Amazing God

It's Monday morning and I'm sitting at my local Starbucks reveiwing the past few days. What an amazing weekend! Friday night we did Midnight Outreach and took roses to the clubs for the ladies. One of the clubs (which we only recently got into, after nearly 2 years of prayer) told us how much it meant to us that we decorated their dressing room for Christmas and brought roses to them every month. The manager said that they wanted to give something back; that the girls wanted to collect money to help us buy toys for the poor. HOW COOL IS THAT???

The dancers want to help the poor. The people we have been reaching out to want to reach out and help others. Amazing. At another club one of the women told a volunteer that she had had a horrible day, but when she walked into the dressing room and saw the gifts from Healing Place her whole attitude changed. A small gift, delivered with love, changed her whole day. Amazing.

When we went north-side the streets were absolutely barren. A volunteer checked the news on her phone and found out there was a recent prositution sting and 19 men and women were picked up in the sweep. I believe God Himself is intervening in their lives to create opportunities for change. Lock-down can be a rough place for prostitutes and cross-dressers so please pray for their protection and salvation. I believe that God will use this for their good.

Saturday morning we had our special needs Christmas outreach. What a party! Bounce houses, face painting, manicures, crafts, popcorn, pizza and more; everything designed with special needs kids in mind. The activities were great, but our guests of honor were what really made the day a success.

I met a young man named Landon who was there for the festivities. We had an interesting conversation:

Me: Hi there, my name is Donna. What's your name?

Him: Landon. When is your birthday?

Me: October 27th. When is your birthday?

Him: Thursday.

Me: Your birthday is Thursday?

Him: No, yours.

Me: Pardon? (looking to his mom for direction)

His mom: He means your birthday is on Thursday. Next year, Oct 27th will be a Thursday.

Me: Seriously? Is that right?

His mom: 99% of the time he's right. You can look it up, but he's usually right.

I looked it up later. Next year my birthday will be on a Thursday. Incredible. I couldn't tell you when my birthday was this year, never mind next year. How does he do that? Incredible young man.

My buddy this year was named Ian. He and his mom came to the party and I got to hang out with them. I like a person who knows what he wants; Ian is that person. House of balls? Yes. Crafts? No. Face painting? No. Pizza? Yes, with a coke. Definitely my kind of guy. His friend Luke was there too so Ian and I played football against Luke and his buddy. It was a tough game, not just because it was full-contact but because the ball was imaginary. I'm so glad that our church is big enough to play invisible football in the entrance. I'm not sure who won, but it was a hard-fought game.

I chatted with a woman while Ian was eating his pizza by the haircut booth. She told me that her husband was having a mid-life crises, that he had told her he didn't love her anymore and that he was leaving her. I didn't know the woman, but I assume she has at least one special needs child, as she was at the outreach as a guest. She said they had been married for 9 years and he was leaving. She asked if I knew what she should do. I listened more that I talked, and I told her about our divorce care group for people walking through tough situations. I gave her the number for the church so she could get connected. As she walked away I wondered what other parents were carrying when they came through our doors. Realizing the weight that others carry often puts my life in perspective. Please pray, not just for this woman, but for all of the parents and caregivers who are laboring to raise their gifts from God.

It was an awesome party, an awesome day. Thank You God, for my awesome church!

Sunday morning I was absolutely stoked. It was finally here...Miracle Offering Sunday!!! I went to the 9am service because I couldn't wait to give. Since the day I got saved I've wanted to build the church; what a great opportunity to be a part of what God is doing. A large part of Miracle Offering will be used to finish building our children's space upstairs in the arena. We get to give our little bit to God, watch Him multiply it, and then see generations of kids find the hope and truth of Jesus Christ. It doesn't get any better than this! If you missed Sunday, don't sweat it. I think you can give to the Miracle Offering until year end.

So, that was my weekend. Amazing events, amazing people and my amazing God. All glory to Him!

PS:

Another exciting thing...my website is finally up. Check it out and lemmino what you think. Thanks for your interest and your prayers. God bless you all.

