Experiences in Outreach

Prayer Amidst The Chaos

2008-11-20T12:28:00.000-08:00

We just finished our annual Thanksgiving feast with the poor and homeless at the weekly food distribution and I am feeling quite drained but I'm sure not nearly as drained as the wonderful volunteers who purchased, prepared and served the food. I didn't count, but by my estimate the number was well over 100. This many being served and trying to find a seat in a small area can be quite chaotic and overwhelming at times.

While I was standing behind the servers watching the people get there food, a young lady who comes just about every week came up to me and asked if I would pray for her 4 month old baby who had been sick for quite some time with chest congestion. After discussing the situation with her for a while she pulled out a picture of "Junior" to show me what he looks like. As I sit at my desk and write this blog, I am looking at the picture propped up on my computer monitor. It is there because I told her I would pray for him every day and she gave me the picture as a reminder. After she gave me the picture, I held her close to me, head on my chest and I prayed for her sons healing and her comfort through the Holy Spirit.

Any one in the room could have prayed for "Junior" but she picked me, "the minister". I have been in my role for over seven years now and I still have a hard time getting used to the fact that so many that I minister to believe I have some special connection with God and that for some reason He pays more attention when I pray. A pretty overwhelming thought considering all the blemishes myself and others see in me.

A Puddle Of Tears

2008-09-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

Each Monday afternoon, the church sets aside a certain amount of money for financial assistance to those who are not members of Central. In most cases we are not able to solve all of their financial problems, but we do get the opportunity to help a little bit and more importantly, show them the love of Jesus through refreshments, conversation, and prayer.

A little over a week ago, a young woman, after waiting her turn, came into my office and said she was needing some assistance in getting her birth certificate. She further explained to me that she was four days clean from drug use and that she had been living a life of prostitution for quite some time, until child protective services took custody of her children. In order to start the process of getting her children back, she was going to have to change the way she was living and establish a stable home for her kids. The first step in that was getting her birth certificate.

As I was doing the paperwork to fund her request, she asked if I would pray that God would give her the strength to make the changes in her life and bring her kids back to her. I reached across the desk and held both of her hands and began to pray. As I prayed, I began to hear sobbing which is not that unusual. What I was not prepared for was after completing the prayer, I looked up and her head was still bowed with a puddle of tears on my desk. This young woman with her extraordinary volume of tears reminded me of the woman in Luke 7 who came to Jesus broken, washing his feet with her tears.

I don't recall the scriptures indicating if this woman continued living a changed life, nor do I know if the young lady in my office will continue her resolve for a life change, but they both came to the Christ broken and full of tears. One came to Him in person and the other through prayer.

What a privilege to see the same Christ in 2008 as He was nearly 2000 years ago.

The Cost of Breakfast

2008-08-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

I sat across the table at a local coffee shop yesterday with a young lady who has been serving me breakfast for over 5 years. She is a waitress at a restaurant that I consider one of my connecting spots for new relationships in the community. Oh, no question, I do enjoy the breakfast, but better yet, I have developed some friendships with people outside of my church community.

Our conversations most of the time last only a few minutes, but sometimes they have gone longer because of some events that have taken place in their lives that I have been able to help with. Deaths, family problems, friends and coworkers who have gotten into trouble that I have visited in jail.

This young lady has suffered some significant loss in her family and has concluded that she needs God in her life. So, she asked if she could meet with me about how empty she was feeling and if I could help her connect with God. We started that process yesterday with a Bible study and she is like a sponge. So eager and ready to find the heavenly Father to replace the gods that she has relied on for most her life. She is one of four that have come to me about certain issues in their lives and perhaps someday the will want to know more about God and Jesus Christ.

Yes, I get teased quite often about how I frequent that restaurant but I can't keep from wondering as I sit across from her if I would have had the opportunity to show her God if I hadn't spent the money for breakfast. I'll let you know how it goes as we continue our study.

