace-filled, because that’s what she bought for her daughter ‘s birthday instead of buying drugs. She told me yesterday, that she’s in contact with her daughter who still holds tightly that gemstone as a precious talisman of inspiration.

We are not forgotten.

God has not forgotten us.

We are so loved.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, love & hygiene: vol. 120

May 21, 2024

Last night was inspirational to me. I learned even more about what I do. I learned tricks to be better, and I learned things to make me more aware.

My goal was to share the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. For that, I am on fire. People’s Church has truly shown their devotion to this same goal. I had 48 pepper sprays to pass out! I had a ton of clean socks, and that is the first thing people ask for after food and baby wipes. I had plenty of tote bags so people could carry their new clothes, and the medicine or first aid supplies they received. Julie G was my food angel making sure everyone had a sandwich and a piece of fruit to eat. She even found ground beef and rice, so I made a delicious casserole. The casserole was outstanding- ground beef cooked in cream of celery soup, mushroom milk, rice, green beans, and a fresh sautéed onion. Honestly, after 4 hours in Ms. Bonnie’s roasting pan it looked like cat food. But… it tasted good!

Nick just bought the old Peaberry Café in Whitmore Lake. He’s renaming it Kahuna Sunrise. It’s not open yet, but we got to go in and make ourselves lattes before we hit 7 Mile and took it all the way into our hood. That was cool.

The evening played out like a rehearsal for Nick to see how swarmed we get in the summer. The air was hot, but not scorching. The sun loomed radiantly over us, like God left the flashlight on a little longer so we could see our way around better.

First stop- across from the busy grocery store. We went through most of our wares sitting in that one place for an hour. Our usual medley of people ran up to Nick’s van as soon as they saw the ambulance. Nick passed out meals and hygiene kits, while I captained clothes and hygiene, too. I made sure to give pepper spray to as many of our ladies as I could. Some of them are sex workers, some are victims of trafficking, some are beggars, but some are also senior citizens. There are older men who get attacked a lot and I make sure they get pepper spray, too. I can tell it means a lot to them. The safety of men isn’t a priority for most people. It’s true that the ladies receive most of the violent attacks. But we aren’t there to help categories. We look at every person the same way Jesus would, as a precious creation. We must have helped at least 20-30 people in that one spot. We got the warning from our Cap’n that the situation just got critical- so we said good-bye’s and darted away. I left a box of summer shirts sitting on the sidewalk. As we drove away in a giant U-turn, four skeletal women stood over it like hungry crows flapping floral patterned wings in the hot breeze.

I got to see my best girl, Darla! Her owner had another pit bull laying on a blanket beside him at the intersection. Darla recognized me right away and ran straight to me with a big toothy grin. I had food and water for her and her new bud. I even had a red harness that I found mixed in donations. It just fit her! I cuddled with the dogs while Nick took care of the owner.

An older man with a white beard, carrying a worn leather jacket creeped towards the ambulance, he talked to a nurse for a moment and then hobbled slowly over to the van. I offered him food, and he was grateful. He had a very thick accent. He told me he had been a soldier in the Romanian Army for forty years. He was eighty-four now. His accent was very thick, and even though I’m pretty good at that sort of thing, I could only pick out parts of sentences. One thing about a knife in his stomach. Something else about a dog in a car. He was interesting and very nice, respectful, and polite to me. As he was story telling the ambulance rushed us off again.

After we pulled away, I was informed that some years ago, that same man used to traffic one of the other ladies we know. They had to cut through several padlocks to get her out of the room she was being held captive in. She has severe mental disabilities. She is the one who is always preaching loudly and incoherently at everyone she sees passing by her on the jagged sidewalk. She has a couple of other older men I see her with now. They look like they are protecting her. My Tiny Preacher.

The next stop was to help a senior man. We gave him food and hygiene. He asked me if he could please have an extra meal for Tiny Preacher. He stays with her in an abandoned parking booth behind an abandoned strip club. I hope he cares for her in the way he seems to genuinely care for her.

We saw an old man walking, bent in half. The medical team swung back around. There was another young lady there, too. They were awesome. As I was getting food together for the man, he said he would rather let the young lady eat first.

“There’s plenty for everyone!” I expressed and handed him a bag of food and water.

He stepped back and said again, “No thank you. Please let the young lady eat first.”

She was a filthy, tattered, adorable thing wearing oversized men’s clothing. I handed her the meal. We got her fitted into some size 00 shorts, and a clean shirt. I gave her 2 hygiene kits. Nick packed a meal for the gentleman, while I loaded him up with clean socks.

Another young Hispanic man approached us. He looked very proud and very desperate all at once. I remember serving him before, and he remembered us. I noticed that he was looking through the women’s clothing as much as he was the men’s. Nick noticed him earlier waving at cars.  I can’t take for granted that all the sex workers, or trafficking victims, are female. All three were beside themselves with gratitude for a can of pepper spray. (PJ, you rock)

Our last stop was like a grand finale. I adore this lady and her boyfriend. She is the lady I sat with in the grass that day. She loves my book. She is my Tattooed Lady. They live together with some other people in an abandoned house. I told her that I had a couple of more books that I wrote, and I can hardly wait for her to read them. She can hardly wait either. Its nice to feel understood. It can be hard for some people to connect with other people. We mess it up. We get it all wrong and sometimes our attempts can have the opposite effect.

My Tattooed Lady loaned my book to her boyfriend. He remembers all my little stories. He started to tell me his little story. He told me that his mother pulled him out of school in fourth grade so that he wouldn’t have to learn sex education. By sixth grade, he just stopped going at all. At twelve, he ran away from his abusive mother and found peace and solace in the escapism of drugs.

He gave up trying to be anything at age twelve. Can you imagine? Maybe you can. Somehow, someone can stop caring about themself, but still be human enough, still possess enough love inside to care about the well being of others.

Someone donated a cute pair of used purple Converse. He saw they were his girlfriends size, so he hid them in a separate pocket for her. He said he can’t wait to surprise her later. Her birthday was Monday. He made sure to carry more than her. He tries to keep her burden light, like Jesus does for us. He always makes sure Tattooed Lady is cared for first before he will accept anything from us.

We had another buddy stop by the van. He’s a nice guy. We’ve seen him for a while now. He’s very respectful. He and Traci are good buddies. I made sure he got what he could use out of what we had left. Again, the medical team swept us away.

This time, I found out that there was a shoot-out the night before in the abandoned house where we were around the corner from. Three people got shot. Two of them died. The third was the buddy I just talked to for fifteen minutes. I never even asked what happened to his arm that was in a cast. He was just happy for clean socks and real food.

And that was it! I passed out over 50 meals, 50 hygiene kits, blankets, 20 pepper sprays, dog food, 5 bins of clothing, a bunch of hugs and an infinite amount of love.

If anyone has a suggestion for how I can come up with $6,000 for a cargo bus that would have enough room for volunteers and all the stuff we take out each week, please let me know.

We have been sharing this unconditional love for 9 years. It only gets bigger, and it only gets better.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace. Love, &Hygiene vol. 119

4/24/2024

God is good all the time.

And all the time God is good.

Tuesdays nights are the best. Last night was truly special. The only thing that could have made it any better would have been if Traci could have been there, too. But I’m working on getting us a bigger boat.

We had a donation a couple of weeks ago of several stellar cans of beef stew that I was able to put to good use. I added dashes of black pepper, garlic, onion, some green beans, a dollop of love, and voila! Same person gave us lunchmeat, too. All I needed to buy was bread, paper lunch sacks, soup cups, stupid lids (that didn’t fit right), and spoons. I got what we needed, and after gas I have less than $3 in our bank account.

Eh, That’s God’s problem. I have a report to tell!

The Magdalene’s Mission Posse was just me and Cecelia tonight. Maggie LeVan was running again after months of being unwell. I could feel her love to be back as we zipped up, down, and around the city streets. I think she was showing off her turning dexterity a few times. She dug her tires into the muddy alleys and leaped delicately over every speed hump. It was warm(ish) and light, and everyone, including the van, was in a great mood.

Our first stop was to meet a patient at a gas station on the east side. While they treated her, at least three other people approached us subtly, and shyly for meals. One women kept walking near us staring at the food. I asked her if she was okay. She just nodded quickly. One of the nurses approached her and she was able to bring her to us.

The senior man we served was thanking me for the food, blanket, socks, and hygiene.

I told him, just like I told every single person we helped last night, “You were not forgotten. God loves you, baby.”

The next part was an extra special treat. The only other time it happened was when we were with Cecelia. We explored an abandoned convent catholic school! It was different than the last time we were there. Nature has been busy there the past year. People had been spotted in there earlier, but the entire building was abandoned, other than us, while we searched for signs of life. I shared with you the pictures.

