Week #52 - 6/18/13

ONE YEAR!  Wow!  By the grace of God, today marks the 52nd Tuesday that my friends at the American Legion Plaza have been served.  What an amazing year it has been!  These men and women have become part of my extended family and Tuesday is the highlight of my week.

Over the course of the year we have created friendships, established trust, and had over 30+ different volunteers.  Thank you to those who have served this year:  Shane, Tori, Grace, Dima, Rachelle, Justin, Nolan, Molly, Kyle, Brandy, Wil, Harper, Emerson, Danyelle, Duane, Joshua, Jeremiah, Joy, Kurt, Lexi, Kenzie, Parker, Mark, Sherry and many more.  

I know that a simple peanut butter & jelly doesn't sound like much, but I can tell you that it is so much more than just that!!!     

Week #41 - 4/2/13

What a day it has been!  Since it was spring break all three of the kiddos were able to go with me today which is always a lot of fun!  We met Marcel who is a 27 year old young man with a very kind spirit.  He is not homeless, but has had a rough 7 to 8 months.  He has already experienced a great amount of loss and pain in his short 27 years and yet he believes that he can use those experiences to help others and glorify God through it all.  I wish I had had even a fraction of that faith at 27!

So the other great part of our day was Reggie!  (Not the grumpy Reggie mentioned in previous posts).  :)  We've been seeing/talking to this Reggie since last summer, but didn't know his name.  In a conversation about a month ago, he told me that he was on a list to get subsidized housing and was hoping it would be available soon.  I told him that I would probably be able to find furnishings when he did, so to let me know.  Sure enough, Reggie was there today.  He moved into his new apartment yesterday!  ...and he didn't have any furniture.  So between the hours of about 12:30 and 6:30 with the help of several amazing people/friends we were able to find him 2 couches, a full size mattress set with bedding, a lamp, a leather jacket, some canned goods AND help to drive it down to his place and carry it up 4 flights of stairs!  At this point I also have a dining set for him, more substantial bedding, silverware and some paper goods to take to him on Saturday!

Isn't that what it's all about people?  We can't all travel to a foreign land to administer medical treatment or create a non-profit organization or _____ (you fill in the blank).  But that is why we are the BODY of Christ all (hopefully) serving in the capacity that we are capable of serving in at this moment...NOW!  The person who donated the pillow cases was just as much of a blessing to Reggie as the person who drove it down there.  We ALL played a part.  How amazing is that?!?!  Thank you to everyone involved!  What a blessing it is to be able to serve God while serving others!

Week #40 - 3/26/13

It was a bittersweet day for our lunches today.  While we are SO excited that God has answered our prayers for Rachelle's employment,  she has to put her Tuesday involvement on pause for a while.  Dmitry and I will certainly miss having her there!  Her smile and joyful spirit have been such a blessing to us all!

We did have a bright spot downtown today though!  We saw one of our friends, Antoinette, that we have not seen in several weeks.  She has such a happy spirit.  It turns out she has had a friend to stay with for several months now.  She and Dmitry had a lot of fun today running back and forth and passing out the lunches to everyone.  They were quite a sight!  :)

Week #39 - 3/19/13

Have I mentioned on here how amazing God is?  :)  It seems whenever I have the slightest doubt about delivering these lunches every Tuesday or am just the slightest bit discouraged, He shows up, reassures me and nudges me forward.  Occasionally I will receive a complaint about the sandwiches being a PBJ instead of bologna or something else.  Silly, right?  Most weeks it is until the week that I have 10,000 things going on because we just moved that weekend, I'm running late and I've had to go back to the grocery store because the bananas were all green my first trip.  So this week what happens?  We have a man (that we've never seen there before) come over to us after receiving his lunch and thank us again and again for the lunch and then goes on to tell us that he was beside himself when he opened it up and saw that it was a PBJ!  Now some of you skeptics may play that off as silly or coincidence.  I will hold on to that man's gratefulness for the PBJ for many weeks to come!  :)