Looking Past The Repulsive

2008-06-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Today, we had a cookout at our weekly food distribution. Nearing the end of time to start cleaning up, five homeless men came up to get a hot dog and all the fix ins. There appearance was typical as you might expect someone to look after spending day and night on the streets. I did not recognize any of them with the exception of one who had been there before and is usually pretty intoxicated.

After they got their food and sat down on the ground, I went over to introduce myself to them and start a light conversation. Knowing from past experience that most homeless people are ignored for various reasons and they love it when people just speak to them, they immediately wanted me to listen to them and usually they want to get real close to you to tell their story. Most of these men had been drinking or were semi-high on something and hard to understand at times. Fighting past the smell, the appearance, the invasion of personal space that had me tempted to just get away, I listened to their words. They saw me as having some special connection with God that others didn't and asked me to pray for them and their safety because of the danger they face living on the street.

After they finished their meal in which they thanked me time and time again for, we gathered in a circle and started to pray. They took off their hats after being prompted by the leader of the group and respectfully bowed as I prayed for their safety and comfort while living a life on the street. When the prayer ended they each walked up to me for a hug and as they walked out they greeted, thanked, and hugged those who were responsible for serving the food. They experienced something special this morning. Maybe just kind people doing a good deed or perhaps God in the bodies of His children, the church. Either way, God is teaching us to look past the outside and seek the internal.

Sorry it's been a while since I blogged.

I Became Angry

2008-02-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

In just a few days, I will complete six years of my ministry on staff here a Central, and in the first weeks of the ministry I met a young lady who was needing some financial assistance. She would come to our food distribution and so I saw her just about every week. She basically lived in different houses of those who would take her for some reason or another. In the time that I have known her she has lost two children to child protective services and her life seems to have very little direction. She has been in jail a number of times on different charges. Most of them drug and alcohol related. She has what I consider a very calm and sweet spirit and a few years back I talked with her about her life and how I felt that she had a great deal of potential with some grooming, shelter and financial stability. I even offered to help her by entering her in a job program here at the church building which would open up a number of possibilites for her. She just looked at me, shook her head, and said, "Oh Mark", as if to say "you just don't understand". She didn't ever see herself as being any different than what she was. So I just resigned myself to pray for her and continue contact with her as long as I could. I don't see her now but about once a month.

Two weeks ago, I saw her again on the street corner approaching car windows asking for money, which is pretty aggressive based on the fact that most stand on the street corner holding a sign. She must have needed the money badly and probably not for good reasons. I sat in my truck finding myself getting angry and wanting to get out of my truck, shake her and tell her again, "You don't have to do this". I then remembered something that I have learned over the past six years. Many of these folks have layers and layers of issues that have to be peeled back to get to the root of what convinces them that they can't do any better.

So, I just shook my head and did what I normally do and that is give them over to God in prayer and ask Him to give me wisdom to deal with these complex issues.

The Love In Doing Laundry

2008-02-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

Traditionally, on Thursday morning, I treat one of our lady's to a breakfast who we met six years ago in a homeless shelter. She has a home now, and cleans the Upreach Center as a part of her ministry. We spend part of our time together during breakfast praying for the food distribution that takes place later in the morning. She brought a friend with her this morning who was homeless at about the same time. She was quite a talker and was going on and on about her washer and dryer she had gotten and what a blessing from God they were that she could get up and do her laundry each day. I thought to myself, "when is she going to stop talking about her laundry and move on to something more important"? Then it hit me. This lady used to haul her laundry to a laundry mat by walking or upon occassion got a ride from a friend.

I do my laundry each Friday morning and dread the fact that I have to gather the laundry basket full of dirty clothes, walk 30 feet to the garage, and put them in a washer and dryer that we have always had. In fact, I don't remember a time in my life that we didn't have at least a washer. When I was very young my mother hung the clothes outside. This lady felt so loved by God, being able to do her laundry without leaving her apartment.

The lesson to me was this. God loves us in the big things and the little things like: roofs over our heads, electric stoves and ovens, furniture, carpet, food, TV's, cars, lamps, beds with electric blankets, clothes and yes, washers and driers.

