What Should I Do?

I know all of you would just love to donate to Anawim.  After all, we are so cool and we help so many cool people.  And we do a mean Bible study.

So you're sitting there, thinking, "Man, those Anawim people are so awesome.  I'd like to give them something. But what should I give them?  And how do I get it to them because I live so far away?"

Well, friend, YOUR TROUBLES ARE OVER!  (Hurrah! yells the crowd)

Today, yes, TODAY, Anawim now has an online store that will solve your donating needs!

Go to this link-- yes, I say it is a link and this is why it is brown-- and look at our Amazon Anawim Store!

You say you want to help our homeless people with some camping gear, but you don't know what or how?  Go to the store and we have some tents and tarps and sleeping liners selected just for your convenience and at a reasonable cost!  You say you don't know what a sleeping liner is, well go to the store and find out!

Every selection will send you to a link in Amazon which will give you a description of what you are looking at!  What more can you ask for?

And there's more!  Yes!  Food and clothes and yes, even office supplies!  All selected for you to meet the needs of both the Anawim poor and your pocketbook!  Woo hoo!

To send the items to Anawim, you order them in the shopping cart-- CONVENIENTLY PROVIDED-- and purchase the items then have them sent to our address-- 3733 N Williams Portland, OR 97227.  IT'S THAT EASY!

Finally, after all that shopping you are probably worn out.  You need a break.  No, even better, you need a spiritual uplift!  Well, we even have that very need in mind for you-- yes, you, our donor!

Check out our section of recommended books, movies and music selected with YOU in mind!

Needless to say, going to Anawim's store at Amazon is a truly remarkable experience that you will TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT  (subliminal message provided free of charge)

Of course, if you just want to give us a boring donation, like money (pssst-- we like boring),then you can go to our site and it will tell you what to do.

Anawim Artwork and Poetry

The Anawim folks are a talented group, but often they don't have the resources to use their talents.  Yvan Strong, our worship minister, is an artist in her own right and has established the Anawim Art Studio.  The studio is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays for the Anawim folks and people from the community at large to create art using a variety of media with Yvan to

tutor, if necessary.  In this month's newsletter we are highlighting some of the art and poetry created by Anawim folks.  If you would like to receive our newsletter, participate in the art studio, or

donate to it, please contact us at anawimcc@gmail.com

Artwork by Yvan Strong

Website: http://www.tinidril.com/

Untitled

Untitled

(A poem by a regular attender of the Sunnyside Meal

on Friday nights)

Today can be whatever yesterday was not.
Today can become

anything yet unsought.
So let yesterday have its space in time
Or today will become only yesterday's mime.
Such wondrous 

possibilities await in

today
Awaiting to become what will be yesterday.
-Pat Kiser

Artwork by Yvan Strong

Community

Community

John Doe

(A poem by Patty, a grandmother who lives in her car with her four cats, 

And a member of Anawim.)

Winter is chilling to the bone

to those who live without a home

they travel here they travel there

they pass us by but do we care?

For proud is the man who has nothing left

'cause he sees his misfortune as just another test.

But the chilling cold shivers the spine

so he gathers his warmth from a bottle of wine

Just a drunken bum out on the road

Early in years his face looks old

with only a dollar to his name.

Just a drunken bum- should he be shamed?

What can one buy when the price is high?

Will anyone see him if he should cry?

Tonight the Rain dampens his head

As rumor disclosed another friend dead.

Beaten by those who are never without

"Only a bum" did they shout

As angels of mercy reach down for his soul

He sees himself a man who once had a goal

The pain removed at last he's free

he smiles down upon you and me

forgiving strangers who continue their wrong

at last he is home where he always belonged

huddled in darkness with his bottle of wine

he remembers a man he knew for a time

a man such as he put to the test

sipping slowly he awaits eternal rest

to come each and every night

Just a drunken bum we see in the dawn's early light

Just a drunken bum begging for more

"Get away you-- stay away from my door--"

Donny "The Ham"

Card by Tina

Lighthouse by Linda

Melted Crayon Rainbow by Alex

Repentance

Photo taken by Dennis Herron

Repentance

(A poem by Diver, who lives on the street in Gresham and Portland)

