friday update

Blessed Portion Update (02/01/19):

Hello, this is Amanda Dunaway writing the Friday update. Our evening began in a new location!!! The parking lot was huge and well-lit! Bonus: huge snow piles for the kids. The adults not so excited about snow piles. Rather, the team was envisioning all that could take place in the warmer months to come in this parking lot!!!

It was a smaller crowd because of the colder temperatures. We were able to pray with a couple that had recently moved back to the Fort. They asked for prayer for their relationship, employment and for God to be the center of their lives.

We moved on to the Rescue Mission and were greeted by a group of men who are always ready and willing to help carry in the food, bins of clothing and toiletries. Each week I wonder if they are just as excited to see us as we are them.

Every Friday night, the men gather in the cafeteria share a meal, prayer requests, positive and negative things that have happened in the past week. Many share with such transparency and honesty. It is so heartbreakingly beautiful.

This week there were a couple guys that had lost family members. One man had just received the news the day he was released from jail that his Uncle had passed away. You would think he would have been discouraged but in the next breath was saying how grateful he was for the Mission.

The topic that was discussed was forgiveness. Forgiveness is necessary for each of us as we journey this life in relationship with God and others. We live in a broken world and so others hurt us or we hurt others. We have to surrender these hurts to God with forgiveness.

By forgiving, we break the chains that bind us to those who have deeply hurt us. Often times, these offenders do not even know or care that they have wounded us and live life without giving us or our hearts a second thought. The unforgiveness seeps into other relationships that aren’t even connected to the original hurt. And then the “cancer” of relationships is birthed...bitterness.

God wants us to live a full life in Him, and in Him alone. He freely gives us the choice to surrender every hurt or we can drag all the brokenness around with us like a ball and chain. No way!!!

The evening ended with a few of the team members bagging up the leftovers for two great guys!!! Never ever underestimate the power of Gina conquering the mini-fridge! 😂