Saturday was filled with basketball, visiting, and cooking. Matt and Vicky continued their lvoe of our children, by turning the concrete parking lot into a basketball gym, food, fun and good times are going on. If you have a few minutes drop by and cheer on the children. Say a prayer for Matt, so he doesn't have a heart attack trying to keep up with the boys! Momma T and Ardis were busy wrapping the donated bread, then preparing our Thursday meal. Scott and Dr Phil, visited our friends in the camps.
It was good to see an old friend sitting on the riding lawnmower doing what he use to do during our stay with us during the summer months. Gus has been with us for several days now, great to see him and share a few laughs. Prayers for him as he tries to clean up the Bright House!
Tuesday evening, Rickie led the men's Bible study, reading Psalm 121. Where does my help come from, King David asks. My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Where does your help come from? Do we try to make it go on our own?
Thursday evening was full of blessings and challenges. Lots of folks for the first of the month. Willie, Abbie and Pops led chapel with song and Word. Everybody enjoyed the Shepherd's Pie prepared by Momma T and Ardis. Clothing room was busy as well as the grocery giveaway. We also had more children coming by to get a new backpack and supplies. Lots of new faces joined in to help serve and clean up. An old friend, Chris Broadwell and his new wife Emily were there to lend a hand. A good evening, lots of blessings.
Please keep John and Michele Sauls, Joey and the rest of the team as they are in New Orleans helping out Sione in his new church. Prayers for William, he was not feeling well Tuesday. Prayers for our community. Life presents lots of challenges to the best of us. When you are in poverty, the challenges seem to be even more, often feeling like there is no way out. Prayers for our children of the community. They are the recipient of living in poverty and all that brings with it.
Being a part of our community presents lots of challenges. Over all these years, we have seen how it is for our friends and our children to live in poverty. At times, those challenges follow our community to the center. Your heart breaks when you hear the stories, the pain that is going on. Often times we are the recipient of those struggles because we might be the only ones available to listen. There are cries of neglect, shouts of frustration, screams of anger.
Matt introduced me to one of the boys at the "gym" who had just gotten out of jail. Matt said, he is a good boy, just got in a bad situation. All our children are good children, they are just in bad situations. Poverty does that. It is not their fault, they have no father, they struggle to find food, their homes are deplorable, they have to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, they find shelter or take advise from others who do not love them but only want they can get out of them. Usually it leads our children down the paths they should not be on. But it should not surprise us, because in our children's mind, this person is paying attention to them.
What's the answer? Where will change come from? In verse 7 of Psalm 121, David says, The Lord will keep you from all harm- he will watch over your life. Verse 8, the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. God is the answer. We have to pray mightily, He will make a way out of the darkness of our community. We have to pray He will send people who have a heart for our community and our struggles and want to help us make changes.
We can not do this on our own. It is overwhelming to change a community where the darkness looms so large. But for God, nothing is impossible. He has brought all of you to the community. He continues to bring others. He continues to put our struggles in the hearts of those all across the country, from New York, to North Carolina, to Texas, to California, to Florida, leading prayers of grace and mercy for our community.
Willie talked about in James 1, verse 2 consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Verse 4, Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete . . Our flesh will want to quit, throw in the towel, walk away, but don't let it. Call upon the Lord, fill your heart with His Holy Spirit and persevere. Verse 12 in James says, Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life. . . Amen.
God will make a way out of noway, we have to believe, we have to have faith, we have to lvoe. Have a great week!
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