Whenever I See Your Smiling Face

My wife and I learned Sunday that we had folks from New Orleans staying at a shelter near our home. We gathered a few needed supplies and made our way over to the center. Before entering the building we met Kim who had volunteered to come help just after lunch. She instructed us where to take our supplies and then got busy with what she was doing. My wife, who is wonderful in situations like this one, struck up a conversation with a gentleman from New Orleans. He wept as he talked about his experience with Katrina and now this.

We learned that there were far more people at the shelter than were expected, so more cots were on their way. So, we went and ran a few errands and then came back to help. At some point I walked by a gentleman who was seated by the door. He asked me to sit and talk with him a minute. He too was a survivor of Katrina, and was not doing very well at the moment. He was released from the hospital on Friday and left on Sunday, like most of the people not knowing his destination. He told me his story, and then asked me to pray with him, which I tried my best to do. He then asked me for a few things like pants, shirts and underclothing. He had not showered in a few days, and did not want to clean up and then put on the same old dirty clothes. I told him to stay put and I would be back with what he needed.

I found my wife and daughter, and we left for the store. In a few minutes we returned to the shelter with the clothes that he had requested. He was sitting right where I left him. He took the new things and headed straight for the shower. We stepped outside and was talking with a few folks before leaving for the night. We heard a knock on the glass. We looked up and there stood our new friend all clean and dressed in his new clothes. And he had one other thing that we did not notice earlier, a smile on his face. Believe it or not on this journey there are people who are in desperate need of a few things that can make all the difference. Of course, it may take a few sacrifices on our part to see that they get them. But, what a joy to look up and see that man all cleaned up with a smile on his face.