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Speaker 1: This folder's open and he's showing me all this and

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Speaker 1: he said, now tell me again how this is going

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Speaker 1: to work with volunteers and you know, and I said, well,

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Speaker 1: somebody comes in needs a meal, doesn't have the money

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Speaker 1: to pay for it. And he goes, WHOA. He goes like,

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Speaker 1: like the homeless, and I was like, yeah, the homeless,

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Speaker 1: the under served. And he closed his folder, doesn't even

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Speaker 1: realize he's done it, and kind of pushes it across

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Speaker 1: the you know, midway across the table and says, well,

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Speaker 1: you know, I just can't do it for less than this,

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Speaker 1: and I'd have to have a five year contract.

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Speaker 2: And I was, in other words, we don't want you exactly.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Fortney.

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Speaker 2: I'm a normal guy. I'm a husband, a father, an entrepreneur,

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Speaker 2: and I've been a football coach in inner city Memphis.

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Speaker 2: And the last part unintentionally led to an oscar for

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Speaker 2: the film about our team. It's called Undefeated. I believe

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Speaker 2: our country's problems will never be solved by a bunch

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Speaker 2: of fancy people in nice suits talking big words nobody

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Speaker 2: understands on CNN and Box, but rather by an army

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Speaker 2: of normal folks us just you and me deciding, Hey,

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Speaker 2: I can help. That's what Amy Crenshaw, the voice we

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Speaker 2: just heard is done. Amy is the founder of Community Cafe,

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Speaker 2: a non profit restaurant in Jackson, Tennessee that has no

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Speaker 2: prices and only a suggested donation for your meal, and

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Speaker 2: if you can't afford to pay, you simply volunteer for

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Speaker 2: an hour for your meal. This unbelievable models allows the

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Speaker 2: whole community to come together like never before, with long,

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Speaker 2: family style tables where folks like doctors, construction workers, and

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Speaker 2: even the homeless dine together side by side every day.

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Speaker 2: You heard how Amy got some pushback at first, but

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Speaker 2: they're still going strong almost ten years later. And I

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Speaker 2: think there should be one of these things in every

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Speaker 2: community across our country. And this is not the only

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Speaker 2: extraordinary thing that Amy's done. As you're about to hear

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Speaker 2: right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors, Amy Crenshaw,

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Speaker 2: how are you. I'm good, I'm great. It's it's so

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Speaker 2: good to have you with us. I have a thousand

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Speaker 2: questions for you. Obviously, we're going to get to Community

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Speaker 2: Cafe spelled come capitol U N I t y community

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Speaker 2: community Cafe and what that's about. But I want to

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Speaker 2: I want to hear more about you. I want to

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Speaker 2: know about the chick behind community cafe that has ten

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Speaker 2: children and is from Memphis, and there's just You're just

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Speaker 2: kind of cool. So I want to hear about you.

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Speaker 2: Where'd you grow up? I grew up in Germantown, Germantown, Tennessee,

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Speaker 2: which is a suburb of Memphis. Right right, it's it's

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Speaker 2: not you know, it's it's upper middle class. I guess,

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Speaker 2: is that right? Brothers, sisters?

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Speaker 1: I had four brothers growing up. I went to Germantown

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Speaker 1: High School and then went to Methodist School of Nursing.

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Speaker 2: Did you are you nurse? Did you work? You work?

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Speaker 1: I worked in labor and delivery Methodist Hospital Central until

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Speaker 1: Methodist Hospital North opened up. I guess I did ob

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Speaker 1: nursing for about eight years. And then our first son.

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Speaker 2: Were you getting practiced for having a bunch of kidschen? Yes?

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Speaker 1: I was getting practice absolutely. Our first child was born

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Speaker 1: on December twenty first. I was supposed to be working

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Speaker 1: the last two of my night shifts before I quit

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Speaker 1: really want to be I wanted to be a stay

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Speaker 1: home mom. Got it absolutely and went into work and

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Speaker 1: things picked up personally, and he was born that the

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Speaker 1: next morning. So it didn't finish.

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Speaker 2: At least you were there.

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Speaker 1: At least I was there. Yes, came home. My husband

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Speaker 1: had been on call the night that night, the night before.

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Speaker 2: He's a doctor.

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Speaker 1: He's a physician, and he had been on call. He's

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Speaker 1: a cardiologist, and he was actually in his fellowship, but

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Speaker 1: he had been on call and came home before I

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Speaker 1: went to work and said, just so you know, tonight

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Speaker 1: would not be a good night if you had this baby,

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Speaker 1: because I am wiped out. And I was like, I

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Speaker 1: still have three weeks, no problem. Went to work. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: my water broke and I called him and said, hey,

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Speaker 1: I'm coming home for a little while and he said

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Speaker 1: what and I said, yep, We're gonna have a baby.

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Speaker 1: And he was like, I told you, this was not

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Speaker 1: a good night, but you know, maybe's come.

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Speaker 2: When they do, that's unreal.

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Speaker 1: So and then stayed home after.

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Speaker 2: So a nurse married to a doc and just starting

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Speaker 2: your family in I guess Germantown or Memphis area. Memphis, right,

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Speaker 2: but you live in Jackson.

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Speaker 1: Now, we do. We live in Jackson now. When he finished.

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Speaker 2: His phone with Jackson, Sorry, Jackson, Tennessee.

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Speaker 1: Yes, sorry, sure, just down the road, right, and someday

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Speaker 1: they'll probably both grow together.

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Speaker 2: They might keep going.

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Speaker 1: It's heading that way, that's right. Two of our children

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Speaker 1: were born here in Memphis, one of them, the third one,

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Speaker 1: was born in Jackson shortly after we moved there, and

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Speaker 1: then about six years later we started adopting.

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Speaker 2: All right, So I can't wait to hear about that

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Speaker 2: because I only understand a little bit, and uh, we're

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Speaker 2: going to share it with everybody. But how old is

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Speaker 2: your oldest child?

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Speaker 1: He just turned thirty three, all right, and your youngest

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Speaker 1: is getting ready to be seventeen.

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Speaker 2: Holy smokes. That's a lot of kids in between that,

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Speaker 2: sexually a lot of kids. So you had you had

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Speaker 2: four naturally.

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Speaker 1: We had three naturally naturally, and then you.

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Speaker 2: Decide to start adopting. And I think, I think I

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Speaker 2: read that we're talking Ethiopia and China.

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Speaker 1: Ethiopia and China.

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Speaker 2: Okay, you got to give me the background on that

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Speaker 2: and the reasons and everything, which first of all, I

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Speaker 2: think is beautiful. And I mean, when you guys gather

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Speaker 2: around the Thanksgiving dinner table must look like the United Nations.

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Speaker 1: That's what we always say. We've got the United Nations

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Speaker 1: under one ring. I love it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so tell me about it.

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Speaker 1: So at church in Jackson, there was a middle aged

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Speaker 1: couple there. I was going to say young, but they

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Speaker 1: weren't so young. But they had moved back to Jackson.

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Speaker 1: They had been living in Guangzhoe, China. I think he

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Speaker 1: was with PNG, and they had driven and I think

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Speaker 1: they had brought home twin baby girls that they had adopted.

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Speaker 1: And they were very good and very vocal about sharing

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Speaker 1: about the one child law and also the plight of

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Speaker 1: baby girls.

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Speaker 2: Well we'll talk about that, Okay.

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Speaker 1: Well, there's not a one child law anymore. I think

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Speaker 1: there was. There was, yes, in the probably gosh that

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Speaker 1: started I just heard the other day. I should remember

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Speaker 1: the dates, but maybe in the seventies or eighties that started,

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Speaker 1: and then that actually ended sometime in maybe mid two thousand.

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Speaker 2: I don't know if what I've read is true or not,

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Speaker 2: or even if I'm imagining that I read something, but

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Speaker 2: I'm going to ask you because obviously you would know.

