We have a homeless problem in America and thatās THE CRUDE TRUTH! On this episode we visit with Blair Pifer an ambassador for Christ who is helping the less fortunate on a local, national, and Global level. Sit back and enjoy as Blair shares her journey and how it has taken her under the bridges of Dallas/Fort Worth, to the jungles of South America and Africa. We all need to know God now more than ever!
Highlights of the Podcast
03:56 āĀ The homeless community here in Fort Worth
05:45 ā Godās glory and Godās light in that place
07:49 ā All taking steps to help these individuals
11:07 ā The supermarket sweep
14:14 ā Transition from oil and gas to electric vehicles
16:26 ā The children lose their parents to the the North war at northern Uganda
18:25 ā China and India are fighting
19:18 ā The glory of the Lord
20:05 ā The children are not going to school
21:21 ā The crude truths about whatās going on on the streets here in America and across the world
23:01 ā Donate to Africa
Please reach out toĀ Blair PiferĀ onĀ Linkedin
Check outĀ StatusJet HERE
THE CRUDE TRUTH Ep. 59 Blair Pifer Ambassador of Christ
Video Transcription edited for grammar. We disavow any errors unless they make us look better or smarter.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:00:00] Outreach on a global national. And local level. We talk about people blazing a trail, helping out the less fortunate here in America, the state and across the world. On this episode of The Crude Truth.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:00:59] NAPE is a proud sponsor of the crude truth. Be sure to register for the NAPE Expo 2024 February 7th through the ninth at the George R Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. Hurry and register today. NAPE where deals happen.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:01:48] Well, good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Whenever it is. Thank you, as always, for tuning in, watching, listening to another episode of The Crude Truth. Please be sure to like subscribe to send me any questions that you may have about anything, and Iād love to answer those questions. You can go to always www dot, www dot the CrudeTruth.com. Check out my Twitter at Truth, underscore crude or also on LinkedIn at the Crude Truth. Well, as you go for my teaser there, weāre going to talk today and switch gears and talk about a crude truth thatās going on here in America and across the world that is just totally being ignored. And I feel like very small bandaids are truly being put on a gassing move today. You know, I have brought on somebody that is a philanthropist, somebody that is just blazing a trail that is literally boots on the ground when it comes to helping out our less fortunate, more importantly, our homeless here in America. My guest today is Blair Pifer. Blair, how are you?
Blair PiferĀ [00:03:03] Great. Thank you so much for having me on here. Iām so blessed to be here.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:03:08] No, no, thank you. You have been just blazing a trail. Youāre following on LinkedIn has just continued to grow. And it is through God that that all of these things are going on right now. And you are just so passionate about the homeless. And God knows we have such a problem, especially here in America, but across the world. And, you know, I could really you asked me in pre-production about tying it into oil and gas and, you know, I might I might do it. And now that Iām thinking out loud, but right now, no. BLAIR For my listeners, for for people watching today, you know, tell us a little bit about yourself before we dive in.
Blair PiferĀ [00:03:49] Hi, everyone. Iām Blair Pifer, and Iāve been in Fort Worth for about 15 years now. I love it out here. Iāve been serving the homeless community here in Fort Worth for six years now. And there are so many people on the streets out here, thereās a ton. And every time I go down there, which is every Sunday evening, I go feed the homeless. And we I just run into 10 to 20 people every time. I mean, I know their names, I know their story, know these are these are my friends now. So Iāve put a lot of heart and a lot of time out there. And I just absolutely love to serve and give back in that place.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:04:28] Well, you know, you talk about that and you know what youāre doing out there for people that donāt know who you are, having checked out. Well, because you do share a lot on LinkedIn about what goes on out there on the streets. Youāre literally out there, you are ministering, you are talking to people that are homeless, some of whom youāve known now for two or three years at a time. And when yāall are giving food out, they show up and youāre sitting there again, youāre talking to them, youāre ministering to them and just giving them that little bit of hope and gives them that motivation for one more day. I was talking to my father the other day and I said, You know, Dad, I donāt know if this helps, you know, people out there to use, you know, what RT you just giving them one more day, one more day of hope and that hopefully that one day theyāre going to be able to then go and turn it around. And like you shared, he also shared yours because it once youāre down at the bottom, sometimes if you donāt have the support, it is hard to get back up.
