Gospel Con Carne

Everything we do at Mobile Loaves & Fishes is about relationships and connecting with other individuals human to human, heart to heart. So as you can imagine, in this unprecedented time of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our organization faces a challenging dynamic as we seek to continue growing community and building relationships with our friends who have experienced homelessness. In this episode of the Gospel Con Carne, you'll hear from Amber Fogarty, MLF's president and chief goodness officer, as she and Alan discuss the organization's response to the global crisis, how it has impacted our day-to-day operations, and why it's important that we all lean on faith as we navigate the coronavirus storm. 

With a personal understanding of what it feels like to be seen, Susan McDowell, CEO of LifeWorks Austin, has made it a top priority for Austin's youth experiencing homelessness to be seen and heard as they navigate their way to self-sufficiency. With similar values to Mobile Loaves & Fishes, LifeWorks Austin focuses on the relational needs of individuals experiencing homelessness and instilling dignity in our friends who may simply desire to be seen. In this episode of the Gospel Con Carne, Susan recounts her personal experience of feeling noticed, which led her to the opportunity to attend college where she majored in philosophy—a degree that has helped lay the groundwork for the many decisions she makes as the leader of an organization serving Austin's most vulnerable youth.      [A NOTE FROM OUR HOST, ALAN GRAHAM: As we navigate through this unprecedented time in our world, it dawned on me that the term 'social distancing' is something many of us had probably never heard of just a few weeks ago—and yet

As an adventure-seeker, Tim Shea lived many of his years for the thrill of a challenge. Among those challenges, however, was his use and distribution of drugs. Tim spent years in and out of prison while carrying the destructive weight of a drug addiction, which led to a downward spiral with his health and eventual loss of relationships with his family. With nowhere to turn after losing one of his jobs, Tim found himself homeless on the streets of Austin. He has now been living at Community First! Village for more than three years, recently completed 30 years of parole and will soon be the first person in the United States to live in a 3D-printed home in his new community. Hear Tim’s restorative journey of finding home through the relationships he’s built at Community First! Village.  

From founding one of the largest accounting firms in Austin to becoming the CEO of St. David's Foundation, Earl Maxwell has experienced the benefits of creating long-lasting, relational foundations throughout his career. After spending 31 years as a CPA, Earl answered the call to serve his community by joining and leading the St. David's Foundation team for more than a decade—a team who will surely miss Earl when he retires next month. In addition to creating many valued relationships over the years, Earl has also learned about the importance of reconciliation and, ultimately, letting God become the CEO in his life. We are grateful to end season two of the Gospel Con Carne podcast by sharing a great conversation with an absolutely great man.

A young boy with the dream of one day becoming a rockstar, Lee Espinoza has been in and out of bands and playing his guitar for more than 40 years. The day Lee remembers most from his journey, however, is a July day in 2015 when he lost it all. His car, his home and his hope—all gone. After living on the streets and in shelters, Lee had a hard time adjusting to the place he now calls home in Community First! Village. But even through the trials that life has thrown his way, Lee says he has learned the true meaning of community. Following a recent serious accident and a challenging recovery, Lee believes he was saved by his newfound community and, above-all, by his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

While he's somewhat of a newer face around the Community First! neighborhood, Sherwynn Patton has already touched the lives of so many of our neighbors. As executive director of Life Anew, Sherwynn helps guide individuals who are locked in conflict through a process of restorative justice with intentional conversations that lead to meaningful relationships and life transformation. As a neighborhood full of individuals who were once kicked to the fringe of society and are now learning to do life together in new ways, Community First! Village has become an ideal place for the restorative justice principles to be put into practice. In this episode of the Gospel Con Carne, hear how events in Sherwynn’s life have enabled him to recognize the importance of community and its ability to help us grow through conflict.

Everyone has a story to tell, and Community First! neighbor Helen Hopkins is never at a loss when it comes to sharing her next tale. Many of our neighbors here at the Village struggle when trying to reflect on their upbringing, but Helen has an abundance of treasured memories with family and the life she has lived. Hear how Helen spreads her love and faith with other residents in our community and also outward into the world as she strives to live intentionally among her neighbors. 

While his time on the streets lasted about three years, John "JR" Rogers says he feels like he was homeless most of his life before moving into Community First! Village. Designated as the outcast of his 11 siblings, JR lost the sense of love at an early age and later dealt with his heartache by blowing into a harmonica. JR has experienced his fair share of storms in life, but felt the sharpest loss when his wife of 32 years passed away. This loss pushed JR into a deep depression that eventually left him living on the streets and believing he could no longer trust anyone. It hasn't come easy, but JR has learned to receive and, in turn, provide unconditional love to anyone he encounters as he has a newfound appreciation for what he considers the true meaning of multiplying God’s Kingdom. (Editor's Note: JR is the talent behind the harmonica you hear at the beginning and end of the Gospel Con Carne podcast. Thank you for keeping in mind the beauty of the person behind the blues as you listen to his episode.)   

