Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY220049A
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00:04 I want to spend my life
00:09 mending broken people. 00:15 I want to spend my life 00:20 removing pain. 00:26 Lord, let my words 00:31 heal a heart that hurts. 00:36 I want to spend my life 00:42 mending broken people... 00:47 I want to spend my life 00:52 mending broken people. 01:05 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today program. 01:09 I'm Jason Bradley, & I'm so glad 01:11 that you decided to tune in. 01:12 Once again we have a power- packed hour in store for you. 01:17 We are going to be talking about SALT on the Hill. 01:21 And you're probably saying: "Well, OK, I still don't know 01:23 what you're going to be talking about. " That's why you have 01:25 to stay tuned to find out. 01:27 Before I introduce my guests to you 01:30 I want to share this scripture with you 01:32 and maybe it will help give you a little hint 01:35 of what we'll be talking about. 01:37 It's taken from Matthew ch. 5 beginning at verse 13. 01:42 "You are the salt of the earth. 01:45 But if the salt loses its flavor 01:47 how shall it be seasoned? 01:49 It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out 01:52 and trampled underfoot by men. 01:54 You are the light of the world. 01:56 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. " 02:01 My guests are not hiding their light. 02:04 They haven't lost their savor. 02:07 And God is multiplying their efforts in a mighty way 02:11 to reach the community. I have here with me 02:14 Eric Camarillo, president of SALT Outreach. 02:17 It's great to have you here. Yes, no. Thanks for havin' us. 02:20 Yes sir! Then we've got 02:22 Pastor Wilfredo Montalvo. 02:26 Did I say it right? You have accent too! 02:28 I'm workin' on it... I'm workin' on it. 02:30 It's great to have you here, too. 02:31 And you're the SALT Outreach pastor. Yes sir. 02:33 And then we have Blessings Winn. 02:37 And Blessings, you've been on before - yes - 02:39 but now you're here in another capacity. 02:42 And we're going to dive into that as well. 02:44 You're the SALT Outpost Director - yes - of the Hill. 02:49 Of the Hill, yes. Pleasant Hill Adventist Church, yep. 02:52 Yes. Beautiful! Beautiful! 02:53 Well before we dive into your stories, 02:56 backgrounds, all of that stuff 02:58 we're going to be blessed in song. ET Everett 03:01 will be playing I Will Serve Thee. 03:04 And that's so appropriate for this occasion. 03:07 Let's take a look. 07:14 Wow! That's a beautiful, beautiful song. 07:16 I Will Serve Thee. 07:18 Eric, you've been here before several times - I have - 07:23 and there are always great things going on with SALT. 07:27 But for our viewers and listeners that may have 07:31 not been introduced to you 07:33 share a little bit about your background. 07:34 Yeah, so... Yeah, I love coming here by the way. 07:38 It's always a blessing to be here at 3ABN. 07:42 And when I first became... 07:46 I mean I grew up as a Catholic. 07:49 I was raised just kind of going through the motions: 07:52 going to church on Sunday once in a while. 07:54 Not necessarily believing in a God. 07:57 You know, sometimes I will sometimes I won't 08:00 depending on if it was convenient for me or not. 08:03 You know, and one day 08:06 I was just going through a downtime. 08:08 I flipped through a Bible and the words in red 08:11 caught my attention. And the most red I saw was 08:14 in the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5, 6, and 7. 08:16 And I started to read that and I started to feel 08:19 a sense of comfort I had never felt before. 08:22 Um-hmm. And when that happened 08:25 I just couldn't stop... I couldn't put the Bible down. 08:27 I just kept reading and reading. 08:29 And eventually, I called up some friends I knew were Christian 08:32 and did some Bible studies with them 08:36 so I could learn more. 08:37 School to church. Walked in. Said: "I want to be baptized. " 08:41 The next thing you know I'm a SDA Christian. 08:43 So that's... Wow! Praise God! 08:45 Now you said the words in red. 08:47 Now for someone who may have never picked up a Bible 08:50 what are the words in red? Whose words are those? 08:52 Yeah. So the words you know in some Bibles they put 08:55 Jesus' words in red in the Bible. 08:58 And I didn't know that. You know, I'm just looking. 09:00 I'm like: "Why are there red words? 09:01 Is this a warning or something? " 09:03 We see red words we're like: "What? " 09:06 So... But I saw the most red in those three chapters. 09:11 It was like pages of red. 09:12 And I'm like: "I need to see what this is about. " 09:15 And yeah, next thing you know 09:17 my life changed you know. 09:19 It's been a blessing... yeah. Amen! 09:22 Pastor Wilfredo, what about you? 09:24 So I came from a Puerto Rican background; lot of siblings. 09:27 Four older brothers; one younger sister. 09:29 And my grandfather was a minster for an Adventist church. 09:32 And my father... Kind of growing up there was 09:34 in church and out of church 09:37 in church... kind of back and forth. Um-hmm. 09:38 And I definitely would say growing up it was more of like 09:41 raised in church but not really raised in Christ. 09:44 Unpack that. And so the unpacking of that 09:48 is pretty much I went through the list of things 09:50 like "Hey, we go to church on Saturday. 09:53 On Sabbath you've got to do this here. " 09:55 "If you don't do this, then you don't go out 09:57 for the rest of the week. " So it was kind of like forced. 