friday update

Blessed Portion Update 10-20-17

Hello Everyone,

Lots of pizza, cookies, snacks, great weather, good friends = a wonderful night!! We had a lot of people come out tonight. We had several come out tonight for the first time from a halfway house in town. They were allowed to come as long as they were able to get a paper signed stating they were there...nice to meet new people and have some extra help!! Also we were able to give out 4 more bikes thanks to Nick Reinoehl and his daughter Addy. It is such a blessing to see them in action with their bike ministry....providing transportation to so many is a blessing!!

Tonight there were many who said the same thing "I lost everything" due to the evictions! The next statement was "I have to rebuild." So there were many blankets, tarps, a few tents and sleeping bags, many back packs, and some warmer clothing items given to help.....so thank you for again always donating.

Talked with a friend tonight who was so happy to now have a job that pays 12.00 a hour!! Last week he was talking about how hard it is to get a job as a felon, and that all he wanted to do is work....and now this week he is able to! He is in the process of getting his life together and seems peaceful!! It would be extremely hard to make a better life for yourself when the past seems to follow you...thankfully God intervened and this man has a second chance!

As we made our final rounds at the end of the evening we saw our friend who we have talked about the last couple weeks. Tonight he was talking about how he needs treatment for his addiction, but given that it is cocaine he wonders where the best place to be is. He looked around at some of the people surrounding him and said "What am I doing?" "How did I get here?" That was a question that only he could answer unfortunately and all we said was "There is a way out of this if you want it." As our team walked back in the dark there were several who had found their belongings in the woods, bushes and settled in for the night....outside. Walking by several we wanted to stop and talk with them and yet respecting their privacy and the time of night it was we didn't. Seeing some who are in the throws of addiction, some in the most heartbreaking pain imaginable right now with no hope in sight, some with major health issues and do not care if they live or die and one left with the results of trying to get his stuff back from another and not wanting any medical treatment.

Walking towards our cars knowing we were going home and they were in their outside spot for the night sure was hard to think about. The questions come....of will they be ok, will they make it through the night, will they be warm enough and when will they make a change ? Don't have all the answers, but we know that we will continue to be there for them. Your heart can see so clear the path they need to be on, but when they don't see it its hard. Yet there are many who have seen it and have followed through. One friend who we met one night on the streets and took him to a half way house is still there and is doing amazing and always makes us laugh. He is doing the hard work of staying sober and with some love and friendship we think he will continue on to success. So we keep at it and we keep pointing people to help and recovery, keep introducing them to Jesus, keep loving on them regardless of where they are at and we know that God will handle the rest. Not all will get on the path they need to, but many will and have and that is beautiful to watch!!

Thanks to Pathway Community Church, Grace Summit Church, Hamilton Church of Christ, Auburn Massage and Wellness, Mjs Apparel, Sarah Bigelow Lapadot, Mark and Jennifer Lynne Stebing, Chris Scheiber, Rose,Gabe Davis, Lisa Gratz, Lori Williams, Jacquie Aldrich, Claudia Wessner, Dale and Tracy Hine-Bullion, Nick Reinoehl and Sasha, Bev Gunion, Karen Ann Weeks, Dino Zurzolo, Curiosity Shop, Renee Liechty Kahn, Josh Myers,Jaclyn Myers, Michael Jordan and everyone else who drops off items each week....THANKYOU