This week we also met Mark.  Mark was on his way into the library to use the computers to search for a job.  He had a coat on that the zipper was busted at the top and the bottom.  He had been seeking employment for quite a while unsuccessfully.  He had just received an eviction notice the end of the previous week.  He was supposed to start a new job the day before (Monday) that he got through a temp agency.  The company he was going to work for ran a 10 YEAR background check and saw a DWI on his record from 2007 and wouldn't let him come in to start.  He started to weep when we offered him a lunch and told us that he was at the end of his rope but this was the second time since Sunday that he felt encouraged by God.  We had the privilege of talking to Mark for a long time.  We even had a coat with us that we were able to give him (with a working zipper no less!).  :)

The moral of my story today?  Step out and do what He is asking of you!  It can be as simple as smiling at your cashier today or sincerely asking someone how their day is.  He WILL show up so be ready.  He may ask more of you when you ask that person how their day is (been there, done that).  :)  But how cool is it that the God of the universe is taking a moment for YOU!!

Week #38 - 3/12/13

Well, it's been a few weeks since I have made any entries on here but do not fear, we haven't missed our Tuesday lunches!  :)  Thankfully, Rachelle carried the weight of it all while I was MIA for two weeks in a row recently.  I missed the first week because we were out of town and the second week because I was home sick with the flu.  :(  THANKS Rachelle!!!!  ..and thanks to Sherry T. for stepping in the first week I was out and to Rachelle's hubby Justin for filling in the second week.  You guys are awesome!!!

As always, God is so good and always working on our behalf even when we don't realize it!  Rachelle has been earnestly seeking a job for quite some time now.  She interviewed for a specific job about 4 months ago and received great feedback, then crickets.  She heard absolutely nothing.  Until today!  We were driving downtown to our spot where we deliver the lunches when she received a call from a number she didn't recognize.  To make a long story short, it was the woman she interviewed with offering her a job!  It turns out that the woman has been going back and forth for months with her HR department trying to get Rachelle hired on.  What an encouragement for all of us today!  And such a great reminder that even when we may feel like God has pushed the mute button, He is still active and working behind the scenes to bring about what is best for us in His perfect time! 

Week #34 - 2/12/13

We made 30 lunches this week and they went fast!  It was cold (not bitter thankfully!) and sunny.
 

The relationship aspect of it all really struck me this week.  As soon as we got out of the car and started walking toward our spot our friends immediately began approaching us with arms extended anticipating their hugs.  :)  I wonder how often they receive hugs.  What if Tuesday is the only day?  I steal hugs from my kiddos and husband all week long and I can’t imagine it any other way.  How cool it is to experience!  I feel like God is sitting back and saying ‘I told you so.’  :) God laid it on my heart from the beginning that it would be important to reach out and touch these dear souls when passing out the lunches.  And here we are, 34 weeks into it and they are coming to us for hugs!

Now don’t think it’s all lollipops and sunshine.  Most of the time there are many that are intoxicated.  Sadly, we have heard about several of our ‘regulars’ in and out of jail over the last month or so.  It’s common to meet a new face…new because he or she has been locked up the last several months, or years in many cases and they have recently been released.  There’s lots of foul language and not all of our friends are the most kind and gracious.  I share this because this isn’t where everyone is called to serve and that is okay!

Week #31 - 1/22/13

This week was very fun!  Grace, my 4^th grader, was assigned a project in school where she had to choose a problem in the United States and put together a video presentation complete with interviews.  She chose homelessness.  Dmitry and I picked her up from school today and took her with us to deliver lunches.  Our dear friend, Joy Lorch, met us down there as well.  Grace was able to interview a few of our homeless friends for her project.  She also interviewed Joy who has a HUGE heart for the homeless and is always serving them in some way.

I am hoping to figure out how to upload Grace's video on here soon!