Jesus Was Homeless is a non-denominational organization that seeks to serve individuals and families from all backgrounds. A statement of faith or participation in religious classes or services is not required in order to participate in or receive services from Jesus Was Homeless programs.

Brighton L-R Cindy Johnson, Store Manager; Taylor Judah, Assistant Store Manager; Bryan & Amy Stallings with Jesus Was Homeless

*Brighton Raises Money for Jesus Was Homeless*

Representatives were on hand from *Brighton* to present *Jesus Was Homeless* with a check for over $1000 from Brighton’s *“Feed Our Friends”* promotion that was held in July at the local store located on the Branson Landing. 100% of proceeds from the sale of Feed Our Friends Water went to this local charity.

“We are so excited that all of the money raised is able to stay within our local community. We chose Jesus Was Homeless for the work they do in distributing food to the weekly and extended stay motels”, said store manager Cindy Johnson.

“With this donation we will be able to continue the delivery of the over 300 meals each week”, said Jesus Was Homeless representative Amy Stallings.”

*P R O C L A M A T I O N*
*OFFICE OF THE MAYOR*
*Whereas,* every night in our state, homeless individuals and even families require food and shelter, and there are a greater number of hidden homeless who have not sought out or received assistance through existing agencies; and
*Whereas,* homeless Missourians are people who lack stable and adequate residence; live in a shelter, transitional living facility or a location not designed for human habitation; or are at risk of being dislodged from their residence; and
*Whereas,* the Governor’s Committee to End Homelessness and other service providers throughout the state are working to offer homeless Missourians decent, safe, affordable housing, food, medical care, transportation, day care services, job skills development, education and case management; and
*Whereas,* Missouri citizens and organizations, including schools, churches, and governments are encouraged to help address homelessness and become involved in community programs that provide solutions in meeting the physical, social, economic and educational needs of those experiencing homelessness;
Now therefore I, Raeanne Presley, Mayor of the City of Branson, Missouri, do hereby proclaim November 15-21, 2009 as

*HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS AWARENESS WEEK*
in Branson and encourage all citizens to recognize and support efforts to put an end to homelessness in our society. *Mayor Raeanne Presley*

*GRACE*
I received a few emails to “refrain from cursing and using the curse symbols” that were in my last blog about “Give Thanks Always.” Let me first say that I’m sorry if you were offended. I don’t want or intend to offend anyone. I just want to share my heart and the experiences of our Thursday night food deliveries. I really struggled with the response of these emails. I’m not a pastor, I’m not a seasoned Christian and I’m not perfect. What I am is a broken, messy Christian learning to live loving God and loving people. I was merely trying to emphasize that there have been times in my life, like when my first wife was killed in a freak auto accident, the messy divorce I went through a few years later and the near fatal car accident my father was in, that have caused me to be more than just angry (politically correct) at God. I believe God is a big God and he knows our hearts and he can take us being angry with him. What I came to realize, was that those times ended up being something that helped mold and shape me. I have made amends to God for being angry with him and I have thanked him for not only those experiences but also for bringing me through them. To get hung up on “curse symbols” is to miss the point of being REAL about God. Ultimately, I was saddened that we as Christians are still putting Jesus in a picture perfect-box of rules. To say that we are offended if a Christian doesn’t act right, look right, speak right or fit our criteria is shameful. It’s no wonder that when you ask people on the street if they feel Christians or churches resemble grace, they usually reply no. What they feel is law – zero tolerance, judgment and condemnation. It’s also no wonder non-believers don’t want to have anything to do with Christians when we are standing on the streets holding “God hates faggots” signs or looking down our noses when someone is smoking, has tattoos or drinking in excess. We can hate the sin but we are commanded to love the person. Remember the GREATEST commandments are to Love God and to Love Others. To love others means we have to show grace as God has shown us grace and to look at a person’s heart. Amy and I have been so blessed this past year to get to hang out with some recovered addicts and alcoholics. These people are some of the most spiritual people I’ve ever been around. They are transparent and real, not afraid to share their story with anyone that will listen. Yet, they are closer to God then most Christians of years that I know. They’ve been in the arm-pit of life and know the meaning of God’s saving grace and because of that they have a true dependence on God. I aspire to become more like them each day. Enough said.