We spoke with a lady on the side of the street who needed medical attention. We focused on our friends who live outside, and are shelter challenged. The blanket donations were very appreciated. I had a good supply of great, new, insulated jackets.

People had already started shedding the heavy layers in lieu of the spring warmups. A lot of people didn’t know that it would be close to freezing at night for the next few days. Those coats and blankets saved the lives of good men and women. Thank you.

We stopped to help a crippled veteran begging at an intersection. The medical team did there thing while Magdalene’s Mission did theirs.

Cecelia and I were laughing. Everyone we spoke to was in a good mood. Then the night just kept getting even better.

I saw one of my really, really, really favorite people. She is the lady I sat on the bridge in the grass with and we talked for a long time. She’s had my book for a while now. We talked about how she felt after reading it. Her boyfriend is the one who had the dream with me in it. She told me how much reading my memoirs meant to her. She said it made her feel understood, and that she could see how some things were not actually her fault. She didn’t have to feel guilty for the sins of others. Her boyfriend read it, too. He said there was a lot of it he could relate to. Points such as, outside living strategies, or how I avoided a serious drug addiction. How seeing the darkest in humanity can make the simplest points of light more appreciated.

 It made him remember to appreciate every tiny detail. Because there are so many gifts that are great but simple. He told me that the first time he got sober, he remembers going outside and seeing a sunrise. It was the most beautiful thing he ever saw. He had never conceived of such majestic beauty. Ironically, it had actually been there every day of his life, he had just forgotten to look because he was always distracted. Her boyfriend said that there were also so many times in my story when I just walked headfirst into the worst situations, too. It made him want to scream at the pages.

“But I didn’t give up. That’s what I want you to take away from it.”

Cecelia has read it too, so it was cool to hear everyone’s impressions. My girl told me that she guards her copy and takes it with her wherever they stay. People want to read it, but she’s afraid she won’t give it back, so she covets it. I’m going to have to get a job so I can buy and bring more copies. It’s an immense comfort to have a story that dark and be able to share it with someone who is compassionate, not afraid. We must have hugged it out at least twenty more times before the teams headed out to see our next patient.

It was my Angel! She’s still out there. She’s still working on her stuff and trying to get into housing. She called me a bunch of times to make sure she didn’t miss us. We went to the place where she has her tent. While we waited for her, we saw Darla! She ran to see me so hard that she dragged that old filled shopping cart down the sidewalk like a reindeer!

I brought her dog food and water. I told Cecelia to share our beef stew with her. She gobbled up 2 whole bowls! Cecelia and I played with her and loved on her for a long time.  I opened the passenger door, and she gladly took her place in the warm front seat in front of the heat vents. She has a great smile.

Several more people came up to us at that location. We were able to help some grateful outside livers. Including my Ms. GG!

She came running up behind me and gave me the biggest hug. She didn’t stay long, but she looked great and happy. That’s what it’s all about.

When my Angel finally came out, we had a lot to be happy about. She is sharing a tent with Darla and Darla’s human. She said that Darla is her snuggle buddy in the tent at night. I gave them my last big comforter. Traci found a tarp in the garage yesterday. I put it in the van for just in case. Her tent has a big rip in it, so that was awesome. She’s keeping it together out there.

We went down a few more alleys and side streets. We stopped to see a couple for medical attention and supplies. As Cecelia and I served them, several more thin, ashy, faces approached us for food, hygiene and warm clothing. We had just enough for that last little group of people.

I hugged on all my friends one last time, then I checked out with the medical team. As soon as I got in the van to leave, the first few raindrops began to tap on my windshield. What perfect timing.

And what a perfect night! Everyone was okay. Because of the NFL draft coming to downtown Detroit, a lot of our homeless friends have been temporarily swept up into hotel rooms for a few days. That’s good for them.

Thank you for being a part of Magdalene’s Mission. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of working with these fierce, yet sensitive individuals.

Every single person we helped last night, we told them that God so loves them. They are not forgotten. And everyone received it. I pray God will keep sending me to the ghetto to share His unconditional love.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, love & hygiene: vol. 116

March 20, 2024

“Life is like a roller coaster. If it weren’t for all the ups and downs you wouldn’t even get on the ride.”   -Ambrose Ian Sullivan

What a night! This report is a challenge, my friends. I will be honest. There was a lot of good done, too. Let me share it. Bear with me, please. I’m going to power through this one.

I had Nick (my best bro and Jet’s Pizza- Nick) and Traci with me in the van last night. Nick held down the drivers seat. I covered food (mostly) while Traci covered clothes and hygiene (mostly).

We started off on the Southwest side. The medical team had a client to check in on. We drove around until we saw a couple of people who we could tell needed our help. There were very sweet older men. Very kind, and always humble. One of the men mentioned that they just found a clean space in an abandoned building to sleep in.

Nick asked “Hey! Do you want a lantern?”

His entire body lit up like a lighthouse. He was so happy he danced a little shuffle, so I did a little prayer dance, too. Those lanterns are so cool! I had more but I ran out of AA batteries. I’m going to find the lanterns on Amazon and put them on the Wishlist.

As we sat across from the Coney serving random homeless people who walked by, Nick noticed a couple of guys at the back of the lot. They were digging around near the dumpsters. He’s got such a talent for outreach. I checked with the medic team, then walked towards them.

“It’s Magdalene’s Mission and street outreach. Do want homemade food and a blanket, dears? Come up to my van. Traci and I can help you out.”

“Do you have those hygiene kits, too?” One of the two elderly men asked.

“I do! I do! That ambulance has doctors and nurses who want to make sure you are healthy. Why don’t you go check in with them. Traci and I will get you some food and clothes ready.” The smiles were already contagious.

“Do you have a coat? May I have a coat if you have one?” His own was worn down to tatters.

“We do! Go to the ambulance first, and I’ll have everything ready for you.”

That’s how outreach is done.

While my team was waiting for the medical team to do their medical thing- I saw a doggie! Homeless animals are my Achilles Heel. Our Secretary, Wen, had the coolest idea. She uses the empty peanut butter jars from the sandwiches and refills them with dog food that she has gotten pet stores to donate to her from their damaged bags.

I saw the dog walking around a good 50 feet away. I grabbed some food. He wasn’t going to come up to me, or anywhere near me. He was beautiful though. He was being guarded. I opened the jar. His ears perked up, but he wasn’t going to risk being caught. I shook the jar. His eyes were locked on mine.

I told him, “It’s okay buddy. You’re a good boy. We can do this on your terms, sweetheart.” I emptied the food on the ground. Then I backed away. The further away I moved from the food, the closer he would come to it. Pretty baby was hungry, too. I ran back to the van to grab another jar of dog food.

“Kayla. Don’t touch that dog!” Nick and Traci warned me, amused, from the van.

“He won’t come near me. He don’t trust anything. He’s just hungry.”

The dog and I did the dance 2 more times. I think 25 feet is the closest he could come. But man, did he LOVE that food! He even ran off with the peanut butter jars and buried them for later.

Another successful outreach recipient!

Then the evening started getting weird. Sunset was a giant orange dipped slowly behind the concrete forks. When the sun dropped all the way down to the ground it exploded and pink and orange sun juice sprayed all over the clouds. But just before the sun crashed onto the ground, I saw a long slender body in the distance. He waved his arms. He moved with a purpose. I thought I recognized him. He came up and gave me a big hug, then said, “Yeah, it’s me. I was in jail for a couple of months.”

 I told him that he looked terrible. I was glad he saw us. I’ve been looking around for that buddy for about a year now. Wow. A year changed a lot. I went back to the van shook. I barely recognized him. That is not how I remembered my Wrestler. Crazy! Dang, he looked so bad I barely recognized him. He didn’t look the same.

Still waiting to hear back from the patient…

The medical team led us to a new spot. This fort was cool. It was hidden in plain sight, but out of eye line. I jumped out of my van, and a nurse jumped out of the ambulance. We approached the fort in the same way we do, announcing our presence so we don’t scare anyone. I couldn’t believe who popped out.

The Real Wrestler!!! I don’t know who the heck I thought the other guy was. I meet too many people. The other guy said he had the same name, and it threw me for a loop. But Wrestler is special to me. We have a connection. He has intelligence behind those eyes. He is still with the same buddy he was a year ago. Good. We traded numbers. One of them has a cell phone they can share now. (Thank you, Obama). I’m going to help them get connected to the people who are getting people off the street and into housing. It was a good, long, real as life, hug time. We were thrilled to be reconnected again.

I was getting ready to pack up some meals for them when…

KITTY!

I saw a black kitty! Oh, she was precious! I grabbed some cans of cat food from the from seat and opened them up for the sweet thing. Cats kill the rats, snakes, and spiders. Just like when people lived outside a thousand years ago, cats and dogs were living nearby, keeping us safe. That’s why I drop everything to feed a homeless animal. They are my unsung heroes on the street.

