November 24, 2011: Thanksgiving Part Deux

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Thanksgiving Day was jam packed with lots of things to do. Joey Cruse was the first one up to deliver food for 103 people. I joined up with him as well as DFW police to get the food distribution out. We arrived at Southside Church of Christ with food for 105, tracks, bulletins, and Bibles for 100. It was 7am when we arrived and quickly after setting up we headed to 7-11 for a quick jolt of coffee. I headed back home to get ready for the afternoon work.

Looking at my schedule we had Fort Worth Harvest Church, Southside Church of Christ, Mary M's place, and MHMR start at 3:00pm. We had to rush to get all the teams there on time and the food at Southside for pick up. Joey had the load dropped off at Southside and there we all met up to pick up. Pastor Barney was there ahead of us. He came with Steve to pick up food for 500. Then came Sarah and myself shortly after. We picked up enough food for Mary M's place and MHMR. Sarah also took 6 tables and 50 chairs. And I took one table and a handful of chairs.

At around 3:30p we got all our stuff and headed over to both places to set up. Unfortunately, we had no bounce house for Mary M's house, but we worked around it. Richard B, Ariel I's family joined up with Sarah. I took TJ, Jessica, and Jonathan to MHMR. While Sarah's group played football and setup for dinner we got to watch Dallas play Miami as well as converse with a few of the patients. Once again it was good to hear Robert speak of his love and care for these MH patients. It's hard to be there 24/7, and he does it with ease and compassion.

Our group faithfully served, worshipped, and read from the Bible for a good hour before we headed to Southside to help out. Southside was few in number hitting only about fifty people, but the volunteerism and serving was out of hand. There was so much help and dedication that it went wonderfully. The leftovers, which were many, were carted off to Union Gospel Mission to help those out on Lancaster.

Back at Sarah's house, Richard and Ariel started sharing the gospel with the family. Yadi, Sarah, the ladies, and the children all played with the children and fed them. The Holy Spirit showed up, because by the end of the night one whole family came to know Christ. Southwayside Baptist Church, as well as one of the families will keep tabs with them in discipleship and church. There were ten new believers.

Pastor Barney and Fort Worth Harvest Church also had a harvest of 7 people coming to know Christ. Their outreach went so well that they reached well over 100 people. Many of which came for the first time. We are very thankful for a successful operation. Dr. Babler and his family also showed up to help.

Overall we had over 120 volunteers, 450 people were fed, and 17 came to know Christ. I know this is not about statistics and so I leave it at that. My joy is made complete because God is glorified and magnified, while the 120 that served were all humbled in many ways. I will attach two testimonies. The first is from Sarah Lanier our Gladney Adoption representative and the second is Richard Bosquez a Southwestern Seminary student.

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I wasn't nervous about leading at Mary's house. I think I was just unsure how the afternoon would go. I knew we would not have the bounce house and I knew there would be many kids. I also knew that the neighborhood was a little rough and that we would be eating outside. I arrived about 2:45. I waited in my car for a while b/c I knew Mary and her daughters did not like us going into the house. While sitting in my car, one of the owners of the convenient store came out. I was parked beside the store and he could see me on the security monitor but did not know who I was. We talked for a good 20-30 min. I discovered that he was Mary's landlord. He said they had not paid rent to him in over 5 months and the only reason he had not evicted them was b/c of the kids. He thanked me several times for "what we did" to help others in need. I was able to share a bit about why we do what we do. I invited him to come over and eat with us once the food arrived.

Now on to Mary's house. I knocked and one of Mary's daughters opened the door to a bare minimum. She left to get Mary and several of the kids opened the door wide to see who I was and then to play a game of "I see you but then I don't." Mary came and I told her that food and volunteers would arrive in 30 min. I also told her I would just wait in my car until then. I barely made it to my car when all of the kids ran outside. Imagine 18 kids ages 18 months to 10 swarming a very small area. It was madness! Good madness, but madness. :):) I texted my volunteers soon after to see how soon they would arrive as I knew we would need to entertain and keep a watch on the kids. It was quite nerve racking as the house and small yard is practically located on the road. The 18 month and 3 year old seemed to think the road was part of the yard. I soon realized that everything was going to be fine. The kids were hungry and so excited to have people there to ply with them. The volunteers arrived and were amazing! They helped watch the kids, played football, soccer, etc. The stressful part was guarding your head to make sure you didn't get binged with incoming balls!

