Terence Lester - I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
ivpress.com

2019 by Terence Lester

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Pressis the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.Used by permission of Zondervan.
All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

While any stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information may have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Published in association with the literary agency of D.C. Jacobson & Associates, an Author Management

Company. www.dcjacobson.com.

Cover design and image composite: David Fassett
Interior design: Daniel van Loon
Images: blue and red abstract: oxygen / Moment / Getty Images
black male portrait: Maaike Glas / EyeEm / Getty Images
young woman portrait: PhotoAlto/Frederic Cirou / Getty Images
Asian woman portrait: Morsa Images / Digital Vision / Getty Images
male portrait: Igor Ustynskyy / Moment / Getty Images

ISBN 978-0-8308-6527-7 (digital)

ISBN 978-0-8308-4572-9 (print)

This digital document has been produced by Nord Compo.

I dedicate this book to every child who has endured a day without a meal or clean drinking water; every homeless person overlooked, looked down on, or denied shelter; every person denied basic rights to health care; every person that has ever been affected by bad political policies; every person enduring gentrification because of greed and dismissiveness; every person working long hours with little pay and compounded hopelessness; and the billions of people wrestling with poverty nationally and globally.

May we all be moved in our hearts to feel your pain and then have that pain flow through our hands in service.

I see you. We see you!

In loving memory of
Jason King and Reverend Elroy Moore

T here is a lot of knowledge and many inspirational talks about dealing with systemic poverty and homelessness. Few dive into the hard work of justice and stay there. And even fewer individuals love without any conditions.

Terence is one of those few. He walked 648 miles from his home to Washington, DC, to raise awareness of those who are fighting for their lives in the dark places of our cities and another four hundred miles to the Lorraine Motel in Memphis for the same cause on behalf of the MLK50 celebration. Terence was buried with life in ways that would have caused many of us to quit, but he got up and started walking.

We live in an insight-intoxicated culture where we believe change is about the insight that we heard and got chills from. It can be at a conference or in a church service or perhaps listening to a favorite inspirational podcast. While endorphins may be released and cause a physical sensation in us when we hear an insight, the truth is we havent changed. The truth is we havent done anything. We felt something but didnt act on the reality that was unveiled.

What I love about this book is how Terence shares from his own struggles. In fact, he goes beyond his own story of suffering and chooses to enter the space of others who are seeking something more. Instead of choosing the most naturally gentrified and hipster place to go, he goes to the places where beauty isnt immediately evident.

As a man on a mission, Terence passionately searches for seeds planted in a place that may be dark and dirty beneath the surface where most look. The context of the pain he writes from is real and strikes the heart. Hes not seeking sympathy but provides hope for all of us who suffer too. Terence challenges us not to charity but to love without strings, without boundaries. As you read these pages you can see how this book is not simply talking about poverty or misconceptions around poverty, but Terence lays out real, proven ways to practically address poverty.

For the last fourteen years of his life, Terence has wholly dedicated his life, with the loving partnership of his wife and family, to serve those who are vulnerable and within the death grip of poverty. He saw firsthand while growing up the severe challenges and traumas associated with poverty. His soft-spoken voice and his gentleness emerge from these dark places.

Terence is wholly committed to his family and to his family of friends in the middle of a painful journey. Terence humbly and lovingly disrupts attitudes and beliefs about those suffering in poverty. Hes highly creative, passionate, pragmatic, and sacrificial. This comes out in everything he does. You see his laser focus, resilience, and joy as he serves those who are often not seen, the misfits and the marginalized. He started a nonprofit, which is a natural extension of his heart, called Love Beyond Walls.

So devour this book and let Terence gently speak to you from his soul. He will help you see poverty differently. He wont let you stay in despair but will lead you to the promised land of hope where real solutions and love await. Get ready for deep reflections that will lead you to love beyond walls and to be the change. Lets go with Terence to the places where others dare not go. Lets break through the darkness and discover more seeds ready to see the light of day.

Walking with you, Terence!