Thank you Lord for loving me in the little things.

I've Been Reminded

2008-01-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

I love, but hate those who remind me to do something that I committed to do. I think it is called accountability and I preach that all of the time.

A friend of mine who I went to high school with sent me an email and reminded me that I hadn't blogged since Oct. 30th. Actually, last week I thought I should write about some of the experiences during the holidays in the outreach ministry. So to my good friend whom I am grateful that he reads the blog and holds me accountable, here we go.

The holidays are always a difficult time for those who are homeless and poor, but this year I felt it even more. God has lead me to base the outreach ministry on building relationships as we meet the needs of those we come in contact with. This involves listening to much of the pain that others feel and during the holidays that pain is magnified among the poor because many do not have family relationships, shelter, food, or other needs. A phrase I hear quite often during the holidays is "I hate this time of year".

This year we did some additional ministry projects during the holidays, where I heard even more of these stories. Before I left for some vacation time before Christmas, I was doing a devotional with a group of people who came to our food distribution we have each week. During the devotional, I broke down and confessed to them that I was feeling a great deal of stress from listening and seeing the pain that so many were in. After telling them that I needed a break and was going to hit the gym hard to release the bottled up emotion, some of them came to me and told me they loved me and hoped I would feel better soon. Powerful words from people who feel much of that pain all year.

The minister got ministered to. What wonderful people they are.

"Is Anybody Listening"

2007-10-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

A line from a frustrated car buyer while trying to communicate what he wanted in a car. This phrase came to mind a couple of weeks ago when I was leading a devotional at our food distribution ministry.

I was leading a short devotional based on the scripture where Jesus talks about loving and praying for those who hurt you and that might be considered enemies. I could tell that some were struggling with this concept because of where many of them live their lives, they have opportunity to develop many enemies.

One man who attends just about every week but never makes a comment, caught me at the end and asked me where the scripture on enemies is found. He said that he was hurt by his wife just that week and that he really needed what was said about dealing with her. He was so thankful that God had spoken to him through His word.

This man was listening and heard God's word at a time he needed it.

In The Mirror

2007-08-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a daily devotional book on how to be externally focused in the world today. In the book it talks about ways to be Jesus in your daily travels which, has really impacted my life because it is practical in a way that I could see myself doing some of the things suggested.

I was sitting a breakfast this morning and noticed a family of three at a booth waiting on their food. They looked quite sad, in fact one the teenage boys had his head face down on the table. He could have just been sleepy, I'm not sure. I decided that this would be a good opportunity to walk the talk and so I asked the waiter if he would give me a piece of paper and pen so I could write a note. I wrote a simple message, "Your breakfast has been taken care of. God loves you. Have a great day". I asked the waiter that when they got ready to pay the bill to give them the note. After finishing my breakfast, I paid both mine and their ticket and got in my truck to leave. As I backed out, I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the three of them standing outside the entrance of the resturant gazing at the note and looking at each other with a smile.

It's the best thing I have ever seen in my mirror. God's love making a difference in very simple ways.

The Bright Side

2007-06-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

In June, I went to Greensburg, Kansas, to counsel with some of the victims of the F5 tornado that destroyed 90% of that small community of about 1,500 people. In most cases, all that people had left were the clothes on their back, what they had in their pockets and purses and what they could salvage out of the rubble.

Many of the people that I worked with had smiles on their faces and were quite grateful that their lives were spared and the loss of life in the community were small in number. Still, there was an inner sadness among many of them that would come out quickly as they began to tell about their experience during the tornado and soon afterward.

Part of my task in counseling is to help them reframe the experience into something positive which prompts some strange looks from those who have just lost most of their earthly possessions. When I asked one man the question, "What good do you see coming out of this experience"? He gave me a strange look and after pausing for about a minute said, "My honey-do list just decreased to zero".

God bless these folks as they rebuild their lives and town.