Blair PiferĀ [00:05:24] It really is. And itās itās really important to still just show them love. You know, a lot of people feed and we definitely need that give money all that. But love is really an important thing. Are these people out there just to know that theyāre cared for so they want better out of their lives? You know, and just go out there and shine Godās glory and Godās light in that place. And they really just thrive off of it. They love it. And so thatās really important, Iāve noticed. So when weāre out there serving, I just go in love on the people, and Iāve just met so many friends. And last night I was out there serving the homeless and it was wonderful. I ran across a couple Iāve known for a few years. I met them when I was giving out blankets in 22 degree weather a couple of years ago, two or three years ago. And and they had popped out of their tent and taken then they were they needed help and they donāt. They took a year and a half before they actually even told me their story. So it does take time to get to know these people as well, to find out what their real needs are, because sometimes what we think are their real name, theyāre actually thereās something else that we could help with. Right. And just like you said, everybody can everybody can help in a different way. So if somebody feeds or somebodyās clothes, even even just last week when I was out there, when I when I had a couple of people go for interviews downtown Fort Worth, they were actually able to get a an interview on the spot. But they werenāt they didnāt have a phone so they could get a callback.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:07:09] Oh.
Blair PiferĀ [00:07:10] So little things like that that we donāt think about when weāre like, well, just tell them to get a job. Well, sometimes itās not that easy. Thereās thereās steps that we could do to help them in that process. Youāre getting there.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:07:22] Ā You know, you mentioned the steps and you donāt want to go back just a little bit and they donāt want to kind of go, well, look, letās dive into the steps. You know, what is it that you guys are doing in your part of a group? Thatās and correct me if Iām wrong, itās Fort Worth under the bridge ministry.
Blair PiferĀ [00:07:35] Yes.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:07:35] Is that correct?
Blair PiferĀ [00:07:36] Yes.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:07:37] And you guys are out there. I had an opportunity to do that. And you guys are out there giving out food, clothing, drinks and just sharing and just with anybody thatās out there, you know, How are you all taking steps to help these individuals out with these callbacks, with anything else that they may need help with to get back on their feet?
Blair PiferĀ [00:07:57] Absolutely. So with the under the bridge ministries, theyāve been theyāve been down there for three years now. And they they started out just giving out like 67 sandwiches and and and then it grew from there. So they are providing food, clothing and haircuts to two people down there on Lancaster Street. And they also have an outreach where we can give back on the side. But this is also an offering to our tithing as well. So we actually could use some help to do things like this, especially with the phones. And, you know, I know that thereās prepaid songs that we could, you know, help out with, but thereās so much more as well. I mean, the list can go on.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:08:42] You know. What made you get into this six years ago? Letās talk about that. Letās go back. Here you are. Youāre in Fort Worth. I will point out to our listeners and to our viewers that we are here at the Real News studios in Dallas today. Yes, but but, you know, youāre there in Fort Worth and I love awards. And I think board does a better job keeping the homeless out of d owntown than Dallas does. But you know what? What made you want to go do this? What was it about it.
Blair PiferĀ [00:09:08] Well, Iām going to get a little personal here so that the first day that I fed the homeless, I actually was hungover. Really hungover. Yes, I was. And I. And I had already promised a friend that I would be on the streets at eight in the morning to serve for the very first time. And I. I went out there not feeling great. And as soon as I saw the need out there, it I mean, it changed immediately. My my feelings changed immediately. I found a family with three children and one was a little one and a half year old boy. He had no pants on, no shoes on. He had scars on his knees so scarred that that they were there. They were permanent. And it just devastated me. And in that moment, my whole life changed. And I wound up actually getting this familyās phone number. They did have a home and they had housing, but they had nothing in their home. And I went to their home. I we filled it up with furniture, took them to the store down the street, did a supermarket sweep for them and let them fill up a basket I gave them and 30 minutes to go shopping and filled it up, took my children. We all piled in my truck and and but what also is crazy that day is. Yes, I was home. I was. I was hungover and it was a it was a whole change in my life at that point. That was the day I found out that I was pregnant with my youngest son, who is now five and a half. So there is so much goodness to that story for me, even though itās a testimony and itās a story of being so far down. God brought me so far up in that place.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:11:01] Wow. What a?
Blair PiferĀ [00:11:02] Yeah.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:11:03] This story. Wow. I can only imagine, You know, the supermarket sweep, you know, seeing them there, be able to go in and get what they needed. And that is just awesome that God has put you in a place that you can do that, you know? In my teaser today, I mentioned globally and how, you know, even globally, we do need to be helping individuals out. You know, what are you doing on a global scale? You know, Iād like better yet, I would like for you to share with all the listener viewers what youāre doing on a global effort.