We served Wrestler and his tentmate as well as a couple of other random homeless people who walked by.

Next, we hit the abandoned minivan. People pour out of it like a clown car. Then they make lines beside the ambulance and the van. They wait for their provisions as well as their hugs. This poor girl was trying to look through clean clothes but her boyfriend (?) kept rushing her to get into a car with another guy. She was feisty, though. I made sure she had pepper spray before she walked away.

“Thank you. Thank God.” She muttered as she walked away.

You’re welcome, baby. And I do.

Last stop.

Saw my buddy, Big Hands the skater dude. I hadn’t seen him in 2 or three months. We’ve been at his forts that he builds. The dude is so dang clever. He just hasn’t been there. The little dude he was squatting with was also a good buddy of mine. He told me that he used to work for Nick at Jet’s Pizza before things got out of control with him. I was excited to reintroduce him last night. Maybe it would remind him of the person he was capable of being. Inspire some self-preservation. So, I asked Big Hands, “Where is Kyle at?”

Big Hands looked down. He said, “Oh honey. You don’t know? Kyle is dead. He was stabbed. The autopsy said that he died outside from exposure.”

What? No!

Big Hands held me tight, and we cried. He filled me in on some details and theories. And then the medical team had to go. So, I had to go. He and I were still grieving for Kyle as Nick pulled us away from the muddy lot.

Kyle was my buddy. He was the one who had the best stories. We were brutally honest with one another about reality. We respected one another for that. He was brilliant, too. He talked about how his addiction got out of control. How he got to a point way earlier than his friends where he always needed more. He said his tolerance level would go up no matter how much, or what he used. Until he was beyond what his friends were comfortable with anymore. Until he ended up in Detroit. He’s from Livingston County. A lot of the younger crowd are all white kids from nice homes and nice families in nice neighborhoods. Traci and I are surprised by how many are from Brighton, Howell and Hartland.

I loved you, Kyle. You were a messed-up kid, but you are real to me.

The van ride home was quiet. We came across a homeless woman holding a sign at a traffic light on the way out of town. Trai grabbed a hygiene kit, handed it to me, Nick yelled for her to hurry up and come get it. She did, just as the light turned green. Her smile was so genuinely full of grace.

As I said last week, you never know when the last time you see someone will be.

I guess my lesson for tonight is to just be grateful for every opportunity I can be there and help.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

To contribute to Magdalene’s Mission: Venmo- MagdalenesMission7

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peace, love &hygiene: vol. 115

March 5, 2024

I would have to say that the theme for last night was efficient. From Monday on, my texts blew up with people offering their help for this weeks Mission. It was everything good about humanity.

Nick drove. Katie made sure our food was awesome. People were still reeling over last week’s casseroles. Alyssa added the homemade cornbread muffins to my red beans and rice concoction. My niece donated some of her warm shirts that were nice, but that she outgrown them. I had warm coats, blankets, etc. I had clean, warm, clothes. Melissa and her girls got all the hygiene kits packed. They ran out of wipes, but then a box of wipes and flashlights were delivered to my door 10 minutes later.

We were packed to the gills. We had 60 full meals this week. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that 25 homeless people died this winter in Detroit from exposure. Dang it. All I can say to pull that around is that it would have been significantly more without your donations keeping me in Detroit every Tuesday night.

We drove to a lot of places, mostly in the same area. We kept driving up and down the same road seeing people we recognized or visiting forts.

Our first stop was two older men. They were very sweet and grateful. One of the men started to hug me, then he pulled back and apologized.

I said, “No, you bring that sugar right here to Auntie Kayla. I love you. God loves you. Bring that hug to me.”

I could see behind his eyes that he hadn’t been held with kindness in many, many, years. Just one hug was all it took. I gave him a sleeping bag, too. Pretty exciting stuff.

Then we saw the guy that had the midget dream about me. He’s cool. He was delighted to have more homemade food. He was so happy he started singing. I smiled and thanked him for a dinner for a song. He told me that the only way he can survive is to sing. This existence on its own would be unbearable. Music and song are the only things that can separate him from the pains of life. I know exactly how that feels. Don’t you?

In the same spot, we were approached by a man with a broken back who still works under the table for the random stores in the neighborhood. He was very proud of himself for that. He appreciated a warm meal and clean socks after such a long hard day.

Another sweet older man approached us. I was able to give him food, hygiene, and a sleeping bag. He prayed over me, over and over. “Angels of Detroit. Thank for sending them, Lord.”

Then I saw my best dog friend Darla! I loved her up a bunch! I gave her dog food and some dog treats. I didn’t bring water for lunch, so I emptied my water bottle into her tiny metal bowl. Wouldn’t you? She is by far, my favorite three-legged homeless pit bull.

We found a senior gentleman huddled up at a picnic table. We took care of him, and his friend. I went to give him a hug as I told him I loved him. He started to move towards me, then he stopped.

“Are you sure? No one ever touches me. I don’t know the last time I was hugged.”

I told him, “That changes now. You are SO loved.” And I hugged him extra tight and extra-long.

Was he dirty, smelly, disease-ridden, and weird?

Yeah. So? Hugs are power. I am full of power.

Then was a busy spot. I saw my Ms. GG. She looks good. She was out with a gentleman friend. Several sex-workers approached me at that spot. I was able to give pepper spray or mace to all of them. One of them told me that her last pepper spray saved her life. I showed Ms. GG how to use hers to cut a seat belt, and how to break out a car window.

I noticed that the ladies are really impressed that anyone cares what happens to them. They already know that they are the lowest rung on the social ladder.  Those tiny little ladies deal with more trauma, stress, life-threatening situation, battery, assault, etc. But- they haven’t given up yet. Their story isn’t done being written. Every time I go out there, I am a role model. I didn’t give up on me, and I won’t give up on them. Everyone wants to be a part of Magdalene’s Mission someday. Everyone wants their experiences to account for something.

We served a crippled man at an intersection. Then we found my Ms. Betty Boop and her husband! Their love is a powerful one. I met them when they were staying in a really disgusting dope den. Mr. Boop was very upset that Ms. Boop was in such a horrid places. He told me of his dreams for them. They have their own apartment now! It’s getting better a little at a time.

Ms. Boop introduced me to my new buddy. His name is Milo. He’s my cover model for this weeks report. As soon as I saw him, I told the people to wait. Animals first. I went and got the kitty a couple of cans of food. I noticed that his tail was gone. It’s completely gone. It’s so gross, but she said it’s been like that since he was a kitten. She takes care of him and makes sure he gets fed. She named him Milo.

Next was 3 people living in a minivan in an empty lot. Then we went to the neighborhood where my Marilyn Monroe lives. She wasn’t feeling well, so she sent her boyfriend out to see us for her. There were a lot of people there.

We saw my one-legged brother. That guy is not afraid to hug me one bit. He picked me up and swung me around. I took care of him and his two friends.

We saw one more lady. She got my last personal can of pepper-spray. The medical team was ready to call it a night, so I just gave her my last 5 sandwiches. She promised to share them with the people in her fort. I love her. I was so happy to see she was okay. I never know when the last time I might see someone will be.

So, every time, we pray, we love unconditionally, we listen, we care, we treat each other with respect.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Venmo: magdalenesmission7

#peaceloveandhygiene   #magdalenesmission

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Peace, love & hygiene: vol. 93

This was the night of My Angel. I saw a lot of people tonight. I saw many friends, many beloved, many warriors tonight. None of them compared to my grand finale though, The Angel.

You may have noticed that I haven’t had a report for the last couple of weeks. Traci and I knew we had time to make up for this week. We packed 65 meals this week of peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Tons of all the rest.

We bought extra water and ice to keep it cold because we knew it would be scalding outside today.

The first person we helped was an old man that we saw being dragged into the weeds behind a bus stop. The medical team checked in on him. Traci brought him a meal. There was a woman waiting at the bus stop who asked if she could speak with the medical team for a moment. She also asked if she could please have something to eat. We weren’t even a mile away yet.

The first stop was the burned down house. Some of the people who I had seen at the factory were now staying down there. I gave them some food for the cats they keep. At least eight people were fed at that spot. One of the people who stayed there had a huge necrosis wound.

My Girl I Defended was there. She boasted how she thought she could look clean enough to get a job. With a little soap and water, and a hairbrush, she could pass for a decent person. Absolutely.

The next stop we went to was the abandon factory. This time, instead of parking on the street, we parked at the end of the alley off the main street. For the first time, I saw a row of tents in the small thatch of land between the building and a steep hill down to the highway. I saw my Widow! She was filthy. Everyone was filthy. I made the wipes packs extra thick this week. We probably helped another eight or ten people there, too.

