“It is the sweetest thing to get to know people whose paths I would never normally cross.” That belief has shaped Beth Farlow’s life of service at the Mission. Since arriving in Frederick with her husband, Arnold, 21 years ago, Beth has impacted countless lives — not because she’s the executive director’s wife, but because of love. “We are all so different,” she says, “but we all need Jesus.”
Over the past two decades, Beth has served in more than a dozen areas of the Mission from assisting guests in the front office, tutoring men in the program, serving meals in the dining hall, using her writing and editing skills, to decorating for numerous holidays and banquets. Today, she volunteers weekly on the outreach team, sitting down to lunch with guests in the dining hall. “I wanted to do something more intentionally evangelistic,” she explains. “This is one of the most challenging ministries for me, but also the most rewarding, because I can see the impact on guests and other volunteers.
The impact is often practical as well as spiritual, sharing/praying with those who want prayer. One guest Beth had gotten to know well told her a frustrating situation where it appeared he was being pressured and treated unjustly. She encouraged him to seek help at no cost from a Legal Aid attorney, who is available in the dining hall each month. He said he would sometime, but he had told Beth that very day how God had used him to encourage someone to do something he needed to do. Then she used the opportunity to ask him, “What if God is using me to help you do what you need to do today while Legal Aid is here?” He said, “You got me!” They laughed together, and he sought help right away. Later he shared that his problem had been resolved by Legal Aid’s help. Beth saw that a small act of care can make a big difference.
Beth thrives on building trust through genuine connection. “It’s so important to learn our guests’ names and treat them like the valuable people they are,” she says. “I can only help people in the ways they want to be helped. No one wants to be treated like a project. I just try to love people as Jesus does. As the saying goes, ‘God loves us exactly as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way.’”
One encounter touched her deeply. Beth befriended an older woman who had been homeless for many years. “Her appearance showed signs of difficult life circumstances, but she was very pretty,” Beth recalls. “I thought she probably hadn’t had a hug in forever, so I asked if she’d like one.” The woman agreed, and they shared a memorable hug. This lovely lady received a hug and gave one herself, patting Beth gently on the back. Beth walked with her to the new portable showers that the Living Water Shower Ministry brings to the Mission’s parking lot twice a week. She had not showered in years but ultimately declined, afraid to disrobe even in private, most likely due to trauma she had experienced while homeless. It was heartbreaking!
Beth is keenly aware of how often people make assumptions. “It’s easy to have stereotypes about the people the Mission serves,” Beth says, “but any of us could end up in a hard situation. I’m not here to fix people—I’m here to be a channel the Lord can use.”
For Beth, every interaction is an opportunity to reflect God’s love. Because of your partnership with the Mission, volunteers like Beth are equipped to walk alongside people in their hardest seasons—offering dignity, compassion, and hope that can change lives now and for eternity.