I wanna follow Jesus I wanna bear my cross
Repent what I have done
Regret what I have lost
Admit when I've done wrong
Confess all of my sins
I leave my worldly walk
My walk with God begins
I try to right my wrongs
In every way I can
First before my Father
And then my fellow man
Mend my relationships
With family and friends
Replace the bad with good
On this my soul depends
Reconciliation
Christ Jesus holds the key
To everyone's salvation
70 x 7
My sins are forgiven
Overcoming suffering
Pray I'm purpose-driven


Everyone is born to sin
I'm not judgin' I'm just sayin'
Good News! Jesus is comin'
We'll see everybody prayin'

Prayer and Praise

· Three homeless couples in Anawim have obtained housing. They are all looking for work. Two of the women are also in college, getting their GEDs. We are seeking donations for their schooling.

· Looking over this last year, a number of people have found work, some have turned away from drugs and alcohol, some have turned away from violence to seek lives of peace. This is all the work of the Holy Spirit in the midst of Anawim.

· At the same time, many more people have become homeless. Every week we hear of at least another person who is on the street, or living in their car. More people are using the services of Anawim than ever before.

· We have received so many donations this year that our folks are mostly prepared for the winter.

· However, the churches involved in the day shelter did not obtain permission from Gresham to raise the temperature of opening the shelters. So we are not allowed to open unless the temperature is lower than 25 degrees, even though the threat of hypothermia is much higher than that. Please pray that the city would soften their hearts on this matter.

Donations

In the Winter, our bills increase as the need increases. Please consider donating financially to Anawim so we can continue to provide the warmth, showers and shelter that people need throughout the year, but especially in this cold season.

http://www.nowheretolayhishead.org/support.html

Other donations which are needed are:

Sleeping bag liners

Hand warmers

Men's clothes

Shampoo

Coffee

Tarps (brown or green)

Donations can be dropped off at Sanctuary 19626 NE Glisan Street, Portland 97230
on Wed 1-7pm
Fri 2-5pm
Sat 10-3pm

Yesterday Awaits

A poem by a regular attender of the Sunnyside Meal on Friday nights:

Today can be whatever yesterday was not.
Today can become anything yet unsought.
So let yesterday have its space in time
Or today will become only yesterday's mime.
Such wondrous possibilities await in today
Awaiting to become what will be yesterday.
-Pat Kiser

Breeding Generosity

Anawim operates on the principle that if we are generous to others, then they will be generous in turn.  In other words, the more generous we are, and encourage that generosity, the more we will be building a community of generosity, where the community will help each other.

This "pay it forward" principle has been proven by scientific research.

However, the opposite is also true.  Selfish behavior encourages others to be selfish and stingy.

So be generous. The more generous we are, the more we encourage others to do the same. The more people act this way, the closer we will be to a society that has no needs because there is always someone ready and willing to meet those needs.

Diving for Jesus

Article about Steve Kimes, pastor of Anawim, in a 2009 Portland Monthly: Holy Diver

East County Emergency Overnight Shelters This Winter

Would any of you be interested in volunteering time for shelters to get the homeless out of the worst cold overnight or do you know someone who would be interesting in helping? Please feel free to tag others in this note, who you think would like this opportunity to volunteer.If you are interested, please contact us or please go ahead and sign up at this website maintained by Compassion Connect: https://compassionconnect.webconnex.com/events/warmingAlso, we are having training sessions which deal with general rules and principles regarding keeping peace at the shelters. They will be held at Anawim Christian Community --19626 NE Glisan, Gresham--throughout the month of November.

November 1-- 2pm

November 1-- 6pm

November 2-- 6pm

November 10-- 2pm

November 10--6pm

November 15-- 2pm

November 15-- 6pm

November 29--2pm

November 29--6pm

If you are signing up for the shelters this year, please attend one of these times.

Also, please encourage others to sign up for the Emergency Warming Shelters at the website above. We need as many volunteers as possible because "many hands make light labor"-- the more volunteers we have, the shorter the shifts need to be!

Anawim Donations

Right now, Anawim could really use the following items:

Socks

Toilet paper!

Tents

Tarps (green or brown, all sizes)

Sleeping bags

Winter clothes-- all sizes, both sexes

If you could help, send or drop off donations to 19626 NE Glisan, Gresham OR 97230. Or you can contact Steve at stevekimes@aol.com

New KEY Blog

Take a moment to check out and subscribe to the KEY Conversation on Poverty Blog!

http://keyconversationon.blogspot.com/

What is a Day Shelter?

