There are times in one's life where you start to feel worn out, but that's just life. Our retreat get away couldn't have come at a better time for me. I was refreshed, encouraged, and blessed while absent from the Ministry.
I see now that it was in His plan, to give me the strength and compassion to see what would come this week. Being a holiday weekend, Amanda suggested we arrive early for the sake of parking, which we did... Even arriving at 4:30, I was surprised to see such a large crowd waiting for us! I could easily sit here and share of the discouraging events of the evening, but I won't. I'd love to share what Jesus did and how He was able to work through everything.
My good friend, Jason, blessed us with some sweet worship music. It was a real treat, as it was totally unexpected. Many people passing by stopped and listened, while a handful of those we serve, joined in the praise songs! A few people received prayer, at their personal request, in which all of us were more than happy to lift to the Lord.
Another surprise was our friend, Mark, who is such a gentle spirited guy came down and was able to spend good, quality time one-on-one with individuals as was needed. It was great to have him back for the time being.
One might look at our Ministry as a waste of time serving a group of ungrateful people, but when we see the results of those few that are starting to bear fruits in their lives, and we see the slow transformation.... it is so worth it!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again.... this is surely a hard, difficult Ministry. It is ONLY by the grace of GOD and through His strength alone, that we are able to endure. Jesus never gave up on us, so we should we give up on them.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
May 20th 2011 - Spring in The Air
We could definitely see Spring had arrived even though it was partially cloudy at the beach on Friday night. How? New things were sprouting all over the place in Loving Thy Neighbor Ministry!
Our fearless pioneers, Beau and Amanda were gifted anonymously by someone at Horizon Christian Fellowship to attend a married couples retreat. If that wasn't awesome enough on its own........the men and women who regularly come down to the beach were excited and happy for Beau and Amanda. We know the people we serve missed Beau and Amanda because we must have answered the question "Beau and Amanda aren't here. Where are they? Are they alright?" about a dozen or more times. It was so sweet to see people who are poor, homeless, and possibly living in terrible addiction be so genuinely happy for someone else.
More victory to report: 10 highschool kids from Ohio came to help us serve and they were such an incredible blessing. Sometimes the "regulars" allow the clothes giveaway table to be overwhelming. The sweetest high school girl worked that table with not only the skill of folding clothes faster than anyone but more importantly she had a pure servant's heart. She said she was a Senior and never wanted to leave San Diego. We laughed because once you've spent much time here; it truly is hard to leave.
It seems to us that God does things differently sometimes just to surprise us. The kids were so excited to serve that they started almost before the devotion was given but the man appointed to give the devotion did manage to read some scripture. It just meant the line started probably 10-15 minutes earlier than normal. That meant those that habitually come late came too late. Hopefully it teaches them to come earlier so that not only do they get fed physically but also hopefully feed their souls. It is sad to see someone rush up at the very end and give us their reasons for being late but have to tell them there is no more food when we know they are really physically hungry. Sometimes we think they probably could arrive on time but chose not to do so. It is all in God's hands and that is one of the biggest lessons we are learning at the beach.
Knowing God has annointed this ministry is what makes it so easy sometimes and yet so challenging. We always start with prayer and we did so as usual. The prayer circle was large and more of those we serve joined us in the prayer circle than on most usual Friday nights. Occasionally we have 3-4 homeless join us in the prayer circle but it seemed like that number was almost doubled this week. We look forward to the day when everyone we serve will join hands with us in prayer.
One sad note is that for the known time; pregnant women were in line to be served. Three pregnant women. It broke our hearts. Especially when Danna would recommend the San Diego Rescue Mission as a safe place to live and encourage them to check it out because they could keep their baby with them at SDRM and the women would say they didn't want to go to SDRM because they'd couldn't live with their boyfriend there. At SDRM, the men and women are seperated. Our Core Group prayed for the women and their babies that night at bible study. The lies of the enemy blind people and it is so sad. Blindness physically can be sometimes be overcompensated with skillsets and technology. Blindness of the heart can bring about problems here on earth but more importantly eternal devastation. This is what breaks our heart.
Oh, back to spring.........We rejoice in those 10 teenagers who joined us with joy and energy! They were the fresh air of Spring!!! May God always keep them close and may they sense His Presence in their lives. Our prayer is Col 2:2-3 and Isaiah 33:6 will continued to be manifested in these young peoples lives and God will always be glorified in their lives.
We remind Beau frequently how this ministry teaches those of us that serve as much as those we serve. It could just as easily in the blink of an eye be us on the other side of the serving table.
Thank you Lord for Your mighty acts at Crystal Pier every Friday night! You are GOOD!
Our fearless pioneers, Beau and Amanda were gifted anonymously by someone at Horizon Christian Fellowship to attend a married couples retreat. If that wasn't awesome enough on its own........the men and women who regularly come down to the beach were excited and happy for Beau and Amanda. We know the people we serve missed Beau and Amanda because we must have answered the question "Beau and Amanda aren't here. Where are they? Are they alright?" about a dozen or more times. It was so sweet to see people who are poor, homeless, and possibly living in terrible addiction be so genuinely happy for someone else.
More victory to report: 10 highschool kids from Ohio came to help us serve and they were such an incredible blessing. Sometimes the "regulars" allow the clothes giveaway table to be overwhelming. The sweetest high school girl worked that table with not only the skill of folding clothes faster than anyone but more importantly she had a pure servant's heart. She said she was a Senior and never wanted to leave San Diego. We laughed because once you've spent much time here; it truly is hard to leave.
It seems to us that God does things differently sometimes just to surprise us. The kids were so excited to serve that they started almost before the devotion was given but the man appointed to give the devotion did manage to read some scripture. It just meant the line started probably 10-15 minutes earlier than normal. That meant those that habitually come late came too late. Hopefully it teaches them to come earlier so that not only do they get fed physically but also hopefully feed their souls. It is sad to see someone rush up at the very end and give us their reasons for being late but have to tell them there is no more food when we know they are really physically hungry. Sometimes we think they probably could arrive on time but chose not to do so. It is all in God's hands and that is one of the biggest lessons we are learning at the beach.
Knowing God has annointed this ministry is what makes it so easy sometimes and yet so challenging. We always start with prayer and we did so as usual. The prayer circle was large and more of those we serve joined us in the prayer circle than on most usual Friday nights. Occasionally we have 3-4 homeless join us in the prayer circle but it seemed like that number was almost doubled this week. We look forward to the day when everyone we serve will join hands with us in prayer.
One sad note is that for the known time; pregnant women were in line to be served. Three pregnant women. It broke our hearts. Especially when Danna would recommend the San Diego Rescue Mission as a safe place to live and encourage them to check it out because they could keep their baby with them at SDRM and the women would say they didn't want to go to SDRM because they'd couldn't live with their boyfriend there. At SDRM, the men and women are seperated. Our Core Group prayed for the women and their babies that night at bible study. The lies of the enemy blind people and it is so sad. Blindness physically can be sometimes be overcompensated with skillsets and technology. Blindness of the heart can bring about problems here on earth but more importantly eternal devastation. This is what breaks our heart.
Oh, back to spring.........We rejoice in those 10 teenagers who joined us with joy and energy! They were the fresh air of Spring!!! May God always keep them close and may they sense His Presence in their lives. Our prayer is Col 2:2-3 and Isaiah 33:6 will continued to be manifested in these young peoples lives and God will always be glorified in their lives.
We remind Beau frequently how this ministry teaches those of us that serve as much as those we serve. It could just as easily in the blink of an eye be us on the other side of the serving table.
Thank you Lord for Your mighty acts at Crystal Pier every Friday night! You are GOOD!
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