May 21, 2011: End of the World? Nope.

Regardless whether the world is ending or not, I rather God catch us red-handed, than do nothing with the Gospel. As I type, I ask myself this question, "What if the gospel sat in idle hands?" We know the gospel, so the challenge becomes what do we do with it? What do we do with Him? The church must move forward engaging the world for Christ. Today's event was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed North Fort Worth Baptist pulling in and providing pants and clothing for a large mass of homeless off of the Texas Car Wash. There was another church group providing ample food. We were thankful to be able to pray with many and to some, share the gospel. There was one person I didn't quite recognize and that was Lorenzo. He seemed sober enough to listen to the gospel. There were so many people I lost count. It was great to have Craig and Joey back to help. I also had a friend of mine at the seminary, James Szewczyk, join us. Hearing his story, reminded me there is transformation and change if men and women who are lost, get in contact with the Gospel. We have the life saving message, let's let loose and let God do the miracle.

The second stop was at Suzanne's house. There is alot of updates. Joey and his crew pay her electric bill. She moved her father to a hospice, her brother moved out. So she's left with her fiance. He seems to not do anything around the house. Suzanne truly loves this man, as she cooks, cleans, and does everything for this man. She also just lost her mother and another one of her brothers, Jesse, was stabbed 45 times. According to her, he was drugged up. My wife and I remember Jesse from our inception. He was the one, sitting out by McCart Thrift Store, playing his guitar. It was he that informed us of all the homeless on Hemphill. We will sorely miss him. I pray the life saving message of the gospel was in Him and that all his suffering is finally gone.

Our third stop took us to Shamrock Gas Station. Armed with 80 hot dogs and a plethora of clothes, sandwiches, fruit, Gatorade and water, we provided for this area. There were a few new faces and some old. We were able to help out Venida and her oldest son. Joey and his crew was going to provide some schooling supplies for them. We also got to pray with a few families. The people dispersed pretty quickly after the food so it was hard to break in some conversations. Lindsey, the girl who broke her leg went back to JPS. Her leg was having more complications. Continue to pray for direction in this area. There are much more day laborers in this area and they are far less responsive to the gospel than our first station. Venida had a prayer request for her husband. He seems to want the help, but does not want to receive the gospel, nor stop drinking. We need to be proactive in trying to reach this family for Christ. Those two little boys, Ruben and David (4 and 1 years old) need Christ in their lives!

I'll leave with a post from Janice Rowlands, one of our servants in Christ from NFWBC.

"Yesterday was pretty emotional for me. It hurt to see Susan so grieved by the death of her mom. Her mom was the person caring for her children in New York and her link to them. She feels very alone now."

"Visitng with Venita at the last stop....her desperation was palpable. She has two sons, the youngest has been in the hospital and her oldest will be going to school this fall. She worries about their safety where they are living and worries about how they will survive. It struck me that these women have the same needs that I do and no resources to meet them. What kind of world do I live in where people live in rodent infested homes and have no income or little income to survive and live in fear that they will be out on the streets AGAIN in some cases? I am thankful that RTH is reaching out to these women and others. It is not enough, but it is something. It is a start. Will others join us to show the love of Christ to those with no hope?

We must take this challenge to heart...

April 30, 2011- A Time for Prayer, a Time to Feed

Thanks to Joey Cruse from NFWBC, we were able to get over 40 bottles of Powerade this week for our outreach. We also had over 80 hot dogs, water, and bananas. We arrived at the first area to find well over 15 people sitting. We managed to sit with a few. Especially Ricky, who was in sorrow for not having seen Scarlet for weeks. Scarlet if you remembered was hospitalized and paralyzed due to a hit on the head. We spent about an hour passing food, ministering, and praying for each of their needs. Many of them wanted prayer and not to mention fairly drunk. We spent a long time in prayer and enjoyed the comraderie.

The next stop took us to Venida and her family. We managed to find many old faces and were able to serve them as well. It was great to pray with them. Unfortunately, the woman who was pregnant there, was pregnant no more. She had a miscarriage. It was great bonding with them and providing them their needs. There were many that needed pants (32-36) and socks. Continue to pray for them as they try to make it through the hot summer.

Suzanne's situation has changed immensely. Suzanne's father has left the home for a nursing home. Her brother has left the home and she is left wondering if she should marry her long time boyfriend. She needs to clean up her brother's room, because the landlord requested it. She asks for Kilz paint to clean up that area. She's picked up drinking again and has not gone back to being ministered at her church. It's been a constant prayer, so please continue to lift her up in prayer.

Till next time...