What Charlie wrote about Shane in his book:

True Saints (Chapter from Ain’t No Rag)

“We have affiliated our Volunteer Jam tour this year with an outfit known as Habitat for Humanity. I’m sure you’ve heard of them; they are the people who make it possible for low income families to move into a brand new home.

I have been privileged to go to three of these presentation ceremonies and seen the faces of the people who were receiving these houses, and I’ll tell you, friends, it’s nothing short of wonderful, seeing these precious people who had no hope of having their own home receive the keys to a brand new house.

As one recipient so succinctly put it, “I’ve had to move six times since last May and I ain’t going to move no more.” It’s truly a blessing to see this kind of thing happen and I am very impressed with the work that Habitat is doing.

I am even more impressed with the caliber of people involved in the organization. There is a young man by the name of Shane Clark who acts as liaison between us and Habitat. He travels with us, and I’ve had the chance to spend some time with him. I am completely amazed by this young man. He has given up his whole life to be in service to the poor of this world.

He spent years in India with Mother Teresa caring for the hungry and the dying, serving mankind at a level which few humans ever understand, much less aspire to. The stories he tells are heartbreaking. The number of destitute souls on this planet is absolutely mind-boggling. The need is so great and the resources and workers are so woefully inadequate.

It would seem to be a losing battle, an insurmountable task but to people like Shane it’s just another mountain to climb and they sacrifice any semblance of private pleasure or personal comfort to take just one painstaking step at a time.

Jesus said that what we did to the least of these, his brothers, we were doing unto Him. He even mentions giving a cup of water to a child.

Shane has told me stories about Mother Teresa, about how she rose at four o’clock every morning, about a place of prayer where a crucifix hung with the words, “I thirst” close by. About Mother Teresa’s motto, “I live to quench His thirst.” I guess she felt that as long as one person was thirsty Jesus was thirsty, that if one person was hungry Jesus was hungry. She saw others’ needs as Jesus’ needs, others’ pain as our Savior’s pain.

Talking to this special young man has given me a whole new view of Christianity. I feel so inadequate, so impotent, so un-Christlike.

I feel that all I’ve ever done pertaining to the Kingdom of God does not boil down to the whole of one day of Shane Clark’s service on the mean streets of Calcutta.

And the amazing thing about this unusual young man is the absolute fact that he does not view his service as drudgery, or even sacrifice, for that matter. He takes great joy in doing the dirty and often thankless tasks most of us would shrink violently away from.

He has held the dying, he has comforted the helpless, and with his own hands fed the teeming masses of hungry children who are more or less invisible to our affluent society. I love you, Shane Clark.

I love you for what you’ve done, for what you’ve been, and for what you are. I love you for the humbling realization that insofar as service to Jesus Christ is concerned, I don’t even show up as a blip on the radar screen. I love you for making me desire to be a better Christian.

I admire you, young man, above the powerful politicians, above the rich and famous, above the entertainment icons and the haughty doyennes who make the headlines in the society pages for holding this or that charity ball once a year. Because you, Shane Clark, you’ve made a difference.”