It's For Everyone - Martha

As we roll out our first story for this year’s theme of “It’s for Everyone,” we’ll take a minute to remind you what it’s all about. Our mission of befriending and caring for our friends experiencing homelessness doesn’t just impact those we meet on the street and in shelters. This mission shapes everyone who steps into it—every partner, volunteer, donor or person who chooses to show up with love. This is the heartbeat behind the second part of our mission, “Bridge the Relational Gap”—bringing people together in ways that create connection and help build community. Most of the time, bridging that gap happens when we intentionally create spaces and opportunities for our housed and unhoused friends to gather together. And other times, it happens very unexpectedly.  

Sometimes the person who unexpectedly steps into our mission is a motel manager named Martha. 

During this year’s winter freeze, when we needed to get several friends indoors and out of the cold, we returned to a motel we’ve used in past years. At first, it was simply a practical choice—a convenient location, a fair price, a familiar process. But through repeated interactions, the motel manager, Martha had come to know us. More importantly, she had come to encounter our friends not as interruptions or transactions, but as people worthy of dignity and kindness. And that matters. 

When someone is experiencing homelessness, even temporary shelter can come with humiliation or suspicion. But Martha has helped make sure the process was smooth, respectful, and welcoming for our friends. Over the past couple of years, we’ve shown up with between 20-45 people, along with about a dozen pets. It can be chaotic trying to check that many people in at one time—handing out keys, finding rooms and answering questions—but instead of frustration, our team and friends have always been met with grace. 

After the storm, our staff made Martha a thank-you card signed by the whole team, including photos of friends and volunteers at the motel. It was a simple gesture of gratitude for the way she had served alongside us. 

Not long after, one of our staff members received this text from her: 

“Good morning, I just saw the card you guys brought, it is overwhelming and it truly is my pleasure to be able to be a part of your team, I find pleasure in kindness, and what you all do is an Impact to humanity. May God continue to bless you all and it’s always great to see how much love you all have for each person you help. Thank you.” 

Kindness begets kindness and God continues to lead us to those who have a heart for this work. He continues to allow us to find and build community with those who recognize that kingdom work happens everywhere, even in the lobby and rooms of a small motel. 

Recently, when we unexpectedly needed more rooms for a few of our friends, we went back to that same motel. The first thing our team member noticed was that our thank-you card was displayed right behind the glass at the check-in window for all to see. Martha came out from behind the desk and greeted our team with a big hug. She asked for prayers for her business and said to tell everyone how thankful she was for us. She again extended kindness by offering us a discount for the rooms. 

This is what we mean when we say that this work is for everyone. 

Yes, our friends were impacted by having a safe place to stay. But the story doesn’t end there. Martha was impacted too. Through proximity, through repeated encounters, through witnessing the love and dignity extended to our unhoused friends, she became part of the story. What may have begun as transactional became relational. And relationships become community. In that way, bridging the relational gap doesn’t just bless the people we serve. It transforms everyone who steps into it.