You can go home again: Kimberly finds her dad
posted: July 13, 2008 | category: homelessness
tags: homeless news, lyrics, music, stories, video
Sometime in May, a homeless man named Mark Hoffman left his park bench near Friendly Shopping Center and Centenary United Methodist Church in Greensboro. His absence caused much concern to the many people who had grown accustomed to seeing him over the years, sitting on “his” bench or attending services at the church or visiting a restaurant at the shopping center. Like other folks involved in homeless outreach, I hoped to hear that Mark was OK, wherever he was. His daughter Kimberly wanted more. After reading of his disappearance in the paper, she longed to see her dad again.
Good news. Turns out, Mark went home. And Kimberly found her dad:
Hoffmann’s whereabouts had been a question of intense interest. His photo and description had recently been circulated by Highway Patrol commanders and police concerned for his safety. Homeless outreach workers scoured roadsides where readers described spotting him — correctly, as it turns out — wearing gray sweat pants and a blue coat. But no one was more interested in finding him than Kimberly Bono, Hoffmann’s oldest daughter. Bono, 27, hadn’t seen her father since her parents divorced when she was 8. She learned only one month ago that he had been in Greensboro since 2001 but had recently disappeared.
Bono, fearing her father might slip away again, lost no time when told that Hoffmann had been seen in Catonsville [Maryland] and that church members positively identified him from a photo. With her husband and newborn daughter, Bono got in her car in Stroudsburg, Pa., and drove 31/2 hours Thursday night to Catonsville. Friday morning at 7:30, she walked to the bench by the statue of Mary, where a man in gray sweat pants and a blue coat was sitting.
“Dad,” she said, “it’s Kimberly. Do you remember me?”
He did.
Mark Hoffman is having an effect on people in Catonsville, just as he did in Greensboro:
At St. Mark’s, where parish records show Hoffmann’s elderly parents died in 1994 and ’95, church members had already taken notice of the stranger. He first appeared a month ago, said church business manager Nora Reiter, and each day sat on a bench by the statue of St. Mary, waiting to go to the 7:45 a.m. service.
“There’s this sense of peace about him, and he’s very polite,” said Reiter, who helps serve communion at the early Mass. “His hands were so dirty, at first I didn’t want to put the host in them. But you know, Jesus was a carpenter. His hands were probably dirty, too.”
Church members at Centenary [in Greensboro] said they were thankful last week to learn that no harm had come to their friend. Meanwhile, 331 miles away, the parishioners at St. Mark’s appeared thankful as well. He came home to them and was having the same effect on St. Mark’s that he had on Centenary…
…Nora Reiter, the church business manager who at first didn’t want to put the communion wafer in his hand, never seems to go straight home anymore. She may have worked 10 or 12 hours, and she may want nothing more than to turn right on Frederick Road to go home and cook supper. But then she sees the man on the bench beside the statue of Mary. Next thing you know, she’s turning left to go to McDonald’s and get him something to eat.
“He always gives you that beautiful smile and quietly says, ‘Thank you,’ ” Reiter said. “He’s become my gadfly. My walking, talking Jesus Christ who reminds me: ‘Whatever you do for this guy, you do for me.’ ”
So on Friday, they took the frozen casseroles downtown to the mission as usual, then moved to the next order of business. And that was to get Mark Hoffmann a new pair of running shoes. After 331 miles, the shoes he was wearing didn’t look like they could go another step.
» Read all of “Man finds his way home,” by Lorraine Ahearn in the News & Record, Sunday, July 13, 2008
That just overwhelms me. It makes me weep. It makes my heart sing. Jesus is who He says He is. And He will bring us home.
This is what my soul is singing:
Lyrics below.
“How Can I Keep From Singing?”
Chris TomlinThere is an endless song
Echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring
And though the storms may come
I am holding on
To the rock I clingHow can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to singI will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives
And I will walk with You
Knowing You’ll see me through
And sing the songs You giveI can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And I fall down again
I can sing ’cause You pick me up
Sing ’cause You’re there
I can sing ’cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I’ll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne
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7 Responses to “You can go home again: Kimberly finds her dad”
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[…] 07/13/2008: Kimberly found her dad. Turns out, you can go home again. tags: homeless news, […]
This is indeed a heart-warming story. I am myself homeless in the UK and news such as this is inspiring. Thank you.
You’re welcome. And thanks for your comment, Matt. I added your blog to my feed reader and my links list.
Thanks for spreading the word, friend. I get the feeling this man had a lot of prayers and hopes from a lot of people go with him.
Amen, Lorraine. Thank YOU for sharing his story far and wide. You’re such a blessing to so many people.
[…] few days ago, I wrote a post in response to a News & Record story about Mark Hoffman, a mentally ill homeless man who used […]
Fantastic! Sometimes, when I was working at my previous job, Mark would have his coffee at the same McDonalds in Friendly Center where Mike Barber, his kids, The Judge, the Judge’s wife, the two carpenters and I had breakfast.