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Speaker 2: But my understanding is that the one child law was

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Speaker 2: that the government were only allowing couples to have one child,

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Speaker 2: which meant that couples really wanted boys so they could

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Speaker 2: continue their bloodline. And often if they had a girl,

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Speaker 2: they would this sounds horrible, but they would give the

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Speaker 2: child up for adoption, leaving an orphanage, or sometimes throw

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Speaker 2: them in the water.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they would surround them, they would simply abandon them.

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Speaker 2: Because they wanted their one child to be a male.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and males. I think I might be misquoting this,

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Speaker 1: but technically, by law are required to take care of

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Speaker 1: their parents in their old age. So they definitely wanted

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Speaker 1: a boy.

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Speaker 2: Oh, so the parents wanted a boy, so they had

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Speaker 2: a caretaker.

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Speaker 1: Yes, and also to carry on, yeah, obviously to carry

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Speaker 1: on that way.

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Speaker 2: But hearing all of that and revisit I hadn't thought

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Speaker 2: about this in ages, but revisiting that is, that's horrific.

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Speaker 1: It is horrific. It is it's very sad.

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Speaker 2: So this couple comes back to your church and they

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Speaker 2: have twin daughters. Twin daughters most likely abandoned because.

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Speaker 1: They were And as a matter of fact, it's a

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Speaker 1: funny story and I'm probably getting this wrong, totally wrong,

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Speaker 1: but it was something like the wife had heard about,

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Speaker 1: you know, the adoptions and the plight of the baby girls.

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Speaker 1: And they had older grown children that I don't think

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Speaker 1: lived with them at the time. I think they were

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Speaker 1: all grown and flown flown, But she said. The wife

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Speaker 1: said to the husband one day when he got home,

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Speaker 1: she said, you know, I need to tell you this

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Speaker 1: story I heard today. So she was talking about the children,

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Speaker 1: and she said, I really think we need to adopt.

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Speaker 1: And he said, yeah, yeah, he said, probably not. But

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Speaker 1: I tell you, what if the Lord abandons one on

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Speaker 1: our doorstep, Well, are you kidding? No, no.

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Speaker 2: One on our doorstep will keep it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. And and so she supposedly was, you know, had

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Speaker 1: gone about her day one day and was walking up

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Speaker 1: the stairwell because a lot of the buildings don't have

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Speaker 1: elevators or escalators, walking up the stairs to their apartment

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Speaker 1: on the fifth floor, seventh floor, whatever it was. And

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Speaker 1: there's babies, and there's two babies abandoned, abandoned.

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Speaker 2: Some would say, the Lord drops babies on their doorstep.

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Speaker 1: The Lord drop their doorstep.

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Speaker 2: Okay, so they show up in Jackson with these babies.

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Speaker 1: Well they're great about sharing the whole story.

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Speaker 2: Well that's great, but the Lord didn't drop any Chinese

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Speaker 2: babies on your doorstep at Jackson.

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Speaker 1: No no, no, no, no no. So our youngest daughter

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Speaker 1: at the time was probably gosh, she was probably four, yeah, Kara.

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Speaker 1: And Kara, ironically is the one that's married and isn't

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Speaker 1: really sure she wants to be a mom. So it's

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Speaker 1: really kind of funny because she was the one that

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Speaker 1: would say every night in her prayers, she'd say her

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Speaker 1: prayers and then she'd get through and she goes and God,

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Speaker 1: please let Daddy change his heart about bringing a baby

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Speaker 1: home from China. Yeah, so precious. And my husband was

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Speaker 1: quite resistant. He would say and just said, Amy, I

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Speaker 1: don't have time. He was in the busiest time in

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Speaker 1: his practice.

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Speaker 2: He's a cardiologist, he's got a practice. He already has

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Speaker 2: a wife and three children exactly, that's a big stuff.

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Speaker 1: And he said, I don't have time for the ones

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Speaker 1: we have, and that makes me feel guilty, right, and

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Speaker 1: my not immediate comeback. But later on I said to him,

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Speaker 1: but don't you think that one parent that's a full

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Speaker 1: time parent and then has the support of the second

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Speaker 1: parent is better than no parents at all, better than

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Speaker 1: a child languishing in an orphanage.

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Speaker 2: And I think that guy very unwanted in that country. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So anyways, he started asking his men's group, men's prayer group,

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Speaker 1: Bible study group to pray about it with him, and

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Speaker 1: they did. And there were a little background. There were

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Speaker 1: four guys in his practice at that point. They're now

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Speaker 1: ten big, but there were four guys and one of

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Speaker 1: them was leaving. When he came home that night, he said,

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Speaker 1: doctor Chips leaving and you know it's going to be crazy.

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Speaker 1: And I said, well, I guess in really good time

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Speaker 1: to talk about adopting then, huh. And he said, you know,

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Speaker 1: as a matter of fact, I think we need to

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Speaker 1: do it.

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Speaker 2: Wow.

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Speaker 1: And he likes he likes to tell people that don't

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Speaker 1: tell Amy that something can happen, because it'll happen. He

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Speaker 1: would like to tell you that I had I had

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Speaker 1: already called the adoption agency the next day and had

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Speaker 1: all the paperwork done. It didn't really happen like that.

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Speaker 1: But May was home with a within a year of

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Speaker 1: that time.

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Speaker 2: So that was child for first adoption.

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Speaker 1: That was child four, first adoption.

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Speaker 2: And then you decided let's go to Africa.

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Speaker 1: Because too No, we decided to go back to China

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Speaker 1: because we thought, hey, we need a boy. I don't

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Speaker 1: know how that happened. But Cooper came next about two

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Speaker 1: years later, and that was about a year long practice

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Speaker 1: or process. And then let's see, then Leah came home.

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Speaker 1: And Leah is autistic and she has a seizure disorder.

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Speaker 1: And you know this, you adopted Now we knew she

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Speaker 1: had a seizure disorder.

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Speaker 2: And okay, I have a question. Yeah, I have my wife, Lisa,

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Speaker 2: who is my compass and the light of my life.

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Speaker 2: Her brother who when I started dating Lisa thirty two

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Speaker 2: years ago, Ben was I think eight. So Ben's grown

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Speaker 2: up with me and I've gone up with Ben. Vin's

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Speaker 2: my brother in law, but he's more like my brother,

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Speaker 2: and he special needs and he is a lot of work.

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Speaker 2: Now he is a lot of joy. He's a lot

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Speaker 2: of joy, and we love him and he don't misunderstood,

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Speaker 2: but he is a lot of work. How when you're

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Speaker 2: when children with disabilities or difficulties are born to you naturally,

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Speaker 2: that's what God gives you, and you do the best

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Speaker 2: you can. It's a whole nother thing to choose that.

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Speaker 2: And I have always wondered when parents adopt a child

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Speaker 2: that has issues knowingly brings into their home, that's going

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Speaker 2: to require more time, effort, work, and let's be honest, heartache,

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Speaker 2: But they do it anyway. I mean to me, there's

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Speaker 2: a there's a special place in Haven for folks that that.

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Speaker 2: And so you're telling me you had your choice of

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Speaker 2: babies in China and you chose one that had a

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Speaker 2: Caesar disorder. That and if John has a Caeesar disorder infant.

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Speaker 2: You're a nurse, a pediatric nurse, and your husband's a doctor.

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Speaker 2: You had to know there was a probability of other problems.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, but you did it anyway, which is amazing. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we did think it was a simple seizure disorder. Well

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Speaker 1: not so simple, but we did think it was a

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Speaker 1: seizure disorder, but didn't know that there was anything else.

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Speaker 1: And yeah, there's always the what ifs, But there's always

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Speaker 1: what ifs with you know, any of the other kids

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Speaker 1: we adopted, or even what ifs with our own children.

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Speaker 2: But why did you make that decision knowing the difficulty

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Speaker 2: when there were well babies didn't have that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Part of Leah's story actually just kind of pulled

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Speaker 1: us in. Also, we had gone to a children's home

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Speaker 1: that run by American missionaries in China one summer, took

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Speaker 1: a small group from our church and we met Leah.