*BLALA – Thank You*
We were really blessed this week with an opportunity to share Jesus Was Homeless with the Branson Lakes Area Lodging Association. They allowed me to speak and show our DVD to over 90 businesses and hotel/motel owners and operators. I challenged them to just order 1 more case of something the next time they place their orders for their motels. If everyone accepts the challenge we will have all the toiletry items we need. During this once a month lunch meeting they also do a 50/50 raffle cash pot. At this meeting there was $112 in the pot so $56 went to the person with the winning ticket. It just so happened my friend Ross Summers, who is the President of the Branson Chamber of Commerce and a “class act” won the raffle. He donated the $56 to Jesus Was Homeless but while he did that he asked for people to match the different bills that he had in his hand. When he was done, he had turned that $56 into almost $500 for us. We are so blessed in our community to have such great leaders such as Ross, Mayor Reanne Presley, Ed Akers and Jack & Pete Herschend, just to name a few and many, many more. I truly admire these individuals for the example they have set year after year for “loving God and loving People.” In this month of Thanksgiving be sure to thank them for what they have done for our community.

*JAMAICAN NIGHT AT OUR HOUSE*
Remember we are having a “Fellowship Night with the Jamaicans” at our house on Friday night, November 13th at 7:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend. We will have hamburgers and soda’s and we’ve asked that you bring a side dish (bag of chips) or a dessert (chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, but the Jamaican Orinthia really likes cheesecake). Some of you may not know them but you are welcome to attend to experience the “community” that we love.

*COOVER GRANT*
Our first grant attempt was unsuccessful. We had applied for the Coover grant through the Community Foundation of the Ozarks but we were not funded. This is unfortunate as the grant would have helped us to purchase another 15 passenger van and expand our food deliveries. There were 35 applications for the $110,000 available with the total dollar amount of requests being $458,909. We had asked for $15,000 – $12,000 for food $3000 for a van.

*THURSDAY MORNING & NIGHT*
*Dorgan Weaver*
We have been so excited to have Troy Garrison of Dorgan Weaver Apartments bring some of the young adults the past 2 Thursday nights for deliveries. The Dorgan Weaver and Tan-Tone group have also helped us decorate the Happy Meal bags. I am so glad I have met Troy. This guy has a HUGE heart for people. Had God not led Amy & I down this path with Jesus Was Homeless, we may have never come across the many people like Troy. That’s what Jesus Was Homeless is all about. Building relationships and experiencing community together. Again this month a BIG THANK YOU goes out to Pizza Hut in Branson West. They donated pizza again this month that we could give to 1 family last night. This month we choose the single mom with 4 girls staying in the motel room. They were so excited to receive the pizza. They screamed with excitement and dug into it. The volunteers had to duck as pepperoni’s and sausage’s were flying. It’s such a wonderful experience that God allows us to be a part of. It was another example of “being love” last night as we had several “newbies” with us. Not only do I love it when people come for the first time because it creates awareness but also because they are brave enough to step outside the box of their comfort zone. We had one new volunteer that I got to share and listen to about her experience. Her very first stop God led her to a woman whose mother had recently passed away and she was feeling very lonely and sad. Just by spending a few minutes with her it seemed to lift her spirits. Now this volunteer will be “hooked” as she will be led to come again next week just to check on this lady. We had so much fun last night as we were literally packed into both vans. It’s an awesome way to get to know your neighbor. We invite you to “Come and See”.

*VOLUNTEER GIFT WRAPPING*
Speaking of Troy Garrison he has arranged for us to have a gift wrapping table at Books A Million beginning the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas. If anyone would like to volunteer please contact me. We are trying to put together a schedule of what we can get covered and then Troy’s group will cover the rest. We would gift wrap for donations to Jesus Was Homeless and Troy’s group would gift wrap for Special Olympics.

*THANKSGIVING DINNER*
It’s less than 2 weeks away!! We are so excited. We have had so many people ask to volunteer and all are welcome. Spread the word, it’s free, there’s going to be live music, free winter clothing, free “care bags” of toiletry items, free transportation, food and fellowship. Doors will open at 5:30, food served at 6:30. If you know someone that will be alone for Thanksgiving then this is for them. There’s a flyer that you can print off on the website under the schedule page. Please keep the donations of items coming in.

Remember next week is *“Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week”*. Get outside of your comfort zone and help someone in need. If you’re not hungry or homeless, be thankful.