09:59 It was no relationship. OK. 10:01 Really it was kind of like: "This is it" 10:02 and nothing is explained. 10:04 You know: "Why did we get rid of the TV? " 10:06 "Don't worry about it... this is it. " 10:08 "Why don't we eat meat? " You know? 10:09 So there was nothing that was really like: "OK. " 10:11 For me, nothing was ever truly explained. 10:14 Nothing was truly based on like relationship. 10:17 So it was easy for me to pack and leave - 10:20 yes - because I was never leaving a person... 10:22 I was just leaving a church. Um-hmm. 10:25 And so for years I kind of did my own thing. 10:28 Went out into the world trying to find meaning 10:32 and satisfaction in any and everything. 10:34 And I remember one time kind of just hitting a low point 10:38 moving away, moving to Massachusetts, and hitting 10:42 a low point and realizing "Like man, I'm doing everything 10:46 I want and I'm not satisfied. 10:49 And if this is life then this is meaningless. " 10:54 Yeah. And at that moment I was kind of like well 10:57 I feel like God was beginning to lay down the foundation 11:00 you know to come back to Him. 11:02 To respond to Him, 'cause I feel like He's calling everybody. 11:06 And one day I moved back to Florida. 11:09 Started working with my family again in construction. 11:12 And my older brother asked me: "Do you want to go to heaven? " 11:15 And I was like: "Man, that is such a dumb question 11:18 because I know I'm not going if it exists how I'm living. " 11:22 But because he asked that question it began to... 11:26 to get the wheels turning. Um-hmm. 11:28 And I was like: "Man, what do I really know about the Bible? " 11:30 You know, I grew up with this kind of rocky rough 11:35 relationship with church and what they've taught me. 11:37 "Let me look into it. " And when I began to study 11:39 it was like man! We had a conversation about it 11:44 for like 8 hours. I didn't know much about the Bible 11:46 but we had a conversation and I felt that weightlessness. 11:50 I just felt full. I felt "let me dive into this. " 11:54 Yeah. That search started a journey of me going to Oakwood 11:58 getting a bachelor's in theology 12:00 and stepping out. It's been ten years now walking with the Lord. 12:05 Praise God! So that void was filled. 12:07 You found what you were missing. 12:08 And that was a thought- provoking question that 12:12 your brother asked you - yeah, 12:14 definitely - and led you to the Lord. That's amazing. 12:17 And Blessings, I want to come to you now. 12:19 Tell us a little bit about your background. 12:21 Yeah, sure. I grew up Seventh-day Adventist 12:23 and had two older siblings that were living with me. 12:26 And they were a little bit more 12:30 on the adventurous side 12:32 and not necessarily abiding by 12:35 the rules of the SDA faith. 12:37 And so I was able to see what a life like that would lead to. 12:41 And so I adhered to the rules: Sabbath and all those things. 12:45 But then when I finally got my own freedom 12:47 and I went to college I started to become wooed by the world. 12:50 Hmm. And I ended up going to a Catholic university. 12:54 Had a full ride... a chemistry scholarship. 12:57 And I thought: "I'm going to be a doctor. 12:59 I don't have to worry about anything 13:02 because my life is already planned for me for the next 13:04 10 to 13 years in terms of education. " 13:08 And along that route I started to let go 13:11 of a lot of the principles and the things that I was 13:13 raised with. And in a lot of ways I started to adulterate 13:19 the religion that I was given 13:21 accepting theologies that weren't necessarily Biblical 13:24 but that allowed me to have the lifestyle that I wanted. 13:28 So letting go of Sabbath and just becoming more worldly 13:32 in general. Um-hmm. And I became very successful 13:36 you know using the patterns that they tell you. 13:38 You do X and you get Y. You do X you get Y. 13:42 Um-hmm. And then I launched into Hollywood 13:44 you know and worked with A Band Apart... 13:48 which is now a defunct company. 13:50 But they were responsible for really great movies 13:52 at the time like The Mexican, Usual Suspects. 13:56 And I worked in a commercial and new big video department. 13:59 Um-hmm. And I enjoyed that. 14:01 But again, started to get even more pulled away. 14:05 And then got married. Lived a baseball-wife life 14:11 so to speak for 12 years. 14:14 Had kids and of course I introduced them to 14:16 the Bible and had them studying. Kind of like Wil said. 14:19 You give them this metric-type of list of what they should have 14:24 and what they should know 14:26 but are they actually, living in Christ? 14:27 Is Jesus actually the Lord over their lives 14:30 or our lives? And I couldn't really say that with my case. 14:35 And then when my father died 14:36 I started searching in the world for answers 14:39 instead of going to the "Good Book. " 14:40 Um-hmm. And found myself kind of in spiritualism 14:44 and things that weren't really aligned with God. 14:48 And in the end COVID was really what broke me. 14:52 You know? Really? Yeah, so 14:54 COVID - that isolation - and realizing that regardless of 14:58 what I had attained... 15:00 I had everything: the cars, the house, 15:02 the diamonds, you name it, the social life, 15:07 the perfect picket fence with the two kids. 15:09 You know, all of those status quos. Um-hmm. 15:12 But none of those things were really 15:19 filling the void so to speak. 15:21 Yes, my family is important to me. 15:23 Yes, I love them without a doubt beyond anything. 