  A day shelter is a place for those in the community to go who have no place to go.  In our day shelters, we find the homeless, older high school kids, and retirees who don’t have a regular place to go. They come to our day shelters to hang out, to connect with others and to get some basic food and clothes.  

  A day shelter isn’t like a night shelter—it’s much more busy.  There are fewer requirements to begin a day shelter than an overnight

shelter:  All we have to do is open our doors and make sure we have trained people to deal with conflict or referrals.

   In East Multnomah county, a number of churches, including

Anawim, St. Henry’s Catholic Church, East Hill Four Square, and First Baptist Church have been working together to establish a

network of day shelters.  We typically get from 30 to 50 people a day, needing a safe place to be during the day.

How Does A Day Shelter Help?

~It provides a safe place for people who have no other place to go.  Many of our folks are not even welcome at public parks.  But now they have  a place to go.

~It provides security for the community.  Rather than having people on the street in family neighborhoods, where  people don’t know why they are there,  the day shelter provides a place to be. Day shelters not only provide a safe place for our guests, but also make the community safer.

~It trains people about community respect.  Because most of the day shelters are in churches, there is a basic understanding of respect for the property.  Violence, threats, theft or blasphemous language is discouraged by the guests of the day shelter.  It also provides people, who are trained in peaceful conflict management, to assist others in their conflict.

~It provides volunteer opportunities for those who otherwise have nothing to do.  Trained volunteers from the street and churches run the day shelters, and provide assistance in cleaning and security, if necessary.

~It provides a focus for other organizations to assist needy populations.  Medical and dental clinics, veteran services, services for pets, and churches who want to serve the needy know where they can go to provide services. 

Winter Needs

Fall has fallen and it is getting colder!  There are a lot of donated items that we need, in order to prepare for the really cold weather!

~Many of our homeless folks have had their sleeping gear stolen or ripped up.  We could use (RIGHT NOW!) a number of sleeping bags,  two to four man tents, and tarps (brown or green, please).

~Socks!  Our sock supply has greatly diminished and socks are on sale in the stores.  It’s a great time to provide Anawim with socks!

~Hand warmers. A single hand warmer can keep a homeless person warm all night, even below freezing!

~Volunteers! If you are in or near Multnomah County,  we need a few more volunteers for our day shelter and many more people to sign up for the Gresham Emergency Weather Shelters.  Contact Steve about the day shelters and go to

https://compassionconnect.webconnex.com/events/warming

Praise and Prayers

~Recently, Rian and Kim, a deaf couple from Texas, came on the scene here in Gresham. They were on the street and around our facility for a month. But now they have an apartment!

~Pray for our neighbors in Gresham, that they would be kept safe from the violence that pervades our area.

~Praise God for the renewed energies and support of churches and individuals that are supporting the homeless this fall: First Baptist Church, East Hill Four Square, Rockwood Adventist, St. Henry's Catholic Church, and the many donors that keep us open!

~Pray for the many newly homeless that are coming on the street, trying to learn how to survive in cars or without anything.

~Pray for the protection of the homeless as their possessions-- especially tents and sleeping bags-- are being stolen or destroyed.

~Pray that our people would be able to gain employment for their ongoing survival.

~Pray for Robert, a mentally ill man who is without his medication and confused on the street.

East County Food Pantries Unable To Keep Up With Demand

Food supply in dire straits

Local pantries struggle to help the growing number of people in need

BY MARA STINE

The Gresham Outlook, Oct 11, 2011

Food recipient Francisca Avendano, left, is assisted by volunteer Diane Sherwin in the Snow-CAP facility in Gresham.

STAFF PHOTO BY JIM CLARK / THE GRESHAM OUTLOOK

What a difference a few years makes.

Back in 2007, before the onset of America’s economic downturn, volunteers at Snow-CAP Community Charities in Gresham scrambled to serve 4,000 clients a month.

“And we thought we were doing all we could,” said Judy Alley, Snow-CAP’s executive director.

Fast forward to 2010 and monthly demand more than doubled to 10,000 people — a number that’s sure to be even higher this year.

