Gospel Con Carne Mobile Loaves & Fishes

On our newest episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, we are joined by our neighbor and friend, Tuana! Originally from Louisiana, Tuana grew up with her mom and two brothers. She says her mom’s drug problem forced the family to move around quite a bit, which left her to become involved with the wrong crowds from an early age. The pain Tuana experienced from the people she was left surrounded by led to her own drug use and ultimately left her in a state of living in her car. Thankfully, Tuana was connected to Community First! Village a year ago through our friends at Sunrise Church in Austin, and she has found immense peace since moving to the neighborhood. On any given day you will find Tuana tending to vegetables in the Village's aquaponics greenhouse or possibly driving her neighbors around the community on our Gus Bus. She's also a community builder! Since moving in, Tuana has discovered her gift of bringing the community together through cooking, which helps to create a safe and loving space for her fellow neighbors.

Joining our host, Alan Graham, on this episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast is our neighbor, Orion! Growing up in a small Texas town, Orion had a simple, old-fashioned life and knew what good hospitality looked like. However, what he thought was considered a "normal" family dynamic ended up causing him trouble in the years to follow. With a family history of alcoholism and other unfortunate circumstances, Orion ultimately became homeless around the age of 18. When Orion later found himself in prison, he met some of the most spirit-filled people, which began his journey toward a relationship with Christ. While continuing to pursue a relationship with the Lord was never easy, Orion was put in situations and met people who helped him form the strong relationship he has with Christ today. Since moving home to Community First! Village in early 2023, Orion continues to shed light and love for the Lord through his interactions with his neighbors and others he encounters. He also regularly reminds those around him that as long as there is breath in your body, you can have hope.

On this episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, we are joined by not one, but two Alan’s! Joining our host, Alan Graham, is his friend and neighbor, Alan, who moved home to Community First! Village in December of 2019. Adopted as a baby, Alan built close relationships with his adoptive parents and fondly remembers his childhood growing up in north Austin. His life took a turn when he began using drugs as a young teenager, which led to a spiral that ultimately left him homeless. Since moving to Community First! Village, Alan has heavily relied on a Twelve Steps path of recovery for himself, while making amends with others in the process. Alan continues to improve on these steps every day and the work he's put in is reflective in his relationships with other neighbors and his deep desire to live servant-heartedly. While following the Twelve Steps has transformed Alan's life, he has found the most freeing part of the process to be the mending of relationships and rebuilding of the community that he lost along the way.

The Gospel Con Carne podcast is back! Join us this season as Mobile Loaves & Fishes' Founder & CEO, Alan Graham, and his guests tell the untold stories of individuals who have encountered homelessness. We are excited to kick off this season talking with Justin, one of Alan's neighbors in Community First! Village. Hear how Justin's family history of alcoholism ultimately took root in his own life, resulting in plenty of challenges along the way. Justin eventually found himself living a nomadic life out of his car, often hopping around different state parks or campgrounds. Since moving to Community First! Village in 2022, Justin has been able to find healing, both physically and emotionally, and now works on-site in the Village while building meaningful relationships with his neighbors. Through the ups and downs of his journey, Justin embodies what it means to just keep on going—because you never know what good things may lie ahead. 

There are only a handful of people who have been with Mobile Loaves & Fishes since its very first day 25 years ago, and Alan's guest on this season finale of the Gospel Con Carne is undeniably one of them! Alan is joined by his daughter and Mobile Loaves & Fishes' Director of Community Empowerment, Taylor Graham, for this 25th anniversary special edition episode. You may be surprised to learn that being part of the family business wasn't always in Taylor's plan. Hear Mobile Loaves & Fishes stories from Taylor's perspective, and each of their reflections from their recent six-week journey in Spain on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Whether it's serving our homeless neighbors over the past quarter century or walking 500 miles across Spain, Alan and Taylor agree there is one key takeaway found in each of these unique journeys: keep putting one foot in front of the other.

In this special episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, your host Alan Graham sits down with Brian Walsh, an author of one of Alan's favorite books, “Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement.” When asked about the inspiration behind Community First! Village, Alan frequently references Beyond Homelessness as a book that helped him gain a rich understanding of the true meaning of home. Alan also often explains how Mobile Loaves & Fishes intentionally uses this framework of home in the design of the Village. This year, on the book's 15th anniversary, Brian and his co-author, Steven Bouma-Prediger, have launched a new edition that includes a postscript in which they discuss the evolution of their ideas and share true stories of home and community built anew.