Some nights are harder than others

When I saw her walking around the parking lot I hoped she was coming to New Beginnings. Her hair was raked up under a trucker hat that sat precariously off the side of her head and her freshly bruised face was not yet the rainbow of colors that it was sure to become. She had the look of a homeless person; her bare feet and dirty fingernails giving testament to the fact that she hadn't bathed or slept indoors recently.

When a volunteer brought her upstairs to me she introduced herself as Tree. Her unsteady gait was likely the result of too much alcohol, but the recent beating could also be to blame. Neither one would have surprised me. I shook her hand and told her I was glad she came.

After group ended Miss Alliece decided our best course of action was to take her to the hospital. She wanted a ride back to New Orleans but agreed to see a doctor about her injuries first. Four of us went to Our Lady of the Lake to see how we could help her. After a substantial time in the waiting room it was finally our turn to be seen.

I went in with Tree to help with whatever I could while the others stood sentry in the waiting room. It can be a long night in the ER, so it's always good to have back up. I helped with the hospital gown, but politely declined the specimen bottle when it was handed to me. I think collecting bodily fluids goes beyond the second mile...although better people than I may well have helped out.

Doctors and nurses came and went. We waited, talked, got fluids, talked more, had CAT scans, x-rays, pain meds and antibiotics. Tree drifted between sleep and discomfort while we talked. The doctor asked her what the man had beaten her with. She said it was only his fists and boots this time.

Tree is 24 years old and lives in New Orleans. For the past 7 months she has lived in a tent, except for the brief time she spent in hospital 2 months ago when she gave birth. Her baby was born premature and is still in ICU. She said she needs to get back to the city to see him.

She was 13 when her mom died, and at 16 she moved in with the man she now shares a tent with. He was in his mid-twenties at the time. For several years they criss-crossed the nation jumping boxcars. Tree told me that trains have no mercy...they'll cut your leg off in a second. She said it with such certainty that I wondered if she'd seen it happen.

We talked about the streets...and what you have to do to survive there. Tree was dancing in a club until 2 months before her son was born, but she's also worked escort and streets. Her boyfriend just got out of jail so he's back in the tent now. He was in for battery. She told me that right now she's not working the streets, other than begging, but now that her boyfriend's back that will likely change.

About 3am the doctor came back with good news. None of the bones in her face were actually broken, just severely bruised. Her CAT scan came back clean so she didn't have a concussion or a brain bleed, and the x-rays didn't show any broken bones in her torso. (They had been concerned about possible internal bleeding because of a rib injury). The antibiotics they gave her would help with both her internal infection and the unsightly black gash on her foot.

About 1:30am we had decided that the team in the waiting room could call it a night. At 3:15am I called Preston (who had probably just gotten to sleep) and asked him to come back so we could drive Tree to New Orleans. I had gotten her a bed in a local safe house but she backed out. We talked about safety; how she wasn't strong enough to take another beating like this right away. She agreed, but said she had a place to go in New Orleans. I asked where we were taking her and she said she had friends she could stay with. I asked if she would be safe, if they had a couch for her to sleep on and if they had a/c. She answered yes to all of them. I don't know if I believed her, or just wanted to.

As I helped her get her clothes out of the plastic bag the stench was near unbearable. When clothing gets beyond dirty it gets tacky; her clothes were sticky. She was pulling her shirt on over her head and said, "Uhg...dirty clothes again." I couldn't guess how long she had been in those same shorts. As she pulled them over her bruised limbs she reached into the pocket and pulled something out. "My harmonica!" she said happily, "I forgot I had this." For a moment she looked like a child on Christmas morning...a new toy held out excitedly for me to see. I smiled at her, but I wanted to cry.

Preston and I helped Tree into the car and headed towards the city. She told Preston where we were going and fell asleep before we were out of Baton Rouge. As we entered New Orleans she woke up but had little to say. We exited by the Superdome and pulled down a deserted street.

