April 16th

 

Thoughts  

It seems as every time we finish with an outreach, I sit for a day or two and really just let all the memories and faces just come back to me. I then just sit at the computer and hope that I’m just the one typing and the Lord is the one doing all the talking. I really feel some words to describe this outreach are Encouraging, Heart breaking, Hopeful, and one I use a lot to describe most of the outreach’s and that would be WOW. 

Gypsy Rose,

Where to start… I remember back in December I was leading a group of youth through the streets and we came upon a fragile older African woman, she was slowly walking the fence line right next to Union St picking up trash. As we walked closer she glanced over and greeted us surprisingly with smile and a “good morning!” We started talking with her and  we had a short conversation, I remember she was so excited to see the kids in the church out on the streets actually loving on others. We started to end up our short conversation and asked if we could pray for the Lord to guide, protect, and heal her of of any sickness’s she may have, and after, we told Ms. Rose that we would keep her in our prayers.

Now four months later we saw Ms. Rose again. She was so excited to see new faces in the group. She’s still on the streets but gave us high praises for coming back out. She had a friend with her this time as well, his name was Shawn. We were able to sit and talk with both of them, they are both believers and totally look to him for direction in this tough time in both of their lives. I truly felt that I heard words from Christ when Ms. Rose spoke to the team “ keep this ministry going your are doing His work”.  I know the Lord is working in Gypsy Rose’s heart and I pray she finds her way off the streets but  also pray she doesn’t loose hope in Christ. As the team laid hands on Ms. Rose and Shawn we honestly felt the Lord working, I know not only where their hearts being touched but lives were being changed by those who were out with us that day.

Pray 

As we go through our busy schedules I pray we can all find time to up lift some people that we met this past Saturday. Ms. Rose who is going through some sickness’s, that the lord will cleanse her of those illness’s. For Joe and his friend that fled New Orleans a few years ago after Hurricane Katrina destroyed all they had worked for. That they may be able to find work. For Billy that he can find his way after being kicked out onto the streets after supporting a friend and her daughter for over 9 years. Now homeless with no one to turn to but Christ. Last but certainly not least uplift Laura, one team was on the back streets near an overpass at the end of Union St about 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet back and head home. The team saw a small dirt path that led into the woods. We had been back in that area on previous outreach’s, as the team walked back in the woods a middle aged woman was crouched down under some bushes. They introduced themselves and began to find out more about her. She was fleeing from an abuser and sought refuge in the woods that day. She was very shy and didn’t want to speak at first but the power of christ led that team to Laura for a reason that day and after a few minutes Laura spoke with the team about what had happened to her.  She’s currently in a shelter downtown but is in constant fear of this man that abuses her. So please keep these people in your prayers they all desperately need our prayers and there is defiantly POWER in prayer. 

Next Outreach.

On May 16th the Street Ministry team will hit the streets of downtown for a full day of spreading Gods word and love. This outreach is planned to be our Leaders outreach. We are looking to see Board members, Pastors, Elders, and Sunday School teachers out on the streets next month. We will also be bringing along a few youth members as well. I know the Lord is planning to work in so many ways next month I cant wait to see what is in store for us. So many lives have been changed from going on these outreaches and they are a great opportunity to really see Christ face to face in the people we meet out there. You will defiantly not regret the decision to come out next month. This outreach is open for up to 14-15 people. 5 spots are already filled. So please e-mail or call Greg to reserve your spot on the outreach. 

Greg@wjacc.com 

904.521.9286

Meet Mary…

To my surprise last Sunday as I walked in and sat down for Church I noticed a familiar face in the pew in front of me, a very sweet lady by the name of Marry that we had met on an outreach back in December. We have since gotten to know her a lot better. Now Marry isn’t homeless, but is very poor. Marry lives in a run down apartment near Franklin Street downtown and has almost nothing to her name except a mat on the floor to sleep on, a few pairs of clothing, only a hand full of Ramon noodle packs, and her favorite belonging is her Bibles. The thing that always gets me though and even when in Honduras is, how can someone who has SO little be SO happy. Marry later answered this question for me. Her response was “when you fill yourself with material things you can tend to forget about praising the Lord in the midst of all these earthly things, and sometimes what you need to do is filter out the stuff you don’t need and fill yourself with what we all need and that’s more of Christ”. Sometimes it’s so hard for me to wrap my head around this but she’s totally right. 

