Testimony

SHOES

Testimony

Below are a few testimonies from those who volunteered their valuable time towards this important but unglamorous ministry. We thank and salute each of them for their efforts!

I know when it's time to replace my walking shoes because my feet start to hurt. A good pair of walking shoes gives our feet comfort, support, and protection. Luckily, I'm able to go to the store and buy a new pair of shoes. For the homeless living on the streets in San Francisco's Tenderloin district, that's not an option. Two years ago Tim Munyon decided to shoe the homeless and now his vision is on this website you're reading. Mother Theresa said, "We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love." This is what I witnessed Munyon do as I walked with him one Saturday morning in November.

We parked the vehicle and packed his bag full of new shoes, socks, meal replacement bars, and toiletries. Then Munyon heaved the bag onto his back like Santa Claus. The load was heavy but he shared it motivates him to give away what's inside. The day I served with Munyon, we met a woman named Nancy. Besides being older than me, she was very much like myself. Nancy shared that after her husband died, she could no longer afford her housing. Without family to help her, she's now homeless on the streets of San Francisco. On most nights, she doesn't even get a bed at homeless shelters because there aren't enough beds for people and it's first come, first serve. Cringing, she pointed to her painful foot and said, "I've also got cancer. "My heart was, and still is, wrenched with empathy. I could easily be Nancy. Anyone of us could become homeless. On that day, Nancy received a new pair of shoes and socks. We loved her and prayed for her other needs before walking away. We left her smiling and I've remembered her often in my thoughts and prayers. Munyon can't solve the problem of homelessness but he's out there making a difference. He provides new walking shoes that protect and comfort the feet of the homeless he meets and helps them carry on in their difficult journey. I know our effort and love made a difference in the lives of those we met on that Saturday. The experience also changed me. I hope after reading my testimony for SHOES, that you'll consider giving to this hands-on ministry with your money, supplies, prayers, and/or your time in helping Munyon to shoe those in need with great love.

Janet Verba, Half Moon Bay

Because I work in San Francisco I see homeless people every day. Sometimes you get jaded by the things going on around you. When I went out with Tim to deliver shoes it was a whole different experience. The people were so grateful and touched that somebody would take their time out to serve them. Not only did we give them shoes but also gave them prayer. They could see that we were not there to just give them shoes and leave but to take time with them and see what their hearts wanted as well. It was a truly amazing experience.

Kristina Gates, Half Moon Bay

Hi Tim,

I just wanted to say God Bless YOU. I am still floating from the experience or life changing experience of witnessing what you do...The anointing, goose bumps, and how just giving a hug and or prayer to the less fortunate people you encounter. It is so hard to explain this experience to another person...I can not wait for my next outing with you...it brings tears to my eyes looking back, this is something that I will never ever forget.My two beautiful sisters Mary, Kathy and I think the brother name was John how receiving a clean pair of socks (along with shoes) how grateful they were. Mary ask if we had any bibles she told me her favorite verse was Psalms 94.

Sharon Crowther, East Bay

"Shoes is an excellent ministry because it looks like Jesus Christ -you reach out to the poor, you clothe them, you minister to them, youfeed them, you bless them. This is consistent with the person,mission of Christ and I'm blessed to be able to participate with Tim!I met Tim in Hawaii through mutual friends (but really God brought ustogether) where he told me about his ministry in SF. I knew from theget-go I wanted to check it out. I even had an awesome dream the weekI was about to go out on a Saturday with Tim and I knew God was going to use this ministry powerfully.

The first time I went out with Tim, he didn't spare me or go "easy" on me. He took us throughout the Tenderloin to the "worst" spots and even the most dangerous even. Hey, if Jesus sent the disciples out in 2 person teams, surely, He would be with us as we went off 2 of us (and yes, Jesus promises to "surely be with us always to the end of age" Matthew 28:20). We walked through streets with 2 heavy bags filled with shoes, socks, and snacks like 2 Santa Clause's running around San Francisco. You can imagine what it looks like with 2
people walking around with giant bags of brand new shoes and other goodies through the Tenderloin.

