In February 2005, Uncle Bro and his friend Frasier moved into the Lakeview house.  When Uncle Bro came to my office to sign his lease; he brought Frasier and asked if he could move in as well.  Frasier was an Indian American veteran that worked odd jobs with Uncle Bro.  He had been to Aunt Dorothy’s house on several occasions to help Uncle Bro work on Aunt Dorothy’s landscaping projects.  Frasier was a quiet man, but was a hard worker.  In fact, I think he would do most of the work at Aunt Dorothy’s house which is the main reason why Uncle Bro brought him.  I told Uncle Bro that it was fine with me as long as Frasier followed the house rules.  The house rules were NO drugs or hard liquor was allowed in the house.  Although I wanted to say NO liquor, I had to remember the Uncle Bro was a grown man well into his early fifties.  He was fully aware of what God was asking of him, but I figured that it would take a process of time.  So, I did allow beer.  I gave Uncle Bro the keys to the house.  The next day Uncle Bro told me that he and Frasier spent their first night in the house.  I was surprised because there was no furniture in the house, not even a mattress.  He said they did not care about that.  They were just happy to have a nice safe place to stay.

To be Continued ...

By: Angela Green
      Founder
      Ambassadors of Memphis

January's LIFE Master Series features Simon T. Bailey
  Friday, January 28, 2010
12 noon EST / 11 am CST  / 10am MST/ 9 am PST
 
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One morning after talking with Uncle Bro I was praying in the shower.    I was thinking that I really wanted to be used by God to help people who were unsaved or had turned away from God.  I thought about some of the people that we would see when we made our trips to The Bottom to find Uncle Bro.  I knew that I did not have the passport to talk to them.  I did not smoke or drink, never tried any type of drug, and never been to jail.  There was no way they would listen to me talk about what they are going through and how to make a change.  I had never been where they were trying to come from nor did I have a relationship with them.  However, I was in a position to help someone who had been where they were, and was reaching back to show them the way out.  I believed that God wanted me to use my resources to help someone they would listen to and to position that person to minster to them spiritually.

 

That morning I felt the over whelming presence of God.  It was during this time in the shower that I began to cry uncontrollable, and the thought crossed my mind that ministry begins at home.  The outline of a plan began to take form.  Uncle Bro knew Jesus Christ.  He had accepted him as his Lord and Savior and was saved.  He knew the Bible better than I did.  God told me to offer the Lakeview house to Uncle Bro for one year.  God was making him an offer to turn his life around because it was time for him to come home.  During that year I would pay the mortgage and the utilities at the house.  The rest would be up to Uncle Bro.  At the end of the year he would have to be in the position to handle all the costs to maintain the house.  I would continue living with Aunt Dorothy.  After discussing the plan with Aunt Dorothy, I immediately contacted Uncle Bro.  I told him about the house, which is nowhere near The Bottom.  I took him to the house to look at it and told him that God was making him an offer.  He asked that I give him time to think about it.  A few days later he accepted.

To Be Continued .....
By: Angela Green
      Founder
      Ambassadors of Memphis

Whenever Aunt Dorothy wanted to get in touch with Uncle Bro she would get into her white Town Car and drive to Midtown.  Midtown is an interesting section of Memphis, TN.  Some parts of Midtown are made up of rich and affluent people.  However, there are other parts of Midtown that you would not want to be caught alone in at night.  They called that part of Midtown “The Bottom”, and that’s where Uncle Bro lived.  There were certain places that Uncle Bro frequented often.  Aunt Dorothy came around so much that the people there recognized her car.  If Uncle Bro was not around; she would just stop someone on the street and ask, “Do you know Maxwell?”  (Maxwell was Uncle Bro’s street name.)  Nine times out of ten they knew him.  She would then tell them to have Maxwell to call his Aunt Dorothy and a few days later he would call.

It was no secret that Aunt Dorothy had some money.  However, she was never afraid to drive to Midtown alone and look for Uncle Bro.  She did not want to bother other people with what she considered was her responsibility.  He was her sister’s son and since her sister was deceased; she was going to do what she knew her sister would have done herself.  After I moved in with Aunt Dorothy, I became the chauffeur.  Uncle Bro was my uncle (my mother’s brother) so she was willing to bother me.  Since Uncle Bro did not have a phone, sometimes our trips were to take messages to him, such as invitations to family dinners, or give him important family news.  Other times, Aunt Dorothy would have food and clothes that she wanted to take to him.  I would load up the black Lexus (Aunt Dorothy’s new car.) and the two of us would head to Midtown.  It may have all been in my mind, but I felt that we received the strangest looks from people on the street when we made our trips to Midtown.  After I few trips, I decided that we would use my car in the future.  I figured we would not look like a target in a old red Ford Escort.  I didn’t realize that we were safer in the black Lexus because everyone in Midtown new Maxwell’s Aunt Dorothy and nobody messed with Aunt Dorothy.