Last Sunday I took Marry into the office where all our street ministry supplies are. We sifted through boxes of clothing for her and also got her some shampoo and a new tooth brush to hold her over for a few weeks. As we were looking through the boxes I heard her say under her breath “oh is that a skirt” later to be followed with “that’s way to short for a lady of my age”. Come to find out she was hoping to find a nice outfit to wear for Easter Sunday. After eventually finding a few summer outfits Ashley and I offered her a ride back to her apartment, she had missed her bus and she also had a few bags of clothing with her. After getting to Marry’s apartment we walked her in with all her things we had found for her that day and she was so sweet. She always verbally thanks the Lord first for what she gets and then thanks us and follows with a hug. As she walked us out and we were about to leave, I asked Marry what she would think if next Sunday we would take her after church and buy her a brand new Easter dress for Easter service. Marry looked at me and looked at Ashley and said “ I couldn’t have ya’ll do that for me, no ones ever loved me enough to buy me something like that”. To be totally honest, Ashley and I were getting quite choked up as tears started falling down Marry’s face. I quickly grabbed Marry and gave her a hug and told her next Sunday were going to get you a brand new Easter dress just because we love you. This was when I realized, that its not about us at all, Its about Loving God, and Loving OTHERS!! 

Well today is Sunday night and Marry got her first new Easter dress this afternoon along with a new pair of shoes and new purse. Theirs just something about Marry that just radiates the Holy Spirit that I feel we should all desire to have a walk with Christ as Marry’s is. We are still getting to know her and finding out new things, and listening to new stories every time we see her. She told us today she has never felt so welcomed by a body of believers and feels the Lord made no mistake by placing her in that second pew from the front these past two Sundays and also running into us that Dec 6th morning. Praise God!! 

For more info on the West Jax Street Ministry Team please visit our church web site. 

www.wjacc.com

Hopeful Homeless…

Ok, so this weekend was pretty neat. The street ministry team went to a new location downtown, The St. Francis Soup Kitchen. This was an incredible experience; we took out pretty much all new people this outreach. We had a group of nine volunteering on Saturday; we served over 500 people and got to see a lot of people we have met over the past months. It was great catching up with ones we have seen before and also making new friendships along the way.   

One thing that sticks out most about Saturday was when we saw a man by the name of Evan who we had met on our first outreach back in October. I was able to pull him aside from the crowd and really get to find out how he had been doing over the past months. Even though our conversation was short it gave me hope most of all. In October Evan was fighting addictions with cocaine and alcohol abuse. Evan went on to tell me that since that day the Lord put him in our paths it has been as if a fire for Christ has been lit inside him. Something about complete strangers let alone teenagers showing that they actually cared enough to share the love of Christ to him was powerful enough to change his ways. He has since become friends with a county Judge who is mentoring him along his path to getting sober and off the streets. He has been clean for over 2 months now and what a difference I could see in him. Praise God! Evan said he has since gotten the courage to pursue finding a job and says he should be off the streets in 2-3 weeks. 

This just goose to show that we never really know how much of an impact we are truly making with the people we meet day in and day out. Weather it is on the streets ministering to the homeless, in your work place or at your school. You never know until you actually see down the road how that seed you planted will one day be sown. It was a huge praise in our eyes and the Lord has ultimately won back one of his precious children due to what the Lord is allowing us to do in and through this ministry.

If you would like to join us on a upcoming outreach please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

Next outreach – April 18th 

www.wjacc.com   

Anna’s Friend…

Marcia is 52 years old and has been homeless off and on for a long time. She has two children – 15 and 22 – who live with other family members. She hasn’t seen or talked to her kids in over a year. Marcia told us how she has been falsely accused of panhandling and how the police sifted through her trolley of belongings and threw most of her personal items away – including jewelry, radios and the only photo she has of her grandchild. 

What really touched my heart was when Greg told her a little bit about his summer trips to Honduras and the terrible living conditions down there. When he told her that they set up their villages around the dumps and send their children out to scavenge for food and items to sell, Marcia was astonished. She couldn’t believe that people in today’s day still lived like that. She pointed to the skyscrapers across the street and just shook her head in dismay. She shared with our group that God had put it on her heart just days earlier that when (not if!) she’s back up on her feet, she should send money or even herself to those less fortunate. Her eyes sparkled when she talked about wanting to help the poor people in Honduras. Greg promised to bring her some photos from his trips on our next outreach next month and Marcia was very excited to learn more about these people who had it much worse than her. 

We prayed with Marcia for protection from the elements, from other people who wish her harm, and for her family to soften their hearts to her situation and come find her. When we left her, we were determined to go buy her a meal. With two bags of Burger King in hand, and the other group joining us, we went back and found Marcia and prayed with her again. She seemed genuinely touched that we cared, and I can only imagine how long she must go without engaging in real conversation with anyone. I pray that we will see her at next month’s outreach downtown.

 

www.wjacc.com