It was only a matter of time before we knew what it meant when Jesus had to deal with "the multitudes" as people mobbed us asking for shoes. This is when I was very lucky to have Tim's guidance and covering as he set the pace calmly and conveyed authority in what
would have been otherwise called organized godly chaos. God's protection and guidance was always evident in our ministry (sending cops when things could get out of hand).

Being able to pray for people, bless them with new shoes, feed them, pray for them and meet with the people who Jesus ministered to and specifically called us to reach out to as well, "Whoever did this for the least of my brethren, has done for me". Matthew 25:40 The
ministry is extreme, it's genuine, and requires us to get out of our comfort zones to enter the very places God CALLED us to go. As Jesus sought to lift up the broken, set the captives free, deliver the sick with a servant's heart, so we TOO are called to do as well.

Every trip I've since gone out with Tim has never been the exact same. A ministry like this allows God to move spontaneously and dynamically and most importantly, the most precious opportunity to witness to an unreached" people whether it be prostitutes, homeless, blind men - all people who make us as fleshly humans uncomfortable, but are the very people Jesus gave His heart out to and spent His time with.

I pray Tim's example continues to infect others as His heart and example ultimately came from the Lord and the Spirit that guides him to spend his Saturdays so faithfully on the streets where no one will recognize him or acknowledge him with praise to bless others with
food, shoes, and prayers. If you want to go out and discover the real heart of Christ in a setting that's not organized, controlled and managed by a church where the homeless come to you on you or your church's terms, but GO OUT to the harvest that is plentiful (but the
workers are few) to an environment to truly ADVANCE the Kingdom, then please spend a Saturday out with the aptly-named "Shoes".

Matthew 25:37-40
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry
and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we
see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe
you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one
of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

God bless you all! The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few! Luke 10:2

Ben Chu, Mountain View

For me the Saturday Shoe ministry started with Satan and ended with an angel. The first person we met was deformed. We approached him with love and shook his hands. He had a deformed hand covered with sores. Then he told us he had a staph infection. That's where Satan came in for me and tried to put a spirit of fear on me since I had just shook his hand.. I prayed and resisted the enemy. The shoes for the homeless ministry is a calling, and you have to know you are called. I have experience with street ministry in the Tenderloin and in dirty and dangerous sections of the city. Before I woke up this morning in my dream was a big yellow traffic signal: proceed with caution. God was telling me there are many dangers, even pride is a snare of the enemy, we must go covered with prayer. Months ago I was fasting and the Lord quickened Isaiah 58:6-7 to me:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen... is it not to share your food with the hungry, and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe him..."

I knew God was speaking to me through this scripture, I had a sure calling. Tim also had an unmistakable word from the Lord to put shoes on God's "little ones", the most helpless. For Tim, it was the Lord speaking to him prophetically and Tim was listening. Though the work may be seen as dirty, when Jesus is with you, it is full of blessing and grace. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound, in fact, the grace abounds so much that it is tangible; you can feel it. We prayed for the city of San Francisco as we walked the streets. We prayed to be led of God. We passed a mosque and left a Bible on the window sill and prayed that it would get into the right hands, when we returned, it was gone.

Our last encounter of the day was with a man rummaging in a trash can. We stopped to give him a meal replacement bar. He was full of love and humility. When we asked, he kindly said he didn't need shoes. He radiated love to us. We walked away and Tim said, maybe he was an angel, I said, yes: Hebrews 13:2: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Then Tim exclaimed, his name was Michael! We both laughed and agreed it was a perfect way to end the day.

God Bless You!

JoAnn Luich, Half Moon Bay

Regardless of faith, religion, or ethnicity, "Shoes for the Homeless" is an organization I'm proud to be a part of, more pertinently, personally walking the streets of San Francisco, praying, and sending the message of the Lord to those who are in dire need of shoes, and basic attire. God Bless this organization, that each shoe that is handed out, placed on each foot, be blessed by the Lord.

Shawn La Munyon, Miami