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Speaker 1: And Leah the story I think goes that she had

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Speaker 1: she had paperwork in She was supposed to be adopted

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Speaker 1: by a couple that was living in Beijing and would

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Speaker 1: maybe teaching English or I don't know what they were doing,

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Speaker 1: but they would come and see her every weekend, and

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Speaker 1: they even got permission from the orphanage director to take

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Speaker 1: her home occasionally to their home, and they wanted to

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Speaker 1: adopt her. Well, they backed out of the adoption, and

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Speaker 1: she was two and a half or three at the time.

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Speaker 2: So she had already started probably bonding a little.

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Speaker 1: With these she had. She had started bonding with these people,

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Speaker 1: and she Yeah, it was it was really sad and

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Speaker 1: we it's kind of weird, but and it's very much

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Speaker 1: a God thing that we didn't know about her other

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Speaker 1: difficulties and that I think he almost protected us from

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Speaker 1: knowing some of her other difficulties in order to get

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Speaker 1: her in our house. I don't know what you know. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it I don't even know what to say about all that.

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Speaker 1: But but we did not know she was autistic. We

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Speaker 1: did know that she had a temper like a Tasmanian devil,

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Speaker 1: and she had no manners because the nannies at the

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Speaker 1: orphanage would literally give her whatever she wanted because they

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Speaker 1: thought that if well, yeah, they did. And they also

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Speaker 1: thought that because of her seizure disorder, if they caused

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Speaker 1: her to get upset, she would have a seizure.

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Speaker 2: Good grief. Yeah, so ultimately didn't serve her well at all.

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Speaker 1: No, no, not at all. Funny story is is that

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Speaker 1: shortly after we got home with her. I love this story.

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Speaker 1: We have animals. So we had dogs, and we had

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Speaker 1: a friend of ours staying with us that was a

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Speaker 1: Chinese lady and another long, long story. She was here

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Speaker 1: having her second child because yeah, so she had gotten

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Speaker 1: over here and yeah, anyways, we're sitting there eating lunch

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Speaker 1: and Leah didn't really even speak much Mandarin and wasn't

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Speaker 1: picking up on English at all. But she said to

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Speaker 1: this lady, she said something in Leah and ease or

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Speaker 1: whatever she was speaking in but the woman understood and

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Speaker 1: she said, hmm. She said, I like the dog, but

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Speaker 1: my mom has a big nose. And I thought, okay,

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Speaker 1: this is probably gonna be okay. Well it was kind

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Speaker 1: of okay. Leah yeah, just put it this way. Leah

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Speaker 1: can be very aggressive. She's teeny tiny, but she does

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Speaker 1: have just she wants to smake you. She'll smack you,

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Speaker 1: although she's doing a whole lot better. But the going

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Speaker 1: joke at our house is with our older kids getting married, now,

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Speaker 1: you really have not become part of the family until

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Speaker 1: Leah just smack shoot. So yeah, all.

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Speaker 2: Right, so you have that, and now you're going to Ethiopia.

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Speaker 1: Nope, not yet, not yet. So we've got Leah. Oh

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Speaker 1: so back up to when we brought Cooper home. We

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Speaker 1: were on vacation when the adoption agency called and said, hey,

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Speaker 1: we have two boys that you might want to look at,

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Speaker 1: and we always went special needs, simple, special needs. May

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Speaker 1: had a cleft lip that had been repaired in China,

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Speaker 1: no cleft palate involvement. Cooper had a cleft lip in

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Speaker 1: cleft palate that were both repaired and more beautiful repair jobs.

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Speaker 1: Leah her seizure disorder. And then Mike had been one

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Speaker 1: of those two boys. Believe it or not that we

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Speaker 1: chose between when we adopted Cooper, and the only reason

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Speaker 1: I really remembered that was one he was from this

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Speaker 1: tiny island off the southern tip of China, Highnando and

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Speaker 1: he was from Highco and too his picture he had

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Speaker 1: on a bright Hawaiian print shirt and he had the biggest,

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Speaker 1: goofiest smile on his face. And I said, he looks

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Speaker 1: like do you remember the Robin Williams movie Paulie.

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Speaker 2: Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Sure, Okay, Well he looked like the Robin Williams of China.

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Speaker 1: He was the goofiest, cutest looking kid I'd ever seen. Well,

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Speaker 1: when somebody, you know, back then, there were a lot

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Speaker 1: of Facebook adoption groups and whatnot, and I was usually

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Speaker 1: only on the ones that my kids were from that

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Speaker 1: area or even specific orphanages. Well, somebody was advocating for

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Speaker 1: this young fella. He was six years old, and they

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Speaker 1: said his paperwork had been with three other orphanages or

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Speaker 1: three other adoption agencies, and if he didn't get adopted soon,

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Speaker 1: And my husband and I had already kind of started

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Speaker 1: talking about maybe adopting one more boy, so they said,

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Speaker 1: if he doesn't get adopted soon and his paperwork was

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Speaker 1: returned to the Civil Affairs office in China, that he

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Speaker 1: would be declared unadoptable.

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Speaker 2: And I was like, what happens with a child that's

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Speaker 2: claimed unadoptable.

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Speaker 1: They usually stay in the orphanage and then may end

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Speaker 1: up working in the orphanage. But my understanding, and again

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Speaker 1: I don't know this is true that once they're eighteen,

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Speaker 1: if they're not asked to stay and work at the orphanage,

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Speaker 1: that they're kind of turned out. I don't know that

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Speaker 1: that's true. Wow, I don't know. So anyways, I called

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Speaker 1: the horrific. Yeah, yeah, there's there's a lot of horrific

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Speaker 1: things in the whole world.

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Speaker 2: Well, there is a lot of horrific things. Yeah, but

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Speaker 2: this conversation that is that's sad.

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Speaker 1: It is, It's very sad. Anyways, I called my husband one.

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Speaker 2: I mean, the truth is, you and your husband are

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Speaker 2: save them lives. I hope so so you probably I

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Speaker 2: know that you're Your humility probably keeps you from saying absolutely,

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Speaker 2: but I'm going to say it. I mean, you're saving lives.

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Speaker 1: We at least made a difference in their life.

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Speaker 2: Let's you sure did? So you get so.

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Speaker 1: Anyways, I see this picture of this child and I

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Speaker 1: was like, this cannot be.

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Speaker 2: Did you name him Robin? No? You should.

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Speaker 1: But before I called my husband and said, you are

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Speaker 1: never going to believe this, I called a friend of mine. Well,

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Speaker 1: I called the adoption agency and that he was listed with.

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Speaker 1: And I said, any chance you can find out if

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Speaker 1: this young man has been with Bethany Christian Services, who

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Speaker 1: we had used. And she said, you know, I don't know,

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Speaker 1: but I've got a friend that works for Bethany. I'll

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Speaker 1: call her and see if his paperwork has been with Bethany.

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Speaker 1: She calls me back within a half an hour and

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Speaker 1: said to Amy, she said he was with Bethany. I

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Speaker 1: get goosebumps telling the story. He was listed with Bethany

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Speaker 1: and you guys looked at him two years ago.

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Speaker 2: Wow.

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Speaker 1: And I said, okay, okay, let me call my husband.

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Speaker 2: We're about to have another.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we're about to have another boy. So yeah, So

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Speaker 1: I called my husband and he said absolutely.

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Speaker 2: And now a few messages from our general sponsors. But first,

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Speaker 2: to help. If not, just keep listening. We'll be right back.

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Speaker 2: I think I got it. Now, let me ask this.

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Speaker 2: So you adopted all the kids in China and had

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Speaker 2: to go to Ethiopia because there were none left.

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Speaker 1: Maybe something like that.

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Speaker 2: Okay.

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Speaker 1: Now, in the meantime, we had gotten involved with Shohana's Hope,

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Speaker 1: Steven and Marybeth Chapman's adoption Assistance program in Nashville, and

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Speaker 1: we were at their fundraiser one November fabulous, fabulous weekend

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Speaker 1: and lots of fun and lots of adoption stories, and

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Speaker 1: there was some adoption story told about and I can't

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Speaker 1: even remember now, It's like I can't even remember the

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Speaker 1: whole story. But a couple shared about adopting from Ethiopia

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Speaker 1: and adopting maybe even twins or something. I don't know.

