Holy Week With the Homeless

In an effort to follow in the steps of Jesus, seven prosperous Austin men spent part of Holy Week this year living in a park in downtown Austin, Texas, with the homeless. The "street retreat' is led by Alan Graham, co-founder of a national organization that ministers to the homeless called Mobile Loaves & Fishes.

"It's kind of a strange thing to do for spring break," said Te'Paul Gautier, a student at the University of Dallas who joined his father on the retreat. The men view the experience as an effort to connect with God by leaving behind the comforts of home, much as the followers of Jesus did two millennia ago. (More Austin stories.)