15:26 BUT there was something missing. Yeah. 15:29 And so I was corrupted by fear and then eventually 15:34 started to have anxiety - um-hmm - and restlessness. 15:37 And I couldn't even enjoy all the things that I had. 15:40 And when God stripped all those things away 15:42 I really saw the value of material things 15:44 including the body. 15:46 And I just prayed relentlessly and begged God 15:52 "help me; restore me. " And He did! 15:55 And not only did He take away my fear 15:57 but He gave me faith - Amen! and I've never looked back. 16:02 You know, I started like Wil started to search the Bible 16:06 and like Eric and really diving in and finding out the truth 16:11 for myself... which is something that many of us don't do. 16:15 And when I did that you know God was speaking to me 16:20 and He led me to Matthew 24... 16:22 24, 45 through 50 16:25 which talks about His legacy, Jesus' legacy 16:28 that He's left behind. He said: 16:30 "You know, the poor will always be with you. 16:32 I will only be here a short while and these 16:34 are things that you need to be concentrating on. 16:37 And what you don't do for them is equally what you've done 16:40 to Me. " So... here I am. 16:43 Praise God! That's a powerful testimony! 16:46 And you know I think it really speaks to 16:49 those that are seeking the things of this world. 16:51 Who are really dedicating their lives to attaining those 16:55 things they're going to realize that's an empty lifestyle 16:59 and that there's a void that only Christ can fill. 17:03 Amen. Absolutely. You know, it's so interesting 17:06 just reflecting on all of our testimonies. 17:10 Obviously the common theme was we picked up the Bible. 17:13 We started reading it. We started really experiencing 17:17 God through His Word you know. 17:20 And that's just a beautiful thing, man. 17:22 His words have so much power to transform and to just 17:27 fill those voids in our hearts. 17:31 So yeah, I just want to encourage anyone that might be 17:33 watching today: like, pick up the Bible. Read it. 17:37 It changed our lives and can change your life too. 17:41 So... Absolutely. 17:43 Let's talk about how SALT is changing lives, 17:46 how God is using SALT to change lives. 17:48 How did SALT get started? 17:51 So SALT Outreach... when we started it was... 17:54 was something that we felt a strong impression - 17:58 um-hmm - to create something that brought young adults 18:02 together. Not just for the sake 18:04 of getting together but to do service... 18:07 various service projects in the community. 18:10 To really be the hands and feet, right? 18:12 Not only... To act out the things 18:15 that God is asking us to do. 18:17 And so... so that's how it started. 18:21 One of the outreach projects we had in the beginning was 18:23 with the unsheltered... people experiencing homelessness. 18:27 And that started with just two people feeding fifteen. 18:32 And you know it started to grow from there 18:35 where it grew to hundreds of people feeding 200 to 300 people 18:39 bi-weekly. Um-hmm. And we decided to survey 18:45 our friends. Because I think that's where when it comes to 18:49 serving people experiencing homelessness 18:51 we always... food is always a given, right? 18:54 Everyone needs food. That's just a basic necessity. 18:57 That's a great place to start 18:59 but that's just it: it's a starting place you know. 19:02 From there we surveyed the community 19:06 and we found out that clothing & hygiene was another big need. 19:09 So we fundraised about $4,000 for a clothing trailer. 19:13 Wow! We call that our change trailer. 2016. 19:16 So we launched that to distribute clothing 19:18 and hygiene products. 19:19 Then we said: "OK, this survey thing is working. " 19:21 Right? We're not just... And that's something I want to 19:24 emphasize is instead of assuming the need for somebody 19:28 just ask them. Right? 19:30 Do surveys. Ask and study that need for yourself. 19:33 So we continued the studying and the surveys 19:37 and we found out that over half of them were looking for work. 19:40 That some of those people hadn't showered in up to 3 mos. 19:44 and on average hadn't showered in 3-7 days. 19:47 Wow! And so that's when we fundraised about $40,000 19:50 at that time in 2018 for a shower trailer. 19:52 Hmm. So and then from there 19:56 our mobile drop-in center started 19:58 once a month then twice a month. 20:01 And it just kept kind of growing from there, yeah. 20:03 That's incredible to see the growth of SALT 20:07 because you've been coming on. 20:09 You've been on 3ABN Today. You've been on Urban Report. 20:12 So like we've been seeing the growth and all of that. 20:15 You needed a shower trailer. 20:17 Boom! You got the shower trailer. 20:18 You needed a change trailer. You got that. 20:21 And so just seeing how God has been growing every... 20:24 every step of the way. 20:27 Since you got SALT started 20:30 and everything transitioning into the pandemic 20:33 how did SALT function 20:35 through that time? Yeah, so... 20:37 so a lot of things changed during the pandemic, right? 20:40 So we were operating 2-3 times a month during that time. 20:44 And when the pandemic hit all the organizations 20:48 serving the unsheltered they closed down. 20:52 And so there was one that was doing food in the evenings 20:56 still and trying to navigate how to do this 20:59 in this new COVID/post-COVID world, right? 21:04 Um-hmm. And so what we ended up doing 21:07 is we have some relationships we were creating with the city 21:09 of Orlando. And they actually that year - in 2020- 21:13 gave us about $200,000- wow - 21:17 to change our operation from operating 3 days a month 21:20 to three days a week. 21:22 And on top of that we raised an additional $160,000 21:25 so that year was about $360,000. 