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Speaker 1: We were doing house church at that point, and Jim,

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Speaker 1: one night in house church, just my husband, Jim sorry,

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Speaker 1: just says out of the clear blue something about yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think somebody said in our house group house church

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Speaker 1: group said well, do y'all think you're done adopting? And

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Speaker 1: Jim goes, well, I don't know. We might we might

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Speaker 1: need to go get twin boys from Ethiopia. And I

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Speaker 1: kind of looked at him, like, you have lost your mind?

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Speaker 1: What are you talking about? This is new to me,

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Speaker 1: But we started talking about it and just felt like

434
00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:33,760
Speaker 1: it was a good thing to do. And next question

435
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,320
Speaker 1: is why twin boys or why two boys? And my

436
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,640
Speaker 1: husband will simply tell you that you know what, all

437
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:44,800
Speaker 1: of us are Caucasian. We all had light skin. The

438
00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:47,800
Speaker 1: Chinese there were four of them that, you know, kind

439
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:52,399
Speaker 1: of we're all bonded together. Here's this group of Caucasians,

440
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:58,040
Speaker 1: this group of Chinese, and we didn't want one child

441
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:02,119
Speaker 1: to be the only dark skinned child in the family.

442
00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:06,680
Speaker 1: I mean, he just but that interesting. He just said,

443
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,560
Speaker 1: I don't want one of our children to ever feel

444
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:15,440
Speaker 1: like he's alone, he's alone, or she's alone or different. Yeah.

445
00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:22,600
Speaker 1: So we started the process. And on my fiftieth birthday,

446
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:27,680
Speaker 1: that was a long time ago, on my fiftieth birthday,

447
00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,480
Speaker 1: our adoption agency calls and she said, well, I don't

448
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:34,320
Speaker 1: have twins for you, but I have the next best thing.

449
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,480
Speaker 1: And she said, I have a set of full siblings

450
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,919
Speaker 1: that are six and three. And they were absolutely the

451
00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:45,760
Speaker 1: cutest little fellas I'd ever seen. And I said, Debbie,

452
00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:49,520
Speaker 1: I said, today's my fiftieth birthday. I said, I will

453
00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:52,760
Speaker 1: just tell you that. Jim will say yes, wow. So yeah,

454
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,600
Speaker 1: within a year we were over there picking them up. Yeah.

455
00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:03,119
Speaker 1: And they are absolutely the most magical, kind, sweet, loving

456
00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:05,639
Speaker 1: I could go on and on about those right.

457
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,960
Speaker 2: So when y'all go to Walmart.

458
00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:11,720
Speaker 1: We don't go to Walmart.

459
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,920
Speaker 2: When you go to when y'all go to Walmart, or

460
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:18,520
Speaker 2: maybe you shop at Target, but when y'all go, folks

461
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:22,439
Speaker 2: have got to look at this clan and wonder what

462
00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:27,040
Speaker 2: in Lord's name came down from? I mean, what you

463
00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:29,359
Speaker 2: what's got on? I mean, do you ever take the

464
00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:30,080
Speaker 2: whole clan.

465
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,119
Speaker 1: Out to eat at a restaurant occasionally?

466
00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:36,320
Speaker 2: That much? I mean that's people have got to look

467
00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:38,800
Speaker 2: at you and say, what in goodness name is going on?

468
00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:43,280
Speaker 1: Well, the funniest thing was, even before we started adopting,

469
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,480
Speaker 1: well maybe we had I think maybe we had Matt

470
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,600
Speaker 1: May and Cooper, so we probably had five kids. We

471
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:51,760
Speaker 1: were teasing our older kids and we told them we

472
00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,760
Speaker 1: were gonna buy twelve passenger van. Well we really did

473
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,640
Speaker 1: buy a twelve passenger van because we were also sports

474
00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:01,240
Speaker 1: parents and we always had extra kids our house.

475
00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,560
Speaker 2: I surprised, Well, passenger got it. Well, something I need

476
00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:06,680
Speaker 2: to get with those fifteen Yeah.

477
00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:11,240
Speaker 1: Sometimes barely, but anyways, I always always got because I

478
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:13,880
Speaker 1: took the kids pretty much everywhere, you know, with me,

479
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,080
Speaker 1: when they were out of school and Dad was, you know,

480
00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,520
Speaker 1: still at work or something, yet we'd go. So yeah,

481
00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:21,160
Speaker 1: we'd load up and people. I can't tell you how

482
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:25,240
Speaker 1: many times people ask me if we were a church nursery,

483
00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,120
Speaker 1: a church group, a nursery school.

484
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,360
Speaker 2: People probably thought you were just the bus driver after

485
00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:35,200
Speaker 2: their mother exactly they did. That is so funny, honestly. Yeah,

486
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,959
Speaker 2: you know, Lisa and I when we came up, we

487
00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,640
Speaker 2: were broke and we our four kids were four kids

488
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:44,280
Speaker 2: in four years, meaning they were one, two, three, and

489
00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:47,680
Speaker 2: four or pick a number, four, five, six, and seven. Well,

490
00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,760
Speaker 2: back then, you know the restaurant Charlie's. Yeah, oh yeah, yeah.

491
00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:54,480
Speaker 2: Back then, on Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays, kids under twelve

492
00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:57,480
Speaker 2: eight free. So we would always go once a week

493
00:29:57,520 --> 00:29:59,960
Speaker 2: because Lisa and I could get a really nice meal

494
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:01,840
Speaker 2: and it wouldn't cost that much because all the kids

495
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:05,000
Speaker 2: ain't free. I bet they didn't want to see you coming.

496
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:09,680
Speaker 2: You could have bankrupted.

497
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:12,920
Speaker 1: But now once those boys grewsome, they were like, oh,

498
00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,720
Speaker 1: come on, because let me tell you, those boys can eat.

499
00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:19,520
Speaker 1: Those boys can eat. There's still three of them at

500
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:20,440
Speaker 1: home and they can eat.

501
00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:27,280
Speaker 2: Well, let's talk about eating about because honestly, that in

502
00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:31,680
Speaker 2: and of itself is worthy of being a member of

503
00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,960
Speaker 2: the army of normal folks. Because her girl who grows

504
00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:37,760
Speaker 2: up in a middle class suburban neighborhood in Germantown and

505
00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:41,400
Speaker 2: gets her nursing degree, and she and her husband feel

506
00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:46,880
Speaker 2: called to have all of those children, and and and

507
00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,400
Speaker 2: that's just an amazing story. But the reason I wanted

508
00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:52,720
Speaker 2: to get into that is just just kind of a

509
00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:55,360
Speaker 2: I think it speaks to your heart, and I think

510
00:30:55,360 --> 00:31:00,640
Speaker 2: it speaks to your sense of service and the normous

511
00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:03,680
Speaker 2: amount of love and concern you have to have for

512
00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:08,560
Speaker 2: just people to create the family you've created. It's beautiful

513
00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:13,600
Speaker 2: and it's actually hilarious. I mean, is Casey Jones still

514
00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:15,960
Speaker 2: in Jackson? They got the buffet in there with the

515
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,560
Speaker 2: Pride Caafish and anything. You ever took that crew to

516
00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:19,160
Speaker 2: that thing.

517
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:22,800
Speaker 1: We probably have been there. I don't know if it

518
00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:25,520
Speaker 1: was the whole crew or not. That ironically, we were

519
00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:29,080
Speaker 1: just there right before Christmas because Woodmen of the World

520
00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,560
Speaker 1: did something for the cafe and then they had everybody.

521
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,760
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, Woodmen of the World is still around. I'll

522
00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:40,640
Speaker 2: be dad going so, y'all. Woodmen of the World is

523
00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:45,040
Speaker 2: a life insurance company that's actually a nonprofit, so they

524
00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:49,200
Speaker 2: invest what would be their profits back into their communities

525
00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:55,440
Speaker 2: as donations. You're not gonna believe this, but my father

526
00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:59,000
Speaker 2: passed away not too long ago, and I got a

527
00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:02,840
Speaker 2: box of old blows from his father, which is my

528
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:07,320
Speaker 2: paternal grandfather, who I was actually very very not close

529
00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:10,920
Speaker 2: at all to my dad, unfortunately, very close to my grandfather.