We flew across town before sunset to see my brothers. Oh! When I saw the little brother, he picked me up with one arm and swung me around in a circle. We really missed each other a lot. They are getting ready to move into their new place soon! They are on the list and Kyle is putting the rungs onto the ladder. He has been helping so many people get off the street and into actual safe homes.


As the little brother and I were talking, I noticed a smear of blood on his ribs. He had a wound on the inside of his arm, and the blood had dried on his bony ribs. I pulled out a baby wipe from his Mag Bag. I gently cleaned the blood stains from his side. The clean spot revealed more dirty spots. I ended up wiping off his arms and neck as he talked to Kyle about his next steps in the process.

I thought about the ladies who lived thousands of years ago. Wiping someone’s feet was thought to be so sacred of an act. I thought about how maybe they felt like I did in that moment. Perhaps they wanted to give someone else that genuine feeling of being sacred.

We travelled on through the steamy streets. Scooter gangs did wheelies in unison up and down Michigan Avenue. I heard music coming from everywhere.

Our last stop of the night was a doozy. We see a lot of people when we sit in this parking lot. As usually happens, people start coming out of every shadow, and the next thing you know, we were swarmed. It started off with these first two ladies. Both were sex workers we recognized. I grabbed them each a Mag Bag as they were going through the totes of clothes. When I got closer to one of the women, I noticed that her jaw was swollen with a green and yellow bruise across her cheek and jawbone. She looked defeated, and ragged. I asked her about her face. She said she was attacked. I asked her if she had gotten any medical attention for it yet. She told me it was no big deal. She could handle it.

I put my hand on her shoulder and I told her, “Sweetheart, I can’t have you like this. Will you see a doctor for me? I have one right over there. I won’t be able to stop worrying about you unless you let the doctor see you.”

For me, she would… in just a minute.

I got the medical team, and they approached her gently and treated her face and some other broken pieces.

Next week that I go out, I am DEFINITELY  bringing more pepper spray. There is a direct correlation to the uptick in violent attacks against women and me providing pepper spray or mace. That last fundraiser we had over Mother’s Day weekend will help make sure of that.

But the BEST best best part of the evening happened there as well. My Angel. I don’t see her very often, but whenever I do it is a treat. She moves around a lot from neighborhood to neighborhood, so she is not easy to keep track of. But most recently, since the last time I saw her… drum roll please…

She earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and psychology. She was close to graduating when she moved out here. She got it figured out and got her last couple of credits done. Now she has her degree, but she is also homeless surrounded by dope fiends and crazy people. She described some of her attacks to me. She’s been abducted. She’s never been able to be a sex worker. I notice she hides her femininity as a defense. She plays up her stick figure under baggy t-shirts and short hair under a vintage skater ballcap.

I got her to talk to Kyle. She was afraid to before, but with a nudge from me, she decided to trust him. She explained her situation. She has my card. Her cell phone battery was dead. As soon as she can get it charged up, she is supposed to call me. I’ll give Kyle her number then her transition into housing would happen immediately. She has been struggling so long. The insanity of this world is her epicenter.

But…

My old writing teacher once told me that the word ‘but’ means that everything you just said in the sentence before the word ‘but’ isn’t necessarily true.

It doesn’t have to stay that way. I tell them all, “I always dreamed that one day I would be on this side of the van. I’ve stood where you are. Never give up on yourself. I won’t.”

For some reason, Reverend Kayla had to spit out, “Even when you don’t believe in God, God still believes in you.”

Therefore, I believe in my little Angel. I believe in miracles. I believe in the power of human will. I believe that humans are a fantastic and limitless species. I believe in potential.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Peace, Love & Hygiene: Vol.71-

WARNING: It is 1 a.m. I’m doing the best that I can to write this before I pass out into a mild coma.

The theme for tonight was, Worth It. We had a powerful team assembled. We had Stanley our fearless medic, Katie the Courageous and Committed nurse, and four other bright, dedicated,  nurses offering the best of what a medical street team has to offer. Andy was with us providing everything his bottomless heart and one hatchback could hold that could help someone who is suffering horribly from a drug addiction. That man’s commitment astounds me. We had the extra help from SWORDS tonight, too. They are a group that works collectively to assist women who are in sex work industry. Magdalene’s Mission was the formidable caboose, packed to the gills with grit and provisions for our homeless brothers and sisters living on the street.

We managed to reach many people who were shelter challenged tonight. The first place we went to was at a park where a whole huge group of homeless were gathered. First one person came up, then a couple more, and a few more. We fed a lot of people right away. People were excited to see the warm clothes available to them. The mini flashlights were another huge hit, as usual. Also, autumn means it’s blanket and handwarmer season.

The medic team had a steady night. Andy, Stan, and the other volunteers bravely walked to the back of dark lots to find people who lived in tiny makeshift houses. Sometimes, no one answered so we hope for the best for them and move on. We drove to some of the busier areas on the southwest side tonight.

And one point we drove through a massive cloud of smoke. It went on for a mile or so. We could barely see through it. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. It was quite eerie.

We hung out on the side of the road, and in gravel parking lots. The last spot we went to, we were able to give someone a roll of some leftover tarp. We met so many interesting people tonight. Some were adorable and others were plain bizarre.

There were a lot of crowds to serve tonight. We had a lot of food to pass out this week, thanks to Katie. She baked little, tiny quiches in muffin papers. She packaged up mini bagged lunches so that all we had to do was pass them out. She even found us a group from a church who has volunteered to prepare meals for us on the third Tuesday of each month. That is an amazing blessing! Something as easy as preparing sandwiches can take a huge load off us getting everything ready for Tuesday. But I as I mentioned, it’s worth it. It’s worth it for the smiles, the hugs, the laughs, the hope raised, the comradery, the peace of mind knowing that forty or more people will be sleeping a lot warmer, cleaner, and healthier tonight because we made it out to see them.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. Amen.

And now It’s after 2 am., and I am going to a place I am grateful to have- My own bed. Goodnight, beautiful world.

#peaceloveandhygiene   #magdalenesmission

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Peace, Love & Hygiene: Vol. 70-

September 21, 2022

Last night, we didn’t go to Detroit. I spoke at my church in Pinckney. I talked about Magdalene’s Mission. I opened up about what it is that motivated me, and inspired me to dream that I could make this fearless non-profit successful. This is why what we do is incredibly sacred to me.

Ephesians 2:10, NIV: For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Welcome. My name is Kayla, and I am grateful to know Jesus Christ. Thank you for being here to witness my testimony.  

God and I have been working on this testimony  for my entire life. I didn’t always believe in God, but God always believed in me. After years of ignoring, then months of arguing with God, I finally submitted.

In the beginning…

My childhood was dramatic. My parents were unhealthy people. Traumatic things happened to me. I ran away from home… a lot. My grandma and my aunties never gave up on me.  Eventually, after a couple years, I gentled down. My grandma’s prayers saved my life. My life was good.  I was 19, in college, had the right guy, a real job, cool hair.

Got a truck and tried to learn to drive it. 48 hours later, I was barely clinging to life in a coma. Doctors weren’t sure I would ever wake up again. Meanwhile…

I traveled around without a body or consciousness for the next 17 days. On the 17th day, I was escorted to Heaven.  God was there waiting for me. Also, while I was there, I saw my great-grandfather, and my father. Which made no sense at the time considering what I knew of my father.

 Everything was a shade of gold. God and I talked about my life and my current situation for a bit. He knew what I had survived in my short years. He rewarded me with a choice of either resting in Heaven with Him or I could go back and finish up some things I never got a chance to do. I really wanted a child. I really felt that I should be a mother.

God rewarded me for not giving up despite the horror shows I had already survived.

I woke up.

I wouldn’t be a mother yet for another 16 months. But like God promised, I got my divine child. He was as beautiful as an angel. He was brilliant, gentle, funny, creative, curious, compassionate, loyal, genius, honorable, and unique. He was my son and my world revolved around him.  We were exceptionally connected and bonded. We remained closer to one another than any other person.

Kayla & Ambrose vs Everything

Life went on. Adventures ensued. 7 then 9 years later, I added 2 little girls to our crew. Their dad, no matter how much he loved us, couldn’t break his addictions. So, before I was completely broken by him, I ran away all the way to Pinckney where no one would find me. That turned out not to be exactly true.

God found me. He put Sean back into my life. God and I argued, seriously, for months. Then He led me to People’s Church where I have been on a journey to understand my place in God’s Kingdom, as well as what it means to be a citizen there since 2009. I learned at that time that serving others was an essential key to happiness. I volunteered for everything available to me.