"A Good Word"

2007-05-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

If you have read any of the previous posts you probably have come across some comments about our weekly food distribution to the poor called "Loaves and Fishes".

Today, there was a man there who had attended a few times before, who obviously had some issues that made you do a double take. He appeared to be a bit intoxicated or had some mental illness or both. With no intention of being disrespectful, I would describe him as a "mess".

I talked with some of the friends he came with and asked if he was alright. They told me that he came from a very dysfunctional family, had addiction problems and was claustrophobic. That was evident when he would leave the room and go outside twice while our worship minister was doing the devotional. In fact, the second time he came back in, he looked at me with a pained look on his face and said, "I'm trying man". He later told me that his best friend was his dog "Rabie" and that he had a very difficult time being in a room with anyone but his dog. I think it would take a therapist years to peel way the layers to get to the root of this man's pain.

I found myself wondering way this man, who was so miserable, was subjecting himself to a room full of people and was away from his dog? Well, he answered that question when I over heard him telling one of his friends on the porch, "I just need to hear a good word".

Often, church members and others, will tell me that they would like to work in the ministry to the poor, but they don't know what to say to them. This man, who's issues seemed so deep and complicated, only needed "a good word". How simple is that?

To See Again

2007-04-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday evening each week, another lady from our church and myself, take one of the women from a local homeless shelter here in town to coffee just to get to know them better. The meetings have proven to be an amazing time where mutual life stories are told and intimacy is built.

Last week, we were visiting with a young lady who was down because of a very tough couple of days. She said it seemed like for every step forward she took she went two steps backward. It was difficult for her to manage a smile during our entire conversation together. As we talked, I noticed that her eyes appeared to be hurting and I asked her about it. She said, that she had lost her glasses quite some time back and she was straining to see us. The next day, I arranged to have her see an optometrist who is a church member here for an eye exam and a pair of glasses.

I saw her last night at the shelter, grinning from ear to ear with a brand new pair of beautiful eye glasses. She met me at the door with a thank you note in hand, a big hug, and these words, "It's really good to see you". I read the note a bit later and one of the lines in it is, "I want to thank you for helping me see again".

What a wonderful God who can restore our sight in more ways than one.

4 Dimes, 1 Nickel, and 9 Pennies

2007-03-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

Do we really believe that Jesus knows the best way to live to the point that we live it? Or, do we think it sounds good on paper but doesn't really work in the real world? That was the message of the sermon this morning.

One of the ladies who attends our food distribution during the week came into the worship service just before the sermon began and sat down. I recognized her and was so glad to see her come to the Sunday morning assembly. At the end of the worship service, I stood at the back to shake hands with those who were filing out of the auditorium, when this lady came up to me with a smile and said that she came in late and missed the offering plate and wondered where she could take her offering. I told her that I would be glad to take it to where it needed to be. She told me that during the sermon she remembered the story about the woman who gave all she had. With her delightful smile, she held out her hand and dropped a few coins in my hand and asked if I would put it in the offering for her. I gave her a hug and we parted with a mutual "God Bless".

I took the coins back to my office for safekeeping until in the morning when I can give it to our bookkeeper for the final count of the contribution. I sat down and laid the coins on my desk. Our average weekly contribution is around $36,000.00 and this week, an additional 4 dimes, 1 nickel, and 9 pennies.

I think this lady, who struggles to have enough to eat each week, believes that Jesus knows the best way to live. She lived it this morning.

Investing In Lives

2007-03-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

I hesitate to share this letter that was given to me this morning because of the admiration toward me, but I think it speaks to what our time and effort means to those who don't get much time and effort because of their status. The cool thing about this is that the body of Christ gets the ultimate glory.

Thank you for being my friend and my Sunday School teacher. You are one of the great ones of all time and your like a angel set from heaven. I can tell things that sometimes I can't tell them to no body else. Your smart and your so funny, witty and very gracious all the time. God will be with you until the end of time because you help those who are in need.

Thank you and the church for helping me in this trying time.

