Recently I had the privilege to sit down with a man who regularly attends Family of God. I have had the most interaction with Dan Myron during the Friday night men’s Bible Study, where he is very active (reading, interacting, asking questions). In my time at Family of God, I have observed that many of the men that come to Bible Study live one of two ways: either poorly in a run-down place, or on the streets, finding shelter in abandoned houses or something of the like. Dan can be found living under the I-75 overpass listening to his radio set to the local Christian station. He gave me a brief run-down of how his day usually goes. He wakes up, “goes to work”, reads Scripture, and comes to church.
For Dan, working is sitting by the side of the road asking for money. He enjoys it because he likes people watching. Every so often someone will throw him a little bit of cash or even offer him a roofing job or something like that to make a little extra money. I asked him how he feels about going back to the bridge every night and he told me that he absolutely loves it. He has made it his own and people around him know that it is his own. He said “When I walk under that bridge, I feel comfortable. I feel home. When I stay anywhere else, like with my parents, I feel uncomfortable and restless.”
When asked about his relationship with the Family of God, Dan lit up. His responses to some questions about the church were so real that they really made me appreciate even more why I am a part of it. There are two reasons why Dan loves this church. He said it isn’t the food, it isn’t the clothing, and it isn’t the hygiene kits. He loves Family of God because he feels there is no hypocrisy. He said people can be real with one another and people don’t have to change who they are to be accepted here. He also loves the teaching and the people that deliver the Word of God. He says that each teacher has their own style and he learns something new or learns more in depth about things that he has read on his own in the Bible.
Dan feels that the church has helped him “lose his edge.” He explained to me that back in the day he was getting in numerous fights and just causing a lot of trouble in the street. Since he has been coming to Family of God, he has lost that anger and that edginess, which has helped him shape up, and he wants to see more people do that as well.
I thoroughly enjoy having Dan as a member of this church family and I cannot wait to continue helping him and watching him grow. The Lord is clearly at work in Dan’s life, and Dan is continuing to make steps to better his lifestyle.