Then in 2015, I came up with my own yearly fundraiser for homeless women. I named it, The Valentine’s Day Purse Project. Every January, I collected hundreds of purses from people and filled them with hygiene, feminine hygiene, and small snacks. Then I would pass them out to homeless women.  I met a young man here at People’s Church who provided free medical care to homeless women and victims of human trafficking in the most dangerous areas of Detroit. I committed my purses to his group. Traci and I drove around Detroit for a couple of hours one afternoon to help pass out purses. It affected us deeply. I came home and wrote about it for everyone to hear. Traci and I always wanted to go back. We knew we were the ones to help. We just didn’t have the resources, time, and a dependable vehicle. Mostly the latter. They still got our magnificent purses of love  every year.

 I was also a ministry leader. I oversaw Café Connections and making the coffee for the entire church every Sunday since 2010. I was a helper for God. My kids were raised to love God. I was doing the right things. Somehow, later that year I my family and I ended up homeless, but I never gave up. We landed in Whitmore Lake.

“The path of God

will never lead you

where the grace of God

cannot keep you.”

It was Kayla & Ambrose vs Everything for 19 years and 10 months. Ambrose was killed by a hit and run driver while walking home from work. The driver called his mom, then he and his brother dragged my sons broken body into a ditch and then drove away. It would be 3 days before Ambrose’s corpse was found.

For the first 2 years after my son was killed, I was hysterical with grief. I was inconsolable. I sobbed uncontrollably every day. Sleep was a memory. For the next 2 years or so after that, I existed as a shell. I was scraped out. I was a mechanical ghost.

My church family carried me every step of the way. God was patient with me.   

The mental-emotional excruciation nearly killed me as well.  Nothing, not even God, could I allow console me.

There was never any justice for my son as I, or his family can see it.  They even blew off the Wrongful Death lawsuit, and the judge reduced the amount I was suing them for. They have since ignored it.

The lack of protection from the justice system compounded my hysteria. I came to CR every Tuesday night, desperately seeking an excuse to exist.

Which leads me to the Kingdom of God.

I was growing progressively more and more mad, insane if you will. I drank too much. I started smoking cigarettes again. It took a heroic amount of marijuana throughout the day just to keep me sedated enough to not be committed or imprisoned. I prayed and prayed until my knees were raw for peace. What I got instead was work.

People were trying to donate to The Purse Project a few months early. I asked Susan if would be possible to make it a full-time job. I had donors with leftovers throughout the year and I didn’t have much space left to store it. I talked to Susan. I prayed on it. I made the commitment to dedicate what was left of myself to honor God. My husband Sean told me that what I do for the homeless would be my unwinnable war, but a real hero never quits fighting regardless of the odds. Ambrose talked about how the Purse Project was one of the most important things I will ever do with my life. Ambrose was ALWAYS RIGHT.

I turned my yearly fundraiser into a full-time nonprofit business. I named it Magdalene’s Mission after Jesus’ best and most loyal friend. Instead of dropping the purses off in Detroit once per year then driving home, I decided I wanted to pass them out myself. I took my best friend Traci with me. We loaded up my Denali with purses filled with personal care items, said a prayer, and then headed to Detroit. This time I followed around behind the medical team and the harm-reduction teams. We went to the worst parts of the worst areas. We saw homeless seniors, young people, men, women, black, white, brown, heroin addicted, prostituted, pregnant, wounded, crippled, all of it.

It was a January night and temperatures were in the teens. No one was wearing a coat. Most people were wearing only sandals or slippers if they even had shoes. The girls were all wearing knickers and t-shirts. It was just plain madness.

I came home and wrote Peace, Love & Hygiene: Vol.1

Some people read it. They were just as freaked out as I was. Ann  Janike offered to make sack lunches. The next thing I knew, my house overflowed with donated winter clothes. Everyone I knew, and everyone they knew, and so-forth just started emptying out their closets and contributing immediately to a truly righteous cause. Traci and I have been able to go out and serve the homeless and desperate almost every Tuesday since January 2021. We witness miracles. We testify. We pray. But first, we serve them.

Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Jesus said that.

God gave me a purpose. With that purpose comes redirection of energy. I work tirelessly to make sure my brothers and sisters in Detroit are cleaned, warm and fed. What God needs me to do, I need me to do. They need me to do. You need me to do it, too.

Every Tuesday night that we go out on the streets of Detroit, I show up to share the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. I come bearing gifts of lovingly made meals, clean clothes, and personal care items. I also pass out flashlights, tents, pepper spray, handwarmers, and bug spray. Sometimes I have hot cocoa and coffee. I bring bedding and towels. I don’t tell people what they need. I bring people what they ask for, what they truly need. Jesus went TO the woman at the well. I pray with people. We laugh, cry, dance in the street, sing praises, and moan dirges when our friends die.

And to every person I say, “Peace, love, and hygiene baby. I love you and God loves you, too.”

I tell them that, “God loves you so much, He asked people to fill up this entire vehicle with survival items you need.”

Also, “You are not forgotten. God loves you.”

And they believe me. They love me right back. It took a few months of consistency, but we earned their trust. They tell us we save their lives with our donations each week. I have created a company which is powered by donations from people like you. People who want to do the right thing. People who want to help but don’t know how. They want to give to a real person who is helping the hurting, vulnerable children of God.

That is the kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is right here. You are sitting in it right now. We come in unity. Community. We show up.

As one of my favorite artists, Nick Cave, once said; “People don’t like to change. They modify themselves to improve upon what’s already there. But sometimes an event happens to you that is so significant it changes you. You cannot go back to being the person you were before it happened. You are a different person now.”

We must learn to navigate in our new forms.

I have leaned on God to help me understand how to operate in this headspace. At this stage, I am relentless. I am stubborn. I am committed to loving the unlovable and forgotten regardless of their viability to capitalism. Jesus walked into the leper camps. So, I walk into Seven Mile, the No-Go Zone. Jesus went to the woman at the well. So, I walk right up to the sex-workers and offer them food, peace, safety, protection.

I struggle to exist on this planet. I have made my home in God’s Kingdom. I do not simply believe in God. The same way I don’t believe in gravity. I know there is God. I know there is Ambrose. I know there are hit and run drivers still roaming the earth. I control nothing.

But…

I still have my gift of free-will. I am free to share the unconditional love of Jesus Christ with whomever I choose. And I choose to go where there is the most pain and suffering that I can find. Those are the people who can relate to me. Those are the people who do not judge pain. Those are the people who understand that the most basic and simple things should never be taken for granted. Even sleep is a luxury. When you are homeless, you can’t just sleep when you are tired. There are no beds. You are prey on the food chain.

Now, they are prayed for instead of prey. Now, people survive the cold winters. People live long enough to heal and bring others out with them. I lived long enough to heal and share that healing love with God’s children.

As a teenager, I was a wasted youth. I was a runaway. I was a professional car thief. I was uninhibited and careless with my body. I had closed head injuries and a train wreck for a childhood. I was homeless on the streets just trying to survive. I was ridiculous.

So, I gave my life to God, and I ended up homeless again with a dead son and no justice. But God never gave up on me. So, I didn’t give up on God. I had to remember who I am. I am a general here. I am the magnificently woven creation of the Creator of our universe. I cannot be undone. I may lose a battle but not the war. My army is a mass of inspired people from all over the country. My other generals, like Susan, Traci, and all the other volunteers are relentless and fearless.

Magdalene’s Mission not only saves homeless lives, but it also saved my life. And for each man, woman, and child who has contributed to Magdalene’s Mission has the peace of knowing that they made the world safer for a child of God.

I know my God. I know that I belong in his Kingdom. The Kingdom is already here. We are its caretakers. There is much work to do here. I will not waste my precious life in misery. That is my free-will. Praise God for that. He has a purpose for me. There is plenty of busy work here to occupy me until it is my time to be with Ambrose again.

I’m still never going to be the person I was before Ambrose was killed. I can’t go back. But I spent intimate time with my Creator, and I realized that I still have a purpose. I have two more magnificent children to be a good mother for. A kind husband who I am to be the grateful wife of. I was gone for a while. I am back now. I am different, but reinvented, renewed, refocused.

For all those reasons I never regretted giving my life and soul to Jesus Christ.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.

Amen.

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Vol. 49

February 15, 2022

Kayla & Marley

The theme for this week was relationships. Our relationships are our weapons of defense. Traci and I are a solid team. We’ve been working together at this street outreach for over a year now. This week though, her role as a mom trumped her role as a volunteer. At the last minute she couldn’t come out with me. The van was already packed with clothes, blankets, food and bags. I can’t have 35 portions of macaroni and cheese and 50 packed lunches sitting in my house for an extra week. So I turned to my middle-child and said, “Hey. You wanna come to Detroit with me tonight?”

Marley said, “Sure.”

Marley is my junior. She’s been hearing me talk about what goes on in Detroit every week. I raised her with street smarts. I trust her infinitely to pay attention and follow directions. It was a great decision. Marley was absolutely boss tonight. I put her in charge of the food. She was fearless and full of love, just like I knew she would be. We got compliments from other team members that she was an excellent and amazing TC.

