Celebration of Christmas

Last Tuesday was our Christmas celebration at Food for Life. Of course, celebrating Christ's birth was the primary focus of the teaching time and singing. Angie Gould sang "Emmanuel, God With Us." It was a beautiful song talking about the call upon Christians to live out the love of God to a hurting world at Christmas time. Then Paul read the passage from Luke about Christ's birth.

The gospel message was clearly presented, and a young lady named Wynn prayed a prayer of salvation. She is on the street and is a drug addict. She started talking to Angie after the teaching time about her struggles, and when asked if she would like to call out to God for salvation, she responded positively and prayed. Our hope is that her conversion was genuine and that God will deliver her from her addiction and provide her with a home.

After dinner, many Christmas presents and raffle prizes were given out. A couple of local, Christian businessman as well as FFL provided funds to pay for three homeless people to be able to stay in hotel rooms for one week. What a Christmas blessing for those people! Rico actually won a hotel room, but since he is not homeless he generously gave the room to another man living on the streets. Rico's face beamed with delight at the opportunity to be a blessing to another person. He personally thanked us for giving him the opportunity to give his raffle prize away. FFL was also able to give $10 gift cards to Bi-Lo, McDonalds, and Arby's as raffle prizes, and a couple of kind ladies prepared gift bags for everyone.

Precious children and their mother were also with us for the yummy, Christmas dinner, and we were able to give them Christmas gifts since their mother shared that the family was struggling to provide gifts for the children this year. Apparently her husband is on disability, and she stays home with her three children, so money is extremely scarce.

It was a wonderful Christmas celebration. We had lots of new volunteers from a local church, over 30 volunteers in all. We were also able to give out 130 plates full of ham, potatoes, green beans, and more.

Because of Christmas and New Years Day being on Tuesdays, we will not be meeting for Food for Life again until January 8.

~Charity

Make a Joyful Noise

The Bible tells us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord (Psalm 100). Singing is a way to show praise and gratitude for all God has done for us. David, aka "Know Body", (that is the name he insisted we use) has his own way of expressing that joyful noise.

We were all encouraged this week by answered prayers for the fragile lady that we had mentioned in two previous posts. On two separate occasions we tried to help her but at the last minute she rejected our help. She seemed to be influenced by her husband who kept her from making better choices. This week she came in sober and informed us that she was staying at the Salvation Army and was on the road to recovery. It seems that her husband was in jail which allowed her to seek physical and Spiritual help. Praise God.

Again this week we were blessed to have 44 volunteers of which 32 were from Word of Life Ministries in Simpsonville. It was so rewarding to see how friendly our volunteers were to all of our friends as they served 77 meals. Word of Life again provided bags of necessities for each person as they left at the end of the night. Many said that they were especially thankful for the clean socks in each packet. It is very difficult to keep your feet warm and dry on the street.

I gave one of my homeless friends a ride to where he sleeps under a bridge. He said he was so tired, he didn't feel like he could walk the 3 miles from Triune Mercy Center. Please continue to pray for him and others who are under the heavy bondage of sin and that God would supernaturally change their hearts and lives for His glory.

Each week we can make a joyful noise to the Lord for answered prayers and thankfulness for what God is doing in changing each of us as we minister to our homeless friends in Greenville.

~Marc

Making Connections

It has been Paul's dream since the conception of Food for Life for the ministry to one day have a building of its own and to have partnerships with local churches that share our biblical beliefs and heart for ministry. God alone knows when the ministry will have a building of its own, but during the last few months we have been able to make some connections with churches that did not previously know of the ministry.

