Not all of us are certain of our purpose in life, but for some people, it’s obvious to everyone exactly why they were put on this earth.
One homeless man, known only as Donnie, is one of the most inspirational people to have reached internet fame, and it’s clear that his role is to teach wonderful lessons to those who will open their hearts to him.
In a now-viral video posted 8 years ago on YouTube, Donnie sings and praises God while doing the laundry.
The video begins by showing Donnie in action doing his washing, before he stops for an interview with somebody behind the camera.
We learn some handy information about Donnie’s background in the video, including that he first realized he had a singing gift aged 16, when his youth director invited him to sing in church.
Donnie would visit his youth director’s house every Saturday, and the pair would work out a song together.
Mostly, Donnie would sing gospel, as well as “some of the stuff you might hear on the radio back in those days”.
He says he can’t remember all the songs – he can just remember feeling empowered, and like he was making a difference.
Donnie hasn’t really used his voice for professional purposes, aside from performing at a few weddings.
But then he had a family, got into the workforce, and subsequently pushed his singing talent aside. He tried to make some music with his then-wife, but admits it didn’t really go very far”.
It was only when Donnie “came out to the homeless” that his passion for music returned in full force, especially when he met a friend who could play the guitar.
When Donnie says he’s going to sing to camera, it’s fairly obvious that he’s going to pull out something good.
But nobody could expect Donnie’s performance to be as breathtaking as it actually is. He sings beautifully, gazing at the sky and praising the Lord with his lyrics.
He demonstrates the full strength of his voice when he hits the verse,
“Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee,
How great thou are, how great thou are.”
His performance is so captivating that he would certainly have the power to silence a room full of people.
When he finishes singing, a group of homeless people behind the camera clap, cheer and whistle.
But Donnie isn’t only respected by his real-life peers, and the video of his singing has earned him a large online following.
Many people in the comments wrote that they saw Jesus in Donnie, and that he is a true person of God.
His singing evoked strong religious feelings of warmth and love for many of the people who commented, with one person writing:
“I feel my savior close to me when I listen to this the man has jesus in his heart”.
Someone else shared a similar sentiment, commenting:
“That was so awesome he brought a tear to my eye he needs to sing professionally that was so great oh God love him”.
A common wish of the YouTube audience was for Donnie to be identified, with people writing that they’d happily buy his albums and attend his concerts.
But it seems to Donnie has mostly stayed out of the limelight, and there’s not much that can be found about him online.
If you haven’t heard Donnie sing yet, it’s about time you did!
You can watch the video of his interview and beautiful performance just below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