The first place we went to was a hotel where a pregnant girl was staying. While Marley gave her food, I got her a Mag Bag. I noticed that she only had short leggings with laces on the side. She was shivering. She confessed they were her only pants so I made sure she had something warm and comfy. There was also a pregnant lady at the next stop we went to. It was only three or four people. Everyone is so sweet as always.

Someone had donated a nice soft memory foam pillow. I knew just who it had to go to. I had it wrapped up on the side for her. It was for my Girl Who Sits! She really is the Mother Hen. I gave her a pillow to sit on a while ago. She’s the widow who panhandles. A stalker burned her tent down and she lost everything she owned inside it. He terrorized her for quite a while. He’s gone now, so it was just perfect that I could give her a new one. She was so excited. There is a lot of love built up in these relationships. We notice the little things about each other. We appreciate the little things about each other.

The next stop we went to was a bit more dramatic. Marley handled everything in stride. We saw several women at that particular spot. Most of them I hadn’t seen before. One of them, I had. It was the Girl Who Always Reads! I hadn’t seen her in months. She asked for a copy of my book a while ago. I gave her one. When I saw her she squealed and ran around the van to come give me a hug.

“It’s you! I love you! I love you so much! I’m so happy to see you!” she kept saying as she hugged me.

She told me she was reading my book, and she really loved it. She thought it was amazing. And she wanted me to know that she loved me. My heart was so full it made my skin tingle. I noticed she had a black eye. I asked her if she was okay, and if the medical team had a chance to look at her yet. She told me that she showed it to them already. Some guy tried to strangle her. He beat her up as she fought him off. Eventually she was able to reach her pepper spray. I gave her another little can of mace.

“I love you guys so much.” she said.

I told her she was beloved by me, and beloved by God. She was not forgotten.

You should have seen these girls. I couldn’t stand to watch it. They were gathering around Marley waiting patiently for food as I got out of the truck. The first girl I saw was wearing only a toilet paper thin, tight little hoodie and some worn, thin, black, short leggings. She didn’t even have shoes. Just sandals. The beach ones without toes. I saw her and went up to her immediately.

“Baby girl,” I said. “you need to come here. You don’t have any clothes on. You don’t have a coat on. Not on my watch. Come here.”

I began pulling pants out and put them on her. I got her a warm sweatshirt (or two) and then put a super warm coat over that. She just smiled and kept saying how thankful she was. Then one after another, at least four more, of these girls were also barely dressed. I re-dressed each one of them behind the van.

“You deserve better. You are so loved. God loves you and so do I.”

The looks on their faces! It starts with a tiny crumpled up person. Then suddenly, layer by layer they begin to uncurl. Their bodies relax. Their jaws unclench, and a smiled can finally emerge through the tension. You can see the light come back behind their eyes. a warm glow replaces ashy grey. They always grow a few inches. Backbones straighten as pride surges through their bodies. Dignity returns. Self-preservation becomes a reality. They were not forgotten.

And that, my brothers and sisters, is what it looks like when you walk in the Kingdom of God. It’s not on a pamphlet. It can’t be found in a symbol, or heard during a message. It is felt. It is felt in relationships with other people. It is experienced. It is shared. It is the act of caring about what happens to other humans. Whatever it is that you might do to change something in this world for the better. The Kingdom of God is not a noun. It is a verb.

We put out a lot of pepper spray into desperate hands tonight. We saw another girl who was walking alone down the sidewalk. One of the other team members recognized her. The poor thing was crying. I rolled down my window as she walked by. She waved hello and blew me a kiss. She told me that she normally would love to stay, she needed stuff, but she wasn’t safe and just wanted to get home. Between the three teams, we were able to quickly get her pepper-spray for her walk, and phone numbers to call for help. She stuck around to let Katie hug her until she felt better, but then she wanted to hide again in the blanket of night that peeked out between the street lights. Katie is an angel. Even the most scared person can feel calm and safe near her.

Marley got to experience a special treat tonight. She got to see where Thomas lives. When we got to the top of his bridge, we pulled over. Marley packed him a meal while the medic team grabbed him a box of tea lights. We made the trek to his secret hiding spot. She was in awe of his ingenuity to construct such a perfect fort. She was surprised to see the little hanging picture of Jesus in front of the door. Alas, he wasn’t home, so we just left our gifts and well wishes behind on his door step.

We were on our second or third spot on the east side when we finally ran out of goods. Marley and I laughed together all night. We had an excellent time. She really felt called to be a part of this type of outreach in any way. She’s considering a career as a medic after being inspired by the Street Outreach Team (no longer affiliated with Covenant Community Care. Same team, new name). She laid a solid foundation for building relationships with other outreach teams in Detroit that work with transgender homeless.

The relationship between the three different nonprofits is a thing a beauty. Everyone compliments a specific need that is also a highly valued need; harm-reduction, healthcare, food and hygiene. A lot of donors and volunteers make this effort a successful one. I know that the key to our success is that we all have the same center of values. We believe that human lives are sacred and beautiful. Everyone has a story.

My relationship with Marley has grown to a whole other level. Marley’s relationship with herself has grown. She knows now about some skills and gifts she didn’t realize she had before tonight. Marley’s relationship with her world has grown. Civic issues aren’t just something to have an opinion on. They are opportunities to affect positive change.

I built a few new positive relationships. Always Reads knows my life story now, and all the trauma I survived. I know about her trauma, too. And we genuinely love one another because we both appreciate what it takes to survive. I love Stan, Andy, Kate, Maria, and Ti (Shout out to Ariel, Lauren, Mary, Kennedy, and the rest of DRP & medics). Without them, I would never have had the chance to meet these complex and inspiring friends. I have the opportunity to do something I’m good at. I can share the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. I can love on people and help them to love themselves. All the good that comes from that, I give the credit right back Jesus.

What I have to say doesn’t matter. It’s what we do that shows our heart’s true agenda.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. Amen.

#peaceloveand hygiene #magdalenesmission

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Vol.48

February 8, 2022

The theme for this week was Lots of Little Successes. We stayed back last week because I needed to get us caught up on sorting and organizing your beautiful bounty of clothing, blankets, and hygiene products. I also needed to get us ready for our yearly fundraiser. But I did it. I outsourced the meals this week. (Something I will be doing from now on. Text me or keep your eyes open for a sign up sheet) I got plenty of Mags Bags packed to the nines, and an assortment of the warmest coats, clothes and blankets I could find. Oh, and hot cocoa! We bundled up as warm as we could, and set out to help out some homeless people. We got more than we bargained for and in the best way.

We started off on the east side of Detroit this week. We went to a lot of neighborhoods around Eight and Seven Mile. The first couple of stops were to new places. Then we went to where one of our favorite senior men lives. He is quiet, and humble. Another kind homeless man whom we have gotten to know did us the honor of introducing us to his wife. They are the sweetest couple. He is always so overly polite, and compliments my food a lot. Maybe that’s why he’s one of my favorite people? He is always looking out for his wife. I respect that.

The greatest gift happened tonight. Do you remember me talking about a guy who Traci was making him eat and he did it? We had not seen him in a couple of months, at least. I was concerned. I don’t ask many questions, but no one had mentioned him either. Well, tonight we saw him. He was doing so much better! He got out of that terrible house and was living in a much nicer place. He looked healthy. He was building himself up. He was so happy to see us. We were able to help him keep up his good look with a hygiene kit and a newer, warmer, shirt and pants. It feels good to see people care about themselves. No matter how small the step, it took everything he had left in him just to lift his foot. But he did it anyway. Freedom is a powerful motivator.

We had another adorable thing happen tonight. It occurred at one of our hottest hot spots on the Eastside. When the caravan of vehicles arrived, we lined up around the corner then waited. One of the volunteers went up to their house to let them know we were all there. Just a couple of minutes later, one tiny little figure came running through the snow as fast as she could with her arms wide open. She hugged me and Traci as tight as she could for a long time. She was looking better than I had ever seen her. I could tell she had put on weight. She was eating! Her hair was styled. She was smiling. I had never seen her so happy. She was getting healthy. She ran right past all the other various resources to come and get her Love. She is one of the tiniest people you ever saw in your life. When I first met her last winter, she had no shoes, no coat, no pants, and no jacket. She was standing outside in below zero temperatures wearing a blanket wrapped around her and sandals. Traci and I have been spoiling her a little bit, and letting her be one of our favorites. I can see unlimited potential in her. She is blossoming like a tiny, shy, miniature rosebud.

Next, we went back to the Southwest side. The first person we saw was standing outside doing her job. She panhandles for money. She is a widow who lost everything after her husband died a few years ago. She’s been through even more just since I’ve known her.

