“My first time to cook and feed homeless people was in October. There was a burning inside of me that I had to do this but I was a little embarrassed and scared to start because I didn’t know how I would be received. I felt God was tugging into the communities I have lived in so I stepped out on faith on a trial run with a 40 hotdogs and potato chips in a brown paper bag. The first stop was behind a gas station. I was shaking but I fed three people at the first stop. At each stop, people were so grateful. They said, ‘I was just telling God how hungry I was’ or ‘I haven’t eaten since the day before yesterday.’ They called me preacher lady and made each others straighten up and put cigarettes out. They made us pray before they ate. Some held hands to pray. They were so appreciative, I cried the first time after I was finished.

It went so well that I kept going. It cost less than $50 a week to feed 60 to 100 people and we added sandwiches for those who can’t eat hot dogs. I deliver on Saturdays with Ms. Eula to Crichton and Maysville. We take food to a man who lives in a truck, people behind gas stations, and to Down the Bay. They come running to see the hotdog lady. One family didn’t have lights or water. They looked like teenagers but had teeth rotting at the gums. A person who rode with us turned on their lights and water before Christmas. We took them clothes and blankets. Some try to give the little they have to help. A man with a food stamp card took me to Sam’s to use his card to buy the food that feeds others.

By the grace of God, it’s not me. I have had foreclosures and my kids and I could have been homeless.

This has reminded me of how hungry I used to be. When I was little we ate red beans for three months for breakfast, lunch and dinner with no salt or pepper. I don’t eat red beans anymore. We also ate grits for three months and mixed in some potted meat. Our tub fell through the floor and I had to take a bath in the sink. We didn’t have a stove, we had a hot plate. We washed plates in cold water with Octagon soap. I always said I would help kids because I know how it feels. I have so many godchildren. I feed them, braid their hair, and get them clothes.

When I was growing up, everything was swept under the rug. I was sexually abused and felt like no one cared. I was molested from the 2nd to sixth grade. He robbed me of my childhood and ruined relationships for me. Because of the abuse, I had a shape way too early. My parents kept me in the house because different men approached my daddy saying if he would let them have sex with me, they would let him have sex with their daughters. My parents tried to protect me and wouldn’t let me go to friends’ houses. I was so angry about that and wasn’t given an explanation until I was grown. The men didn’t see anything wrong with forcing sex on young girls. One man told me he had been trying to get at me for years. That is sick and hurts the children who are the victims. I try to shield kids and give them knowledge of what not to do. Don’t ever sit in a man’s lap, even your uncle’s. You don’t know what is on his mind. Kids who didn’t get love are going to look for it in the wrong place. It took years and a lot of God to heal. I can put myself in anyone’s position and it hurts. That drove me to where I am now to start this ministry.

I named the ministry Bread of Heaven and put my business card in the lunch bags. It has John 16:35, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’ It also says, ‘Jesus loves you.’ I hope they read this as they eat, but I don’t force anything on them. If they want to know about God, we will talk. My long-term goal is to open a shelter in Maysville with showers for men and women and three meals a day. I want it to be a place where they can feel at home and provide clean, dry clothes or a place to wash their clothes. I already have two barbers who will come do hair for job interviews. How would I want someone to treat me if I was in their shoes?

Last year I got my doctorate in theology from a Bible college for more credibility with the shelter and to make me a better counselor. People are helping me along the way. My car broke down and someone I knew bought me a car as a gift. I couldn’t believe that and started taking people everywhere. I don’t have much, but I give what I have. I learned when I was a little girl in church that to be like God, you have to love like God. If God loves me despite all of the things I have done, who am I not to give that same love to others?

How did we lose our compassion? What if people treated you like you were worthless and didn’t want to come closer to you? The poor and homeless are human just like us and have dignity. I see my face on everyone I serve and know they can come out of this because I did. Hearing what other people are going through also makes you thankful for what you’ve got. No matter how much you have, you a child of God and you are blessed. You can never give back more than what He gives to you. Do what you can and God will take care of the rest.”