Nothing

“I fled my home one day with NOTHING but the clothes on my back.”

To state the obvious, which is sometimes so obvious we overlook it… “Nothing” is actually a compound word made by combining “no”, as in “none” or “zero”, with the word “thing”, as in “stuff”.

Can you imagine literally having “no thing”?  We never have everything, but we almost always have something. Denise literally had nothing, but the clothes on her back.  In her own words Denise explains:

“My homelessness journey started in August of 2022. I had fled my home one day with nothing but the clothes on my back. I had to leave and protect my children from the domestic violence I was experiencing at the hands of the children’s father. Since August 29, 2022 I had been residing at Hope Gardens and regained my faith, I got baptized in December 2022, continued my healing journey, and am becoming the best version of myself.”

Since then, Denise has been hired at Hope Gardens as a Program Assistant to help and encourage other moms who are experiencing similar journeys. She is currently enrolled at LA Mission College while she continues to work at Hope Gardens full-time. She is a full-time employee, a full-time student, and a full-time mother of three. Pray for Denise as she has a lot of responsibility and a very busy schedule.

“Nothing” is not dissimilar to “Nowhere”, which is an incredibly difficult place to be. Fortunately, Denise understood that nothing changes if nothing changes. She has done a tremendous amount of hard work getting her life back together while all the while caring for her three children. Now she can testify that NOTHING else could have changed her course and has the power to heal her heart, other than God himself. He has shown himself both loving and powerful.

God has provided a spacious two-bedroom apartment for Denise and her children. Recently our House2Home volunteer team from two churches helped turn her empty apartment into a home. When she took her kiddos out on Saturday morning there was NOTHING in the house. When they came back three hours later she had EVERYTHING she needed in her apartment. The kitchen cabinets were fully furnished, everyone had comfy beds, the living area, as well as every room in the house was beautifully decorated.

Denise and her children were blown away by the transformation that had taken place in such a short time. All the volunteers felt the same way about Denise. We were amazed by the transformation in her life in such a short time! She is truly an inspiration to all of us who heard her share her incredible story. She is so vulnerable and humble, giving God all the credit, with a BIG smile on her face and tears running down her cheeks.

A special thanks to the dozens of donors who provided furnishings for her home, to the tireless volunteers from All Nations Church and City Light Church Los Angeles (who spent that Saturday serving Jesus in her apartment), and those of you who financially support this ministry. You are all making a real significant difference in the lives of families who really want to change and who have worked terribly hard to make it happen. Like all of us, they just need a little authentic love expressed through practical deeds, to move into independent housing and a new, exciting phase in their journey. I think all the H2H volunteers will agree with me when I say… “There is NOTHING like serving the least of these in Jesus’ name!”