no assembly, and no delivery tomorrow.

if you have that DSTF money burning a hole in your pocket, no problem!  just spend it on cups, baggies, brown bags, etc.,  and we’ll be better stocked up!

y’all be careful out there.

eh

“One of the men who have shelters in a plot of woods in the city has been welcoming of me for this past year that I have known him. He is a reserved older man who collects every soda can he finds and keeps them all in garbage bags on the ground by his hut. Assembled on the ground surrounding his hut are old things that no one but him has seen for a long time. A fire hose, an office chair, barrels, carts, pallets, tires, and remnants of furniture cluster around a tree near which he built the hut where he sleeps. He flings carpets over some of the wooden refuse. Once I was following him out of the bushes and into the clearing. He saw some leaves that had collected on the carpet-covered broken furniture. He brushed them off before walking past.

He recently had about ten bags worth of soda cans. He estimated their sale would bring him near $100. They form black mounds on the ground outside his hut. He woke up one recent morning and the valuable mounds were gone. Though in seclusion he felt he was protected from this kind of blatant theft, he told me, after angrily telling me what had happened, “This is what I put up with. But it’s happened before. It’ll be fine.”

It’s very cold this week. It’s supposed to snow tomorrow. He has enough wood to keep a fire going in a barrel at the foot of the tree. He can ward off the cold until it’s time to sleep in the hut. Maybe he’ll keep the space inside warm with a candle. In his mind he cannot escape knowing that his work in amassing the cans came to nothing. He will have to start again, slowly and picking up each can, and postpone any plans he had for the money.”

I love the way He always gives us more than we ask. 

Lynn

we had the great blessing of being able to share so much; 13 big pots of stew, some bread and sweets, bottled water, 150+ gifts, and most importantly, time.

time might just be the hardest thing to share, don’t you think?

but, 20+ people made time in their schedule to give and share and just “be” with our friends on the streets.  and many more prepped things for us to take.

glory to God!  i think we spread His fame a little bit!

eh

If you can’t be there but you still want to make something, we need baked goods (brownies, cookies, etc) for dessert.  (Or if you don’t cook,  store bought cookies are great.) We will need them at New Life by 11:30 am Christmas Eve. 

For anyone traveling downtown to share on Christmas Eve, please be New Life by 11:00 to help pack everything up.  We hope to leave by noon.

Thank you to everyone for donations, time, money, but most of all prayers.  Please pray for God to multiply our stew and that everyone we come in contact with see God’s love.

this friday evening, dec. 18, 6:30pm, we’ll be getting together to wrap up some gifts that we’ll share on the streets.

come and join us! bring some soup, and we’ll share that with each other.  bring some long-johns, and we’ll put those in the gift bags.

(and bring a smile, or we’ll call you “grumpy-pants”…..)

anyone reading this that is too far away to join us; send us some cash, or grocery store gift cards, and we’ll pass it on to the cause.

and everyone reading this, please pray for us, that we’ll continue to shine the light of Jesus right back on Jesus! for HE’S the giver of all good things…!!!

He’s blessed us, every one.

Merry Christmas to you all!

eh

this weekend was a bit different.  almost everyone was busy with other things, so there was just 3 of us on saturday.  and it seemed that we were short on supplies, too.

but, it was a nice day.  kind of like the first day, when we sent out 50 sack lunches.  (kinda peaceful, actually….) and in the end, we got to pray with several people, and meet some needs.

whether 500 or 50, it’s all good.  some volunteers got the break they needed.  others took care of things that needed taken care of.  some served food on thursday.  one lady i know took a Thanksgiving meal to a family of 4 that needed it.  and the low-number-of-meals weekend was still perfect… . . .

to all of you that have helped out over the last couple of years, whether a little or a lot;  thanks!

eh

(not that we’ve been begging him or pushing him.  we don’t do that.)

but, i’ve seen him downtown probably more than 20 times.  he’s not just quiet; he’s super quiet.  almost seems scared, like a dog that won’t quite come near you.  he has come near, but, even if he answers a question, it seems that his mouth moves, but nothing comes out.

well, the other day, he joined me and 2 others for a prayer under a bridge. . . . as we held hands for a prayer circle, he allowed us to touch him!!   we held one hand and one arm (since he was holding a sack-lunch in the other hand). . !!  i silently thanked God for this breakthrough!

please pray for Thomas, so that he can feel God’s love a little more each time we meet him. . .

eh

my friend, rusty, has an old bread truck that we often use to share food on those streets.  it’s kind of a “beater”; loud inside, won’t go very fast, one fold-down seat and one folding chair for the passengers…….

the first place we stopped was an area called “little 5 points”.  always an interesting crowd there.  today was no different.  we served food and gave out gloves and blankets to  the “typical” homeless types, and to the cross dresser, and to the rebel youth, and even to some people that didn’t seem to be in great need.  all types, no questions.

today was the first real cold day of the season.  drizzly rain, cold wind.  everyone talked about the cold weather, but some were deeply affected. one lady was shaking so bad, she could barely hold her hot cocoa.

as i said; it was a great day on the streets of atlanta.. .. .. if your belly is full and you’re warm and dry..

as we sat there with our bread truck crammed up against some trees, a fancy mercedes-benz pulled up.  they asked if they could park in behind us.  then they commenced to trying to parallel park that thing.  funny to watch.

finally, it was wedged in there, and after they got out, i asked ‘em to slide it back a couple more feet, just for good measure….. (couldn’t resist….)

looking back, it seems like 2 different worlds collided. the rich, nice car, whose occupants didn’t even acknowledge any of the “lesser” people.  and the people gathered around an old bread truck,  sharing hugs and warm clothes and food and hot cocoa and, most importantly, time and conversation.

reminds me of some lyrics from the U2 song;  “One love.  We get to share it.  Leaves you baby if you
Don’t care for it.”

share the love you’ve been given.  care for it, by acting on it.

choose the life of the bread truck.  put yourself face to face with the poor, the sick, or the needy.

you’ll be glad you did.  1 Tim. 6:18,19

eh