21:28 And some of those donations came from 3ABN viewers. 21:31 So that was... that has been a huge blessing. 21:33 And then from there, we started a case management program. 21:37 And we added storage services. 21:40 We fundraised for a laundry trailer about $90,000. 21:44 We ended up growing to in 2021 five days a week. 21:48 Now we're seeing 200 people a day experiencing homelessness 21:53 and we're serving them with 12 different services. 21:55 It's pretty crazy and it just continues to rise... the need. 21:59 Yeah, it's amazing because they can depend on you. 22:03 They know that SALT is going to be there 22:05 and going to be consistent... and that's important. 22:08 So what is SALT currently, doing now? 22:11 So with SALT up till now 22:13 we actually are serving about 200... upwards of 250 people 22:19 per day at our spot in downtown Orlando. 22:21 So we have our shower trailer doing showers. 22:24 Our laundry trailer doing laundry. 22:26 We're doing storage services, charging stations, 22:30 food, haircuts, hygiene products. 22:32 We're doing case management, mental health counseling. 22:36 So every basic need that someone might need 22:39 experiencing homelessness we're that front door. 22:42 They come to us first 22:44 and with our mental health counselors and our case managers 22:46 they get them to the next place they need to go 22:49 if it's another organization or whatever 22:52 to eventually help them to end their homelessness. 22:54 So we've seen last year about 3 in 4 people 22:58 took the next step toward ending their homelessness 23:01 and one in five transition to shelter housing 23:04 after working with our case management team. 23:06 Wow! So since the start of the pandemic 23:08 we've actually seen about 1,000 people 23:13 end their homelessness that we have been involved in serving. 23:17 So we just launched a bridge housing program 23:20 which is offering shelter to people through hotels. Um-hmm. 23:22 And our case managers are actually stationed in one of the 23:25 rooms in the hotel. And they're providing all three meals, 23:28 coaching them through their housing plans 23:31 and so hopefully in a month or two they can get out of there 23:33 and into housing of their own. 23:35 And then we just opened an administrative office. 23:37 So we have our HR and our data person 23:40 and you know our accounting person 23:43 all in that administrative office. 23:45 It's helping with that. So a lot has changed and grown 23:48 over the years. And so we have to have a quick video of that 23:52 I'd like to show just to kind of give a visual 23:54 of what's been going on. Absolutely. Let's take a look 23:56 at that video right now. 26:16 Wow! That's incredible. You guys are really really 26:20 meeting the needs. And I can only imagine how many 26:23 moving parts are involved with making that happen. 26:27 A ton... a ton of stuff. We have thirty... 26:29 I mean we started all-volunteer in 2020 26:31 and now we have 35 staff members. 26:34 That's a lot of resources. 26:37 But we need to grow with the need. 26:40 You know, there's such a big need out there. 26:41 And not only this physical 26:44 need that we meet but we actually had brought on Wilfredo 26:47 last year to help meet the spiritual need 26:49 of the unsheltered. 'Cause it's so easy to get 26:51 bogged down with logistics. Um-hmm. 26:53 And so we wanted to bring people in intentionally. 26:57 He and Gerard both are outreach pastors for the organization. 27:02 So not only are they the pastors for the 27:04 unsheltered but also for our staff and that kind of thing. 27:07 I'll let him talk a little bit more about that. 27:09 Yeah, it's really been an experience 27:11 pastoring in a very different capacity. 27:14 And more than just that but one thing I've realized, too, 27:17 is you're redefining what a pastor looks like - 27:19 um-hmm - to a lot of people. 27:22 I've had moments where 27:23 I'm cleaning the shower 27:25 getting it ready for the next homebound to come in. 27:27 And someone will be like: "Oh! I'm sorry. " 27:32 "Hey, how're you doing? I'm the pastor. I'm just 27:33 cleaning. Hey, I'm getting ready for you. " 27:36 I remember one time someone said: "Oh, you're a pastor. 27:37 You're having Bible studies today. " I'm like: "Yeah. " 27:39 And the guy just looked at me like "You're a pastor? " 27:43 I was like: "Yeah. " He's like: "What are you doing out here? " 27:46 I'm like: "What do you mean? " 27:47 Like: "You're cleaning. What are you doing out here? " 27:49 This is it. "And where's your church? " 27:53 I'm like: "You're here. " 27:54 "This is... I'm YOUR pastor. " 27:58 And so we are re-defining what a pastor looks like. 28:01 Many times some of our homebound friends don't have 28:04 the capability or accessibility to get into a church. 28:08 Sometimes they're not welcomed. Just being honest. 28:12 And then being able to actually 28:13 sit down and have like man 28:16 you know: sit down, pray, talk, 28:19 ask questions about the Bible 28:22 and kind of facilitate and create a space 28:24 you know is what we do. 28:26 We started out with one Bible study a week 28:28 last year when we first came. 28:30 The second family that we visited it was for 28:33 2 Bible studies a week. Um-hmm. 28:34 And now we're doing Bible studies every day 28:36 Monday through Thursday 28:38 and trying to plug into churches to come. 28:41 That's the other thing I try to do as well 28:42 is try to link in with churches that are in the area. 28:45 Try to get them to come out and volunteer 28:47 or come do a worship, come do a study. 