Love Always,
Your Friend
(And her name)

P.S. My heart and soul is with you and the church always. Since I have met you my life has been full of joy and peace. The church also has been a real uplifting for my heart and soul. And it will continue for my heart and soul until the end of time.

(End of letter)

One gift the poor can give are kind words.

Breaking The Rules

2007-02-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

Breaking The Rules! It's not something you teach your kids and being a conformist, it is certainly not within my nature. However, early on in my ministry, when I was touring different facilities who minister to the poor, one of the workers told me that if the Holy Spirit leads you to help someone, then it doesn't matter what the rules are. Which leads me to this afternoon.

A man, who I helped last year, came in for gasoline assistance. My ministry assistant warned me before he came in that he did not have the proper documentation required to receive assistance. I told her that I would probably send him away to get the proper paperwork. He came into my office coughing and not feeling well which usually means for my sake and his I get them out quickly.

As I usually do, I asked him how he was doing and he proceeded to tell me about his friend, whom I also knew, who was murdered three days earlier. He was surprisingly stone faced as he told me the story of how the crime happened and how he held his dying friend in his lap and encouraged him to hang on while they waited for the parametics to arrive. Before long, thiry minutes had passed as I listened to the heart wrenching story and how he felt so numb to just about anything and anyone. I told him that what he was experiencing was normal for someone who was grieving and that I was willing to walk through his grief with him. He immediately teared up and began to cry. After he gained some composure, he told me that this was only the second time he cried since the incident occurred and how much he appreciated the opportunity to talk about his friend. He wiped his eyes and gathered his keys, shook my hand, and told me he would call me later to let me know how he is doing.

I asked what he needed the gas for and he told me he was going to go tell some of his friends what had happened. I gave him the gas assistance and told him the rules would apply next time.

Thank you, Jesus

2007-01-18T18:30:00.000-08:00

If you live in the area of Amarillo, Texas, as of the date of this post, you know we have experienced some of the coldest weather in quite some time. This poses some real challenges for the homeless and the poor as was the case of one woman I talked with this week.

She explained to me that her and her family did not have heat in their house due to a wall heater that had been tagged by the fire department as unsafe. The only heat source they had was a kitchen stove which would heat a small portion of the house. She asked, if the church had an electric heater they could borrow until her husband got paid at the end of the week. I asked her to call Walmart and find out the cost of a heater, which she promptly did. A few minutes later, she called back and told me what the price of the heater was and I told her that I would write her a check from the church to purchase the heater. She asked if I would hold while she got a pencil and paper to write down the address of the church. She put the phone down and I could faintly hear her saying, "thank you Jesus ... thank you Jesus ... thank you, thank you, thank you".

The price of the heater was small. The gift to her and her family was huge. Yes, thank you Jesus for your church.

The Difference Between Night and Day

2006-12-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

The other night, I was attending a Christmas party at a local homeless shelter where the board and staff members of the shelter along with the residents get together for a meal, words of encouragement, and some gift exchange. A number of the women who are staying at the shelter helped prepare some of the dishes and were responsible for the cleanup afterwards.

I stayed a little bit after the party was over and went into the kitchen where one of the residents was washing dishes. She was from New York and had been at the shelter for a little over a month. I wished her a Merry Christmas and then she began to tell me a little bit about her Christmas last year, and what a difference this year was, being in a safe warm place where people cared about her. As she talked further about her experience, tears came to her eyes, her lips began to quiver, and she said, "Because of Martha's Home, I have hope".

Hope, the difference between night and day.

Earning The Right Into Lives

2006-12-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

I suppose it is true of any segment of society but I find it especially true in my ministry, as it relates to the way relationships progress to a point that people let you into the deep recesses of their lives and feelings.