Blair PiferĀ [00:11:35] So I have an orphanage in Uganda, and we have 61 children there. Iāve been with them several years now. Iām not on the board, but Iām very close to it. Iām one of the top sponsors for them. I help them raise funds. This is my heart. And I would say my second home is Africa. I absolutely love it. Iāve been there twice. I went there this year. I got to see my children and I consider myself like their mama. Yeah. So when when when I come, they come running and itās itās just itās itās just incredible to be there and to humble yourself and a place like that. And yeah, I have a huge heart for that. So I have that orphanage and also Iāve done ministry as well and Belize and in Mexico, in Belize, I got really close with a little boy whoās ten years old. His name is Diego, and heās handicapped, very handicapped. And I was able to surprise them the following day at their home and I and I broke down in tears. They have dirt floors and hardly any walls, and they had a fire going inside the home, which is very unsafe. She just she was actually the mama was pregnant and she just had a baby this year. So I want to get them a home built. So that is my goal to do next year during spring break, I have a team thatās willing to go down there and we can get that built for them, get them a handicap accessible. Thereās no running water, so they they bathe in the creek nearby. So.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:13:14] And how can people reach out to you for to help donate or be a sponsor of that Belize trip?
Blair PiferĀ [00:13:20] Absolutely. Well, I can give you my email and my phone number and have them contact me there. I am in the process of setting up a nonprofit and Iām really looking forward to that. I know a lot of people have mentioned that through LinkedIn. They say, Hey, get this set up, we want to donate. So now Iām at a place that Iām ready to get started on that. Like Iām a Iām just a little person here, but I know that God has really big plans for me and Iām ready to step into that place. So this is really exciting for me.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:13:51] You know, speaking of exciting, you know, Africa is such a place that, you know, itās itās literally beyond the wild, wild West with rules, regulations, laws. Itās itās itās itās a place and an all tied in, you know, to the only gosh, real quick, itās just a darn shame with the slavery thatās going on to mine for all these critical minerals for us to transition from oil and gas to electric vehicles so that we here in America can live better. But letās talk about that orphanage like youāve got 61 kids. How did they get there? How you know, what is it that they do? You know, what is it that they need to talk about that.
Blair PiferĀ [00:14:29] Okay. Yes, absolutely. I actually had a friend message me this morning. She said, Blair, I had a dream about you this morning, that you are here again. And I had responded back. Iāve had two dreams since the summertime that I was there. She said, This is my second dream as well. So I know that itās going to come to be again soon. This orphanage is it. We had 61 children, one passed away in July from malaria and died within a few hours. It happened super fast. His name was Ali and he was really close to me. Good, good little boy of mine. So we have 61 children. They live in a 1000 square foot home with three house moms. And that was not acceptable for me when I went four years ago. So weāve done a lot of fundraising and a lot of work has been done since since I came back this year. So we added another home, another building to split up the boys in the girls, and we added more bunk beds and more mattresses. Weāve put in a security wall around to keep them safe, not only to keep. Iām safe from people coming in, but from them going out too. Since we have so many children and only three moms, we got solar panels. So now we donāt have to have a fire every single night. We can actually have a little bit of light out there because they are in a village tucked away. We have a water well. Weāre in the process of building a school right now on the facility. We have about five acres to build on. So weāre in the process of doing our first phase. There we are. Iām just Iām so blown away by what Iāve seen this year compared to what I saw when I went the first time. And itās just itās itās really touching.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:16:15] BLAIR How did these children end up at this orphanage? I mean, you know, obviously theyāre their parents, you know, I mean, but I mean, I kind of want to dive into that.
Blair PiferĀ [00:16:24] Okay. Yeah. So most of the children lose their parents to the the North war at northern Uganda. This has been going on since the eighties. Itās been going a long time and itās actually no longer anymore. But the people are still set in their ways. And so they leave their children and they go to fight. Nothing. Itās unfortunate. And so the children are just left on the streets. And one of my one of my sponsored children was found in a manhole. Others are found in the garbage dumps and some are just found abandoned and homes. So some of the local authorities know the founder, Teddy Nanjiani. And he he gives her a call and brings him in. So we are at our max at this point. And we have weāve had the same children for four or five years now. They stay with us. These children donāt get adopted out as very adoption is really hard. And you go there. So Iāve just taken on that role of mother and just love on them. Yeah.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:17:33] Wow. What a what a what. I cannot believe that. You know, we talk about, you know, here in America and God knows, you know, we could talk about the homeless here in America all day long. Now we need to do more to get people back on their feet. But then yet we turn a blind eye to the rest of the world. And here we are. You mentioned solar panels. Okay. And how awesome that is that they got a little bit of electricity and again, all tied into the oil and gas that, you know, if we just had a little bit of oil and gas, natural gas that could provide that heat and that electricity every day, obviously they can drill a water well. So thereās just some things there that oil and gas can help bring them out of a third world while we and our administration right now is forcing these places to stay in that third world setting while other places like China and India are fighting, they come up and they donāt care about the environment the way that we do here. Or more importantly, they donāt care about human lives the way we do here. And I do want to say that I care about lives, you know, from a drilling aspect, as people know, oh, you know, we have the most strictest rules from safety to environmental when it comes to drilling up out in other places. Again, Iāll use the term itās a wild, wild west. So tell me about you know, again, I want people to know, you know, youāve got your LinkedIn, if you donāt mind, just tell them that people are being contacted and reach out to you that way.