"Right here is fine," she said. "Let me out here." I pulled over and parked on the side of the road. There were no houses, no apartments, only a stretch of concrete fading under an overpass into the darkness. She let us pray for her and then got out. I hugged her neck and reminded her that she had our number if she needed anything. She thanked me and walked away, silently disappearing into the shadows.

I got back into the car and just sat there. "So, that's it?" Preston asked. I nodded. "You want me to drive?" he asked. I nodded again. We headed back to Baton Rouge, the sun easing into the sky just before we got back home. Some nights are harder than others.

Mercy and Joy

The streets of North Baton Rouge are typically pretty busy but last Friday night things were quiet. Earlier in the evening three people had been shot between Plank Road and Choctaw so anybody who could stay inside did. As usual, our ICU (Inner City Unit) team thought it was a perfect night for outreach.

Although we didn’t see a lot of people, God gave us some very cool connections. We got to visit with a prostitute who has been sporadically attending Sunday service at Baton Rouge Dream Center. She may not have been quite as excited to see us as we were to see her, but God knows what He’s doing. Although we always intend our roses to bring joy, they occasionally bring conviction. We just trust God to work it out.

At the Top 10 Social Club we handed out roses and chatted with the patrons. For any of you who haven’t been, the Top 10 is an interesting club on Choctaw with some of the biggest bouncers I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure what all goes on in that place, but I suspect the people aren’t there just for the music.

On Sunday morning a woman showed up at Healing Place on Highland Road. Pastor Dino said hello and asked how we could help her. She burst into tears and couldn’t answer. We eventually learned that she had been at the Top 10 Friday night when we handed out roses. She looked at the rose, read the card and told her friend that they had to leave. She said, “If God sent the church up into this club, He’s trying to tell us something.” That’s how she landed in service Sunday morning, listening to Pastor Dino teach on joy.

This woman is not some horrible sinner that spends all of her time drinking in bars. She used to go to church and read her bible, but then something happened that just got her off track…she called it a downward spiral. I understand the downward spiral. I understand how things can get fuzzy; the lines between right and wrong get blurred by pain, circumstance and pressure. Bad decisions pile on top of each other until we forget that there’s a God who loves us jealously. We forget His mercy until He sends an outreach team into the very bar we’re sitting in; they smile, hand us a rose and tell us we’re not forgotten.

I am so grateful for God’s mercy. I’m grateful that His arm is not too short to save nor His ear too dull to hear. I’m grateful that, in the same way He reached into the pit and snatched me out, He is still snatching people into freedom today. And we get to be a part of it.

All glory to God!

My new favorite day

It has been an amazing ride since I moved to Baton Rouge and started attending Healing Place Church. I've had lots of great days, lots of memorable experiences and a couple days I'd rather not mention. My new favorite day at HPC, however, happened this weekend.

As part of Servolution we were hosting an Easter egg hunt for families with special needs. Saturday morning was pretty wet and the sideways rain made it an easy decision to move the event inside. As God would have it, our new worship space opened the week before and we were able to hold the entire event in our large foyer. For a lot of reasons, that worked out even better than the original plan. Doesn't that sound like God?

I don't know how many families we hosted but I got to hang out with a young man named Joey. He was there with his mom but I sent her to go and get a manicure while Joey and I painted Easter eggs and got some pizza. He was also a major presence in the bounce house but an early injury forced us back to the food section. Fortunately, Joey was able to walk it off without incident. I should mention, the Chik-fil-a cow wandering around and was a little bothersome to Joey. He pointed out to me that the cow was unnaturally tall, and that cows shouldn't be able to walk on their back feet. Both excellent points, but we reduced the bovine-fear to a workable level.

Joey and I were resting in one of the lounge areas when he told me he wanted to dance. I told him that I thought he should. He was a little concerned about the crowd but I assured him that they would probably love to see him dance. With that, he busted a move...Michael Jackson couldn't have kept up with him! Before we knew it, other kids joined in, the cow was dancing and a circle of enthusiastic onlookers cheered them on. Joey's mom was trying to take a picture of him dancing but she had tears streaming down her face.

That's when Saturday became my new favorite day.