530
00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:13,600
Speaker 2: And my grandfather plaid basketball and baseball for Old Miss

531
00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:15,600
Speaker 2: and I went to on a miss cool. So I

532
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:19,200
Speaker 2: wanted that picture of him that actually won the Southern

533
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:21,280
Speaker 2: Conference in nineteen thirty three. And this picture of my

534
00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:24,000
Speaker 2: grandfather is on this uniform with his team. So I

535
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,760
Speaker 2: got a box of stuff nobody else would care about

536
00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:30,960
Speaker 2: but me, and in it was a Woodman of the

537
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:35,480
Speaker 2: World medal with a red, white and blue ribbon going

538
00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:38,200
Speaker 2: down it from the Woodman of the World convention from

539
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:40,280
Speaker 2: the thirties in Brownsville, Tennessee.

540
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:43,360
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness. Yeah, that's something to hang on to.

541
00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:45,240
Speaker 2: Well, I do I have it. When you just said

542
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,600
Speaker 2: Woodmen in the World, I thought I'll be dad gub Yeah.

543
00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 2: I literally just got this a month ago. Small world

544
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 2: in it.

545
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,840
Speaker 1: It is funny the things that you run across. My

546
00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,560
Speaker 1: parents have both been deceased for years, but when we

547
00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,760
Speaker 1: sold our house in Jackson, and moved out north to

548
00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:04,680
Speaker 1: Milin north of jack North and Jackson, sorry, and moved

549
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,440
Speaker 1: out to the country. Some of those boxes had stuff

550
00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:09,960
Speaker 1: in it that I had not been through for years. Well,

551
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,480
Speaker 1: our oldest son is a crop duster, owns his own

552
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:14,080
Speaker 1: crop dusty.

553
00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:17,280
Speaker 2: Oh, your oldest son, the first one out of the womb. Yeah,

554
00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:19,920
Speaker 2: the one that came through early. He's a crop dush.

555
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:20,800
Speaker 1: He's a crop dusty.

556
00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:24,240
Speaker 2: He flies the airplanes and and is a crop duster.

557
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:27,240
Speaker 2: Hete Does that not scare you those guys whoop around

558
00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:28,360
Speaker 2: and come down so low?

559
00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:34,080
Speaker 1: I know it doesn't. I'm quite an adventurous kind of person.

560
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:35,840
Speaker 2: You flown with him?

561
00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:40,040
Speaker 1: Yes? No, no, because they are only one seat. Now,

562
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,360
Speaker 1: if he ever if he ever joins the big boys

563
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:44,840
Speaker 1: and buys one of those two seater crop you're in it. Oh,

564
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,520
Speaker 1: without a doubt. I asked him if I could sit

565
00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:48,080
Speaker 1: in the hopper.

566
00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:50,720
Speaker 2: So maybe I have it wrong. Maybe all these kids

567
00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:52,680
Speaker 2: isn't because you have a big heart. You just want

568
00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:54,000
Speaker 2: to do something fun and crazy.

569
00:33:54,160 --> 00:34:00,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, gosh, But anyways, the funny thing was was, Okay,

570
00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,320
Speaker 1: so I've got this son that's a crop duster and

571
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,160
Speaker 1: owns you know, a couple of planes and you know what,

572
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:11,080
Speaker 1: Yeah a cowboy, Yeah yeah, and got a second one. Actually,

573
00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:13,279
Speaker 1: that's a University of Memphis that wants to go to

574
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,400
Speaker 1: work for FedEx. He's in the pilot program. But anyways,

575
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:21,160
Speaker 1: going through my dad's stuff, that because we had downsized,

576
00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:24,360
Speaker 1: believe it or not, because there's not only three kids

577
00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:29,360
Speaker 1: at home, and yeah, only three kids at home. And

578
00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:31,920
Speaker 1: I pulled the certificate out and I looked at it

579
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:39,480
Speaker 1: and it was my dad's first solo flight certificate. And

580
00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:42,800
Speaker 1: I had totally forgotten that he had ever taken flight

581
00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:47,920
Speaker 1: lessons and he soloed and it actually had you know,

582
00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:50,120
Speaker 1: it was kind of this really cool drawing, and it

583
00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:55,560
Speaker 1: had the tail number on the plane that he flew.

584
00:34:56,239 --> 00:34:59,640
Speaker 1: My son went and looked up the tail number and

585
00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:03,040
Speaker 1: that plane had just gone out of commission, like in

586
00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:07,120
Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, and this was back in nineteen fifty two.

587
00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:08,480
Speaker 2: Is that not crazy?

588
00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:17,560
Speaker 1: It was crazy? So it is. Yeah, anyway, way, off subject, guys.

589
00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:21,480
Speaker 2: Everything has something to do with something. All of this

590
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:25,120
Speaker 2: just shows that Amy is a normal person. And if

591
00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:28,360
Speaker 2: we stop the story right here, Amy Crenshaw would be

592
00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:30,360
Speaker 2: a heck of a member of the army of normal

593
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:36,000
Speaker 2: folks adopting six kids. But the story is far from over.

594
00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:54,040
Speaker 2: The story of Community Cafe. After the break you start

595
00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:58,120
Speaker 2: Community Cafe. Now we're going to get into the whole

596
00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:01,960
Speaker 2: story of it. But the cliff note version is Community

597
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:07,200
Speaker 2: Cafe is a cafe in Jackson, Tennessee where anybody can seat.

598
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:13,400
Speaker 2: That's why it's community cafe, and it's spelled com un

599
00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:20,080
Speaker 2: it y community cafe. And so what I understand is,

600
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,040
Speaker 2: and I want you to add color to this force,

601
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:27,239
Speaker 2: is that it's a place with really healthy food that

602
00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:30,120
Speaker 2: if you don't have a dime in your pocket, you

603
00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:33,920
Speaker 2: can eat, and you can be treated with respect. You

604
00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:40,600
Speaker 2: can be retreated with decency and served a really good meal.

605
00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:43,400
Speaker 2: And if you do have just a couple of dollars

606
00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:47,200
Speaker 2: in your pocket, you too can be served, even if

607
00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:50,319
Speaker 2: you can't afford the full price your meal. But if

608
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:53,320
Speaker 2: you come in and your meal is twelve dollars and

609
00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:57,000
Speaker 2: you got twenty bucks, you can do twenty bucks and

610
00:36:57,160 --> 00:37:03,040
Speaker 2: help offset the costs of some folks that can't d exactly. Okay, Well,

611
00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:06,399
Speaker 2: that's that's weird. How in the world did you come

612
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:06,879
Speaker 2: up with that?

613
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:08,000
Speaker 1: I didn't come up with that.

614
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:09,280
Speaker 2: We'll tell me about so.

615
00:37:10,719 --> 00:37:13,360
Speaker 1: Our three older kids grew up going to a summer

616
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:18,120
Speaker 1: camp out in Colorado, a Christian sports camp, and then

617
00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:21,440
Speaker 1: this sports camp actually came up with the idea that

618
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:24,520
Speaker 1: they were going to offer a gap year between high

619
00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:26,960
Speaker 1: school and college for kids that didn't quite know what

620
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:28,200
Speaker 1: they wanted to do.

621
00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:29,520
Speaker 2: Like being a cropduster.

622
00:37:29,719 --> 00:37:34,240
Speaker 1: Like being a duster. Yeah, that's another whole story because

623
00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:37,279
Speaker 1: that wasn't his first choice, but it was probably what

624
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:39,520
Speaker 1: he was meant to do, got it all along, and

625
00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:41,840
Speaker 1: we made him go to college. But yeah, we won't

626
00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:46,759
Speaker 1: do that again. Anyways, our two daughters, second born and

627
00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:50,600
Speaker 1: third born had gone to camp and when they started

628
00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:53,359
Speaker 1: talking about this starting this gap year, and what it

629
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:55,400
Speaker 1: was going to be was the first semester they were

630
00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:57,759
Speaker 1: going to spend in downtown Denver and they were going

631
00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,959
Speaker 1: to do inner city ministry in our culture studies.

