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NEW ORLEANS – A couple that has been homeless for nearly three years is now safe in an apartment. The lights are on and water is running. They have a bed to sleep in and a kitchen to prepare meals, blessings that the Rev. Byron Clay of LaPlace said are all part of a divine plan.

Clay felt a strong burden on his heart to minister to and feed the homeless population under the Claiborne Bridge in New Orleans. For the past 30 days straight, he has answered the spiritual call to care for the brothers and sisters who have fallen upon hard times in life.

Each day, he brings chips and cookies, along with a hearty meal that might include hotdogs, barbecue chicken, fried fish or red beans and rice.

“I’ve never been homeless, but I know the pain of rejection,” Clay said. “So many of them have been outcast, rejected and abandoned by society. My motivation and my love and passion is to help the church and all believers to recapture the original compassion of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.”

According to Clay, Christ in all of His teachings has emphasized compassion for the poor, afflicted and outcast people. He refers back to Proverbs 21:13, which states, “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered.”

“Under the bridge, all of them are my brothers and sisters,” Clay said. “They are human beings. They are God’s children. They are black and white, men and women and children who have no place to go. They are not forgotten. I am there because God sent me there to show His compassion. After I pray for them, I share some words of encouragement with them.”

When Clay returned home each day, for four nights straight, one of the couples under the bridge stayed on his mind. Clay felt that spiritual pull again and knew beyond all doubt that God had placed another task before him. This time, his mission was to help find this couple a place to stay.

Clay hasn’t heard the couple’s full story of how they ended up under that bridge; he didn’t need to know to help them.

Clay approached the man and the woman – who are not being identified out of respect for their privacy – and told them of God’s plan for their future. For the next two weeks, Clay prayed on the topic and called hotels to get rates on a temporary stay until he could find them a place to live.

Then a man Clay had never met before visited the homeless population under the bridge. Clay introduced him to the good-hearted people he has come to know over the past month and told the man his goal to find one of the couples a place to stay.

As it turned out, the man owned several apartment buildings in the area. He called Clay after their meeting and told him he felt the same intrinsic pull to help the couple in need.

Last week, the couple moved their belongings into apartments that Clay helped stock with groceries and other necessities. He scoped out the area to ensure it was a good place to live, and he plans to check in on the couple and learn their story once they have had a chance to settle in.

“When people know that you really care for them, that means a lot,” Clay said. “Society has put a stigma on the homeless. Most have good hearts. Most are genuinely kind. I see nothing but good. I don’t want to know the bad. My prayer is that churches everywhere recapture the compassion of Jesus Christ.”

Those who want to assist Clay in helping the homeless can contact him at 504-782-9196.