She looked good. She was putting on some weight. She had been injured and then sick for a while. Yet another person who was looking better than I had ever seen them. She is just gorgeous. She has such a compassionate heart. I asked her if she needed a tent. She said she didn’t at the moment, but her friend did, so could she have it for him. After we gave it to her, she went back and got the guy and brought him to the van. I offered him food. He said he hadn’t eaten in two days. She told him we were the ones who gave him the tent. He was so gracious and grateful. We gave him a sleeping bag and a Mag Bag to go with it. I asked her if she needed more pepper spray. She kindly turned it down, explaining that she still had some left. It did help save her from being kidnapped yesterday. She was panhandling and someone tried to grab her. But they didn’t. She is still here. She is still mothering on the other homeless people. She is a flashlight in a dark alley.

We thought we would be out for a few more stops, but it was the next one that cleaned us out all the way. We were only going there to see a couple of people, but a few more appeared and the next thing we knew, we were empty. Our favorite senior lady was out and about tonight. She has the best smile. She’s been on the streets of Detroit for a long, long, time. Sometimes I wish we had more time to talk to people and hear all of their stories. Perhaps in the Spring, when the weather gets warmer and it’s not raining.

It was all these little successes that came together to make this last year one big, fat, successful mission.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. Amen.

#magdalenesmission

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Vol. 47

January 25, 2022

Traci and the other outreach teams make a visit.

The theme for this week is Grit. I’m still pretty shook up as I type this to you. I’ll try to take you through our night.

Traci and I hit the streets tonight in a great mood. We arrived in plenty of time to chat it up with the other volunteers. We agreed that we were going to try and help our friends who were shelter challenged first. The weather app on my phone said it would get down to 0 degrees tonight. The weather can kill. It hurts me after a few minutes. The air was aggressive cold tonight.

The violence has gotten heavy lately. A lot more shootings in the neighborhoods and at the gas stations where we stop every week. We can hear the gunfire in the background. Last week, a girl was attacked with a box cutter. She had 2 large gashes on her face. He would have killed her but for the PEPPER SPRAY she had with her that allowed her to escape. Someone talked of another girl who was killed with a box cutter on Michigan Avenue and bled out right there on the sidewalk. I don’t worry about me. I worry about them when I’m not there.

We stayed on the southwest side. The first stop we went to was a familiar one. A few other volunteers went behind the buildings and to the back of the lot. Traci and I watched them knock on the doors of abandoned vans and cars. Sometimes people would live under tarps covering piles of wood and pallets. After a few minutes, our friends emerge. The first woman we saw was wearing a windbreaker and a yellow knit blanket wrapped around her waist. She didn’t own any pants. No pants. The woman was so thin it looked like she might blow away and it was barely even windy. Traci redressed her. The poor thing just stood there while Traci layered her with warm shirts and a real winter coat, hat and gloves. She saw a price tag still on the pants we gave her. (Thank you Katie N!) Traci said she could have cried.

We found a man who needed a tent. We had a tent! He didn’t want to take anything else he felt he didn’t need. He kept reminding Traci that he had a driver’s license still. Everyone was super hungry. The Mags Bags are still a hit. It’s all the payment in the world when I see how relieved someone is when I explain what is in there- hat, gloves, socks, hand and toe warmers, hard candy, a hygiene kit including baby wipes, tissues, feminine hygiene products, and sometimes manicure sets and hair ties or a random special.

We drove around for a while and found a couple people here and there. We visited our friends who live under bridges and some in tents in abandoned lots. We passed out a lot of flashlights and pepper spray to anyone we could.

At one point, the medical team was off doing medical stuff so Traci and I followed the other teams over to another spot to wait. They had their own clients as well. We waited for several minutes before someone came and told us what was going on. Things got pretty dramatic and I can’t go into it here. But we saw some really dark stuff tonight. Stuff I’m not going to shake off. That’s all I am willing to put on the internet.

The weather is life or death. First-aid can be life or death. Walking, sitting, sleeping, talking, not talking, food, everything, anything. All of it all the time. This is not a lifestyle someone chooses because its so effortless.

Since I started coming to Detroit I met people who were intentionally shot, crippled by drive-by shooters, run over, thrown out of cars, robbed, raped, stabbed, had all their belonging set on fire, all their hair chopped off, branded, or worse. We try to offer a moment of reprieve. A glimmer of hope. And that is all they need to keep going a little longer.

Grit…

Other teams wanted to keep going on to some other houses where they knew they were needed. Traci and I gave them our last 8 meals, some bags, blankets and sweatshirts, then called it a night in Detroit.

Now I am in my warm house. I’m drinking a Sam Adams beer then I’m going to go lay down in my warm bed with lots of blankets and my foam pillows. First, I’ll look around for a snack to eat while I fall asleep safely watching cartoons. My sweet and sober husband is snoring softly for the next few hours until he goes to work. I’ll be able to get up with my kids, take a shower, and then drive them to school.

My friends on the streets can not do any of those things. Not a single one. Yet, I will most likely not be shot, run over, robbed, raped, stabbed, had all my belongings set on fire, branded, or worse. Not that I haven’t experienced any of that at some point. It’s just that if it happened now, it would be out of the ordinary. For those girls, it’s just a potential threat of every moment their life. They gotta have grit to survive.

I’m praying for them. They so tiny. Their friends are just awful. I’m so glad Andy and the other volunteers were there at the exact moment they were. I am grateful for everything everyone has ever donated to Magdalene’s Mission so we can be there to do whatever is we can for people.

Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. Amen.

#magdalenesmission #peaceloveandhygiene

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

Vol. 45

1/11/2022

Today was a wild ride, but at the end of it all, our theme was Warmth. Monday night was so frigid that the poor van battery wore itself out trying to start her. I spent the first six hours of the day just trying to figure out a way for me to get the vehicle started. Lucky for me, the tow truck guy recognized me. He remembered my Denali. Fortunately, he was able to recharge the battery himself before towing me all the way out to Mazur. I did however need a new one, so I went all the way out to Pinckney so that the guys at AutoZone would help me change it. I have small girl hands.

Unfortunately for them, they were exceptionally rude to me. It was somewhat shocking to hear a man that mature sound so immature. Therefore, I left. I went next door to O’Reilly’s and the sweet young man working there was happy to switch my battery out. It only took him a few minutes. Back to my house, six hours behind schedule. A lot of stuff Traci and I had pre-made which made the laborious tasks of putting it all together happen (somehow) close to on-time.

We left behind schedule, but packed with blankets and a lot of coats and winter gear. Hats and gloves are the new hot item. I was able to pack up a bunch of bags with a hat, gloves, blanket, hygiene kit, hand and toe warmers, socks, and hard candy. It made things a lot easier. The rest of the back could be filled with coats and warm clothes.

For food this week, I made a chicken, rice, and veggie casserole that turned out pretty darn gut-sticking good. Ann donated a bunch of her famous homemade desserts. I tell you, they can taste the love.

Our route was different this week. Our first stop was in a neighborhood I had never been to before. A young couple came out from behind an abandoned house. A few more people came out, but not very many. An elderly woman was passing by not wearing much for clothing let alone warmth. Traci offered her food and a coat. Traci put the coat on her right away. As we were handing her bags to her, I noticed that her hands were shaking. Her entire body was tense and shivering hard. I pulled out the gloves and put them on her hands right away. I gave her some thick warm ones with a soft lining. She started to calm down by the time the second glove was on her hand. After I put a hat on her head, you could see her entire body relax. It was good to see her so at peace for a moment.

We drove around for a bit until we went to a familiar spot on the southwest side. We must have fed and cared for another fifteen people there.

From that point on we saw a lot of different places all over Detroit that people have found creative ways to survive in. Instead of going to popular spots, we spent more time assisting various individuals that Traci and I don’t normally get a chance to see. Some of them were walking down the street. Some were standing in the middle of it. A couple of men were huddled up outside of the gas station. They were so sweet and the one guy kept saying thank you, and blowing us big kisses and praising God.

There was a guy living in a tent in the back of a lot. Traci found him a nice Carhart winter suit he could wear.

We visited a lot of bridges. Sometimes people were home, sometimes they weren’t.

We saw one lady walking alone down the sidewalk. I think one of the team members recognized her. She seemed glad at first for the food and stuff. She was genuinely grateful. She was also crying, too. She had just been robbed earlier in the evening. She was panhandling, not prostituting herself, she was proud to admit. She was trying to get into someplace warm for the night. She had nowhere to go. She was afraid for her life. One of the challenges of a business like this is, that for as hard as you try to make a difference it doesn’t give you the superpower to save people the way you want to.

