Tuesday April 27, 2010
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July 27th, 2010 – Together We Can Food Drive
July 8th, 2010 – You Are Personally Invited
June 30th, 2010 – Life Support
June 9th, 2010 – Your Church Building
June 1st, 2010 – Service: Period!
May 17th, 2010 – Who’s Judging Who?
Monday March 29, 2010
7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead. – Romans 14:7-9 (NLT)
We are often asked “Why do you have “Happy Faces” on your bags of food, T-shirts and vans?” When we began Jesus Was Homeless we knew that we wanted to deliver food to the weekly and extended stay motels. After much thought and discussion of what that would look like we decided to deliver a “sack lunch” of food in a plain brown paper bag consisting of a ham or turkey sandwich with cheese, chips, juice drink, string cheese, granola bar, fruit cup, dessert item, mustard, mayo, napkin, spoon, scripture verse and a resource sheet.
We discovered right away that the “passing out of food” to the motels was a new and unique concept that was often met with “deer in the headlights” looks. When we knocked on the doors and tried to give out a “sack lunch” of food, people were often hesitant to receive it. They looked at us, questioning why we were giving out perfectly good food and what we wanted in return for accepting it. Typically, it became a long and exhaustive conversation over and over again that “we just wanted to” and nothing was expected in return.
We knew we had to come up with some sort of “ice breaker” soon to help overcome this awkward silent moment door after door, week after week. We decided to switch to white paper bags from the brown paper bags and draw a smiley face on each one using different colors. Since McDonald’s has so graciously provided the buns for the sandwiches from the beginning we felt we could safely use the term “Happy Meal”. Thus, when we knock on a door now, we present a sack lunch with a large smiley happy face and say we are passing out “Happy Meals”.
FUNERAL SERVICE
A couple Thursday’s ago, during our meal delivery time, we decided to attend the memorial service of Mark Pajak, the man that had recently died from cancer in his motel room. His service was at 7:00 pm so we took a short break and our group went to pay their last respects to a man most of them didn’t even know. Bryan and I were not sure if very many people would attend so we felt led to go and show support to his girlfriend and 2 year old son. Sadly we were right, there were not very many in attendance – maybe around 15 – 20 people and it seemed as if they were primarily family of his girlfriend. It made me very sad to think that his life had touched so few and that his last moments were spent alone in a weekly stay motel room. I have always loved the saying, “But by the grace of God, there go I”, but sitting there that night it truly hit home. I realized that at times like those we tend to reflect upon how truly blessed we are and ask God to use us for His glory but than life stirs back up and it seems so easy to forget. I pray that God helps us to remember moments like those – moments that are meant to change our hearts and our actions towards those less fortunate. – Amy
2009 FINANCIALS
We knew from the first time someone asked to donate to Jesus Was Homeless that not only did we need to be good stewards with the donation but we needed to be transparent as well. So after completing our first tax year as a not-for-profit we have posted out Income & Expenses on our Resources web page so that anyone may view or print them. If you’ve been considering donating but weren’t sure how the donations were being used you will be able to see everything here. Also note that we have no payroll as we operate all by volunteers. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
2009 MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY
Well we didn’t win the $10,000 for our Make A Difference Day contribution but we still Made A Difference. You can see our “Official” letter and certificate on our Resources web page and remember you can still view the photos of the garden on our Gallery web page. Please check it out. As far as finishing our garden, well we’ll have to wait for the rain to go away for awhile so we can get the other load of dirt.
CHURCH ARMY FAITH PROMISE 2010
The 8th annual Faith Promise Banquet is set for May 7th at 6 pm. You can sponsor a table for up to 8 people for as little as $200. I challenge you to sponsor a table and fill it up with the broken, the homeless, the addict, the unloved and the unwanted. Show them what today’s Christian can look like. If you don’t know any of these type of people, let me know and we can provide you a long list of people you can invite. If you want to see the results of GOD’s transforming and renewing power in people’s lives then I invite you to please attend. You will hear some awesome testimonies!! The information is posted on our Resources web page.
TOILETRIES
We are in need of some toiletry items as we would like to pass out 1 bag a month. You can drop them off at CenturyLink on Hwy 248 or give Amy a call at 335-0266 for pick-up. We could use the following items: Deodorant, Razors, and Shaving Cream
FOOD VOUCHERS
I haven’t had any takers on my “Food Voucher” program idea. If you know of any restaurant that throws away food each night, please ask them to consider offering food vouchers that we could distribute so that the wasted food could be used to help those in need. For more information or to brainstorm ideas please contact us.
PRAYER REQUEST
I ask that you would pray for this out-reach as the need continues to grow. We will now be delivering 360 meals a week. Specifically, that we will continue to impact lives, change hearts, and renew the image of Christians, while being the hands and feet of Jesus and that we continue to let God lead, whatever that should look like.