Have a blessed week,

15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else._  _16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 (NIV)

I heard a good sermon Saturday night by local pastor Neil Franks.  He happened to reference the above scripture as part of his message which was extremely ironic considering it was the same scripture verse we had put in our meal bags on Thursday.  The part that really got Amy and I thinking was the “give thanks in ALL circumstances”.  Now, we know that we can be very thankful if someone walked up to us on the street and handed us a bag full of money, or the local dealership calls and tells us we just won a new car, or if our kid scores the winning touchdown.  These are easy things to be thankful about, but what if our car breaks down when we’re in a hurry to get somewhere?  I know when that happens to me, being thankful is not the first #*!@ thing to come to mind.  What if we lose our job or even our house?  How thankful are we then?  What if tragedy strikes a loved one?  How can we be thankful about that?  The book of James says…

“when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4 (NLT)

I know that I am now very thankful for some of the worst times of my life.  Those moments didn’t last forever, and they certainly sucked while I was going through them.  I can tell you I wasn’t thankful at the moment and sometimes I was just plain pissed off at God, but those times helped mold me and prepare me for different moments in my life.   As 2nd Corinthians say…

“17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.  For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Cor 4:17-18 (NLT)

I’m not so sure that I would want to have that person hand me a bag full of money then to experience those “low” moments of life.  The bag of money will only last a short time but the lessons of the trials last a lifetime.  So I’ll leave you with this thought, does it seem as if God isn’t hearing you right now?  Does your job suck?  Is your relationship on the brink?  Maybe, just maybe, God has you right where you need to be in life.  Be thankful.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7 (NLT)

*JAMAICANS LEAVING*
Our Jamaican friends are moving on this week.  What a sad day, but what a blessing it has been to get to know them!  While they are from a completely different country and culture, they worship the same God.  We are having a “Fellowship Night with the Jamaicans” at our house on Friday night, November 13th at 7:00 pm.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  We will have hamburgers and soda’s and we’ve asked that you bring a side dish (bag of chips) or a dessert (chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, but the Jamaican Orinthia really likes cheesecake).  Some of you may not know them but you are welcome to attend to experience the “community” that we love.

*THANKSGIVING DINNER*
We are still looking for items for our toiletry “Care Bags” that we will pass out at the dinner. We still need Shampoo, Deodorant, Tooth Paste, Toilet Paper, Razors, Shaving Cream and anything else you can think of as a toiletry item.  We could still use lots of blankets, socks, gloves, and coats as well.  If your business would like to be a sponsor and help us in some way please don’t hesitate to contact us.  We would be glad to provide signage for all business sponsors.  I’ve had lots of calls for volunteers.  If God is urging you to volunteer, please do.  We will find something for you to do.  We try to make it a special night by waiting on the folks hand and foot but more importantly, by building relationships just by being that ear to listen.  I’ll put out a volunteers needs list and times as we get closer to Thanksgiving.

*THANKGIVING SURVEY*
One last request, we would like to capture some information at the dinner and I’ve put together a short survey.  Please look it over and let me know your thoughts, comments and suggestions.  Let me know if you feel like there is something of importance we need to capture.  I’ve attached the .PDF file. Survey

*BE THANKFUL VIDEO*
Here is a link to a fantastic video by Rob Bell about the gifts God has given us and what we need to be thankful about. Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think.

watch?v=krh1Y_Vwl2o

Have a blessed week,

29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’  31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 (NLT)

Sorry to overload your inbox so much this week but I felt I needed to pass on some exciting things.  I always appreciate whatever comments, suggestions or criticisms you might have when it comes to my emails/blogs.  So don’t hesitate to comment because I always want to learn and grow.  Earlier this week I sent out an email in reference to fears and here is a wonderful response that I received:

“I just read the email Abby sent out for your Jesus was Homeless Group. The part about fear  was such an encouragement to me! I am a single mom and have been unemployed for several months. God has provided for me in miraculous ways in that time and I have been able to get by until the last week. As November rolled around and there was no job or money to pay the bills I have become more and more fearful despite the fact that I know God has never failed me or let me down. This morning I HAPPILY accepted a job making less than half the hourly wage of my last position. These truly are the times when you realize you really are not self-sufficient and the only way to have peace or rest is to fully trust God for provision in all things! Thanks so much for what you shared, it really spoke to me. Abby has shared a lot with me about you all and what you are doing and I can’t wait to get to meet and work with you!
Love & God Bless, Samantha”

