Vendor Writing

‘The Contributor’ means a lot

BY JUSTIN A., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

The Contributor means a lot. I’m homeless right now. I just got out of prison like a month ago. Everything I had planned on and had worked for with me getting out got shot. I signed everything over to my aunt and they sold everything. If they hadn’t done that I would have a place to live.

I actually met some nice people selling The Contributor downtown. Yesterday I helped a woman out. She dropped

her bag, and everything she had went everywhere. This guy was fixing to grab her bank bag and run off with it. I stepped on his hand. Four hundred pounds stepping on your hand, that don’t feel good. She actually treated me to lunch. She said, “eat whatever you want.” Then she went and bought me two shirts. It was fun.

I’ve had a wonderful experience. A lot more no’s than yes’s, but I’m not going to let that discourage me.

What’s been troubling me

BY ANDY L., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Something’s been troubling me about what happened way back in March when a tornado came through here. You could see, people lost their houses. Then after that COVID-19 came about. Now we’re just wondering how long they’re going to help us with money that people need to survive and live.

If we can get organizations and the president of the United States and Democrats and Republicans to sign off on this bill for people that need help all over, we’ll be OK. It’s for the second stimulus check. I’d like to see that pass and I’m praying for it to pass to the people struggling to pay rent, buy food and take care of their children.

Love and Obey

BY JOHN H., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

God loves us so much he gives us our daily bread each day, through his word (the Bible), through meditation, a neighbor, our consciousness, and many times he speaks to our heart. Why is it so hard for us to do the right thing? He’s constantly revealing himself to you but somehow it’s uncaptured.

Remember when you was little and your first relationship (girlfriend or boyfriend), you’d write each other letters. Famous word, “I love you, do you love me?” As time passed by you matured in the relationship, words changed. Well, it’s the same in our relationship with Christ. We begin to have more love, more trust, and we believe the things God speak to us. Why is obedience such a problem? Why do we ignore the things of God? We’ve been blessed so much till

we actually think we can do whatever we please, even though God did speak differently. At some point we must find that quiet place and give it some thought.

I found an easier way to do things, and I find that if we live by these first two commandments, mostly everything else falls behind it. Ya see if we are obedient to the first two we wouldn’t commit the other eight. To me that’s simple enough. We learn. Thing of it is, we must put into practice what we’ve learned. For instance love, it’s an action word not a noun. I say noun because it’s how many of us live it. We say the word love, but we somehow have a problem showing it. So in the future, if you can learn to love God and your neighbor “hey!” You’ll be on your way in the right direction. “Love Changes Things.”