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prophesied that God would use despair to bring about salvation.


From despair to salvation—you’d think this would be the journey for returning military personnel. Unfor- tunately, God’s promise of restoration still eludes many veterans returning from armed conflict. When they come home, too many veterans go without adequate housing, jobs and health care. It’s why, two years ago, Compass worked with St. Matthew Lutheran in Renton, Wash., as they converted its building into housing for 58 veterans and their families, and created a new vision of church called Luther’s Table. We are called to create places of safety, new homes for Jesus and his people. Members of my congregation wondered what hap- pened next for the prankster who stole baby Jesus from the nativity scene on the lawn. How did that baby Jesus change his or her life? For that matter, what happens to each of us when we carry Jesus home? Yes, bringing Jesus home has a warm and cozy sound, but he was never content with remaining in cozy places.


Meet Carol and Mary S


andwiched between Habakkuk and Haggai, the book of Zephaniah contains sharp contrasts, such as destruction and restoration. Carol and Mary (last names withheld), former clients of Compass Housing Alliance, exemplify the good news of restora- tion. In their own words, here are their stories:


Carol


I slept in a park by myself. It really makes you feel less than a person. You’re just out there alone. You just feel so unwanted, and the shame that goes with it.


I was fortunate enough to be able to stay at a Compass women’s shelter. I couldn’t believe the people at Com- pass. I thought they were a little bit nutty. They said, “We’re gonna help you do this, and we’re going to help you help yourself.” I hadn’t run into people like that before. It was more of a family atmosphere than the atmo-


16 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


Jesus noticed much need in the world and set out to live among God’s hungry and hurting people. Jesus made his home on the road, as his work led him from village to village. Today his work still takes him on roads, roads that end in parking lots, as with Compass Housing Alliance’s Safe Parking program. The people of God that Compass serves include children sleeping in cars with their families. Congregations host these families by reserving parking spaces and offering indoor facilities to their guests. Families in the cars receive counseling services and case management to find them more permanent housing. Huddled in tents pitched on a church lawn or in cars parked in a church lot, families in crisis may not imagine that they are keeping Jesus safe. They are more concerned and thankful that Jesus is keeping them safe. Jesus’ hope beats on, amid startling resilience and humil- ity, in each treasured portion of sustenance. God’s chil- dren living on the edge are singing “Immanuel” as surely as any choir. God is here, comforting, disturbing, pray- ing for all of us to keep Jesus safe this Christmas. 


sphere I had with my own family. The homeless journey has made me the person that I am. I think I’m a better person today than I was when I was working in corporate America. We’re all one paycheck, one job, one accident, one incident, one something away. Your life could change over- night, so you never say never. When I hear the other women sounding hopeless, I let them know— don’t give up. It may not happen overnight; it’s a lot of hard work, but it’s worth it. If it wasn’t for Compass, I proba- bly would have died out here because there was nowhere else to go. I want to say thank you to those who have made a big difference in my life, and those who have helped me become the woman that I am.


Mary


In 1999, I got really sick on the streets and I was homeless. The


COURTESY OF COMPASS HOUSING ALLIANCE


Today, Mary (above) helps run the women’s shel- ters at Compass Housing Alliance in Seattle.


first time I got dropped off on the corner, right in front of the program, I stood there and cried because the house was so nice.


Compass Cascade (the


women’s shelter) offered me an opportunity to actually just live my childhood over. Counseling helped me talk about the issues I had never been able to share with anybody. I’ve been through many programs but had never talked about abuse.


When I went into Cascade, I went in there to get an apartment, and I ended up changing my whole life, and spending seven years in school, getting a master’s degree, and a whole new perspective on life. 


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