I don’t know what was more exciting for me, that the email had an impact or that it was actually read. (lol)  Thanks so much for sharing.  As a kid growing up, mainly in a traditional church setting, you become very familiar with the 10 commandments.  Growing up, they seemed like a list of “don’t” rules.  Pretty big “don’t” rules, but rules nonetheless.  Over the past year, the above verse has really had an impact on me.  Not only is it a “do” rule, but it supersedes the “don’t” rules.  To say “Love God and Love Your Neighbor” are the greatest commandments of all is pretty BIG.  But if you do this, I would say you are less likely to break the “don’t” rules.  Apparently, God thought this through pretty good.  He never ceases to amaze me with his wisdom.

Well, last night was a HUGE example of loving God and loving your neighbor.  We had close to 40 people show up last night to deliver food, there was no rain, and we had an incredible night of community and fellowship.  As I had mentioned before we had run out of food the previous couple of weeks.  This week we were blessed to be able to increase our meal total to 330 to get our motels covered.  The additional funds came from a friend of ours husband who had won $200 playing in a poker tournament.  When his wife told him we had run out of food again, God laid it on his heart to give all of his winnings to us for food.  Now that’s an example of loving your neighbor.

I just can’t describe for you the excitement both Amy and I had last night as we were blessed to witness the Spirit of God at work.  All of the new faces that showed up to help, the anticipation of the unknown, and the adventure of looking for God at each motel creates such fun for us.  As we continue to let God lead, he continues to bring more and more people into this outreach.  We never know who is going to be able to volunteer each week.  We don’t have a sign-up sheet.  We don’t call people ahead of time.  Amy always says, “God will provide the people that need/want to be here”, and he does.  Last night was another example of it.  Our 1992 “Jesus Van” as we call it had some technical difficulties.  Now as not to panic the passengers, I haven’t shared the fact that I know very little about vehicle maintenance.  Last night our van began to overheat, my thought was that if we are stopping enough at each motel it will have time to cool down.  Apparently that’s not the best idea.  But like Amy says God will provide the people that need to be there and he did.  We have a gentleman and his son(s) that have been coming with us the last couple of weeks and he happens to be a mechanic.  He directed me on the right thing to do and we made it through the rest of night’s delivery.  Give us an Amen on that.  Lots of people to pray for this week.  I will be updating the Prayer/Needs page on the website soon so check back often.

As we go into the weekend and then begin another busy week, I’ll leave you with this thought, are you living life just trying not to break the rules or are you living as a rule doer by Loving God and Loving Your Neighbor?  If you want to see what that looks like, then as always I invite you to “Come and See”

Have a blessed week,

True generosity is measured not by how much we give away but by how much we have left, especially when we look at the needs of our neighbors.  We have no right not to be charitable. – Shane Claiborne

FEAR…fear – No matter how big or how small our behaviors are driven by it.  A fear of heights keeps us from seeing God’s beauty from above.  A fear of crowds keeps us from meeting new people.  A fear of snakes…okay well you get my point.  A fear of failure and not being able to provide financially for my family has driven or controlled  me most of my life, but that same fear takes away from my total dependence on God.  Isn’t that what God wants for us, to totally depend on him?  He promises us he will provide our daily needs, which like most people, I think I get that line blurred with my wants.  Unfortunately, I think society/man has created such a FEAR around money, or lack of, it drives or controls most of our lives.  One thing that I have found over the past year to be extremely freeing is to be more giving.  Not just financially but with time, possessions, and being available to listen.   I don’t want to sound pompous so don’t get me wrong, I am still a HUGE work in progress, but I feel much more purposeful with my life when I’m giving of something.  Before I started hanging out with the poor, I went to work each day, came home, paid bills and started the routine again.  Usually a little more tired and worn out than the day before.  Trust me when I say, I’m still not at a place in my life that if Jesus told me 21 “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matt 19:21 (NLT) but I sure admire those that are.  So why does our fear stop us from doing things like that and becoming totally dependent on God?  How do we overcome it?  If you have those answers please let me know.