As one of the original founding members of the Mobile Loaves & Fishes "six pack," Pat Patterson is a man who exudes selflessness. He even recalls how helping others in need at one point in life just wasn't fulfilling enough—only because it wasn't happening often enough by his servant-hearted terms. This conversation with Pat gives a touching look into his life as he reflects on his childhood on a farm, serving in the army, meeting the love of his life, Bunky, followed by 52 years of marriage and raising six children. When a hurricane struck the Gulf Coast in the early years of the Mobile Loaves & Fishes ministry, Pat realized that God had big plans for the path ahead. So Pat did what Pat does best—he continued to serve, and has been in awe of God's work ever since

A victim of abuse from as far back as she can remember, Penny Hunt first ran away from home when she was only 6-years-old. By the age of 12 she was hopping freight trains across the country -- partly for the adventure, but mostly for survival. At one point in her journey she landed in Austin with nothing more than a mountain bike, two backpacks and $80 in her pocket. Continued neglect and abuse followed, leaving Penny with a complete loss of faith in humanity. Penny, however, has never given up the fight. Today as a neighbor living in Community First! Village, she's doing her best embrace her new community of friends as she recovers from a lifelong journey filled with lots of love and whole lot of loss. 

As a sixth-generation Texan, Kathryn Whitaker has certainly had her share of life. She had a good upbringing in the Texas Panhandle, and soon began her own Texas-sized family (six kids from kinder through college) after marrying her college sweetheart. But the storms awaited, and so did her anger with God. In this authentic conversation, Kathryn shares how her struggles through a miscarriage, a troubled marriage and managing the needs of a child born with serious health complications has rocked, challenged and, ultimately, solidified her faith. She is also reminded daily that none of us is ever too far from God's redemption. (Be sure to check out Kathryn's soon-to-be-released book - Live Big, Love Bigger.) 

A self-described "straight F" student when he was growing up, Larry Cottrell never fully learned to read and write until he was 38-years-old ... when he was in prison. He was exposed to alcohol and drugs at a very early age, which was the main contributor to his spending more than two decades behind bars. But through it all, Larry says he never doubted God. He reads his Bible daily, knows that he's as imperfect as they get, and is learning to love again through new friendships and a dog named Trouble. 

Remember the dot-com heyday of the late 1990's? As co-founder of the software company Vignette, Ross Garber certainly does. Ironically, starting a successful high-tech start-up also happens to have been one of the most lonely and isolated moments in his life. Today, in midst of a decades long family genealogy project, Ross has acquired a growing sense of gratitude for his Jewish ancestors along with a desire to weave charitable acts, a giving heart and simple kindness into his everyday actions. As the topic of homelessness becomes an increasingly polarizing subject in Austin, Texas and other cities around the country, this powerful conversation with Ross Garber provides a timely reminder about priorities and the value of being connected. 

In many ways, Ellis Johnston is the epitome of one of our fundamental beliefs at Mobile Loaves & Fishes related to the largest cause of homelessness in our country. In almost all cases it starts with a profound loss of family or an otherwise significant breakdown in one's family unit. Ellis knows this all too well. An abusive childhood at the hands of his father led Ellis on a path toward drugs and alcohol at an early age. Following time in prison, he wound up homeless and paranoid while living on the streets of Austin. Today Ellis is an actively contributing neighbor of Community First! Village and thrives on the many friendships that are now a regular part of his life. 

She was never homeless, though Wendy Smith recalls how she easily could have ended up on the streets when she was ready to give up at one point in life. Following a rough childhood involving divorced parents, she found steady ground in her relationship with Christ. Following a failed date to a Huey Lewis concert more than 30 years ago, today Wendy and her husband Larry have found themselves as missional residents living in Community First! Village where they serve individuals coming out of chronic homelessness. It is an experience she never imagined encountering in life, and also one she's quite certain she would never change.

Raised as one of 11 children in a sharecropper's family in Mississippi, Dexter Batie encountered a literal life-changing storm when he was only seven years old. Several years after his mother passed away he dropped out of school, and as a teenager found himself on a path of crime and drugs. Dexter was in prison by the age of 17, and eventually wound up homeless on the streets of Austin for two decades. After living in Community First! Village for more than a year, he takes pride in defending his new neighborhood as a place that has him closer to the path he desires in life.

As a successful day trader with a solid work ethic, David Jamail distinctly remembers the point in his life when God offered him a welcomed alternative to his self-reliant worldview. For once, the Gospel made sense to him. The timing also couldn't have been more appropriate, as a self-inflicted marriage crisis soon followed that would test David to the core of his being. We love to talk about relationships on the Gospel Con Carne, and this deep discussion on the struggles faced by a husband and wife is a true testament to the power of unconditional love. 

The first real memory Robin Draper has of her parents is when they divorced when she was only 8-years-old. That breakdown in her family unit - the profound loss of family that we talk about so much at Mobile Loaves & Fishes - ultimately became the start of a long, tough road for Robin. She is an adventurer. She is a fighter. She is a mother. Today her own beautiful and spunky 8-year-old daughter is having a different kind of impact on the family all around her, and has given Robin new inspiration to become a better woman.  

As co-founder and general partner of Austin Ventures, Ken DeAngelis is a man who understands financial success. A disciplined investment strategist, his venture capital firm has raised more than $4 billion in capital over the past three decades. While Ken is regarded by many as a captain of industry and pillar in Austin's investment community, he is by no means a man without struggles. He also has reached a point in life in which he's okay talking about those struggles as he puts his newfound understanding of the importance of building authentic relationships into action.

When he was a child, Johnny Brown says he dreamed about being a police officer. He always wanted to help people. Part of that dream would eventually come true, but Johnny's time on the police force was cut short by a series of bad decisions that ultimately resulted in him ending up homeless. Johnny has spent a good number of years trying to find his way again in life, and has learned many lessons along the way. He also has been a believer his entire life, and for once says he feels free from the wounds of his past.