It was really peaceful night. We loved driving all over in the shadowy, mysterious neighborhoods. It felt like we were able to do more by seeing the random people who don’t get the spoils of Magdalene’s Mission as often as other people might. The temperatures were so far below freezing that the people who needed warmth the most seemed to be our priority.

Tonight we drove around until after 11 p.m. We were out of blankets and warm bags. We gave the last 10 servings of casserole to the medical outreach team and told them we were done for the night. We gave them our best. Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. Amen. #magdalenesmission #peaceloveandhygiene

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

February 9, 2021

Peace, Love & Hygiene- Vol.3:

All signs point to cold. Tonight, was pretty darn cold. We started off at the same spot. We saw a few new people. Everyone was shivering. Our caravan was 3 vehicles tonight. Covenant Community Care lead the way through the frosty streets of Detroit. People gravitated urgently towards the Denali as soon as they recognized us, or knew that we had warm blankets and clothes. This time we went through all the hats and gloves we brought with us. We brought an entire storage tub packed full. Next time we’ll take even more. Having the blankets pre-packed into a larger bag or backpack was something that people always remarked that they were grateful for. We didn’t see nearly as many people out as we had previous weeks. Every man and woman we met were deeply appreciative for the warm clothes, and coats and boots, just everything. The hygiene bags are a big deal, too.

Traci and I both noted that how humble people were. We were offering them anything they thought they could use inside my packed tight Denali. But no one would take anything they didn’t feel they needed. “Thank you, for the hat, but I only need gloves. Save that for someone else.” Men especially.

We went back to that one house with lights but no heat. We saw a girl from the week before. She didn’t have proper shoes. They looked more like worn out moccasins. Traci and I saved aside a pair of warm boots that were just her size, and also a matching Mags Bags purse. She was so surprised and touched that we remember all that about her.

The next neighborhood we went to, I noticed that there were more houses boarded up or burned down then there were habitable ones. It was like a ghost town, but some of the people hadn’t moved out yet. We all stopped there and waited a minute for one woman to walk out of a one-story brick duplex. She went straight to the medic-van. Traci and I chatted with one of the other volunteers. The lady had a festering wound on her leg that had turned mortal. Stan was begging her, bribing her, pleading, bargaining, anything he could do to get this woman to go to an E.R and treat her wound. Eventually she ran across the street, and back into her house. He was beside himself that she wouldn’t go. We had to drive on to the next place.

A few times, Andy or Stan would see someone walking down the sidewalk and they would call us to say “That’s one of our people. Turn around.” After the nurses were done attending to first aid-needs, persons made a bee-line for the truck. “Do you have clothes and blankets?”

By the way, I need you to know that when you donate to Magdalene’s Mission you change a life on the spot. I have enough warm clothes, blankets, and hygiene/survival bags for every homeless person I can find because of the goodness in you.

I saw the kid with the dreadlocks from the picture again. His adorable girlfriend wasn’t with him. I told him how popular the picture of them was and that it helped to generate a lot of donations. I told him he helped a lot of people like himself stay warm. That was the biggest smile of the night. He was so proud to have been a part of something positive that right away he beamed as he told his friend who was with him.

The last stop was one where Stan had heard that someone who needed medical attention was staying at. It was another burned down house. There wasn’t anything left. The front half of the house was melted off. It didn’t look possible for anyone to have lived in that. (This is coming from a girl who used to live in a burned out funeral home on North Rampart in New Orleans.) He went to the back of the house. It looked like a board leaning over a whole where a door used to be, but he knocked on it all the same. No answer. Traci and I stood there with eyes as wide as moons waiting to see who might come out. No one did. It was well past midnight so we called it a night.

Out of all the people I met tonight, I will remember on particular girl the fondest. She was from the house with lights but no heat. She said her friend told her that she should come see us for clothes. She looked really embarrassed at first. Then she saw how happy it made Traci and I to give her whatever she needed. The she smiled the sweetest smile. Traci was giving her a warm sweater because she didn’t own a long sleeve shirt. Traci started to tie it around her waist, then stopped and apologized. She asked if it was okay that she touched her. She said that she couldn’t believe how nice Traci was. She really needed hug. We sent her away warm on the inside and out.

It’s 2:50 a.m. Please don’t call me tomorrow morning. I plan on sleeping waaaaay in! I love you all! Peace Love & Hygiene!

Magdalene's Mission Uncategorized

February 2, 2021

Volume 2

Published by Kayla M Sullivan Donaldson

2 a.m. Last post of the night- Peace, Love & Hygiene vol. 2: Tonight was full of wonder and hidden beauty. At our first stop we saw Steve again! He was so happy to see us. He was excited to report that he was out of a vacant, and living in the loft of a gentleman he met who was having difficulties with his yard work and other physical chores. He was so excited and proud to live there. He told us more stories of how he went to Israel with his family when he was 13. They went to Tel Aviv, and he said he got to float in the Dead Sea. He told us that you couldn’t sink. You would just float because it was so salty. We gave him a thick blue fleece blanket for a housewarming gift (even though he doesn’t have a mattress yet), along with another small thin blanket that he could use for a curtain, and a refill survival bag. We gave him our well wishes, and told him we would see him next week. One lady was so excited and grateful for the coat, boots, etc. I thought she might cry. She was so beautiful, her smile, the warm light behind her eyes. I had to ask if I could take her picture. She literally danced with joy down the alleyway, singing about how happy she was. Another gentleman suggested that we go the the different Detroit news stations (he described where each one was, and what the building would look like) so that we could get more people aware of what we’re doing, to help us out. He asked us if we had an extra purse he might take back to his wife. Of course, we did. We met another pair who were so sweet and the girl was over the moon about what a nice warm coat she had. The young man who was with her asked about pants. He’s a size 30×30 but he will wear a 32×30. When I asked his name he looked down shyly and said, “Alexis”. Another stop, we found the lady who was in the snow without a coat and shoes the week before, and we gave her a winter arsenal. I also met a beautiful young lady there too. I wish now I would have remembered to take her picture. She had the most beautiful long, flaxen hair. We talked for a bit and she told me and Traci about how amazing our purses were. Everything in there was something that was so helpful. Traci asked her what was most useful, she said it was the wipes. She uses them to clean everything, even her body when necessary. They were a great asset. And the hairbrush! Thank you for a blessed hair brush! I told her I tried to put in whatever I would have wanted to have on me when I was homeless. I liked to be clean. I wasn’t ashamed to frequent a local cafe’s restroom to clean up in if I didn’t leave a mess. She said, “Oh I know, girl! I’m a regular at the KFC’s! I can still have some self-respect.” I love her. I noticed that after I told someone I lived on the street once, too, their body seemed to relax. You could see their posture changed once they realized they was talking to someone who was a sister, not an outsider. Most the people there all seemed to come from one house that has lights on but its always cold. There were a lot of dudes out tonight. Not sure why. We passed out a bunch of the everything. We loved on everyone we could. At one point I was filled with wonder, because I had no idea where that Dr. Pepper was going to go now that my body was done with it. The beauty is, I am not afraid to go down a dark alley (with Traci) find a tree, and pee behind it while a very large dog barked ferociously six-inches from my relieving face. We drove down a lot of alleys. I love alleys. Sometimes we would stop and just help one or two people then roll on. Sometimes we would stay somewhere for at least an hour serving people. At our last stop, the caravan had just pulled up, and everyone was still inside their vehicles. I noticed that the house on the corner was cute, but the house next to it was burned down. Half of a house, with a large board in front of it. Urban decay in action. I took a picture. Posted it, and titled it “Detroit”. Then, I saw a couple walking across the street. The girl was wrapped in a blanket. I pointed them out to Traci, who popped out of the side of the truck like a damn daisy, and yelled, “Hey, we have warm stuff. Do you want a coat for her?” The young man walking beside her looked up and said, “Yes! We need you!” We redressed them up warm and snug. We gave them purses. They gave us the most beautiful, warm, genuine smiles, and heartfelt appreciation for such a useful gift. They were just so cute a couple. The love oozes between them. I had to take a picture. After I got back in my truck, I noticed that they went behind a board leaning against the house, and it looked as if they were walking down into a basement. It was the burned down house I JUST took a picture of. A few minutes later, Stan told us it was a wrap for the night. It was midnight. Traci saw one more young couple by the medic van. We gave them some necessaries to keep warm and survive. Absolutely adorable. Then to our surprise, they walked into the same burned down house as the other couple. Traci and I wondered if we could have knocked on their board and hung out with them, what their little bungalow would look like. We immediately decided we were probably better off not knowing. We went through nearly all the purses we had with us, and all of the blankets. I told our friends on the street I would be back next week with warm clothes, and it was like I told them I was planning their birthday party. There were many more people whose names I will remember for next week. Next Tuesday, Traci and I will be out there again. Next Wednesday morning I will have more stories. I wonder what new thing might happen for Steve?