• Hi, I’m Brad Abare

  I'm a make-it-happen guy working with big idea people. I design teams and orchestrate strategy so that great ideas I believe in get done.
  
  I am Jamaica's husband, Foursquare's comm director, Personality's founder, and a catalyst for CFCC.
  
  
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“I have the shoes you gave her if you want them back,” said the trembling voice on the other end of the phone.

We got the late-night tear-filled call from Dottie the day after Jamaica gave her shoes to Medea. Dottie and Medea are a regular part of our home(less) group that meets each week. I was unable to participate in last week’s gathering, but I later learned that Jamaica and Medea spent an unusual amount of time with each other that night. Come to find out, giving her shoes to Medea was the culmination of a strong bonding time they shared through conversation and the care-filled presence of one another.

The call from Dottie was to inform us of Medea’s sudden death. Medea was found face-down in the dirt and was still wearing Jamaica’s shoes that she had received the night before. From what we can gather, Medea died of liver failure.

For reasons different than the passing of those familiar to our lives, it’s challenging to mourn the life of an invisible person. Who witnessed her life? Where is her family? Who will miss her? What impact did she have on people for the last half a century? Was Medea even her real name?

Several of us gathered last night around the space Medea called home. Huddled around the glow of a few candles, we read Scripture and prayed. We shared memories of the Medea we knew so briefly and ended with a group recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.

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