632
00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:03,000
Speaker 2: Kind of kind of us mission work.

633
00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:06,080
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, for the first semester, and they would have

634
00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:10,560
Speaker 1: an internship in one of the nonprofits or hours.

635
00:38:10,239 --> 00:38:12,040
Speaker 2: And then when they go to college, they've got that

636
00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:12,719
Speaker 2: experience right.

637
00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:18,400
Speaker 1: Right, And they had to have plans to go to college.

638
00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,560
Speaker 1: Basically they had to have already because they didn't want

639
00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:25,560
Speaker 1: kids just coming and thrown away and then going. Yeah,

640
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:28,520
Speaker 1: and then the second semester they would go overseas and

641
00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:31,000
Speaker 1: they went to some really cool places overseas. But the

642
00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:37,279
Speaker 1: first the first year that Shelby went, she back up

643
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:42,160
Speaker 1: little side story. We had started doing church or participating

644
00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:44,200
Speaker 1: in a church that was called Church without Walls in

645
00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:47,120
Speaker 1: downtown Jackson. That was a church without walls, so a

646
00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:50,920
Speaker 1: lot of street people underserved. And then I was also

647
00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:54,680
Speaker 1: on the board at Area Relief Ministries in Jacksonville, So

648
00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:55,560
Speaker 1: in Jackson you.

649
00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:58,600
Speaker 2: Were already working with homeless underserved.

650
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,360
Speaker 1: We had gotten to know a lot of the homeless,

651
00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:05,279
Speaker 1: especially in downtown Jackson, and kind of knew the need

652
00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:06,600
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden see something.

653
00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, Jackson doesn't strike me as a place where there

654
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:14,520
Speaker 2: would be a lot of homeless exactly. But for those

655
00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:17,040
Speaker 2: who aren't who are listening, they are familiar with Jackson.

656
00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:20,680
Speaker 2: I mean, Jackson is what probably one hundred and fifty

657
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:21,720
Speaker 2: hundred thousand people.

658
00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,600
Speaker 1: Oh, not even that many, seventy seventy five thousand.

659
00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:27,520
Speaker 2: Now, yeah, I mean it's kind of like a three

660
00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:31,799
Speaker 2: or four exit stop on the Interstates. It's nice. It's

661
00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:34,880
Speaker 2: got a small couple of small colleges, I think. And

662
00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:39,480
Speaker 2: it's got some good schools, and it's got some nice restaurants,

663
00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:43,719
Speaker 2: but it's not a place that you would it's not

664
00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:47,840
Speaker 2: it's not the urban setting where you expect to find

665
00:39:48,239 --> 00:39:52,759
Speaker 2: homeless people in downtown or shelters. And so when I

666
00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:56,759
Speaker 2: hear homeless and Jackson, I almost feel like that guy

667
00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:58,840
Speaker 2: in the Andy Griffith show that would get drunk and

668
00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:02,200
Speaker 2: check himself into jail, the one homeless guy in town.

669
00:40:02,719 --> 00:40:05,319
Speaker 2: I wouldn't think of that. But there's a community of

670
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:06,800
Speaker 2: homeless and Jackson.

671
00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:10,240
Speaker 1: Like anywhere between five and seven hundred people.

672
00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:11,040
Speaker 2: That's funny.

673
00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:14,400
Speaker 1: There's a couple tent camps. We don't even at this

674
00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:17,160
Speaker 1: point now it's in the works, but we don't even

675
00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:21,440
Speaker 1: have a full time shelter. So Area Relief Ministries actually

676
00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:25,680
Speaker 1: has room in the Inn where churches in Jackson volunteer

677
00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:29,839
Speaker 1: to house. And right now it's only homeless men. There

678
00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:33,040
Speaker 1: are a couple shelters for women that are not just

679
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:37,040
Speaker 1: drop in shelters, but more you have to actually be

680
00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:40,440
Speaker 1: able to get in, which it's not real difficult. We

681
00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:44,560
Speaker 1: don't although I think over the last nine years since

682
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:48,719
Speaker 1: we started the cafe, I've seen a larger population of

683
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:51,680
Speaker 1: homeless women. Now, I don't know if it's just because

684
00:40:51,719 --> 00:40:55,440
Speaker 1: I'm noticing them more, but at first, most of our

685
00:40:55,560 --> 00:40:58,920
Speaker 1: volunteers that were coming in for a meal were male.

686
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:00,440
Speaker 1: We have.

687
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:04,960
Speaker 2: And so you're going to this church without walls thing,

688
00:41:05,239 --> 00:41:10,960
Speaker 2: which is basically a downtown Sunday worship service, pretty much

689
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:12,120
Speaker 2: opened everybody.

690
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:16,000
Speaker 1: Lay pastor that just basically he will tell you Nita's

691
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:17,880
Speaker 1: most humble guy, and he would just tell you that

692
00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:21,000
Speaker 1: he was just there to tell people that Jesus loved

693
00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:22,439
Speaker 1: them to some.

694
00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:24,600
Speaker 2: People who probably felt like nobody loved.

695
00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:25,680
Speaker 1: It exactly exactly.

696
00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:29,080
Speaker 2: So you're doing that simultaneously. Your girls are in Denver.

697
00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:30,000
Speaker 1: Right, screwing around?

698
00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:32,000
Speaker 2: Can we establish the screwing around for a year?

699
00:41:34,239 --> 00:41:35,240
Speaker 1: Playing around? Maybe?

700
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:37,799
Speaker 2: Playing around? Yeah, okay, playing around is probably.

701
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:39,919
Speaker 1: Although they're actually awesome girls.

702
00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:41,839
Speaker 2: I get it. I'm not saying they're not. Listen, I

703
00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:45,040
Speaker 2: had one doing again, one of us did here. She's

704
00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:48,160
Speaker 2: a great girl, but she wasn't doing much studying, is

705
00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:48,760
Speaker 2: what I'm saying.

706
00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:51,279
Speaker 1: Okay, Okay, Well both of mine, believe it or not,

707
00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:54,800
Speaker 1: were four average in high school.

708
00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:57,000
Speaker 2: Oh my kids, my daughter was too. I'm just saying

709
00:41:57,080 --> 00:42:00,640
Speaker 2: during the gap year, she was having fun. She built

710
00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:01,360
Speaker 2: some dams.

711
00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:04,440
Speaker 1: Well, that's cool much.

712
00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:06,840
Speaker 2: She didn't do cool stop, but she wasn't studying.

713
00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:09,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh no, no, they didn't have to study much. No,

714
00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:13,040
Speaker 1: I totally agree with you. Anyways, Shelby's in Denver. She

715
00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:14,799
Speaker 1: calls me one day and she goes, Mom, we just

716
00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:17,719
Speaker 1: went in the coolest place for lunch. She goes. It

717
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:21,400
Speaker 1: was called same cafe. She said, it's an acronym for

718
00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,200
Speaker 1: so all may eat. And she goes, I'm not exactly

719
00:42:24,239 --> 00:42:26,799
Speaker 1: how it works, she goes, but you can go in,

720
00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:30,440
Speaker 1: and you can if you don't have money. So, like,

721
00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:33,080
Speaker 1: you know, it's near a homeless park, and she said,

722
00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:35,640
Speaker 1: you know, people walk in and they can't pay, so

723
00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:39,160
Speaker 1: they volunteer in the cafe for you know, some period

724
00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:41,400
Speaker 1: of time. She goes, I don't really know how long.

725
00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:43,799
Speaker 1: And she said, or if you've got money, you can pay.