Have a blessed week, in Christ,
Comment [1]
Thursday March 18, 2010
11 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! – Psalms 42:11 (NLT)
Another fulfilling week of delivering meals. You can tell the season is right around the corner as many of the people we were delivering to had much more hope in their voice when we were talking with them this week. It is so amazing to see the many volunteers week-in and week-out that continue to show up to serve. Our new slogan has been that we are an organization with no organization as we try to continually let God lead. When we let that happen he does amazing things. I was so blessed last week as I got to stand back and watch in awe as the volunteers served people with no other agenda than to let people know someone cares. As Troy said last week, “we get so used to seeing God’s miracles each week we almost think it’s normal.” It’s always great to have newcomers join us because they have a fresh set of eyes and we get to hear what God revealed to them.
PASSED AWAY
I am saddened to share that our friend Mark Pajak who had cancer and lived in the Rowland Motel passed away. When we spoke with him one time we asked if there was anything we could get for him and he requested a wheelchair so that he could get outside. The very next day God provided the wheelchair and he was able to use it a few times before he lost his battle with cancer. Mark had a very dedicated friend and business partner by the name of Harry. Harry told us that Mark loved the lord and he was sure he was in heaven. It still saddens me to think that there are people out there living and dying alone in motel rooms. It’s just evidence of a broken and fallen world.
VOLUNTEER STORY
Every week we run into something. This is an experience that our friend Annie wanted to share:
I am a College of the Ozarks student and I have been participating in the Jesus was Homeless ministry in Branson for about eleven months now. I love passing out meals and building relationships with the people. I also enjoy getting to know the people who come each week to help pass out the “Happy Meals”. You can see God working in the lives of the people we serve and those who are serving. Every week brings new surprises and situations to deal with. There are many stories and circumstances that stick out in my mind since I started helping with this ministry, but I am personally connected to my most recent story.
On Thursday, March 11th, I was shocked to find two people I knew living in one of the motels in which we provide food. I am student teaching this semester, and I knew that there was a good chance that I would see some of my students living in the motels, but until this point it had not happened yet. At first I did not know what to say when I saw my two students standing in the doorway. I was so astonished to see them in this situation. One student had recently moved schools and the other student was in the process of moving schools. My heart broke for my high school students. They are both good kids, but it seems like trouble follows close behind each one of them. We gave them the food and I stayed and talked with them for a few minutes. I encouraged them, and as I was leaving said a silent prayer for God to protect them. I am worried about them, but all I can do is pray for each student and help provide food and other needs on Thursday nights. I plan on visiting them each Thursday night that I can for as long as they are in the motel. I leave them in God’s merciful and all-powerful hands.
Annie Farr
RELATIONSHIPS – 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. – John 10:10 (NLT)
Things tend to go in seasons. I have several friends right now struggling with their relationships. The enemy’s main purpose is steal, kill and destroy and this is what he wants to do with relationships, especially ones that have God in them. I remember when I was going thru my divorce I went to a friend of mine to get some “ease and comfort” by him hopping on my band wagon of pity. That is not what I got. He looked me squarely in the eyes and said “you can’t be too surprised you didn’t have God in your life or your relationship.” It was not want I wanted to hear but it was sure what I needed to hear. It stuck with me so much that when Amy and I decided to get married I wanted to make sure we had God’s full approval. I believe we did and that’s when the enemy attacked us from every front. I believe he was determined to take down our marriage. We were so blessed that we had very healthy friends around us to help walk us thru some of the things we were going thru.
One of our friends was instrumental in directing us to an organization called National Institute of Marriage. They offered a 4 day marriage intensive that teaches couples how to communicate at a deeper level and to share from the heart. When the enemy learned of this he started to put objections in our path. Things like, “we can’t afford it”, “we can’t take that much time off of work”, “counseling doesn’t work”, “you only need this other program”, “just use the bible and pray about it”, and the list goes on and on. I believe God’s word is like a tool box, you can’t carry tools around to fix things if you don’t have the foundation of the tool box. I also believe God provides tools to go into the tool box with different programs, training, studies, etc. I can’t drive a nail with only a tool box, I need a hammer. I began to look at the relationship skills that NIM offered as a tool that can go into my tool box. Amy and I needed to learn how to share from the heart and all the prayer in the world wasn’t helping. We needed God to provide the hammer that we could put into his tool box. Through NIM’s 4 day intensive, twice because we needed more tools, a very loving couple that was dedicated to walking thru life with us by meeting with us every week after the intensive for almost a year, and some intense conversations with each other we made it thru and we feel like our marriage is the healthiest it’s ever been. Thru all of this we were able to begin serving God’s kingdom by investing in people, delivering meals, and spreading God’s word. No wonder the enemy didn’t want us to make it. If your relationship or someone you know is struggling, remember your spouse is not the enemy, Satan is and he wants to rob you and God of what your relationship could be. For more information about what NIM offers check out the Links Page on our website.