With statewide unemployment at about 10 percent and Oregon leading the nation in childhood hunger, the largely volunteer-run food pantries struggle to keep up with demand while donations drop.

Demand for food has more than quadrupled at the East Portland/Gresham Corps of The Salvation Army, said Major James Sullivan.

Just three years ago, when the corps was based in downtown Gresham, it served about 400 to 450 people a month. Since then, the corps has moved into a new highly visible building on Southeast 194th Avenue and Stark Street in the densely populated, high poverty Rockwood area.

Now, the food pantry averages 1,861 people — or 640 families — a month and the numbers are growing. Between Jan. 1 and August of this year, demand is up 30 percent over the same period in 2010, Sullivan said.

Drop in donations, less food

While demand skyrockets, The Salvation Army’s donations are down 10 percent, resulting in smaller food boxes that barely feed a family for a day or two, Sullivan said.

“We have no choice,” he said. “We simply give out less food. It (the economy) has really hit East County hard.”

Sullivan recalled driving to work one recent morning and seeing a woman and three young children all pulling wheeled suitcases behind them. “I thought, ‘Oh, how cute. They’re going on a trip.”

Once at work, he saw that the children had wheeled those pink, Barbie-themed suitcases to the food pantry so they could help mom carry the food home.

“Their trip was here,” Sullivan said.

Most of The Salvation Army’s food comes from neighboring businesses and grocery stores, but it’s not enough to meet growing demand. Snow-CAP and The Salvation Army also rely on the Oregon Food Bank, which provides food for 5 cents a pound.

But with donations to the state food bank down, and with private donations dwindling, pantries and food banks struggle to provide more food for the ever-growing number of hungry residents.

Snow-CAP spends $50,000 a year to supplement its offerings, Alley said. Even with the extra expense, there are fewer choices on pantry shelves — all while more families circle the pantry selecting items to bring home.

On a typical day, Snow-CAP’s pantry serves 100 families. That number spikes at the end of the month when cash-strapped families stretch dollars thin.

Crowded quarters, tempers flare

A whopping 197 families crammed into Snow-CAP’s waiting room on Friday, Sept 30. On such days, as many as 40 people sit and stand in the cramped waiting room built for 20, creating a pressure cooker of stress and language barriers.

Sometimes there is pushing and situations become explosive. Like when a child’s toe is accidentally stepped on, and the offender speaks a different language than the child and the child’s parents, making an apology moot.

“It doesn’t bring out the best in anybody.” Alley said. “They’re just packed in cheek to jowl like cattle. It’s inhumane.”

It’s gotten so bad, Alley is considering doing away with the drop-in system and scheduling clients in batches — first 30 families from 10 a.m. to noon, and the second 30 from noon to 2 p.m.

Or instead of allowing clients to come in once a month for a three-day supply of food, they’ll come in six times a year. “I don’t think we can sustain the way it’s going now. I just don’t know what else to do,” she said.

Clearly, the place needs a bigger lobby, but this is no time to start a fundraising campaign for a brick-and-mortar project. Especially when the real need is for food.

“Our donors are not the Rockefellers,” Alley said, adding that many long-time financial supporters are themselves unemployed, underemployed or financially support relatives suffering in this economy. “They’re getting hit as hard as our clients.”

Changing client base

Pantry clients also are struggling to come to terms with their changing economic realities. In some cases, former Salvation Army and Snow-CAP donors are now clients.

“These are not long-term low-income people,” like the elderly, disabled veterans or the chronically poor who typically rely on such services, Alley said.

About half of them are former members of the middle class, humbled to have to ask for help.

“The younger middle-management employees who were donors are now in line for food,” she said. “Frankly, that scares me.”

Lorrie Marston, family services coordinator for The Salvation Army’s local corps, said when she began volunteering five years ago, most callers needed food. Once or twice a week, callers also inquired about help paying rent or energy bills.

Now, multiple calls a day come in seeking help paying those bills, in addition to paying for prescriptions, eye glasses and clothing. “I’m seeing more people living in cars and on the street. Families days from eviction. Or they’ve had their power or water turned off. “Sometimes for months,” Marston said.

She also has noticed a change in client’s attitudes toward their dire straights. While the newly poverty stricken appear ashamed and shell-shocked, the long-term unemployed are more open about needing help.

