friday night update

Blessed Portion Update for 10-11-18

Hello Everyone,

Its amazing how quickly it now gets dark...at our first stop it was dark, cold and rainy!! Thankfully we had The Greek Ladies from the Greek Orthodox Church bring some hot and I have to say best chicken and noodles I have ever had. They got fancy on us this week and added a little bit of tangy hot sauce to it and it was amazing. Thankful to Jackie Mangas and her crew for again being so faithful to those we serve each month. You all are strong amazing women and we all appreciate and love you!!

So how did the night go? Thankful to see our littlest friend Landon tonight. He melts all of our hearts and is loved by many. He wont be out as the temps fall so it was nice to have him out with us for a little bit.

Had our friend Dave come to us and was in a mess. He had gotten pretty wet with all the rain and was drenched. He had no gloves and that's all he wanted and possibly a warmer coat. His hand were so cold that when he tried to put the gloves on he just couldn't because he was so cold. We found a different pair that seemed to go on a little easier and yet he still needed help. This is the first time since we have known him that he needed help getting gloves on. As we put on each glove for him I could hear him say "Ahhh, that feels so much better." We then were able to get him into a VERY heavy and warm winter jacket and he again was happy. He has had a rough week as his belongings were lost which also included his rent money.....so the plan was for him to go the Mission and were hoping he did. We also saw our friend Missy Shepherd and celebrated with her over some good news. She and Ellie have become buddies and tonight Missy gave Ellie a pretty bracelet with a heart locket on it. Missy was explaining to Ellie that she could put a picture of her mom and dad in it, however Ellie said she was putting a picture of her and Missy in it!!! Love to see those friendships form and just how much Jesus loves to use His little children to serve and love others.

Later on in the night we heard so much good news. One man was able to talk to his kids!!! One friend shared how that he had a felony charge and somehow (God) it has been brought down to a misdemeanor....and that is BIG news and will help open more doors for employment. Also talked with a friend who spent 20 plus years in prison and he is always smiling. He shared to night how he is growing in his faith and learning to depend on God to get him through those times that are hard!!

Also heard a young man speak of his past. A past that includes a lot of family struggles, abuse, and for him addiction. He shared how he is getting through all of it, and it is for sure a struggle. Its a struggle to forgive those who have hurt us, who are still hurting us, hard to forgive ourselves and even though it sounds crazy ...even God. Un forgiveness is as I have heard many times is "Drinking poison hoping the other person dies." So we talked about how we need to forgive and move on. So many we serve are AMAZING, GOOD people. They have been through trauma, abuse, neglect, betrayal, rejection, no real support and so they turn to what is there and what will be there.....drugs, alcohol ....that helps at that moment to not have to feel the pain...which turns into a cycle of major addiction and a even more broken road. We have seen so many turn things around and most often that happens because they made the choice to be sick and tired of being sick and tired and to let God heal and direct them. One friend who has overcome more than I ever had to inspires me weekly. He comes from a past of gangs, abuse, neglect and yet he is now turning his life over to God more and more. He inspires me that nothing is truly impossible with God. I would not have met him had it not been for this ministry and Iam a better person for it.

There are SO many amazing people as I stated and please pray for them. You may not know their names or their stories but God does. You can simply pray that God meets all those we serve right where they are. That God would be allowed into their story...into their hurt and they would let God love them!! Please do that and please think of ways YOU can serve even those around you!!

There are many people hurting and as we saw tonight many who are going to be left without their "home" come Monday morning. There are women outside who are doing what they need to do...working, staying clean and yet they have no where to go. The women's shelter is full, or no weekend intake ..so then what? They have no choice but to find a so called "safe place" to sleep....and just when they think they might be ok...another eviction comes. Our city needs more places for people, we need more than just assuming there are shelters so we turn our eyes off of the need. I dont have all the answers, nor the man power or resources to fix this, but I know God does and so were praying there is a solution that fits to everyone!!

Tonight with the rain we gave out about a dozen jackets, ALL the socks ....at least 50 pairs, all the underwear...at least 30 pairs, all the hats and gloves which was well over 20 pairs, lots of blankets, two sleeping bags. So thank you so much for how you all help us. Trust me our team wants people to be indoors....but when someone refuses to go in, or cant because their wife is outside and they wont leave her...then what do we do? Well, we help them at that moment and still pointing them to where they can possibly go....but I can tell you its inhumane to see anyone, but especially a woman sleeping outside and because its raining she needs a extra blanket to stay warm so she can get a good nights sleep ,because she is getting up to go to work in the morning..to NOT give her a blanket....and we will always do what we can when we see that- because that is what God would want us to do!!

Thanks to Pathway Community Church, Grace Summit Church, Hamilton Church of Christ, Adrienne Clark, Amanda Chapman Dunaway and of course Ellie, Jacquie Aldrich, Christina Scheiber, Kim Ted Shook, Jackie Mangas and her whole crew, Lauren Grant, MJS Apparel Screen Printing & Embroidery, Auburn Massage & Wellness Centre, Dennis Brown, Jo Anne 'Habegger' Emerick, Sharon Ringenberg, And all of you who drop items off for us Thankyou