A little while later Joey was laying across the footstool, flat on hs back. He looked up at me and said, "I'm famous, I'm happy and I'm tired."

It was so cool being at an event that was specifically designed to meet the needs of kids who face such tough challenges everyday. I loved the Easter eggs all over the floor, I loved that the Easter Bunny was in a wheelchair, and I loved that so many families got to connect with the church and with each other. I loved that one little boy, if only for a while, felt like he was famous. I hope all of our special guests felt famous.

Resurrection Sunday offers so much hope. We had great services, people got saved and we got to worship our Lord and King, Jesus Christ. Sunday was great....but I'm still smiling about Saturday!

All glory to God!

A stroll thru Sodom

Last Friday we did Midnight Outreach in New Orleans. It was great...we got to train some more people, share our passion with them and get them lit up for the cause of Human Trafficking. After we did the training we helped prep the roses and then headed to Bourbon Street. Say it with me, "OFF THE CHAIN".

I've been on Bourbon Street before but this time it was different. For some reason, I couldn't stop looking into the eyes of the people on the street. They were walking aimlessly, beads around their necks, drinks in hand; but their eyes seemed so lifeless. And it wasn't just a few of them...it was the two Hispanic gentlemen sitting on the curb, it was the gaggle of scantily-dressed teenage girls on the corner, it was the quiet homeless woman that asked me for money, the tourists in their souvenir t-shirts...it seemed like all of them were desperately lost. Some were falling-down drunk, some were catching beads from the second story bars and some were just standing and staring; drinking in the scene of perversion around them.

Usually when I'm on Bourbon Street I am going into the clubs to give roses to the ladies. Since we didn't have as many volunteers as we usually do, I stayed on the street to help watch over our group. I have to say, I think it's less offensive to be in the strip clubs. I was trying to explain the scene to my sister and she said, "It sounds like Sodom and Gomorrah". That was exactly it, she nailed it. On the drive home I was thinking about the scripture where the angels are going to destroy Sodom for its sin. I thought about Bourbon Street and the people of New Orleans. I thought about the hundreds of thousands of people who come from around the world to be a part of the debauchery. I wondered, if the angels came tonight, would New Orleans would burn?

I am so grateful for places like the New Orleans Dream Center and Church of the King. I'm so glad Pastor Dino and DeLynn let us go and be a part of reaching into the darkness. Please pray for New Orleans; for the city, for the people and for God's mercy to cover all of us. All glory to Him!

11-4 and lovin it!

Last week we did a 'Lewis and Clark' outreach. (For non-history buffs like myself, Lewis and Clark were explorers that went into the unknown in search of new frontiers. I only know that because I lived in St Louis for a while and they were popular there, although I still don't know why.) So last Friday a group of us met at 11pm at a bowling alley (yep, that's just how we roll) and went in search of new people to serve. We walked through bushes, climbed under overpasses and searched the levee looking for someone with whom to share the love of Christ.
I got home about 4am. I was tired, dirty and wet. My jeans were soaked up to my knees and my shoes were covered in mud. In the five hours we were out there I only talked to one person. A young woman, probably early twenties, was working in front of a motel on Airline. She was a little nervous and more than a little high. It was clear by the way she dressed that she was selling herself. She wouldn't talk to me, wouldn't take a card and didn't want anything that I tried to offer her. All she wanted was to be away from us. I wished her a good night and watched her disappear into the shadows. As she walked away I prayed that she wouldn't get beat for me talking to her. Prostitution is a brutal business.
One of the volunteers asked me what we do now. I told him we pray...and that we keep coming back. Eventually she will talk; or at least let us feed her. It's always a process, and it's always slower than I would like it to be.
Riding on the shuttle I was thinking about our team. I realized that on our team, at 2am, there were people from 4 different grants. We had Aaron from Victims Services, Charity and Jillian from Street Outreach Program, Joey from Prisoner Re-entry and Miss Alliece from Human Trafficking Coalition. It made me think about God's creativity and how He has positioned Church United and Healing Place Church for such a time as this. On our team we had people searching for victims, homeless youth, ex-prisoners and prostitutes. It made me wonder how many other organizations were searching for those particular people.
I am so glad that Pastors Dino and Delynn allow us to go into the streets in the middle of night to seek that which is lost. I believe, with everything in me, that's what Jesus would have us do. Sometimes on outreach we see miraculous healings and salvation. Sometimes we get home, at 4am covered in filth, and wonder if we made a difference. I don't know if we touched anyone's heart on Friday night but I believe God will honor our effort. And, if nothing else, I got to spend the night with some of the coolest people on earth, doing exactly what I love to do. I love my life, I love my church and I love my God. All glory to Him!

