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Imagine if Gloria had known the heartbreak and struggle she would face after leaving Barbados. A 22 year old girl, in love with an American horse jockey and drawn to the American dream, Gloria\u00a0came to the United States in 1987\u2014only to end up battered and alone, without food or a safe place to sleep, more than 1,400 nautical miles from family.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut God was working on my behalf,\u201d Gloria says now, 28 years later, looking back. \u201cI know what poverty can do. It\u2019s why my mission is to help others, to care for others, the homeless in particular, and to help restore the neediest among us back to their feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raised on the small Caribbean island of Barbados, in Bridgetown, one of six children born to hardworking parents who labored in the sugarcane fields, Gloria Lewis never realized she was poor growing up. \u201cNo one did,\u201d she says. \u201cThe community we lived in was like an extended family. We shared everything, groceries, food, even water drawn in buckets from the public pipe.\u201d She and her neighbors shared what they needed and took care of each other. She learned a sense of community, the necessity of hard work, and to persevere through troubles with gratitude.<\/p>\n
When Gloria\u2019s world turned upside down after moving to America, she grew mindful of home and mustered up the strength she knew as a child. After all, she had learned how to cook, clean, wash, and take care of a family of eight by the time she was 13. She had proved herself resourceful from an early age, crafting bed sheets out of flour sacks, tending to her siblings, even the older ones, and rushing home from school to create the family\u2019s supper on a kerosene stove before sunset made cooking impossible. If she could improvise back then, in a wooden chattel house with little except the basking care of neighbors, she would do it again. She would choose resilience, courage, and action over despair.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod had a plan for all my hardships,\u201d Gloria smiles, reflecting back on just how far she\u2019s come. After many years of putting one foot in front of the other, taking any job to get by, all while rooting herself in the hope that comes through prayer, Gloria Lewis now works as a waitress, she is married again, a mother of two vibrant sons.<\/p>\n
But who would have thought that Gloria\u2019s modest beginnings would serve as great provision and allow her to impact the lives of others? Gloria\u2019s years of struggle have resulted in a heart that beats for others. Making a home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she serves the poor and homeless every week, every Sunday, or more\u2014with tremendous help from her husband, son, and local volunteers. Gloria and her family sacrifice greatly to provide nourishment, clothing, care, and attention to so many who would otherwise be overlooked. On a waitress\u2019s salary, using every last bit of her resources, Gloria purchases huge amounts of chicken, fish, vegetables, fresh produce, rice, bread, and bottled water\u2014enough to nourish 175 to 200 people, while relying on her son to write encouraging Scripture or \u201cGod loves you\u201d on each meal\u2019s Styrofoam lid.<\/p>\n
People are blessed by Gloria\u2019s food to be sure\u2014but they\u2019re drawn like magnets to her story, her family\u2019s kindness, and her example of love. Like Mother Teresa, who was convinced that a human\u2019s greatest affliction is the lack of affection, Gloria has devoted her life to filling in gaps of need and lessening the struggle of others. She listens, she cares to learn the individual needs of those she meets, and draws the homeless in a circle of prayer to uplift each and every one with fellowship and the inclusivity of family. The homeless see in Gloria a straight-talking beacon of hope\u2014strong-willed proof in a tiny frame that anyone can be restored and choose life transformation if offered help and shown God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always possible to begin again,\u201d Gloria urges. \u201cOur brothers and sisters living on the streets need to know this,\u201d she implores, noting that nearly 180,000 meals have been served throughout the past nine years. But help is needed to support and sustain this worthy cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in this together<\/em>. Let me break this cycle with you,\u201d Gloria says with the kind of heart felt care that shows itself in action.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][et_pb_row_inner column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ padding_mobile=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”10px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column_inner type=”1_2″ saved_specialty_column_type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Gloria Lewis<\/strong> is the driving force and heart behind\u00a0CARE IN ACTION USA<\/strong> and the organization\u2019s first Executive Director. Drawing from her own life struggles and resulting strength, Gloria has become a charismatic beacon of hope for the poor and needy in her community of Broward County, Florida. Her on-going efforts to care for the homeless, to make a palpable difference in the lives of those in need with the steadfast help of her husband and son, have earned Gloria not only the prestigious 2015 Caring Institute Award for humanitarian service but also the attention of documentary filmmaker, Rotimi Rainwater, who credits Gloria for \u201cdoing more for the homeless than most major organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column_inner][et_pb_column_inner type=”1_2″ saved_specialty_column_type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/careinactionusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Gloria-Lewis-with-husband-and-son.jpg” alt=”Gloria Lewis along with her husband and son.” title_text=”Gloria Lewis along with her husband and son.” show_in_lightbox=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image” _builder_version=”4.16″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” animation=”off” sticky=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/EMIRBNTj1VM” admin_label=”Video” module_class=”top-vid” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”] Credit: Lost in America<\/em> by Rotimi Rainwater<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Support Box” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_sidebar area=”et_pb_widget_area_1″ show_border=”off” admin_label=”Newsletter Signup” _builder_version=”4.16″ remove_border=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”]
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