Blair PiferĀ [00:19:00] Well, Iām Blaire Pifer on LinkedIn and I also and my company has Sunshine restored Construction services, so you can find me through that as well.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:19:10] Yes.
Blair PiferĀ [00:19:11] Yeah. And I and I look forward to growing my LinkedIn as well. But itās for the itās itās for the glory of the Lord. I just he told me to go actually into the market place in October. And so thatās Iāve only been on there since October so almost a year now. But heās doing some big things through it and Iām just Iām so blessed by it.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:19:32] Well, you know what? What do you see coming down? Okay. Youāve got youāve got the Belize coming up, you know. Well, you know, what do you see coming around the corner here in the next 12 months? So letās letās talk about the next soapbox.
Blair PiferĀ [00:19:44] So I see more of the school being built in in Uganda. Thatās a thatās a big factor. We weāre spending Uganda. The schools are not free. So weāre spending about $4,000 every quarter to send our children to school. And then we send more throughout the village as well. Because if we if weāre not helping them, the children are not going to school. And itās school is so important out there for those children. Otherwise theyāre selling in the market on the street. So that is important. Also, I have a small fundraiser Iām working on personally and itās actually directly for the children. Iām working on getting them bicycles.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:20:27] Yeah.
Blair PiferĀ [00:20:27] So bicycles are so important out there. It is their means of transportation, but itās also just a special gift to each one of these children. Theyāve never received anything like that. And so far Iāve got three now, so Iām really excited by that. And these children are blown away and theyāre just so happy. But we can only walk as far as we can walk. And if weāre in a weāre deep in a village somewhere, Theyāve never seen these markets that Iām talking about. Theyāve never seen, theyāve theyāve never seen like life outside of this village. Theyāve never seen a bathtub or a or a toilet.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:21:03] Wow. Wow, wow. Well, you know, the work that you are doing right now, I just itās just itās amazing. Thank you so much for for doing the work and for allowing the opportunity for me to have you on to talk about this. You know, we need to hear, dare I say, the crude truths about whatās going on on the streets here in America and across the world, that we are forgetting about our people. And, you know, God says that, hey, we need to take care of our people, you know, and love and respect. And in fact, I just had one guest on, as you were talking about love earlier and how, you know, when you love something, this other guest is like it comes pure and that means that you are a pure person, you know, when you have true. Love. And so, you know, and that goes for anything. So the fact that, you know, hey, that we can open up our hearts in our in our minds to help out others the way that youāre doing know just such an example. Thank you. Thank you very much. You know, again, for everyone out there, please, please reach out. You know, weāll definitely put your email in the show notes so that people can get with you. I mean, you know, bicycles, you know, here we take that for granted. I know we talked about that in our preproduction meeting. Itās like, what do you mean? They did you know, they give you try hauling bicycles are literally across the world.
Blair PiferĀ [00:22:22] Right.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:22:22] Thereās a lot that goes into that considering Africa doesnāt have a whole lot already. So.
Blair PiferĀ [00:22:27] Well, even just as simple as little blankets, we sent a bunch of $5 blankets, like 70 of them a couple of years ago for Christmas, thinking that would be a fun little gift. Well, the tariff on that was 1100 dollars.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:22:41] Wow.
Blair PiferĀ [00:22:42] Coming. Going out of Florida.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:22:44] Wow.
Blair PiferĀ [00:22:45] So itās that why we have to buy them over there?
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:22:48] Yeah,.
Blair PiferĀ [00:22:49] Itās really important. So. Yes.
Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:22:52] Well, Blair, again, I cannot thank you enough for coming on. Be sure to, you know, get this out. And if anybody out there that you know, please, please help, you know, donate to Africa also, you know, in your own local cities. Iāll see what you can do. Yeah. You know, cook some food or donate to the homeless there in your neighborhoods. We we all have time on a Sunday evening to go give back for everything that weāve been blessed with. I know I need to do more of it myself. And Iāll say that right here. And thatās obviously itās recorded as everything else. So again. Blair thank you. Thank you again for coming on. And thank you all very much. And weāll see you again here on another episode of The Crude Truth.
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