Since it's getting cold, Christians from Shangrao Church of Jiangxi Province recently started an activity called "Donating Winter Clothes for the Homeless". They mobilized the believers to donate their old winter clothes, shoes and quilts to help the homeless in Shangrao downtown have a warm winter.
The organizer of the loving activity is a fellow worker of the church, Sister Hou. She was touched by an article on WeChat (Chinese social media) that a 19-year-old girl helps homeless people in Shenzhen. She thought that the many homeless people in Shangrao, with the winter coming, would have trouble surviving the winter. Hou found many used clothes at home and thought she could ask the believers in the church to donate in order to help the homeless get through the winter. She shared the idea with some believers and they started the activity together.
Before they launched the activity, Hou and another sister did a survey in downtown to find out the needs of the homeless. They encountered a homeless person that left a deep impression on Hou. He was in his mid-thirties and disabled and was shaking in the wind. They asked if he needed food and he said no. When asked if he needed some clothes he said thank you. He didn't ask for many things and he was polite, contented and not greedy.
Later, a sister provided an empty house waiting to be rented which solved a location problem. On Oct 13 the church launched the activity through Wechat called "The neighbor by your side is waiting for your help." The article says "Dozens of homeless people urgently need winter clothes, shoes, and quilts! Please kindly donate things that suit them and are not used at home to keep them warm." The article also specified that only winter goods were needed at this time. It reminded people to clean, pack and check for broken zippers and missing buttons before donation. The donation hotline was also listed.
In the activity, they sorted the clothes that were sent over and packed 8 bags. On the 15, the believers distributed the clothes to the homeless on the street and they gave out 5 bags of clothes in one day. During the distribution, Hou looked for the homeless person she met before but failed. Hou felt very disturbed worrying that he would get sick or cold due to the delay. She felt that it would not please God.
However, amazingly at around 8:30 PM that night, Hou saw the homeless person as she and her daughter were coming out of the cinema. "How wonderful, " She thought. She then walked up to him and told him to wait while she went to get the clothes for him. She also told him that Jesus loves him.
This experience touched Hou a lot and she believed it was all God's provision and guidance. However, in order to continue with the ministry, there are many problems to be solved like a permanent location. Through this experience, they realized that it is not easy to start a ministry. Even though it is a small ministry, they still need more people and help.