28:50 And it's been truly a blessing. 28:54 One of the things that really sticks out in my mind is 28:56 just building relationships. Um-hmm. 28:59 You can't be like... For you to be relevant 29:04 you need to be present. Yes. 29:05 And if you're not present, it doesn't matter - 29:08 that's right - what you have to say 29:10 it's never going to fit or stick. 29:12 And so one of the biggest things - and you mentioned it - 29:15 is the fact that we are there every day. Um-hmm. 29:17 So we're there. Unless there's some catastrophe. 29:21 It may be a catastrophe... we'll still be there 29:23 'cause we've got shower trailers you know. So, uh, 29:25 being there every day, talking every day, 29:28 learning the names - yes - hearing the stories. 29:31 I've seen the change in some of our homebound friends 29:36 where one day like: "Hey listen man, I want to go to church 29:41 but I just don't feel comfortable enough to go. " 29:44 So: "Cool, I going to go with you then. " 29:45 You know? "I'll meet you. I'll pick you up and we'll go. " 29:49 And I remember going and I went with 29:52 shorts, a tie-dye shirt, and some clogs. 29:55 And when I picked him up he was like: "Man! 29:57 I was so worried about what people would think 30:00 about how I was dressed. " Yes. 30:02 "But looking at you... " 30:05 And I'm like: "I know. " And I did it purposely. 30:08 So we walked into the church. We sat down 30:12 and we got some looks. I got most of them. 30:15 And that's fine. 30:17 But we actually got to have a worship experience 30:19 you know in him coming to the church. 30:20 And that little push was enough for him to be like: 30:22 "You know what? I'm going to come back. " 30:24 I like the fact that you're implementing Christ's method 30:28 of evangelism. And that's His method right there. 30:31 SALT is embodying that 30:34 and I think that's so powerful 30:35 and so many souls are being won. 30:37 Speaking of souls being won 30:39 for Christ, what is 30:41 the S.O.S. weekend? What is that? 30:44 So S.O.S. is something that also the meaning of it 30:48 is Season of Service. 30:50 And this is something that me & Eric were discussing last year 30:53 and it's amazing to see it coming to fruition. 30:55 It's where we go to a church 30:58 and we kind of develop a very custom plan 31:02 with that church. OK. And so I come in 31:05 speaking, preaching... pretty much talking about 31:08 the reasons why we should be out in the community. 31:10 Um-hmm. Right? Christ's hands and feet in the church 31:13 and in this world. 31:15 It's kind of based on Matthew 24 and 25. 31:18 And then what Eric does is 31:20 is you know he goes into let's say a particular county that 31:25 the church is in. And so we then research that county 31:27 and find the data as to how best to take the next step 31:32 to develop you know... either develop 31:36 a homeless ministry or take it to the next level 31:38 if it's already there. 31:40 So it's trying to find a way to fill in the gaps 31:42 and kind of give a special plan for the church 31:44 that we're going to - OK - to just move forward with it. 31:48 Now would this be like a SALT Outpost? 31:53 Or what is a SALT Outpost? 31:55 So the S.O.S. weekend kind of happens before the Outpost. 32:00 So the weekend is more of an introduction. 32:02 More of a "let's create a plan" with you. 32:05 Let's figure this thing out together. 32:06 in your area to duplicate what we're doing where you are. 32:11 The Outpost is more of ongoing support. 32:14 It's more of a... it's really a branch of SALT - 32:17 um-hmm - that is now officially started there. 32:20 The S.O.S. weekend is an event 32:23 where the Outpost is almost like a franchise 32:24 or another arm of the organization 32:29 but in a different area. 32:30 And so that's... what's really exciting about this 32:34 having gone to Blessing's church. Yeah, that was our first 32:37 S.O.S. weekend actually. And it was such a blessing. 32:41 I was thinking maybe we can show a quick video 32:45 of how that event went. Yeah. 32:46 We'll have maybe Blessing talk a little bit more about that. 32:49 That'd be wonderful. Let's check that out right now. 32:52 S.O.S. is a Season of Service 32:54 and it's pretty much reaching out to other communities, 32:57 other churches in-state/out of state 32:59 really just that are wanting to partner up with SALT 33:03 and start something like SALT in their community 33:05 to help their community. 33:07 This is a practical way. It gives us a place to start. 33:12 So I think that's a beautiful ministry to look at 33:15 and that we can definitely model what our church wants to do 33:18 here in this local community and in Contra Costa County 33:22 and have great success with the ministry of the Lord 33:25 in helping people. 33:27 I just praise God that SALT already has the template 33:30 and a working model 33:33 for the things that we want to do. And what I've learned 33:36 is that we don't have to re-invent the wheel. 33:39 I think one of the key things: let's just do it. 33:42 Just try it. It doesn't hurt to try; 33:44 it doesn't hurt to do it. Just do it 33:47 and learn from those experiences. 33:48 And we are just so grateful for SALT that has given us that 33:52 platform to be able to just go right in it 33:56 with something behind our back. 33:58 Just thinking about we don't know what we're doing 34:00 but God does, and we're just going to trust Him with that. 34:05 Individually we can make little changes 34:07 but if you want to change this whole situation for the people 34:09 then we have to act as a group, as an organization. 