726
00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:48,040
Speaker 1: And my first thought is, Shelby's a miser. Please tell

727
00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:51,680
Speaker 1: me you pay for your lunch. Shelby, and she did

728
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:55,759
Speaker 1: that child if she had. I think she has the

729
00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:59,040
Speaker 1: same two nickels that she ever made when she was

730
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:04,520
Speaker 1: ten years old. Yes, anyways, she said, so really cool

731
00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:06,960
Speaker 1: place and She said, they had like two pizzas and

732
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:09,560
Speaker 1: two salads and two sandwiches and that was it. But

733
00:43:09,600 --> 00:43:11,839
Speaker 1: it was all real good and healthy. And I am

734
00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:14,960
Speaker 1: married to a cardiologist and we do try to eat

735
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:18,120
Speaker 1: healthy most of the time. And she knew that would

736
00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:19,919
Speaker 1: kind of get me, and she goes, and Mom, she goes,

737
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,359
Speaker 1: I think you and dad need to open one. And

738
00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:25,600
Speaker 1: I'm sitting there thinking, along.

739
00:43:25,239 --> 00:43:29,280
Speaker 2: With the thousand children and the bus, you're driving around

740
00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:32,520
Speaker 2: to Walmart getting looked at it, exactly, let's start a restaurant.

741
00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:36,399
Speaker 1: Exactly, sure, exactly why not? So she said, I think

742
00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:38,120
Speaker 1: you need to start running. I was like, that was

743
00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:40,200
Speaker 1: my thought exactly was. I was like, yeah, shell me,

744
00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:43,160
Speaker 1: that's exactly what we need to do, because you know,

745
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:44,200
Speaker 1: we don't have enough to do.

746
00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:45,600
Speaker 2: We got so much free time.

747
00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:47,960
Speaker 1: I've got so much free time. I'd love to do that,

748
00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:50,880
Speaker 1: but that's not But I started looking. I looked them

749
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:54,840
Speaker 1: up online and start thinking about it and just started

750
00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:57,160
Speaker 1: kind of thinking, you know, I really do love to cook,

751
00:43:57,440 --> 00:44:00,560
Speaker 1: which I do love to cook, and can't that much

752
00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:01,359
Speaker 1: harder than And.

753
00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:05,560
Speaker 2: You've already been introduced to the needy community in Jackson

754
00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:09,760
Speaker 2: through the stuff you're involved in so it started wearing

755
00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:11,319
Speaker 2: on your brain, and it did.

756
00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:17,280
Speaker 1: And then I found out that these nonprofit donation based cafes.

757
00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:20,120
Speaker 1: I found out that they were nonprofit, right, and I

758
00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:23,480
Speaker 1: was like, we can do that, you know. I mean,

759
00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:25,480
Speaker 1: we've got lots of kids that got to go to college,

760
00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:28,880
Speaker 1: so I can't just throw, you know, all their college

761
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:32,719
Speaker 1: money away, But we can do this. I can raise

762
00:44:32,760 --> 00:44:38,400
Speaker 1: money for a nonprofit. So went to well, no, actually,

763
00:44:38,440 --> 00:44:42,279
Speaker 1: when I finally started kind of talking more about it

764
00:44:42,320 --> 00:44:43,920
Speaker 1: to my husband and he was like, I think it

765
00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:46,359
Speaker 1: sounds like a great idea. Let's find out more about it.

766
00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:51,120
Speaker 1: Why I called the head of the first I don't

767
00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:53,680
Speaker 1: even know what you'd call her, but she's received several

768
00:44:53,719 --> 00:44:55,160
Speaker 1: awards she actually.

769
00:44:55,160 --> 00:44:56,719
Speaker 2: Think for the same gird.

770
00:44:56,880 --> 00:45:01,120
Speaker 1: Well actually not for same cafe. She owned the first

771
00:45:01,239 --> 00:45:05,680
Speaker 1: nonprofit donation based cafe that was out in maybe, Utah,

772
00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:08,640
Speaker 1: I don't know, one world cafe, Yeah, somewhere, you know,

773
00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:13,879
Speaker 1: somewhere out there. And she had she had shut down

774
00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:17,040
Speaker 1: the cafe because she had started going and helping other

775
00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:21,439
Speaker 1: people open nonprofit cafes. And one of the first ones

776
00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:24,400
Speaker 1: that she helped was this same cafe in Denver. So

777
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:27,240
Speaker 1: they actually are one of the oldest in the United States,

778
00:45:27,239 --> 00:45:30,560
Speaker 1: and I think, let's see, think they probably have been

779
00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:34,080
Speaker 1: in operation for about sixteen or seventeen years now, because

780
00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:36,120
Speaker 1: I think they were about eight or nine years old

781
00:45:36,160 --> 00:45:39,600
Speaker 1: when we opened nine years ago. Anyways, they were having

782
00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:45,359
Speaker 1: this one World Everybody Eats Foundation weekend over Martin Luther

783
00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:51,600
Speaker 1: King Weekend that year, and I called this woman, Denise Siretta,

784
00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:54,640
Speaker 1: to get some information about the cafes and how they

785
00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:57,160
Speaker 1: actually had to start them, and they were in the

786
00:45:57,200 --> 00:46:02,480
Speaker 1: middle of that weekend, and I thought, that's really weird.

787
00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:05,080
Speaker 1: So anyway, she gets back to me, kind of explains

788
00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:06,880
Speaker 1: a little bit. She puts me in touch with the

789
00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:10,120
Speaker 1: woman from the same cafe, and I just thought, we

790
00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:12,560
Speaker 1: can do this. So I started kind of talking to

791
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:14,680
Speaker 1: some people in the community. And there was one woman

792
00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:17,440
Speaker 1: in the community that I didn't really even know that well,

793
00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:20,960
Speaker 1: but she was relentless, and I promise I think I

794
00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:22,680
Speaker 1: would have dropped the ball if she hadn't called me

795
00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:25,839
Speaker 1: about every three weeks, going have you found a place?

796
00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:26,600
Speaker 2: I spoke to her.

797
00:46:26,719 --> 00:46:31,120
Speaker 1: Yeah, it spoke to her too. So anyways, about nine

798
00:46:31,120 --> 00:46:34,239
Speaker 1: months later there we were opening right before Thanksgiving.

799
00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:36,360
Speaker 2: So tell me about the first day. You opened up,

800
00:46:36,400 --> 00:46:38,920
Speaker 2: first day, first right, you had to be nervous. You

801
00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:41,200
Speaker 2: had to wonder in the back of your mind. Listen,

802
00:46:41,920 --> 00:46:46,080
Speaker 2: Denver has two and a half three four five million

803
00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:49,319
Speaker 2: people to draw from. Yep, So I can see how

804
00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:53,000
Speaker 2: in the larger cities this would go. Yeah, but we're

805
00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:56,960
Speaker 2: talking about a really small municipality.

806
00:46:57,080 --> 00:46:57,319
Speaker 1: Yeah.

807
00:46:57,760 --> 00:47:01,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, And you had to have been wondering, are people

808
00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:02,440
Speaker 2: really going to show up meat? Here?

809
00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:04,719
Speaker 1: I really did wonder if people were going to show

810
00:47:04,800 --> 00:47:07,160
Speaker 1: up and eat? And I also wonder are we going

811
00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:09,000
Speaker 1: to get taken advantage of?

812
00:47:09,239 --> 00:47:11,440
Speaker 2: Oh? I doubt I swear to you that question was

813
00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:15,640
Speaker 2: coming next. My question are I would think one, are

814
00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:18,200
Speaker 2: people going to air? Two? Or we're gonna take advantage of?

815
00:47:18,280 --> 00:47:24,560
Speaker 2: And three Again, and a large urban area you have

816
00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:29,600
Speaker 2: people who are more open and used to being around,

817
00:47:30,120 --> 00:47:35,560
Speaker 2: more homeless and disadvantaged, and probably feel more pulled toward

818
00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:38,600
Speaker 2: going and eating and paying more money. But again, in

819
00:47:39,719 --> 00:47:45,080
Speaker 2: a smaller urban municipality, I would think just the education

820
00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:50,960
Speaker 2: of that need would be less. Am I am I off?