Right here, right now

Last night we got to do Midnight Outreach and it was FABULOUS. For those of you who don’t know, Midnight is an awesome outreach we do where we go to the clubs, bars and streets late at night to remind people that they are not forgotten. We typically take roses to ladies dancing at strip clubs, chocolate to the bouncers, and snacks to the people we find trolling the streets. It’s always exciting and God always shows up. Last night we had some really cool experiences.

Sometimes it’s just the regular crew of HPC volunteers that head out into the night, but last night we had the privilege of being joined by a mission team from Washington, DC. They are a great group of young people from Mark Batterson’s church and they are spending a few days with us at the Baton Rouge Dream Center learning how we do outreach at HPC. Our goal is to reach the world by serving one; and one of the best ways to do that is to equip other churches so they can replicate these outreaches in their own cities. It’s a cool opportunity to pass on the DNA of Healing Place.

So this is pretty much the highlight reel of last night:

Strip clubs:
• Gave out roses and chocolate at 3 south side clubs
• Favorite moment: seeing one of our volunteers crying in the parking lot, unable to express her gratitude for God delivering her from that life. Before Christ, she had been a stripper for 10 years. She knew everyone in the club, and last night she was able to walk in, hand out roses, and be a light of hope in that very dark place.

Top 10 Social Club:
• Handed out roses, chocolate, lip balm with hotline number and gifts for patrons to take home to their children.
• Favorite moment: a man standing in the parking lot, surrounded by team members praying for him, at midnight. He said that something had told him to go stand “right here, right now”. Our team leader told him that something had told us to go “right here, right now’. Cool God moment.

Street corner:
• Favorite moment: watching a prostitute take a rose from the hand of a volunteer. When we pulled up she started to run away…she said we scared her…then she took the rose and thanked us.

The Alamo:
• Handed out roses, chocolate and lip balm to people who were hanging around outside at this by-the-hour motel.
• Prayed for people who are lost, hurting and desperate for change.
• Dean got to talk to the owner and he said we could hang up a poster in the office letting people know what we do. This is extra cool because earlier in the week the same guy threw out one of our outreach teams off the property. Another God-connection.
• Favorite moment: meeting Brian. He was standing outside his room with Don and Monica, barbecuing in the back of their pick-up. They had a small charcoal grill, a plastic fork and some pork chops. We walked up and offered them chocolate. They took it and thanked us. We happened to have charcoal in the shuttle (thanks to Vince) so we offered them that too. Brian looked at me and asked why we were being so nice. I told them we were with Healing Place Church, and we were just out reminding people that they weren’t forgotten. “For real?” was his response. Monica said, “Sometimes it feels like we’re forgot”. We got to pray for them and invite them to church. Just before I got back onto the shuttle Brian crossed the parking lot with a Styrofoam tray full of pork chops. He offered it to me. I said, “Oh Brian, thank you so much but I can’t take your dinner.” He put it into my hands and said, “Ma’am, you can’t not take.”

I have been offered all kinds of things, from all kinds of people, in all kinds of situations. I have rarely been so humbled by someone’s generosity. Brian, Monica and Don were cooking their meal in the back of a pick-up truck in the middle of the night because their room doesn’t have a stove and they have nothing else to cook with. They had no plates, a plastic fork from a take-out place and no knife. And they gave their dinner to us. They fed the thirty-plus volunteers who were willing to show up at midnight and let them know that God loves them. After we prayed at I looked at Brian and said, “God is after you, Brian. You know that, right?” He dropped his head and nodded. He looked back at me and said, “Yes, I know that.” I believe God grabbed hold of his heart last night. I know He grabbed mine.