A few weeks ago Brookwood Community Church brought their youth group and provided special music. The next week the youth group from North Hills came and ministered. North Hills has eagerly partnered with us as a church body, which is an answer to the prayer of Paul's heart. This past week Word of Life Ministry from Simpsonville came and brought kids of all ages to help serve, and even though Word of Life is a relatively small church, they were able to collect 60 coats to give to those in need. I considered that to be a stunning number of coats brought in just one week. They also put together little baggies filled with gloves, hats, soap, and cards that the children had made themselves. The cards were the most special gifts of all, in my opinion. This time of year is my most favorite time of year, as it is for so many Americans who have friends and family surrounding them with lovingkindness. However, for most people, if it is not their most favorite time of year, it is because it is actually their least favorite time of year. For many, it is a time in which they remember the loved ones which they have lost to broken relationships or to death. They see families all around them building memories and creating traditions, and it is as if they are looking through a window, and they are on the outside. When we reach out to them in personal ways, it is in a small way an opportunity to invite them into our world so that they are not just on the outside looking in.

We have also had sprinklings of volunteers from other local churches, which is helping us to make other connections. We have in fact had so many volunteers in this Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season that it has been hard to make sure that they have all felt connected. It is our desire that volunteers will realize that even if there is not a need for them to help prepare or serve the food, there is always a need for them to take a plate of food and sit down and share their lives with the homeless or destitute. It would be wonderful if we had 60 volunteers and 60 homeless people, because that would be an opportunity for every volunteer to make a connection with at least one individual in need on a personal level. God can use those relationships built to change the lives of those who have never experienced mentorship or positive role models.

We are thankful to have served 80 meals this week with the help of about 35 volunteers. Our prayer is that God will bless the relationships being built.

~Charity

On the Road to Romans

The crucifixion, the greatest sacrifice ever made for those in need, was the theme this week at Food for Life. In conjunction with Paul's teachings from Romans 12, it was decided that portions of the crucifixion as portrayed in "The Passion of Christ" would be shown instead of having a time of teaching.

Christ's brutal death on the cross must be at the forefront of our minds as we ponder Romans 12:1, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." We must see with understanding the crucifixion, in all its gore and glory, to be able to stand "in view of God's mercy." As we understand the great sacrifice of Christ, which not only paid the price for our sin but continues to be the power that can deliver us from our daily trappings, we realize that the power of the crucifixion is necessary in all of our lives. It is the power that will deliver those who cry out to God in faith for deliverance from their addictions. It is the power that will enable an irresponsible, lazy, unmotivated street-dweller to become a hard-working, self-supporting citizen with great faith. It is also the power that will enable those of us who have been so richly blessed with earthly comforts and spiritual enlightenment to reach out to the unlovelies of the world with an outstretched hand of kindness, a hand that will not be withdrawn because of mistakes made, but one that will to continue to reach out in kindness and mercy because of the call on our lives to "share with God's people who are in need" and "practice hospitality" (Romans 12:13).

Following the heart-piercing portrayal of the sacrifice of Christ, the crowd was led in the singing of "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus." It is interesting to think about how eager we as Christians can sometimes be to move away from the old hymns and be drawn to songs that are new and fresh, assuming that the words of old cannot speak to our hearts. Yet we often find words of great depth in those old hymns, written by writers whose hearts were full of a love for Scripture and the sacrifice of Christ. "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh! precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus."

The fragile lady that I wrote about last week came back this week. Once again she seemed broken and desperate for help. She cried and spoke of her need to get off of the street, but once again her husband, the one that should be her protector, was hovering over her shoulder, intimidating her from making helpful choices. Sandy sat with her during the showing of the movie, hoping to provide some comfort and to later share words of understanding. Last week, help had been offered, and she had rejected that help. This week, Sandy had hopes that this helpless lady would be ready to enter rehab and break free from her chains, welded together by unhealthy relationships. Yet, those chains were stronger than the hope for freedom. Before help could be given, she was gone, led astray and drawn into darkness, the darkness of the night and the darkness of sin. Please pray for her chains to be broken and for the light of Christ to shine brightly in her life. Pray that she realizes that the only relationship that she can rely upon is a relationship with Christ.

We were blessed to have many volunteers again, nearly 30, and we were able to serve 109 warm meals as an act of kindness.
~Charity