As we enter this month of Thanksgiving, I began to ponder about the verse in Mark 10:29-30.  I think there is a lot of misinterpretation of this verse 29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News,30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. Mark 10:29-30 (NLT)  A lot of people like to focus on the “will receive now in return a hundred times” part but did you notice the – “along with persecution” part?  I don’t believe we can read more into it than what’s there.  Amy and I give a lot of our time, yet we haven’t received 100 more hours in a week so why would people think they would receive 100 x whatever money they give?  What we have received is 100 times more blessings of meeting people, seeing God alive, and some serious heart therapy that includes compassion, sympathy and love.  As you go into the holiday season and contemplate what organization to give to, do it with a pure heart and  not of what it will “return” to you.  Isn’t it God’s money to begin with anyhow?  You may have worked for and earned it, but didn’t God bless you with that ability?

*UPDATE:*
Since we’ve been talking about giving.  We’ve had some wonderful donation pledges come in for Shania.  We are up to $600 so far.  Many of you asked why she can’t qualify for Medicaid.  I really don’t know all the details, apparently it is a complicated issue but as of now she can’t.  I’ve attached the estimate of the dental work to be completed.

*UPDATE:*
We are still struggling to get all the items for the 250 “care bags” that we would like to provide at the 2nd Annual Love Your Neighbors Thanksgiving Dinner.  (See attached flyer)  Thanksgiving Dinner Flyer (Thanksgiving Dinner Flyer) We are still in need of blankets and toiletry items, except for soap and toothbrushes, toothpaste.  If everyone that reads this would provide “something” or  if you don’t have time to gather the items, you make a $10 donation we’ll purchase the items for you, you can do this through PayPal on our website.  You can drop the items off at the CenturyLINK store on 248 in the Gretna Plaza.

*PRAYER:*
Please pray for our good friend Elton Jones.  Elton has been a volunteer with us almost since the beginning.  He has been a dedicated servant on Thursday evenings as well as a cook at some of our BBQ’s.  Elton is a recovered addict/alcoholic and a devoted follower of Christ.  His mother passed away this week and I know it’s a very difficult time for Elton and his children.

*PRAISE:*
We will pass the 9000 meals served mark this Thursday night.  What an amazing testament to God that he can take the most unlikely, dysfunctional individual/family, and organize a group of fellow gypsies of Christ to serve our fellow men, women and children in our community.  We’ve had such an outpouring of volunteers to decorate our meal bags.  This is such a great load lifted.  Thank you to all.  I have also received email after email about offers to serve at our upcoming Thanksgiving dinner.  I would like to share with you some of the stories from last year.

*LAST YEAR’S THANKSGIVNG STORIES:*
The people and their stories were incredible.  I had never witnessed such gracious, appreciating people before.  They were so thankful for the meal, the service and the clothing.  One family I spoke with had lived in a tent behind Wal-mart with their 1 year old for 2 weeks before the husband received his first check and they were able to move into a motel.  Another gentleman had put his last dollars into his car for gas and didn’t know what he was going to do for Thanksgiving.  Afterwards he made the comment he had to leave before he started to cry.  We were able to help another lady with not just the meal but her rent as well as she told someone she was desperate and didn’t know what to do.  I’m sure everyone had a story that was there.

To be part of God’s amazing work on Thursday’s, I invite you to “come and see”.

*UPDATE:*
They just found out this morning, about the same time the email went out, that Medicaid will not make them jump through all the hoops to get the work done as was needed before.  Praise God.  What incredible timing….hmmm.  See Dawn’s email below:

From: Randy and Dawn Sipes
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 12:31 PM
To: Bryan and Amy Stallings
Subject: Shana’s Dental Work—–PAID!!!!!

Thanks be to our Mighty, Good God! Shana’s dental work is taken care of! This is the Blessing of Tithing into the Kingdom of God through spreading his word, helping others and having unshakable FAITH! Please let everyone know.

And Bryan I just saw that you all had raised some money for it. Maybe, the people who have donated would be okay with you all using that money to go for others in whatever way is needed.

It doesn’t matter how little you have you should still do what you can to Tithe (not just money) I know so many people believe that when you are talking about Tithing your talking about money but that is so NOT true. We Tithe constantly…we pray for others, we give others food, we have given others a floor to sleep on in our little Motel Room, we invite others to Church all the time. These are forms of Tithing too and I believe they mean more than anything.

Thank you, thank you, thank you God and everyone out there doing his work!
Randy and Dawn Sipes