34:12 So I think acting collectively 34:16 is what I learned today. 34:18 So my thoughts on the outcome of this trip 34:20 are actually extremely positive. 34:23 Coming in seeing the hearts... I feel like God was already 34:27 working in the people's hearts. 34:30 There was already a sense of wanting to do something 34:33 for the community... just not knowing how to start it. 34:36 And so coming in it was really just sharing a testimony, 34:40 sharing the stories, sharing how we could build 34:43 something like SALT here. 34:46 And the outcome was, man, I think when Eric was preaching 34:49 he shared the questions of like: "Who wants to be committed 34:53 to this? Who wants to stand up and be a part of this? " 34:55 Seeing the whole church stand was #1 amazing. 34:59 But them coming Sunday morning which was like the real test 35:02 coming Sunday morning and seeing the whole room full! 35:05 Right? The whole table was full 35:08 of people that are willing and committed to be a part of it 35:11 was definitely a success for me in my eyes. 35:15 We have learned so much. First of all, we are excited 35:18 about the enthusiasm of our community to do something 35:21 in the greater community. We've learned that 35:24 SALT Outreach really has a template for us to follow. 35:29 We don't have to re-invent the wheel. 35:30 We can partner up with them 35:33 and be mentored, be taught, 35:36 be shown what is the best way 35:40 to reach the unsheltered in our community. 35:44 So the S.O.S. Weekends we started mainly because 35:47 we got so many churches outside of the state of Florida 35:51 that were requesting to learn how to duplicate SALT Outreach 35:55 in their church. And so we realized 35:58 that many times it's just a small group of people 36:02 that maybe have that interest. 36:03 But we developed the S.O.S. Weekend so that we can come out 36:06 and empower the whole church to be a part of that 36:09 and to really catch the same vision 36:13 as that small group so that together the church can 36:16 come together, combine their resources 36:19 and their experience to duplicate this in their city. 36:25 So we will come; we will do a series of messages, 36:28 seminars, and even a workshop 36:31 to help go through the practical next steps 36:34 for them to start it and start impacting the unsheltered 36:38 in their community. 36:43 Wow! That's awesome. Blessings, it looks like 36:45 that weekend was very impactful for you. 36:48 Where does your passion stem from for the unsheltered? 36:53 So I grew up in Berkeley, CA. 36:56 And if anyone has been there before they know that 36:59 Berkeley is not 37:01 somewhere that is a stranger to homelessness. 37:04 Um-hmm. And growing up 37:06 my mother used to actually take people in off the street. 37:09 Oh wow! And they would stay with us for a period of time. 37:12 Some people would stay for three months. 37:13 Some for two years. 37:15 And she would also have political refugees from 37:17 her country come into our home as well. 37:20 And every weekend we would make enough food 37:23 so that we would be able to go out and help people 37:25 who you know didn't have. Um-hmm. 37:28 And it's not that necessarily we had a lot 37:31 but it didn't matter. We showed up in the ways that we could. 37:34 Um-hmm. So definitely my passion started there. 37:37 And then as a teenager, I got involved in what was called 37:40 The Ambassador Program in Berkeley. Um-hmm. 37:43 And it was a bunch of teenagers who worked with grassroots 37:45 organizers who were looking after the community. 37:48 And so there's a park up on Telegraph Ave. which is 37:53 near the university - UC Berkeley - 37:55 and it has always been kind of the "watering hole" 37:59 for the unsheltered people in our community. 38:02 And at times that area would become tense. 38:05 And so they would have us get to know these people 38:09 You know, be on a first-name basis with them. 38:12 Be able to just be present 38:15 and make them feel like they were ordinary citizens 38:17 and not these outcasts. Um-hmm. 38:19 And that was a great experience for us: 38:22 being a part of the community, 38:23 being able to liaise between the needs of the homeless 38:27 and also the needs of the city 38:29 and the programs that they were running. 38:31 And as a young adult showing up for volunteering. 38:36 And then finally when I was married and able to give 38:39 monetarily I was definitely supporting a lot of the 38:42 different community services that were out there. 38:45 Um-hmm. And during the time of COVID 38:47 one of our favorites... I won't name them because 38:50 I don't want to shame them... OK... we were giving 38:52 monetarily and making these big COSTCO runs 38:57 and dropping food off with my kids. Um-hmm. 38:59 And one day I approached a staff member and I said: 39:01 "I just want to be able to do more. 39:03 You know, I see the line of people. Can I help? " 39:05 And they ended up refusing me for medical reasons 39:09 unfair practices which is... Again, I'm not going to 39:12 shame them on that. Yeah. 39:13 But you know, a lot of times when God closes a door 39:16 He's opening another one. And so we shouldn't get stuck 39:19 looking at that door shutting in our face. 39:21 We should be relieved that He had the grace to shut that door 39:25 so that we can go in the path that's going to work for us. 39:27 So I started praying and I just said: "God, 39:31 show me a place that's going to accept not only my money 39:35 but my service. " Hmm. And I continued with that prayer. 