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Anawim Christian Community is a community church made up of the homeless and the mentally ill. Our main goal is to provide for people's needs (including the need to be a disciple of Jesus) where they are at. We don't feel that a person needs to be something different before they get the help they need. Our center is in Gresham OR, which is where we lead and organize day shelters and a worship service. We also have a community house in N. Portland where housing is being provided for a few people and opportunities for community worship. We are connected to ministries in SE Portland and St. Johns, where we distribute food and clothing. And finally, through the internet, we educate people from almost every country in the world about homelessness, mental illness and the Christian response to each.

AnawimCC.org

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

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--"

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