The Scroll
Somehow the word got out on SWBTS Campus that we're up to something. Keith Collier from "The Scroll" contacted me upon hearing about our ministry. They may start writing an article about our homeless ministry based on seminary families. I'm so glad they are giving us visibility. There is a gradual growing population of homelessness in Fort Worth. Not to mention, just recently Tent City grew out of Fort Worth near Rivera Drive and Lancaster Street. It is being evicted and over 100 homeless people there are moving with no places to go.
The Traffick
I got news this week from DL Fruge that Sex Trafficking will increase in Fort Worth as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers make their way to Dallas. There is much news surrounding the business of pimps bringing young aged girls to attract rich and affluent men for sex. The worst part of it is that most of these victims are abducted at a young age. Here are some stats I remebered(hopefully they're close): (Here some information about Sex Trafficking during the Super Bowl)
1) 7000 children lost each year, 1000 are sold to pimps, gang raped, sold as slaves and left for dead
2) out of the 32 billion dollar industry only 4 rehabilitation houses exist and they only house these children for 30 days
3) almost everyone that are rehabilitated go back to their pimps
4) Dr. Thomas Vann at SWBTS had started an awareness project in 07' then abandoned. The project has revived again. Now they're making a bigger push.
The Soul
How would I be able to describe the soul of the ministry this week? Could it be the random donation of $100 by Walmart? Or could it be another donation from a friend for $250, who has dedicated her allegiance to help? Could it also be an electrician friend of mine, who found time to find a list of items to help an unfortunate family? The list goes on. Not to mention, while I'm typing now I just found out we got another anonymous donation of $600. We've never asked for money or monetary funding. We trust that God would sponsor us. Everything else is icing on the cake.
Here is a list of items we need donated or supplied for Suzanne's home. We will pray to see what to do next. We also found out that she has a landlord. This is different than the story where the government has vacated the house for their use. Now that the truth has come out; we're a bit concerned that if the place is remodeled the landlord will move them out and raise the rent. Pray.
Electric supplies (Suzanne’s Home)
1/22/11- as inspected by Nathan Thomas @ 10:30a
1. Smoke Detector
2. GFI needs replacing in kitchen; loose wires
3. No insulation in attic (recommends 20 packs at home depot + blower)
4. Knob and tube
5. Central heat and air unit is gone (newly installed 5-6K)
6. 3 window units (heating) $350-400 each
7. All the wiring, conduits, panels need to be replaced
8. If small things get fixed; it’s only time before everything breaks again
9. Exposed wiring present throughout dwelling unit
10. Federal Pacific Panel; cannot find replacement parts
11. Case of bulbs needed practically everywhere
The Magic
I don't believe in magic, but I do believe in miracles. Plus it was a good rhyme to go with the title. But the outreach was fun this week. We had over 20+ volunteers from NFWBC youth and young adults. We also had 3 extra people come from the seminary: Jonathan Coleman, Greg, and Elise. This made for a power-packed day of serving. We had our usual hotdogs, sandwiches, and many drinks. We also had a huge donation of clothes, blankets, and tents. The tents were not dispersed, but we did give all of our food. We ran out and even had to buy food for Suzanne's stop.
We stopped and prayed on all three places. Hopefully we dispersed enough materials to last for the week. Many of them are still looking for jobs. Many of them have no place to stay except on mattresses around the alleys. Several seemed drunk and drugged. They were out of it. We met Adan and he made his impression by taking off his shirt. He seems to do that a lot. Martin, Jose, Claudia, and Blanka were our usuals. We spent much of time in prayer and loving on each and every one of them.
So what is the miracle? The way our food runs out, yet plenty more people still come over for us to love on. Seeing Janice pray out loud in a small circle for a couple of the guys was a blessing. Noticing the testimony of 'Dr. Phil', who told us that the Holy Spirit had told him to go a certain direction in order to get food for the day. That's the miracle. We get to watch lives fed, needs met, tears of joy and sadness, prayers of the gospel to those in need, and love for those who feel unwanted.
Till next time...
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