Sunday, December 24, 2000

Backpacks full of life's essentials are ready for the patrons of Christian homeless mission

Paul Iverson/Caller-Times

Jeff and Dan Watson display the 32 backpacks donated to the Search for Truth Mission. The backpacks will be given to the mission’s homeless patrons.

Although they don't know how many may come knocking on the door of Search For Truth Mission today, board members expect to have enough turkey and mashed potatoes to feed as many as 40 homeless men.
   The Christian-based mission at 709 Waco St. has provided a Christmas Eve dinner for several years.
   The for-men-only mission gets some donations from churches and the community throughout the year, but a sizeable chunk of donations comes from board members and mission volunteers.
   Rounding out the Christmas Eve menu this year: sweet potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole and pumpkin pies.
   For the first time, homeless men who join in the fellowship and meal at the mission will be surprised with a Christmas gift that a handful of caring souls have made possible.
   "We're a real hands-on board," said mission board member Dan Watson, whose brother Jeff, also a board member, bought more than 30 backpacks to stuff with items and give away as presents this year.
   Jeff Watson originally planned to give the men sacks filled with new T-shirts, underwear, socks, and other toiletries.
   But his 14-year-old son, Cayce, came up with a better idea: tuck the items into a new backpack. Watson loved the idea.
   And then a funny thing happened.
   The holiday spirit took over, bringing enough donations from some of Watson's fellow tenants of the Wells Fargo building to wrap up the backpack surprise.
   Meanwhile, those at the 90-day-stay mission have been decorating their temporary home.
   Together they trimmed a Christmas tree and put what decorations they had up on the walls.
   Some of the homeless have volunteered to do the serving, expected to begin about 5 p.m. Although they are not required to, they will be encouraged to attend chapel that day.
   "Sometimes we get caught up worrying about things that don't matter," Jeff Watson said. "But when we stop and think about those who have no home, we realize we don't really have any problems."
   That isn't lost on Dan Watson either.
   "My family is so blessed and fortunate, and it's our responsibility to give back," he said.
   "The saddest thing is to go there at night and see them sleeping in their bunks. You know they have families somewhere, but they've separated from them for whatever reason."