Friday update

Blessed Portion Update for 12-29-18

Psalms 100 "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

Hello Everyone--

Tonight was as you all know beautiful with the snow falling but COLD!! Didn't see as many at our first stop which is a good thing because hopefully that meant many were somewhere warm. We still had several come out and it was nice to get them inside and warmed up a bit and give out some hand warmers, gloves, thermals and some warm pizza thanks to Susan Petersand her husband!! Heard from one friend how that he is somehow staying warm outside and has not had too many problems so far which is good. Heard from another that he is also doing ok as he came to get some food fro himself and for another friend who couldn't come down.

At the Rescue Mission it was nice to see some who would normally be outside be there instead. They were able to stay there and be out of the elements which is a blessing! Got to meet alot of new faces and hear some pretty cool stories of how God is showing up in hearts and lives and its exciting to see and hear! After we left there we headed to Hobson House and was surprised by Marcus! He had let us know earlier in the day that he wanted to read Psalms 100 while we were there and he did. Have to say how PROUD we are of him, and how far he has come. Thankfully He found a place where he can get the help he needs, have some good men around him and he is doing the hard work. As he read Psalms 100 I have to say I started to cry. Remembering so many hard nights on the streets with him. Seeing him at his lowest and even one time where we were not sure he would make it through after he was in a pretty good struggle with another man. He pulled through though and is still here with us. He talked about how he slept outside and how he is now doing some hard work to be on the road to recovery and wow its amazing to see the transformation!!

After we left there we headed to the last few stops and came across a friend who was again somehow staying warm in those frigid temps of 14 degrees! He was so thankful to get some water , food and hand warmers. We wanted him to get back to sleep so we hurried out out of there and as we started to leave he asked if we could pray!! Well that truly convicted me because we always pray with people at every stop and yet didn't with this friend because we were trying to let him get back to sleep... so we prayed!!! He also asked what time it was as we started to leave and when we told him it was 11:10 he said "Well I have almost made it through the night out here." Hard to hear that..... From there we went and checked on another friend who needed a couple more blankets and some batteries for a flashlight!! He was so thankful for the items and said "I see you for church Sunday."

As we drove home we thought about those we just left and praying they would stay warm, and thought about those who were in shelters.... such thankfulness and yet such turmoil . Our job is to love on people, encourage them to seek help, to lead them to Jesus, to show them they are so valuable. Trust me there are many reasons for homelessness.....its not as black and white as many think and its always going to be a issue regardless how we try to ignore it or push it away. However we have seen SO many get off the streets, so many get sober and its wonderful and it makes it so worth it to go out in these temps because we know some will get it. Some will make a change and we are thankful to be there to see it!!

Thanks to Pathway Community Church, Grace Summit Church, Hamilton Church of Christ, Nick Reinoehl, Sasha Gravante, Rochelle Bloomfield-Wilson, Jacquie Aldrich, Mjs Apparel, Auburn Massage and Wellness, Susan Peters and all of you who make sure we have what we need each week!! God Bless you!