GARDEN DAY
We hope to finish up our garden at Aunt Mollie’s on March 27th. We will need to spread the dirt, plant the veggies and install the drip lines. We will begin around 9 o’clock and could use all the green thumbs that are available. Hopefully the rain will hold off that day.
MOTEL BBQ
Look for the details on our 1st Love Your Neighbors BBQ of 2010 in April coming soon!!
T-SHIRTS
Get your own “Jesus Was Homeless” T-shirt and help provide meals in our community. When you purchase a shirt for $10 you are helping to provide 4 meals in our community. We have 6 designs to choose from. These are fantastic conversation starters and an opportunity to talk about what’s God is doing in your life. We would love to have gift shops, outlets, etc. to display our shirts. We would put them in on consignment so there’s no cost to become a vendor. Check them out at our T-Shirts page.
SNOW?
Now to leave you with something that I just find hilarious. This is our Jamaican friend Orinthia. She left Branson for work in Philadelphia and had never seen snow before. I think she’s seen it now as they have had record amounts. This picture just makes my day every time I need a good laugh. There is nothing funnier than a Jamaican eating a snowball and of course we told her not to eat the yellow snow. Have a blessed week!!!
Monday February 22, 2010
26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? – Matthew 16:26-27 (NLT)
When we started out with Jesus Was Homeless we really wanted to end hunger and homelessness in our community. I really wanted to do that and thought it was possible but now I wonder if that is really what God called us to do or was it just something we wanted to do to make us feel good about serving with an end result? I’ve been told at times that we need to, “make sure you are a hand up and not just a hand out” or “you need to empower people not just provide free stuff”. I get that we want to help people improve their lives but is it really an improvement just by moving a homeless person from outside to inside? If we take a poor man and educate him to become rich are we successful in providing a hand up if he made the journey without God? I must admit that I’ve wrestled with this the past year but what always leads me back to the answer about what our mission should be is the TWO greatest commandments, to love GOD and love PEOPLE. At first I thought all we were providing was a “hand out” with a free bag of food but what I’ve come to believe is that we are providing a HUGE “hand up”. It’s a spiritual “hand up”, both for the people that we serve and the volunteers serving. Does it solve their hunger issue with only 1 bag of food a week? Maybe for a moment but ultimately they will be hungry tomorrow. What I have seen it do though is offer hope, love, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, compassion, and kindness. Just last week there were about 40 volunteers wrapping up for the night when we had a little old lady, Jean, in a motorized wheelchair come up to us and thank us for coming each week. Not for the food but for the visit. She doesn’t get out much and she told everyone how much she appreciated people stopping by on Thursday. I found out today that two of the high school teenage volunteers stopped by on Saturday, brought her some cookies and took Jean to the park just to hang out with her. I would say that’s a “hand up” for everyone involved.
How about this story. A bus load of people that live at the motels came to get a $25 Slusher Foundation voucher at Church Army on Thursday but they also wanted to help make the meals that they have been receiving. When the vouchers were gone before everyone could get one due to the overwhelming need this year they kept a positive attitude and started making meals and toiletry bags. Here is what Dawn’s email to Amy said about the experience:
Thank you so much for letting us help. Please send pics so I can show everyone. I am so proud of everyone for stepping up and helping. Despite the whole Country Mart thing I saw a difference in spirits which was still showing this evening when we picked them up. Quite a few asked if we were going to do this every week or not. I told them we would see where God directs us. Oh how I feel so much pride in them. I saw a huge sign of God today and my visions were made a whole lot clearer.
Love you,
Dawn Marie
The list just goes on and on. Our friend Mark that has cancer was in need of a wheel chair so that he could get outside of his motel room for some fresh air. Before I could send an email request, one was donated. He was so grateful. Again, how can that be a “hand out” when his spirit was lifted up? I think there are some wonderful social services agencies out there that do a tremendous amount of “handing up & handing out”. We just don’t want to get so focused on the task that we miss the greatest opportunity for the “hand up”. By just providing love and relationship with the individuals that we want to help could be the greatest gift of all. So when asked this year if we are a “hand out or a hand up” my answer will be both. We will give them a “hand out” of a bag of food and “hand up” to God.
VOLUNTEER AND FELLOWSHIP NIGHT
All volunteers, donors, givers and anyone that wants to learn more about Jesus Was Homeless, we will be having a “Connect with Us” night at Golden Corral on March 5th at 6:00 pm until whenever you leave. Golden Corral has given us a special rate of only $9.00 per person including buffet, drink and tip. Just let them know you are with us. Come hang out, get to know your fellow volunteers, fellowship, and learn more about our dreams for 2010!