All glory to Him!

P.S.
I go to the coolest church in the world!!! Can you even believe we get to do this??? Thank you, Pastors Dino and DeLynn for allowing us to do this. Thank you for caring more about souls than about public opinion. Thank you for sending us to the least of these. God bless you.

Matthew 25:40
The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

1/2 way thru Servolution

It's Monday night and I just got back from outreach...in about 2 hours we handed out 500 hot dogs, a couple hundred drinks and 600 apple sauce and clif bars. Thankfully we had almost 60 volunteers helping us bless the people in Dixie and Prescott/Mohican.

Yesterday we had about 160 volunteers help us with our after-church luncheon. With close to 450 people on site it was one of our biggest Sunday services since we opened. Saturday we were slammed with multiple outreaches and hundreds of volunteers: adopt-a-block in Dixie, water giveaway at North Foster/Winbourne, paint-a-house on Fairwoods, extreme makeover at Desire Street Academy and an OCS match party on site. And just a few hours before we kicked that off we were in the streets and clubs for Midnight Outreach. I gotta tell ya, I need a nap!

Right now, in hundreds of churches around the world, God's people are reaching out to the lost and hurting through acts of service. Healing Place, under the incredible vision and leadership of Pastor Dino, has started a revolution through serving. It is both and honor and a privilege to be able to participate in Servolution 2009. All glory to God!

In the streets with Okies

What a week...and it's only Wednesday! We have been hitting the streets hard this week with 2 awesome mission teams on site...much love to Church of the Harvest and World Harvest, both coming in from Oklahoma to serve beside us for a few days. Quick recap thus far:

Monday night: Mark and Kayla Berger led the charge on our outreach in Kerr Park (a local facility in Dixie that would be considered sketchy on a good day). Undeterred by overcast weather or ankle-deep puddles, we served over 100 burgers and 80 hot dogs in about 90 minutes. And since we're the BRDC, we served em up with Cheetos, green beans, Spanish rice and peanut butter crisps. Yep, cause that's just how we roll North-side... no shame and no fear...we will serve anything we can put our hands on in any combination we can fit into a clam shell! And can I tell you, the people loved it.

Tuesday: After hitting Eaton Street with some prep work for our upcoming block party (trash clean up, flyer distribution, making friends with local businesses) we headed over to Prescott/Mohican area to hand out food and invite people to church. In less than an hour we provided snack packs to about a hundred people; over half of them children. They're hungry...for food, for God and for hope. And we were able to feed them, pray for them and let them know they're not forgotten.

Wednesday: I had the privilege of leading devotions with the teams this morning. I looked at the 40 or so kids sitting in that room and I thought 'the future of the church looks good'. These kids are hungry too...for more of God. That's a pretty cool hunger for teenagers to possess.

Tomorrow we'll hit the streets again and expect God to move in a mighty way. I love that God is rocking Baton Rouge and wrecking us for Jesus. I love that my church makes it a priority to feed the poor and invest in the next generation...and I love that God allows me to be a part of it. All glory to Him!

Great guys, great week

I love hanging out at the BRDC! We've had an incredible week, gearing up for incoming mission teams and just doing what we get to do. I started the week by going on the Monday Night Outreach with 2 of the coolest people I know...Mark and Kayla Berger. They're just good folks; love God, love each other, love people. They've been leading this outreach for awhile now but I don't usually attend. I'm so glad I went this week. We went to a park in Dixie where they were having little league b-ball practice inside and a bunch of kids hanging around outside in the play area. We served about 100 plates of chicken pasta in under 30 minutes. They were some seriously hungry kids. Once we ran out of food the volunteers split up; some to the football field, some inside running drills and some of us went door to door. It was slammin! We got to feed people, pray for them and offer the hope of Jesus Christ. It just doesn't get much better.

