Providence

 Being homeless was an adjustment to say the least.  Breakfast was at the Mission.  Lunch was on your own, but there was a soup kitchen you could go to and get a free meal.  Dinner would be at the Mission.  It was not a wonderful meal, but it would be enough to get by.  There was a move afoot by some people to get be into a safer environment, and that was the Providence Home.

 It was primarily a place for veterans with addiction issues, but they had other rooms, too.  I had been out trying to find a job and was dressed for success.  My brother picked me up and took me to the Providence Home to be interviewed.  He let me off, and I went inside to their office.  A man showed me around the property.  We went upstairs in a housing building, and he showed me the room, where I would sleep.  I would room with another guy.  He then showed me the bathroom on a hall.  He said that you only had a minute to shower.  If you went longer than that, they would turn off the water.  I asked about securing my stuff in a locker, and he said they didn't have those.  He said that my stuff could be fair game for others in the building.  He took me back downstairs and said that everyone was expected to work on the property.  You could either cook or clean.  I would also have to find a job to pay for the bed.  I was not very keen on all of that.  After all, I could have a bed at the Mission for free, and I didn't have to cook or clean.  I asked the man if there was a place that I could change from my good clothes into jeans for my trip back to the Mission.  He said that I could go into the weight room.  It had all glass doors.  I tried to go behind one of the machines so as to not be seen from the outside.  I then realized the man was behind me and watched me change.  How uncomfortable was that?  I told them thanks but no thanks.

 I also went back to First Baptist to see if a minister was available to talk to.  I got the a Students minister.  I cried some more talking to him.  My nerves were about shot during this time.  I knew God wanted me to do something, because He had told me so, but the change to basically hanging out on the street or the library was very traumatic.  The minister listened, and then was very honest to me.  He said that he didn't know anything about what I was going through, but he would pray with me.  He prayed.  I cried.  He then gave me a Sonic gift card.  I gave it to a homeless friend, because I don't like Sonic's food.  The minister took me to see a woman who handled benevolence for the church.  The woman was one of the two who asked how I was doing, when my mother had her stroke in 1991.  She told me of some programs that the church could help me with, but I would have to become a member first.  I was also introduced to some of the other staff members.  They were very nice to me.  I also met a man down there named Mike.  He was a deacon in the church.  He invited me to come to his Sunday School class, which turned out to have about 175 members and met in the choir's rehearsal room.  Mike also invited me to come on Fridays to the Baptist Hospital cafeteria's meeting room for a Men's prayer breakfast.  I agreed.  I was becoming more comfortable with First Baptist again.

 After I left the church that day, I had one more call to make.  I called my friends in St. Matthews to see if I could come stay with them.  They were like my second family.  They had basically adopted me, after my parents had moved to Laurens.  I practically begged them to let me come live down there, but they said no.  The Mission was going to be my home for a while.  With some 70 of my closest friends.