The Man I Walked Past: Why Love Parked Here Begins This Sunday
Last Saturday, I walked past a man in Junction who was in need.
I felt it strongly in my spirit: there was something I was supposed to do for him. I even said it out loud to the person beside me. But he was in a bad way. He seemed very unwell, and his condition made me hesitate. So I kept walking.
The next morning, he was found dead in the parking lot across from our building.
I have not been able to put that down, and I do not believe I am meant to. Nothing about how he looked, or smelled, or seemed was a reason to pass him by. He was somebody's son. He was made in the image of God. And on Saturday, I had the chance to treat him that way, and I did not take it.
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. (Proverbs 3:27)
It was in my hand that day.
Why we are starting Love Parked Here
I cannot go back to Saturday. But I can make sure it does not happen again on our watch. So this Sunday, November 1, Let There Be Light Christian Residential Academy begins Love Parked Here: a weekly Sunday outreach held right in a parking lot in Junction, St. Elizabeth.
The name is a promise. In a world where people are overlooked, we have reserved a space for love. You do not have to look a certain way to be welcome. You do not have to be clean, or well, or put together. You just have to pull up.
Every Sunday, there are three stations:
The Fuel Station: free food and water, served with dignity to whoever comes.
The Recharge: someone to sit with you, listen without hurry, and pray with you if you would like.
The Kindness Basket: a little extra love to take home.
Jesus told us plainly who we are serving when we do this: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40). The man in that parking lot was one of the least of these. So is every person who will pull up on Sunday. When we feed them, we are feeding Christ.
Will you stand in the gap with us?
Love Parked Here will only be as strong as the people who carry it. Here is how you can help:
Come serve. We need hands to cook, serve, listen and pray on Sundays. Call 876-471-2779 or email info@ltblacademy.org.
Give. Each Sunday costs about US$600 to feed, water and care for our neighbours. Any amount helps us fill another plate.
Pray. For the people we will meet, and for eyes to see the ones we might otherwise pass by.
Share this story. Someone who reads it may stop for the next person.
I will carry that Saturday with me. But I pray that every Sunday from now on, someone in Junction who might have been passed by will instead be seen, fed and loved, in the name of Jesus.
Latoya Shea
Founder and CEO
Restoring Lives. Raising Leaders. Revealing Christ.
About us: Let There Be Light Christian Residential Academy is a Christ-centered Pre-K to 12 academy being established in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, alongside its US affiliate, Let There Be Light Kingdom Commission Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
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