We've had some guys helping us out at the DC; guys who spend most of their time locked up at a local prison. They've been with us for 2 weeks and today they finished up. Before they left we gathered together at the DOC truck and talked for a few minutes. We told them everything they had been a part of...from preparing for GED classes to getting the church ready for somebody to encounter Jesus. We thanked them for everything they did and then Craig prayed for them. It was really cool. One of the guys said, "If God made people better than you them He kept them for himself". Another inmate said, "On behalf of all the guys I want to thank you. Lots of times we go places and people treat us like prisoners. You treated us like employees, and that something most of us left behind a long time ago. Thank you."
Not much to say after that; just stand there and try not to cry.

So yeah...great guys, great week, great God we serve. I gotta go for now because we have Midnight in a couple hours. I love my life...all glory to God!

Give to give away

Thrive is back!!! Over the holiday season we put the brakes on Thrive so we could focus on outreach and church service. Now that we're through crunch time we're back in full swing. We switched it up a little; focusing on the men at Roselawn on Thursdays and the women on Fridays at Winbourne. On the 4th Friday we bus everybody in to share a meal and hang out; kind of like a family dinner. Today was the 4th Friday.
We had almost 80 people there and I had the privilege of sharing for a few minutes before we ate. I talked about Paul being bitten by a snake after the shipwreck, and how we have to shake off the things that try to defeat us. When the viper latched onto his hand, Paul just shook it off into the fire and moved on. We talked about the storms in life and the things that can get us off course; things like addictions, anger and unforgiveness...things we have to learn to shake off.
After lunch I was talking to a volunteer when JD walked over and shook my hand. He leaned in close and whispered "You really blessed my heart today. I'm just gonna shake it off." He looked me square in the eyes and said again, "I'm just gonna shake it off". I thanked him and smiled before he darted off.
The first time I met JD I was prowling around down at the levee on a homeless outreach. JD was living in a tent about 30 feet away from the railway tracks with a couple of other guys. He was upset about his girlfriend being away at detox and, he was mostly drunk.
I believe that God is big enough to enable JD to shake off the drinking, the rejection and the things that keep him on the fringe of society. I don't know what he came in with today, but he left with hope. That's what the Dream Center is about...seeking that which is lost, bringing hope to the hopeless and healing to the hurting.
I love that we get to do this. I love that Pastor Dino and Delynn's heart is to serve the poor. I love that HPC'ers give...for the specific purpose of giving away.
I love my church. I love my God. I love that I get to serve Him at HPC. All glory to God!

Saturday Morning

It's been a long time since I've been on a Saturday morning outreach. I used to go all the time, but recently it seems like there are 100 other things that are eating up my Saturdays and keeping me from where I really want to be.
I've been sick all week but I decided that I was going on Saturday no matter what. I am so glad that I did. The outreach team is great; huge hearts, lots of fun and sold out to God, so just being around them makes me a better person. This week we went to a new area, kind of kitty-corner to the Dream Center. We knocked on doors, prayed with people and let everyone know that we've having a block party in 2 weeks. They were so receptive; genuinely glad that we were there.
The prayer requests are so simple that it sometimes hurts my heart. Joy needs a breakthrough in transportation. She goes to school full-time, works full-time and has trouble getting back and forth. Miss Emily needs strength; surrounded by five kids who are gathered around the tv watching cartoons, she looks weary. Tre works at the auto body shop across from the open lot where the block party will be. He's excited that we're going to be there and offers his electricity, water and anything else we need. Great connection...thank You God. A woman sitting in a lawn chair in an empty parking lot eyes us suspiciously and thanks us for the drink. She tells us to be careful; that we're in a bad neighborhood. We smile and tell that's why we're here.
I love that we get to spend our Saturdays in bad neighborhoods, handing out snacks and telling people about Jesus. I'm so excited that we're going to have a block party right in the middle of all of the drugs, violence and chaos...we are throwing a party for Jesus in the center of the enemy's camp.
How cool is our God? All glory to Him!