During The Lamb Center’s silver anniversary celebration, Patti Brown, the center’s assistant director, introduced four guests who shared their stories. Joseph Neal, who’s been on the streets, off and on, for 15 years, said he owes the center and God “a great deal of appreciation.”

Len Mullins came there in April because he needed some T-shirts and a shower and was hungry. But on June 27, Nurse Lori McLean examined him and realized he was having heart problems and had him taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he had open-heart surgery. “I’ve gotten through that, met some wonderful people at The Lamb Center and they’ve been with me, every step of the way,” he said. “Now I pass on good words about the center and tell people to go there.”

Greg Marshall first went there in 2015. “I was sleeping in my car and someone stole my prosthetic leg, and The Lamb Center helped me get a new one. I’d surrendered a six-figure job after an accident, but The Lamb Center was there and showed me nothing but love. But mostly, they encourage people.”

A diabetic, Octavia Travis was malnourished and had been assaulted. “So when I came to The Lamb Center, my spirit was gone,” she said. “People told me to come here, and I focused on the words on the wall, ‘Hope, love, faith.’ These things had vanished from my life, so I came back the next day.”

At the Bible study table, said Travis, “They talk about God, and God comes alive. And the volunteers are so full of love; they don’t look down on you and they make you feel like we’re all on the same level. They make you feel like you’re a person. I had a life, at one time. But I was at my wits’ end and they made me want to live.” She then gave the center a plaque, plus a card in which she’d written, “The things you do make a difference.”

“This could be any of us – we all could be just one paycheck away from poverty,” said Board member Brenda Norman. “I’m a regular volunteer at The Lamb Center, and it’s just a joy to be there. We’re there to be an encouragement to our guests, to pray with them and to help whether they’re homeless or brokenhearted. There’s so much love there, and I encourage others to share their gifts and volunteer with us. Come to our new center, feel God’s presence and see what’s happening there through Him.”