Yesterday, I sat in the living room of a woman, talking about where she is spiritually and her brief life story, which, is quite interesting. As I drove away after about an hour visit, I couldn't help but think that just a year ago she was just one of the many who come to our Thursday food distribution that we see once a week that are acquaintances. However, she told me one day, that her son was in a Texas prison and asked if I would write to him and try to encourage him because he was quite depressed. I did write, and quickly received a return letter from him much to his mother's delight. From that time on, the doors into her life began to open, and soon she was inviting me and the other members of our staff to her house for coffee, lunch, dinner, etc.. Would this have happened if I hadn't written the letter? I can't say. However, I can say, that the more I invest time and effort into peoples lives, the more doors continue to open, which results in meaningful relationships like this one.

Oh, by the way, she is placing her membership with the church this week and we are privileged to have her.

Community Partners

2006-12-02T10:20:00.000-08:00

Natives to the Texas Panhandle have a saying, "If you don't like the weather now, just wait fifteen minutes". Having lived here for fifty years, I think that is a bit of an exaggeration but, its close, and November 29th was one of those days that would support the idea. Forecasters were predicting one to three inches of snow by morning, but the storm took an unexpected shift to the south and over eight inches of wind driven snow was on the ground the next morning shutting down travel and schools in the area.

By late morning on the 30th, I received a call from the local Red Cross asking if they could use the church building as a shelter for over 100 bus travelers who were stranded because of the storm. Volunteers from the Red Cross began showing up at 1:00 pm with trailers of food, bedding, signs, and supplies along with a lady who had the word "Sheriff" on her hat. After 15 minutes of watching her direct the volunteers, I knew that the best thing I could do is get out of the way, and in 1 hours time a portion of the church building was converted to a shelter ready to receive weary travelers. Later that night, one man told my wife and I that he had been on the bus 4 days now trying to get to his destination. He was quite grateful that he was not sleeping in the bus station that night. As we were leaving, one man, who was responding to a media report that blankets were needed, brought a box of blankets for those who were stranded.

As media reports came in that evening and the next morning about the temporary shelter, I was quite proud of the way the Red Cross responded and how the body of Christ (the church), could help make some peoples lives a little more pleasant for one evening.

The next morning, I went back to the church building by 8:00, and the only signs of the shelter being there were some tracked up floors and a left over Red Cross sign on the door. The media was reporting that the travelers were back on the bus and once again heading to their destination.

Ray's Of Sunshine

2006-11-15T12:44:00.000-08:00

I'm sure that many of you have experienced days, weeks, months, or longer when it feels like you can't do anything right. I have been told by more than one homeless person that the failure in their lives is so overwhelming that it is like a constant cloud hanging over their head.

Our church has a ministry for women that teaches different life skills such as personal hygiene, job interview skills, nutrition, budget and stress management, along with other topics that help in day to day living. Most of the women who attend are from a local homeless shelter in town called, Martha's Home. At the end of each 9 week session, a graduation party is held where certificates of completion and acknowledgments are handed out and ice cream sundies are served. Best of all, I get invited to come, and last night my daughter decided to come with me.

When we entered the room where the celebration was held, we were greeted with enthusiastic hellos, smiles, and hugs. The compliments to the volunteers who hold the classes were flying left and right and the women from the shelter were laughing and full of joy. In addition, some were asking if they could take the course again.

God made the sun shine at creation and He did it again last night through the volunteer efforts of his children. God bless them.

"She Gave All She Had" - Mark 12

2006-11-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, the ministers and ministry assistants at Central, spent a week dwelling on the passage in Mark 12, where Jesus noted that a poor widow gave all that she had. For most of my life I would blaze through this scripture thinking to myself, "how foolish" or "not in today's world". Until, I met a lady in a homeless shelter early in my ministry who, for this posting, I will call Judy.

After a few months, Judy became a member at Central and began working alongside us in ministry. She acquired Section 8 housing after leaving the shelter, but had little income because of a disability. She would work odd jobs here and there but only enough to have a small amount of change each week for city bus fare or necessities that she could not get at food pantries or helping agencies in town.

