Drawing On My Recent Experience Ministering to the Homeless

As many of you who follow The Devotional Guy™ blog regularly know, I work in a homeless ministry that focuses on helping people experiencing homelessness walk with Jesus and permanently exit the streets.

I serve as the Senior Operations Manager there—which means I swim in a lot of different lanes and no two days are ever exactly the same. I love the challenges it brings even though solving problems and addressing issues (a term some of my colleagues affectionately call “Rainer-ing”) take their toll. And at my age the body definitely keeps score.

As you probably also recall, I took up drawing about a year ago as a means of processing some of what I encountered and experienced in doing this work. Terri once asked me why I chose drawing instead of writing or music? The short answer is that it seems like less people do it and I think I can still be good at it. Becoming a visual artist seems like an achievable goal as I approach age sixty (I’ve still got a couple of years to go before I hit that milestone, but it will be here before I know it, Lord-willing).

A few weeks ago, I shared the profound impact that the sudden death of a couple of our homeless friends had on me. I decided I’d pay each of their lives a tribute by trying my hand at drawing their portrait.

I want to share the fruit of my efforts with you in this post. I pray that they bring you some enjoyment as well as offering a fitting tribute to both of these men who I called friend.

I first met Adrian during Snowmageddon 2021 at the Dallas Convention Center. At the time, our organization was operating the largest emergency homeless shelter in Texas history. It proved to be a pivotal moment in my life. Adrian broke the tension by walking in wearing a dog costume. He spent his final couple of years on the street, living in his car. Unfortunately, his demons got the better of him before we could help him navigate his way off the streets and back into society.

I met Kevin—or Black (as everyone called him)—on my first day at work. We were serving lunch. He and I got into an entanglement because—as Black was prone to do—was angling to find a way to get his second plate before everyone had their first plate. This led to a growing friendship—as conflict often does—between the two of us. So much so that late last year, Kevin and I had a conversation about Jesus and life change. He wanted to get out of the street life, but he wasn’t sure he could. The streets finally extinguished Kevin’s flame over a dreadful weekend that saw us lose multiple friends in the course of a few days.

I don’t believe God intends for anyone to be homeless, yet I know there are spiritually homeless people living in neighborhoods everywhere.

I also don’t believe anyone grows up with the goal of being homeless. “I want to be homeless” isn’t scribbled in anyone’s high school yearbook.

People don’t become homeless because of addiction or mental illness nearly as often as they become addicts and mentally ill after they spend time living on the streets. Odds are, you have a greater percentage of people struggling with addiction and mental illness living in your neighborhood than the percentage of addicts or mentally ill who become homeless and wind up living on the streets.

Our experience has taught our organization that the lack of money+lack of community+any crisis=homelessness.

Life on the streets is a dead end. One thing experience has taught me—-dying isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you when you live on the streets.

““The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
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Matthew 25:40 (NIV)

I pray that this tribute to my friends brings you some measure of comfort and peace in this difficult world. Adrian and Kevin both had a joyful spirit amidst their struggles in this life. I can only hope that God, in His infinite grace and mercy, welcomed them into His presence, just as I hope He one day welcomes me.

In the meantime, there’s work to do.

Abundant blessings,

Rainer Bantau

The Devotional Guy™

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