Upon arriving, Maggie followed signs to the church office. A cordial lady with dark hair pulled back by a pink headband greeted her. “Hi there, how can I help you?”
“Hi, I emailed yesterday to see if I could speak to someone about the homeless ministry. They said I could meet with Alex Cabrera, the homeless ministry director. ”
“Oh yes, I’ll just let Alex know you’re here.” She lifted the phone and spoke softly into it. Then, she turned back to Maggie, “He’ll be right down.”
“Thank you.” Maggie held her purse in her hands. Two minutes later, a man wearing ripped jeans, a gray hoodie, and a backwards hat opened the office door.
“Hi, you must be Maggie. I’m Alex.” He reached out to shake her hand. He had a black goatee that framed a friendly smile, and his head was shaved smooth. Maggie was surprised at how young he looked. If she had to guess, he was probably in his late twenties. Impressive for heading up such a large ministry.
“Hi, um, as I mentioned on the phone, I’m a part of a team organizing a Help for the Homeless Benefit tomorrow night. We want to donate our proceeds to your ministry, so I was hoping to learn more about what you need and how your ministry works.”
“Sure, why don’t we head down to the distribution center?”
Maggie followed Alex along the brightly colored hallway.
“Here we are,” Alex opened the door for her. “This is where we store donations and then over here,” he pointed to the right where shelves were neatly lined up, “is where we organize everything. We want to give our patrons the same experience they would have if they were shopping in a retail store.”
“This is really nice. You guys seem to have a really good system.”
“It’s only possible because of generous donations and dedicated volunteers. One of the things I’m most proud of is the opportunity we have to offer employment to about fifty people as well. Here let me introduce you to John and Faydra.”
Alex led Maggie around a pallet of neatly stacked boxes. She saw two people pulling out clothing items and delicately folding them into piles. “John, Faydra, this is Maggie. She’s going to be collecting donations for our ministry.”
John stuck out his hand and Maggie’s breath caught in her throat. “John?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“I… think I’ve met you before… down by Santa Monica Pier…”
“Oh yeah, I used to hang out there before I found out about this place a couple weeks ago. Alex helped me find a place to stay and gave me a job here.”
Maggie felt tears welling in her eyes. She couldn’t believe she was seeing John again. And he was here at New Life church.
“Hi, I’m Faydra. I’ve been volunteering here for a few years now.” A short woman beamed as she shook her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Well, do you have any questions?” Alex held out his arms.
“I was wondering what type of donations are most needed. Do you prefer monetary donations, or would you like us to bring in specific items?”
“Socks are actually our most requested item but needs tend to fluctuate. I think monetary donations would help us the most at this time so that we can fill in the gaps. I had a mom come in this morning that needed diapers and formula for twins. We are running low, and I would love to be able to make sure we have those things in stock.”
Maggie nodded. “Okay, that’s good to know. Thank you for showing me around, and thank you for all you do to serve the community. Would you guys be interested in coming to our event? I’d love to have you share with the audience about your ministry and how working here has impacted you.”
“I should be able to come.” Alex looked over at Faydra and John.
“I’ll be there,” John replied.
Faydra tilted her head, “I’ll have to see if I can find a babysitter, but if I’m able to, I’ll stop by.”
“Oh that’d be so great. Thank you again. I’ll email you the details, Alex.”
As Maggie exited the church, she decided to walk a bit. She wanted to think through her plan.My flight leaves Saturday afternoon. I’ll just change my destination from Minneapolis to Alabama. I have about $500 left in my bank account… That should cover it, but if not—that’s what credit cards are for, right? When I get to Chase’s house, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna tell him that I ran away because I’ve never felt this way about anyone… and that terrified me.
Maggie arrived at The Break an hour before the start of the Help for the Homeless event. She hung up the posters she had made and set a big wooden chest with a slot for donations near the stage. Arlo and a few other people Maggie didn’t recognize were setting up sound equipment. With time to spare, she grabbed her notebook. She smiled to herself as she recalled how writing lists at this very bar was the reason she met Chase.
She glanced in the direction of the table where she was sitting when he forced her to slow dance. Who could have imagined that a random stranger would end up joining her journey of self-discovery? Or that her time in LA would lead her to Alabama and now putting on an event that was so close to her heart?Thank you, Lord. It’s been a winding rollercoaster ride, but I’m so glad I was on it.