“They’re stressed,” Marston said. “It’s like, ‘I need help. This is what is happening to me.’”

Grace and gratitude

Francisca Avendano is nothing but thankful for help from Snow-CAPP. She discovered the food pantry a few months ago when her bus drove by and she noticed a crowd of people gathered at Snow-CAP’s front door.

This week — as her two oldest sons, ages 4 and 2, sit quietly — she shopped for her family of five, including an out-of-work husband and a 1-year-old baby. She carefully selected frozen chicken, snap peas, almonds and bread for her cart. A volunteer repeatedly urged her to take more. With a family of five, she can select four items from the bread shelf, not just one, for example.

“Without this food, it would be really hard to get by,” she said through a Spanish-speaking Snow-CAP volunteer. “It is very good for the community.”

Snow-CAP client Amber Peterson Phillips of Southeast Portland proudly earned a bachelor’s degree in June and is now earning a master’s degree in public administration at Portland State University.

Her husband is a disabled Army veteran and they have a 7-year-old daughter. With only her husband’s Social Security disability income of $1,416 a month, Snow-CAP’s food pantry helps the family of three make ends meet.

“They’ve definitely helped us a lot,” she said while hunting through Snow-CAP’s clothes closet for long-sleeved shirts for her daughter. “Paying our power and water bills are our biggest issues. And food.

“We eat a lot of beans and rice, and peanut butter and bread. It’s amazing how much of our food stamps go toward milk.”

You can help

Local food pantries need donations. Here’s a sampling of what’s most in demand.

• Vegetables and fruit (fresh and canned)

• Milk, baby formula, baby food and disposable diapers

• Soups

• Chili

• Canned hash or ravioli

• Tuna

• Tuna, Hamburger or Chicken Helper

• Flour, baking mix or pancake mix

• Instant mashed potatoes

• Meats and deli items

• Laundry soap to wash donated clothing

• Toiletries such as bars of soap and toilet paper

• Can openers for the homeless and families living in their cars

• Pet food

Food lifelines

Please call the agencies listed below before visiting to double-check hours, make any necessary appointments and to make sure that you fit their eligibility guidelines.

St. Vincent de Paul at St. Henry Catholic Church

Type of Service: Food Boxes

346 N.W. First St., Gresham

10 a.m. to noon Tuesday and Saturday

(503) 235-8431

Zarephath Kitchen

Type of Service: Meals

59 Ava Ave., Gresham, 97030

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday

(503) 667-2692

Zarephath Pantry

Type of Service: Food Boxes

59 N.W. Ava Ave., Gresham

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

(503) 667-7932

Salvation Army Gresham

Areas Served: East of 122nd Ave.

Type of Service: Food Boxes

Address: 473 N.E. 194th Ave., Gresham

9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; Closed for lunch noon to 1 p.m.; Closed the first Wednesday of the month

(503) 661-2704

Salvation Army Gresham Harvest Share

Type of Service: Fresh Produce

473 S.E. 194th Ave., Gresham

9:30 a.m. on the first Wednesday of the month, first come first serve

(503) 282-0555 (same number for the Oregon Food Bank)

Rockwood Seventh-day Adventist Church Harvest Share

Type of Service: Fresh Produce

1910 S.E. 182nd Ave., Gresham

9 a.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month

(503) 282-0555 (same number for the Oregon Food Bank)

Innovative Housing Harvest Share

Type of Service: Fresh Produce

826 S.W. 29th Way, Troutdale

10:30 a.m. on the third Wednesday of the month

(503) 282-0555 (same number for the Oregon Food Bank)

Snow-CAP Community Basket

Type of Service: Other Programs

17805 S.E. Stark St., Gresham (behind Rockwood Church)

noon to 1:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month

(503) 674-8785

Snow-CAP Community Charities

Area Served: Multnomah County east of 82nd Ave.

Type of Service: Food Pantry, Clothing

17805 S.E. Stark St., Gresham (behind Rockwood Church)

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday

(503) 674-8785

New Beginnings Christian Center

Type of Service: Food Boxes

3300 N.E. 172nd Place, Gresham

12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday; 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday

(503) 256-6050

Sanctuary Church — A Jesus Community

Type of Service: Food Pantry and Emergency Food Boxes

3103 S.E. Orient Drive, Gresham

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. the first and third Saturday of the month

(503) 663-9146 or ajesuscommunity.org. 

http://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/story.php?story_id=131838664138826500

KEY Conversation on Poverty's 4th Annual Poverty Summit

How can YOU change the face of Poverty in East Multnomah County? Find out how you can help on Saturday, October 22 from 9-12pm. Keynote speaker, Kevin Palau.