39:38 And at this time... this was around the 2nd year of COVID... 39:43 we found out that Granite Bay had just opened up 39:46 and Pastor Doug was holding services, you know. 39:49 And so my family and I we would do a 4-hr. round trip 39:52 all the way to Sacramento. 39:54 And we did this for seven months straight. 39:56 And one day after potluck one guy says to me, Tom, 39:59 he says: "Hey, have you ever heard of Pleasant Hill SDA? " 40:03 And I said: "Tell me more. " 40:05 And he says: "Well I love it! 40:06 I sometimes do the reverse commute. You know, 40:08 I think you'd really enjoy it. They have a great pastor. " 40:11 And at that time my husband had said to me: 40:14 "If you would go to a closer church, I would be able to 40:17 join you more. " So I'm listening. I'm saying: 40:19 "God, what are You saying? " 40:21 I'm hearing this. "OK, I'm going to step out on faith. 40:23 I'm going to go. " 40:25 So that very next Sabbath I showed up with my family 40:28 and Pr. Mitch Williams himself 40:32 showed me around and sat me down 40:35 next to a woman. And unbeknownst to me 40:38 this was the Community Services Leader 40:41 at the time, the Director: Gertie Warnick. 40:45 And I opened up the bulletin and I looked over 40:49 and I said: "Is this you? " And she said: "Yes. " 40:51 I said: "I'll be there. " So I started volunteering. 40:54 And then I opened the right side of the bulletin 40:57 and Pastor Lomacang' s face was on there. Wow! 41:00 So if you heard my testimony that I gave here at 3ABN 41:04 you'll know that during the first year of COVID 41:07 we worshiped solely online with Thompsonville church. 41:12 And I had reached out to him but apparently, I'd gotten 41:15 a defunct e-mail and so I never heard from him. 41:17 And then all of a sudden God's providing the opportunity 41:21 for me to come face-to-face with him. 41:23 So that did happen. Um-hmm. 41:24 And we got in touch and started e-mailing 41:26 and I shared with him my passion and how I wanted to help 41:29 and how it was equally met by Gertie Warnick 41:32 and other members of the church. 41:36 And he said: "Well, I've got just the guy for you. " 41:38 And this is how Eric came into my life. Praise God! 41:43 And so God was answering all these prayers 41:46 all at once. You know, the request for a closer church. 41:49 The request for an avenue to actually execute 41:54 a more powerful ministry to the homeless. 41:56 And so I called him and vetted him. 41:59 Unbeknownst to him, I'm asking all these questions. 42:01 They're in Florida so I don't know too much about them yet. 42:05 And I just loved what he said. 42:08 And he said to me: "Your timing is impeccable. 42:11 We get so many calls from so many different churches 42:15 wanting to know how they can have what we're doing 42:18 in their own city. " 42:20 And he goes: "And we've just finished literally 42:23 an S.O.S. Weekend plan 42:26 and we'd love for you to be our first pilot program 42:30 out of state. " And I'm thinking: 42:32 "Lord, if You're not speaking! " Right? "Providential. " 42:36 God's timing is amazing because imagine if Pastor Lomacang 42:39 would have received your e-mail earlier - 42:41 exactly - things could have gone differently. 42:43 You never know... so that's incredible. 42:45 So what has been going on with the SALT Outpost since then? 42:50 Yeah, so because of the S.O.S. 42:53 it definitely gave us more direction. 42:54 They were able to take all the data from our particular area 42:59 and put it in from their side and matriculate all this 43:03 information for us so that we could be more intentional 43:06 and directed you know. Understanding the demographic, 43:09 understanding the need, 43:11 and then also supplying us with access to their databases 43:15 and their surveys. And honestly, when I looked at 43:17 their surveys I was like: "I would have never thought 43:19 of any of this stuff. Thank goodness! 43:21 You know, thank God I don't have to re-invent the wheel. " 43:23 Um-hmm. And so it's just a powerful tool, 43:26 it's a powerful ministry that they've already gone through 43:30 all the bells and whistles, jumps and hoops 43:33 and everything you can imagine 43:35 to create a functioning service, a ministry that works. 43:38 Yes... absolutely. 43:40 You know, there was somebody named Joseph 43:43 that you talked to and kind of interviewed a little bit. 43:47 We have that video. I'd like to take a look at that right now. 43:53 How you doing? My name is Joseph Williams 43:56 and I'm from Oakland, CA. 43:59 Right now God blessed me with a place right there on 44:02 30th and Telegraph. 44:04 Before that, I stayed in my car for two years. 44:07 I helped people and I used to wonder 44:10 why was I here? But God blessed me. 44:13 I got tired while I was out here 44:17 and I read my Bible and He took me to the book of Job 44:20 and He said: "I made you. " 44:23 There's a reason you're still here. " And I see the reason 44:27 I'm here: to help people. 44:29 And so with that I just say "Keep up the good work 44:33 and help people. Go to the byways and highways. " 44:35 I'm out. 44:39 Wow! Is there anything you want to add, Blessings, to that video 44:43 that we just saw? Yeah. So because of S.O.S. Weekend 44:46 what we learned is that you have to understand the need. 44:49 You can't just show up and serve. 44:51 I mean, you COULD... 44:52 but it's just not as effective. 