821
00:47:51,239 --> 00:47:54,120
Speaker 1: No, I don't think you're off at all. And I

822
00:47:54,160 --> 00:47:57,480
Speaker 1: think in Jackson around that time, there was also this

823
00:47:57,640 --> 00:48:02,440
Speaker 1: thought that I looked at several different areas of Jackson

824
00:48:02,560 --> 00:48:06,279
Speaker 1: to put the cafe. One was I thought, well, we'll

825
00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:09,320
Speaker 1: have to be a destination, you know that that people

826
00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:11,840
Speaker 1: will be willing to drive to, or we need to

827
00:48:11,840 --> 00:48:14,040
Speaker 1: be in downtown Jackson, or I need to be on

828
00:48:14,120 --> 00:48:17,439
Speaker 1: a bus sign and something just kept taking me back

829
00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:20,840
Speaker 1: to downtown Jackson. And if you know anything about downtown Jackson,

830
00:48:21,239 --> 00:48:25,160
Speaker 1: it is being slowly rebuilt and it's a pretty cool place.

831
00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:28,439
Speaker 1: And some money had just been invested or was being

832
00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:33,239
Speaker 1: invested in the Jackson Walk and we have a you know,

833
00:48:33,320 --> 00:48:38,560
Speaker 1: a whole new apartment complex and shopping and you know, restaurants,

834
00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:39,319
Speaker 1: And was it like.

835
00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:40,120
Speaker 2: That nine years ago?

836
00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:43,200
Speaker 1: It was? It was getting starting. It was, yes, it

837
00:48:43,239 --> 00:48:44,080
Speaker 1: was starting.

838
00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:45,640
Speaker 2: But people were going down there to eat.

839
00:48:46,040 --> 00:48:47,799
Speaker 1: Not really, not really at that point.

840
00:48:47,880 --> 00:48:50,960
Speaker 2: Sostaurant there. Yeah, Oh, you're going to ask people who

841
00:48:50,960 --> 00:48:53,000
Speaker 2: don't understand the homeless to come in and sit down

842
00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:53,880
Speaker 2: and eat with them.

843
00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:54,880
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly.

844
00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:58,040
Speaker 2: I just I can't imagine you had to have had

845
00:48:58,080 --> 00:48:58,839
Speaker 2: some traupids.

846
00:48:59,080 --> 00:49:01,600
Speaker 1: Let me tell you one to my favorite stories, and

847
00:49:01,640 --> 00:49:09,360
Speaker 1: I definitely won't mention any names, but I sat down

848
00:49:09,560 --> 00:49:13,880
Speaker 1: with a developer in Jackson and said, hey, I'd like

849
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:16,839
Speaker 1: to talk to you, and I talked to his one

850
00:49:16,880 --> 00:49:18,600
Speaker 1: of the guys that he works with. I said, I'd

851
00:49:18,600 --> 00:49:21,000
Speaker 1: like to talk to y'all about putting in this restaurant

852
00:49:21,400 --> 00:49:26,320
Speaker 1: great healthy food. We're planning just simple menu, menual change

853
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:29,720
Speaker 1: each day. It'll be something like two soups, two salads,

854
00:49:29,719 --> 00:49:32,160
Speaker 1: and two sandwiches. We're going to do as much organic

855
00:49:32,320 --> 00:49:36,319
Speaker 1: and as much just really great healthy food as we

856
00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:39,880
Speaker 1: can get our hands on, as much locally sourced and organic.

857
00:49:40,320 --> 00:49:42,960
Speaker 1: And they were like, yes, let's talk about this. So

858
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:46,239
Speaker 1: I went in to the meeting and I had mentioned volunteers.

859
00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:50,320
Speaker 2: You hadn't mentioned exactly where they were coming from.

860
00:49:50,120 --> 00:49:54,880
Speaker 1: The exactly exactly. So anyways, I start talking about this

861
00:49:55,520 --> 00:49:59,160
Speaker 1: and the guy even has his folder open, and he said, well,

862
00:49:59,200 --> 00:50:01,160
Speaker 1: we could put you. I don't think that one of

863
00:50:01,840 --> 00:50:04,960
Speaker 1: one of our storefronts would be large enough, but you

864
00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:07,960
Speaker 1: could take two. And he said I would need a

865
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:11,240
Speaker 1: five year contract and it would be X number of dollars.

866
00:50:11,280 --> 00:50:14,120
Speaker 1: And first of all, I was like, five year contract,

867
00:50:14,200 --> 00:50:18,000
Speaker 1: I can't do that, and I was so scared. But

868
00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:25,000
Speaker 1: the point that just oh, I don't even have words

869
00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:28,120
Speaker 1: for it, was this folder's open and he's showing me

870
00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:30,160
Speaker 1: all this, and he said, now tell me again how

871
00:50:30,200 --> 00:50:33,239
Speaker 1: this is going to work with volunteers and you know,

872
00:50:33,360 --> 00:50:36,280
Speaker 1: and I said, well, I said, you know, somebody comes

873
00:50:36,280 --> 00:50:39,120
Speaker 1: in needs a meal, doesn't have the money to pay

874
00:50:39,120 --> 00:50:41,799
Speaker 1: for it. And he goes, WHOA. He goes like, like

875
00:50:42,080 --> 00:50:46,319
Speaker 1: the homeless, and I was like, yeah, the homeless, the underserved.

876
00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:50,799
Speaker 1: He closed his folder, doesn't even realize he's done it,

877
00:50:50,840 --> 00:50:53,520
Speaker 1: and kind of pushes it across the you know, midway

878
00:50:53,560 --> 00:50:58,080
Speaker 1: across the table and says, well, you know, I just

879
00:50:58,200 --> 00:51:00,840
Speaker 1: can't do it for less than this, and I'd have

880
00:51:00,920 --> 00:51:02,120
Speaker 1: to have a five year contract.

881
00:51:03,360 --> 00:51:05,400
Speaker 2: And I was, in other words, we don't want.

882
00:51:05,239 --> 00:51:07,919
Speaker 1: You exactly, and they were at that point, I will,

883
00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:10,400
Speaker 1: I'll be very honest, and I know this is a fact.

884
00:51:11,000 --> 00:51:15,240
Speaker 1: They were trying to move the homeless out of this corridor.

885
00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:19,480
Speaker 2: Jackson willing to set down an anchor to them, right right,

886
00:51:20,360 --> 00:51:23,239
Speaker 2: So one book enemy number one is.

887
00:51:23,440 --> 00:51:25,960
Speaker 1: I know I was. And now I kind of laugh

888
00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:27,960
Speaker 1: about it because they come in to eat and I'm

889
00:51:28,040 --> 00:51:31,440
Speaker 1: kind of like, hey, did you ever think that we

890
00:51:31,480 --> 00:51:33,560
Speaker 1: would still be here, or that we would be here

891
00:51:33,640 --> 00:51:36,200
Speaker 1: nine years later and doing this well? And he was

892
00:51:36,280 --> 00:51:39,920
Speaker 1: like and he's willing to say Nope, I really didn't

893
00:51:39,960 --> 00:51:40,799
Speaker 1: think you would.

894
00:51:44,840 --> 00:51:49,880
Speaker 2: Turning a naysayer into a believer. Now that's poetic justice

895
00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:53,399
Speaker 2: if I've ever heard it. Guys. That concludes Part one

896
00:51:53,560 --> 00:51:56,600
Speaker 2: of our conversation with Amy Crenshaw, and I hope you

897
00:51:56,760 --> 00:51:59,800
Speaker 2: listen to Part two that's now available as the story

898
00:51:59,840 --> 00:52:04,120
Speaker 2: of Community Cafe is just getting started. But if you don't,

899
00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:07,600
Speaker 2: make sure you join the Army of Normal Folks at

900
00:52:07,600 --> 00:52:11,000
Speaker 2: normalfolks dot us and sign up to become a member

901
00:52:11,040 --> 00:52:14,120
Speaker 2: of our movement. By signing up, you'll also receive a

902
00:52:14,120 --> 00:52:17,600
Speaker 2: weekly email with short episode summaries in case you happen

903
00:52:17,640 --> 00:52:20,880
Speaker 2: to miss an episode, or if you just prefer reading

904
00:52:20,920 --> 00:52:25,600
Speaker 2: about our incredible gusts. Together, Guys, we can change this country,

905
00:52:25,920 --> 00:52:29,600
Speaker 2: and it starts with you. I'll see you in Part two.