One afternoon, as I was going to my car, Judy met me in the parking lot with a noticeable limp and we began to talk about her day. She told me that she had a doctors appointment at the clinic that morning and was on her way home, but that she wanted to stop by the church building and pick up lessons to grade for a prison ministry she signed up for. After visiting for a little while, I gathered that she was walking home from the clinic which in my estimation is about a 7 mile walk. I asked Judy why she did not take the bus home and she told me that she did not have enough to ride the bus and pay her tithe the coming Sunday.

The one way bus fare is 75 cents.

Was It A Coincidence?

2006-11-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday of this week, I struggled as to what the subject of the class was going to be this morning. After looking through some resource material in my office I chose a section of scripture in Acts, which had to do with Herod's persecution of the church and the killing of John's brother, James. You may recall that after James was murdered, Peter was arrested, thrown in jail, and victoriously released by an angel of the Lord. The point of the lesson was that God can be victorious out of deep personal loss, such as John's loss in the death of his brother.

In class a discussion began as to how loss during the holidays is so difficult and that Thanksgiving and Christmas can be bitter sweet for so many as a result of the death of friends or family. As the discussion continued, I noticed a first time visitor, who brought one our members to class as a favor to her, weeping. I asked her if I hit a heart string and would she like to share her struggle. She told us that she lost her son four years ago on Thanksgiving Day and in order to mask her pain began using cocaine for a period of two years. She announced that she had been clean for two years now, and that she didn't get to come to church very often because she drives a truck for a living. It was certainly the first time she had been to our class and to Central but it felt like we had known her for quite some time. We prayed for her and ended the class on that note.

I don't know about you, but I don't think it was a coincidence that the Lord gave me the subject of "loss" on Tuesday, to talk about today, and that this lady was present to receive a blessing as well as the class.

Environment of Safety

2006-11-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

I seem to be using the phrase, environment of safety, quite a bit these days and today I did it again.

I stood before a crowd of over 80 poor people today and asked for individual prayer requests at our "Loaves and Fishes" food distribution held each week. Some weeks I sense a great deal of sadness and pain in the room and today was one of those days. On two occasions before the person could complete the request, their voice broke and their eyes teared up. After the requests died down and just before the prayer, I told them how much I appreciated them feeling like they have an environment of safety to express painful issues to be lifted up in prayer.

For the past two weeks, after the closing prayer, I have sat with two different individuals as they expressed deep pain over the loss of a family member or a battle with disease. Also, its not uncommon that others will share with the other ministers, or members who are present.

I have wondered in the past if they do this everywhere they go and have asked some of them individually why it seems so easy? The usual comment is, "because we feel you really care". I think this is probably true for anyone and not just the poor.

Please pray for hearts that care and ears willing to listen.

A Coat

2006-11-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

You never really miss a coat until you are stuck outside in the freezing cold, which prompts you to quickly retrieve it from your closet.

Our teenagers are currently collecting new and used coats to give to the poor during our annual Thanksgiving dinner in 9 days, which takes me back about 3 years to a touching display of love involving a coat.

The church here at Central is involved in a ministry with a homeless shelter for women and children called, Martha's Home, here in Amarillo. One of the women from the shelter attended our worship service on a cold Sunday morning when during the singing portion of the service, one of our elderly ladies noticed that she did not have a coat. The woman walked across the aisle and offered her the coat she was wearing that morning. The lady from the shelter gratefully took it, they exchanged smiles, and both resumed their worship to God. Obviously, the exchange was noticed by many who were sitting close and was discussed for days among themselves and with others who didn't see it.

I don't know if the coat still exists, but I suspect the impact of a small act in a very special time carries on today.

My Beginning 11/07/2006

2006-11-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

As I come to the close of my fourth year as minister to the poor I see so many changes in the lives of those God has put in our path. Upon occassion I share one of those stories with someone and their usual comment is, "Others need to hear the story".

Over the next few weeks I will be posting some of those stories for you to share in the blessing of what God does in the lives of those who seek him and how He uses His people to heal and bless.

I hope you enjoy this journal and invite any comments or stories you have seen or shared in.

God Bless