44:53 And so what my partner 44:55 Sherry and I, who's now the 44:57 assistant director for our SALT Outreach at the Hill, 45:02 what we did is we went out and started to do 45:04 recognizance. And so we canvassed different areas 45:08 and we found some encampments. 45:09 And we actually started to make friendships with the people 45:12 who live there. Hmm. And we were able to ask them: 45:15 "What are your needs? How can we be of service to you? " 45:18 And surprisingly it wasn't just-food 45:21 which is like you said earlier. It's the go-to. 45:24 It's not just food. There's other real tangible things 45:27 that they need in order to survive 45:29 and things that you don't necessarily think of. 45:32 You know, toilet paper. 45:34 Yes. Went to COSTCO; got some 45:36 you know the bulk-size Kirkland brand toilet paper rolls. 45:41 They asked for jeans, T-shirts. Very specific needs. 45:45 One gentleman said: "You know, my granddaughter 45:48 who's 8 and her mother are moving in with me. " 45:51 And it just broke my heart. 45:53 And when I looked into what he had to offer 45:55 it was literally a tarp and a door. 45:57 So he says: "Could you get me a tent big enough for 8 people? " 46:01 Wow! And we provided that. 46:02 So these are some of the things that you find out 46:05 by being intentional... and getting to know the people. 46:08 So what is the vision for SALT in the Bay Area? 46:12 So we want to replicate what has been happening in Orlando. 46:16 You know, the need in the Bay Area is really great 46:21 and it's growing day by day. 46:23 When you think about the Baby Boomers and them living 46:26 off of Social Security... On average they make $1,600/mo. 46:29 Now the average rent in our area is $2,300 46:33 and that's just for one person maybe a studio apartment. 46:36 But the requirements to actually, secure an apartment 46:39 of this nature: you have to make three times 46:43 the rental fee. Now that's virtually impossible. 46:47 Most people in the Bay Area are paying half of their income 46:50 in rent, and besides those people there are 46:54 many that are living in their cars 'cause they can't afford 46:56 the rent. Um-hmm. So homelessness is growing 47:00 because of the Baby Boomers and it's growing because of 47:03 the COVID pandemic and the strain that's been caused 47:06 you know economically. And it's also growing because 47:09 the housing rates just keep going up. 47:11 There's not enough low-income housing. Yeah. 47:14 $2,300 a month! Whoo! That's pricey! 47:19 What would you say is the biggest need 47:21 for the SALT Outpost on the Hill? Yes, so we currently 47:25 at our Community Services we have essentially the food, 47:30 the pantry services, the clothing services, 47:33 we even have a bathroom that they can use. 47:36 But of course, this is selective. This is a little bit 47:39 too privy. It services those who can get to us 47:42 and we live in a suburb 47:44 and it's pretty difficult to get to. 47:46 We have gentlemen who have prosthetic legs 47:50 and they walk many miles to come to have our service. 47:54 And what we would desire and need greatly 47:57 actually is to become mobile 47:59 to actually have a drop-in center. 48:01 So right now we're doing a fundraiser for a shower trailer 48:05 and it would have 6 bathrooms and 6 showers 48:08 and also be accessible for the handicapped. 48:12 And we would want to launch within six months - 48:16 um-hmm - to be able to go to these encampments, 48:19 go to the people to help them, you know? 48:23 Most of them like I said aren't working 48:24 and they maybe see 1 shower a month. 48:27 Wow! They may be see... they chase the other services 48:30 It's not guaranteed, you know? 48:33 Yeah. The unsheltered ministry in the Bay Area 48:37 is just as important as the unsheltered ministry 48:40 in Orlando. And we need to have more of these unsheltered 48:43 ministries - right - taking place: the SALT Outposts. 48:48 I want to see that everywhere. I love it. That's the vision. 48:51 Absolutely. And we have a video and I want to go to that... 48:55 that video right now. 50:29 Wow. I definitely want to see you guys get that 50:33 shower trailer. I see that you have to raise $90,000 50:36 for the shower trailer. How much has been raised so far? 50:38 Yeah. So God has through two private donors 50:42 has raised $30,000 toward that trailer already. 50:45 Wow! Praise God! We're a third of the way there. 50:47 That's crazy 'cause with inflation 50:51 and the supply chain the cost of trailers is going up and up. 50:54 When we first fundraised for a trailer here on 3ABN 50:56 the 3ABN viewers actually raised 50:59 90% of those funds almost. Wow! Praise God! 51:03 You know, it was only $40,000 51:06 and now we're looking at almost double that price. 51:09 So we really need support of the community, 51:12 3ABN viewers, to really make this a reality here. 51:16 So California... there's a huge need there 51:18 and we all can be a part of that you know? Yeah, absolutely. 51:23 And you know I just kind of want to claim it in faith 51:26 that it IS going to happen. Amen. 51:29 And I want you to come back, Blessings, 51:31 and I want you guys to come back 51:33 because I want us to talk about this day 51:36 when we were talking about raising the funds for the shower 51:40 trailer and then I want to find out what happened 51:43 as a result of getting that. 51:46 I don't want you to go anywhere. 51:47 We're going to take a brief break, 51:49 get a little address roll newsbreak 51:51 and we'll be right back. |
Revised 2023-04-18