A local Portland Musician

Homelessness

Save My Life

We Need Your Help!

"Blessed is the one who considers the needy, for the Lord will help him when he is in need." 

Psalm 41:1-2 

Dear Friends of Anawim:

If you think this is a fundraising letter, well, it is.  I apologize about this right now.  I'm not comfortable with anybody asking for contributions, most assuredly not myself. However, we do need your help. Here's why:

Anawim is providing a service that few can do.  Yes, many churches out there feed the homeless. I'm glad they do. They're making a great contribution to aid a very serious problem. But how many churches create a Christian community of the homeless?  How many give the homeless a home, physically, spiritually and socially?

I'm not trying to say that we're better than other churches.  Frankly, we realize -- better than most -- just how much work is involved in this process, as well as the heartbreak and effort in overcoming various kinds of anxieties. We don't expect most churches to do this.  But because this ministry is unique and provides something most churches cannot, we need your help.

Because we are a community of the poor, we need assistance to maintain our financial base so we can continue to help ourselves:

-- We need help to purchase and maintain our center where we worship and offer showers, clothes and food. 

-- We need help to maintain our community house where the homeless live in Christian community and given a place off the street, especially those whose health  cannot allow them to be on the street anymore.

-- We need help to maintain our transportation which brings food to those who need it.

-- We need help to restore IDs for those who lost them

-- We need help to offer day labor for those who are unemployed

-- We need help to offer warmth to those lacking shelter in the coming winter months.

Every day, we are doing the work other churches might want to be doing, but can't.  We are loving the poor, meeting their needs and coming up with innovative ideas to improve their plight.  I'm not trying to boast, it's just what we have dedicated our lives to doing.

We aren't a large organization, however.  Our base is really four couples and a number of homeless that help out.  And we don't have a huge budget.  So we try to make the money count.  And it means that our people aren't dependent on our money, just our friendship, knowledge, prayers and space.

Would you be willing to partner with us? Even a small donation of $10 per month would help a great deal.

Last year about a dozen people offered to contribute every month to help us keep our doors open and to provide opportunities to the homeless.  Now we are looking for others who might make this kind of commitment, as well.  Would you contribute a monthly amount to keep our doors open?  And I don't mean this metaphorically.  If we get the help we need, we will be able to keep our doors open.

I know it's a hard time for everyone.  But if you have a little, could you please help us? Whether you can afford a one time gift or a regular monthly contribution, it will mean a great deal , not just to me but to the hundreds of homeless people we serve.

To those of you who have given to Anawim in the past year, I thank you with my whole heart. You have kept us alive. Please consider doing so again. I wouldn't ask if it weren't so important.

If you are willing to give, please reply to me with the amount you are pledging to give.

 You can send your contribution to us via regular mail at 3733 N Williams Portland, OR 97227 or you can pay online through Paypal here:  http://www.nowheretolayhishead.org/support.html  Tax-deductible  receipts are available upon request with mailed contributions. Please make checks payable to Anawim Christian Community.

Thanks for your prayers and help.  And thanks for your consideration.  God bless you!


Steve Kimes
Pastor of Anawim Christian Community
www.NoWhereToLayHisHead.org

4th Annual Poverty Summit

Sanctuary

Today we are focusing on Sanctuary. Sanctuary isn't just something that

Anawim provides-- shelter and safety and hope for the homeless and mentally ill.  Sanctuary is also a place -formerly Peace Mennonite Church- an acre and a half of property in North Gresham.  Anawim and our sister church Bethel International City Church have been managing Sanctuary for the last year and we have made a lot of changes, along with much help from our brothers and sisters of many congregations in East Multnomah County.  Over time, this spot has truly been a Sanctuary not only for the homeless, but also for African immigrants and Hmong immigrants. We have a prayer house dedicated to prayer and a center which teaches immigrants basic computer skills.  And there is much that the homeless do for themselves.  Sam and I would like to give you a short tour here.