In 2004 the Memphis Downtown/Midtown real estate market was booming.  New single family homes and condos were popping up everywhere.  Real Estate Investors were offering people large amounts of money for their property just to tear it down and build new and improved developments.  During this time, Uncle Bro rented a room from a lady who owned three shot-gun houses on a side street in Midtown.  Uncle Bro was not working, but since he took care of the lady’s son, she allowed him to stay for free.

Towards the end of that year the lady who owned the houses where Uncle Bro lived was made an offer to sell all three of her houses on that street.  That meant that everyone living in them had to move.  When Uncle Bro found out, he called Aunt Dorothy to get his sister Edmonia’s telephone number.  Aunt Dorothy was not home, so he asked me for the number.  A year or so prior Aunt Edmonia and her daughters, asked Uncle Bro to move to Minnesota with them.  At that time he turned them down because he did not like the cold weather.  However, he was considering it now because he was determined not to go back to living on the streets.  He shared his concerns with me.  I gave him Aunt Edmonia’s number and told him that I would let Aunt Dorothy know that he had called.  I had recently closed on the Lakeview house and was making plans to move.  I knew that I could not live with Uncle Bro, so the thought of asking him to move in with me did not cross my mind.

To Be Continued ...

By: Angela Green
      Founder
      Ambassadors of Memphis

I started my solo law practice in 2000.  By the grace of God, I built a solid real estate law practice, and by 2004 my law firm began to see financial stability.  I already owned one investment property; however, it was time to purchase a home for myself.  I had a close friend and client who advised me on real estate investments.  She brought to my attention a cute little two bedroom one bath house located on Lakeview in an area of Memphis called Whitehaven.  This street was known for small houses that were built on large lots at least one acre or more.  The potential to build onto the house was great, plus I could get the house for less than $50,000.00 dollars.

 

The owner was asking for over $50,000.00 for the house.  I made an offer of $45,000.00.  The owner turned me down.  So, I turned my attention to another house down the street.  I was able to purchase that second house, but it was going to require more work to get it in livable condition.  The owner of the first house removed the For Sale sign.  After about four months, I noticed that a new For Sale sign was back in the yard of the Lakeview house.  Out of curiosity, I called my real estate agent friend and asked him to look the house up in the MLS system.  He told me that the house was listed for $45,000.00.  I laughed to myself, because this owner had re-listed the property for the same price that I offered her four months ago.  I told my friend this and asked him what he thought.  He said, “Well, since the price has gone down, then your offer should go down.”

I really did not need another house, but I thought it would not hurt to make the offer.  Besides, there was no way she would accept what I was about to offer her.  I told my agent to make an offer of $40,000.00 for the house.  To my surprise, the owner accepted.

To Be Continued …

By: Angela Green
      Founder
      Ambassadors of Memphis

I moved to Memphis, TN in 1998 straight out of Law school.  I wanted to pursue a career in entertainment law; however, I was interested in the gospel music industry.  Since Tennessee is known for Christian / Gospel music, I thought it would be a great state to get my law license.  Many people don’t know that I have a lot of family here.  I have great aunts, a great uncle, second cousins and my mother’s brother, Marion “Uncle Bro” McCall, who live in Memphis.

I had not seen Uncle Bro since I was a teenager.  From what I have learned, he fled to Memphis when a local gang in Gary, IN placed a hit on his life.  The family shipped him south for his own good.  Once in Tennessee Uncle Bro got into his fair share of trouble.  He even spent some time in jail.  By 1998 he had settled down to some degree.  No one in the family, who lived in Tennessee, kept up with him except Aunt Dorothy.  She made it her business to keep up with Uncle Bro and to make sure he was okay.  Since I was moving in with Aunt Dorothy, keeping up with Uncle Bro became my business by default.

To Be Continued ….

By: Angela Green
      Founder
      Ambassadors of Memphis