THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 24, 1995 TAG: 9511240092
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, while her family slept, Maria Santos crept out of bed, tiptoed down the stairs to her living room and opened her Portuguese Bible to the Book of Proverbs.
For the next three hours, she read and prayed, turning to the specific chapters and verses ``the Lord brought to mind.''
Over and over, she read the 29 verses God directed her to, in Matthew, Isaiah, Mark, Corinthians and Proverbs. Then she prayed for advice, and God told her, ``go ahead and buy,'' she said later that morning.
Santos was in a quandary over whether to go out on a limb for the two houses she wants to buy to shelter the homeless street people she feeds daily.
The advocate has, during the past month, received nearly $22,000 in donations and pledges from about 100 people. She still has time to come up with more for the down payment on the $148,000 total purchase price for the Indiana Avenue houses near Oceana Naval Air Station.
Santos' desire to help those without a place to call home has touched the hearts of many, and the outpouring has supported her faith in God and the goodness of mankind, she says.
Earlier this week, an anonymous donor left a jar containing $120 in change on Santos' porch. A 7-year-old was moved to send $10. And a local church is collecting money from its members.
Tom Swope, the Realtor who is trying to help Santos secure the buildings, said Wednesday that he would forego his commission on the sale and had received an offer for an interest-free short-term bridge loan from a principal of a mortgage loan company.
This week also, Santos was given a houseful of furniture for the homes and has rented a storage space to keep the items in with the hope of purchasing the houses.
And a benefit concert by Bolt Brothers and Stacey has been scheduled Dec. 9 at Kempsville Presbyterian Church.
The Navy wife and mother of four wants to house four homeless men in one of the adjacent buildings. She plans to put homeless women, with their children when needed, in the other.
Santos, a Portuguese immigrant, has applied for non-profit status for her corporation, ``Love and Caring for the Homeless.''
For the past year and a half, she's fed people on the street with homemade soups, stews and Portuguese bread. She says she was guided by God when she put $1,000 earnest money down on the two homes last month, not knowing where the rest would come from.
As her husband Frank woke Wednesday, Santos still sat in her Salem Lakes living room poring over the passages.
``The Lord made me to read,'' she explained to him. ILLUSTRATION: The Virginian-Pilot file photo
For the past year and a half, God has guided Maria Santos to care
for the homeless. She has fed them homemade soups, stews and
Portuguese bread. She wants to buy two houses for them and now God
has told her to ``go ahead and buy.''
TO CONTRIBUTE
Donations may be sent to Love and Caring for the Homeless Inc.,
4109 Stillwood Court, Virginia Beach, Va. 23456. Maria Santos may
be reached at 495-5200.
by CNB