The tables, chairs and food arrived with more volunteers to help set up. B/c of all the gracious people helping, the set up, serving and tearing down went so smoothly. Everyone ate to their heart's content. Soon after the kids finished eating, they wanted to play again b/c it had become much colder outside. The men volunteers did great job of playing with them while the ladies helped clean up. I told Mary that the leftover food was hers and asked if we could take it inside. I am not sure if she gave me an answer but I went inside anyways. The house was warm and they had nice furniture. The walls, ceilings, floors and windows were not in good shape. I could not see into the kids' bedrooms but I know there was not enough room for 13 kids to sleep. As I rounded the corner to go into the kitchen, I could see a bedroom with a mattress on the floor and three+ men I assume were watching the Cowboys play. My nose and my eyes also told me that the men were enjoying Thanksgiving with Marijuana. Soon after clean up was finished, Mary wanted the kids inside b/c it had become really cold and most of the kids were in summer attire. Blankets were delivered by sweet volunteers and I had some winter coats and lollipops that had been given to me by a friend. The lollipops were a hit! The volunteers began their goodbyes so the kids could begin to move towards the house. I noticed that near the house, two of the volunteers were sharing the gospel with one of Mary's daughter, her husband and their kids. What a way to end a great day!

Back to the Marijuana thing. I know that I can say this about everyone who serves with RTH so I am going to use "we." We do not discriminate against who we help. We do not pick and choose those we think maybe more worthy than others to receive help. We help anyone who maybe in need regardless of their situation or circumstances. In this particular situation, we have only helped with food, clothing and blankets b/c we knew that giving money would not be wise. Besides, we do not just give money. We may be able to pay towards a bill but it would go directly to the company or landlord. We strive to be wise in how we use monetary support and wise about how we help. We do not want to handicap or cripple others in creating a further inability for them to help themselves. We have many resources we can use to help fill needs as we see them. We are called to love one another and in doing so, we help those in need.

I was a bit sad at knowing that bills aren't being paid but that they are buying drugs. But at the end of the day, we fed 18 kids who would not have had a Thanksgiving meal otherwise. We gave them a Thanksgiving to remember. They were loved on and the Gospel was lived out right before them. We made much of Jesus by serving this family. I am so thankful for the privilege I had to be a part of this wonderful day.Thank you to all of the volunteers who came. You guys rocked!!

Sarah Lanier

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Phil,

Thanks for allowing my family and I to serve with your ministry today. God is blessing people and is being honored through your hard work and your heart for people. Below is a recap of today.

Earlier this week, one of our neighbors mentioned to us that they would be helping out with a ministry today that meets peoples needs. They told us that there was a need for volunteers to help with a large family. He put us in contact with your ministry. You told us of the need for volunteers with this large family and the struggles their facing. We were ready and eager to help out. We contacted Sarah and we were set to volunteer.

I want to start out by giving thanks to God for this opportunity to serve in the name of Jesus. Today was awesome. We arrived at the family's home to be greeted by a lot of children. I say “a lot” because I'm not really sure how many were there, at one time I counted 24, WOW!!! My wife, daughter and myself joined right in. I even tried to learn a cheer the girls performed for us. My daughter will tell you I'm not above acting silly or even learning a cheer. This led to a little football action with the boys. The older boys enjoyed putting the moves on this old man but I held my own. At one point the little girls wanted to play so I would give them the ball, pick them up and run for a touchdown. We really had a fun time playing with all the kids.

The food arrived – turkey, dressing, green beans, mash potatoes and cookies for dessert with tea to wash it all down. It was wonderful to see how God has supplied for this family. Everyone ate and were filled with what God had provided.

We played a little more before wrapping things up and sadly had to say goodbye to this family. I was able to share the gospel with two of the older boy and they allowed me to pray for them. As I was praying with these boys, one of the other volunteers shared the gospel with one of the fathers in this family. As my family and I were saying our goodbyes, the other volunteer asked if I would share the gospel with the family of the father he was speaking with. The father wanted his family to hear the gospel and have someone explain what it means to be saved. I was very honored to do so.

I could feel God working as I shared the gospel with this family of 9. This family represented a second and third generation that was living in this household. After I had explained why we need Christ in or lives and how we are saved, I asked if anyone wanted to pray to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior – they all said “Yes”. We all prayed and asked Jesus Christ to come into their life as their Lord and Savior including the grandmother. Its was overwhelming and exciting to see how God has touched and constructed this divine appointment for this three generation family today. God has drawn this family nearer to Him in this very hard time in this family's life.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31


In Christ,
Richard, Lisa and Avery Bosquez
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Till next time...