From the moment I woke up this morning, I just knew that it was going to be an incredible evening. I could feel it deep down in my soul. I anxiously waited all afternoon for the time to arrive. I did not know what to expect, but I knew it was going to be something good, something sweet, and something to reflect on later. The events of tonight are exactly that!!
First off, I normally do the packing and preparation before hand in the morning before I head into work. Today I was unable to do so because of an appointment I could not miss, which left me no choice but to do when I got home from work... giving me about an hour, including everything else involved with loading the truck and being on the road by 4:30pm.
As the season has changed, so has the time of daylight. The sun had just set when we arrived, so it was getting dark quickly. We were in rush mode, because there are no real decent lights in the area to see what we're getting our hands into, plus it makes things a bit harder for me to see my notes when sharing a message.
From the moment we stepped out from the truck, we had our help standing by. It's encouraging to see the help of others to make this work smoothly. To my surprise, we had extra guests come down to assist in whatever way possible. Our team was 15 people strong tonight! As we joined hands in prayer, I glanced towards the crowd and saw what I can only describe as an out-of-body experience, and seen a glow of joy, love, hope, truth, and sincerity radiating from our team because Jesus was with us.
We passed out invitations to the Thanksgiving outreach that our church is hosting, and gave information on where the shuttles will be picking people up from the area. A large number of people showed interest in coming and taking advantage of all the wonderful things GOD has opened for them. Perhaps the outreach will move some of them towards getting back on their feet and finding a job suitable for them.
The food lasted long enough for some of the crowd to eat second plates. Pasta is by far one of the wisest meals to feed someone who is hungry, because it fulfills their hunger needs throughout the entire night. All the additional items brought down are a big help when it comes to spreading the food to last and actually make it a dinner and not just a plate with a scoop of noodles on it.
As mentioned, we had a large number of people helping to serve, which gave plenty of opportunity for others on the team to co-mingle with the crowd, ministering one-on-one with people. GOD is so faithful to answer prayers and fill voids. I'd been asking Him for others to have the opportunity to sit with the people and tonight He honored that request.
We are asking for specific prayer for one of the guys, Richard. It was about a month ago, that his leg was severely beaten and shattered during a robbery by another homeless man. Richard obviously has no money for medical help. To describe his leg as in 'bad shape' would be a lie... it's in horrible shape! Tonight Danna, noticed that his foot has starting black. This is a very bad sign and may demand for his foot to be cut off. He needs medical attention and he needs it like yesterday, if you catch my drift.
Tonight we had no issues, in fact... we had alot of encouraging support from people stopping by to ask what was going on. GOD is so faithful. As I shared with some of those who stopped, I was reminded of this verse: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
I think it's pretty safe to speak on behalf of all who make LTN Ministry what it is, in saying that our only goal/desire is to glorify our Heavenly Father.
