Week 22

It was another night full of encouragement & blessings and for the most part... respect. I mention respect, simply because it's something that I realize all the people in Pacific Beach have for us, or at least while they're in line waiting for a hot meal. I'll explain further into this.

Today, the smaller things for preperation seemed chaotic. The store was completely out of ice, which meant going to another store and spending more for less ice... then I stood behind the most absurb customer at yet a differant store, so we could get a new pan for the bread, which took over 20mins. I thought we'd be running late when it came to crunch time, but somehow-someway we still ended up arriving in PB about 15 mins ahead of schedule.

Upon arrival we noticed familiar faces waiting curbside to assist with the unloading. Ray, one of our brothers from church, blessed us with his presence and helping hands... and boy did we need the extra hands tonight! It's so enlightening to see how GOD speaks to others and gets them involved one way or another.

Our brother, Randy sat post at the prayer table (which was a great idea, NOT MINE, by the way) on the upper level boardwalk. Loving Thy Neighbor Ministries now has an awesome flyer for others to read as they stroll on by.

I shared a message of hope, the only true hope that can be found in our Lord Jesus Christ. It seemed alot easier tonight, then it did last week. I didn't have the butterflies in my stomach or the shaking of my knees. There was a very captive audience of about 100 people, who *respectfully stood quiet as I started to share. They trust us and that means a great deal to me. They may not all share our beliefs but they do have enough respect to not interrupt when I'm sharing GOD's word. As I spoke, I looked around in the crowd and could almost see the men & women soaking up the verses and evaulating what was said.

A man who had been walking by, over heard the closing prayer and came by to share some encouraging words. He's a believer too, and just moved to town. He said that he'd like to possibly start assisting us and promised to come by next week. The good Lord knows as this thing grows, we can sure use the extra help! Another guy who was getting food, told me he had written a song about our ministry and wanted to share it next week. I'm somewhat cautious about that one... we certainly do not wish to take any credit for anything that has happened here in the past 5 months, but it would be nice to hear how others perceive the changes in peoples lives through the Love that has been poured out.

For the first time ever... we nearly turned somebody away without a bite to eat. As the last person stood before us, staring down at the empty trays, with despair in his eyes... all I had left to offer was a single apple. Spike, another brother in the Body, saw what went on and sacrificially handed the guy his own plate of food. It broke my heart to see such humility from one who's in need himself. The Lord takes care of His own and Spike knows that. We prayed with confidence that Spike's needs be met.

A few more guys showed interest in coming to church and hearing more about Jesus. Soon I'll be needing a bus to transport the group. Thankfully others from our church have generously offered assistance if transportation ever became a fitment issue.

GOD's love is amazing! GOD's love is abundant! GOD's love is overflowing onto the boardwalk of Pacific Beach and it's only going to grow!

Week 21 (Sunday)

Steven accompanied me for service this morning. We decided to stay for both services, where we eventually met up with Amanda. He shared with me how much he enjoys coming to our church and meeting new friendly people, but most importantly he hears the Lord speak to him through the message each week.

After service, we met with some of the Missionaries that are in town for "The Huddle", and I was able to introduce Steven to some of my friends. It was a real pleasant day today.

Steven explained that he was unaware of the baptism that had occurred on Friday and was disappointed that he'd missed it. I quickly offered the chance to do it today, again without a change of clothes for either of us. He took me up on the offer and at 4:15pm this afternoon, the old Steven was washed away and the new Steven rose from the water.

I'm so thankful to be used by GOD as a positive influence in somebody's life.