Wayne's Story

Wayne's story is not unlike many who live in Greenville. He lived in a Christian home until he was a teenager but then there was a turn for the worse. His parents died and he just seemed to drift toward a life that eventually ended him in jail. After he did his time, he gave in to the lure of crack cocaine. By this time he was married and had a good job but lived in a crack house. He had everything that most most would desire; money in the bank, a house and cars. But one thing he did not have was peace. He started hearing voices that told him to kill himself. He tried to ignore them but the voices seemed to control his thoughts. Then he realized that he could get help because his company provided good health insurance. Naturally the psychiatrist prescribed medication for his problem. But the medication proved to be more of a problem than his mental issues. The side effects of the medicine made him sick every time he ate and he seemed to no longer care about his family. His life continued down that road of destruction when his wife left him and he became homeless. He was now at the bottom. He continued to try to turn life around without much success. During this time he never forgot the faith of his parents. He thought about trying to turn to that faith but he never could leave his life of sin. But one night he had a dream. In that dream, God told him that He would heal his mind. He said it was so real that it made a major impact on his thoughts. He knew that his life would change and it did. He eventually trusted in Christ for his relationship with God. He started reading the Bible and attending church. He life totally changed. He was still homeless but he had that peace that he never experienced during his life. Now he is trusting totally in God's provision for his life whether he remains homeless or has an opportunity to one day regain his job and home. Wayne is a grateful person.

Wayne and others enjoyed hamburgers, french fries, and cold slaw last Tuesday night. We served 65 meals with the assistance of 14 volunteers. We continued have requests for blankets and clothes because of the cool nights. We would appreciate anyone who could donate blankets for our friends down town.

A Testimony

Last night we were blessed to hear a powerful testimony of how Lynn Irby went from the street on drugs to the church teaching others about the saving faith in Jesus Christ. A testimony is a powerful example of how God can change a person’s life. Many people may not agree whether God exists or not, and some may disagree with certain points of theology but when someone stands before a room full of hurting people testifies to God’s grace there is no denying the truth of the Gospel. There were two major responses to this testimony. One man was brought literally to his knees and he accepted Christ as his Savior and others seem to get mad at the obvious change in her life. This was evidenced by a couple of incidents between some of the homeless. Fortunately, all of these were defused before someone got hurt.

But there was another response too. Some wanted the same changed life without them changing. They wanted to stop drinking and spending most of their time in jail but they did not believe they could change their habits. Chris had a bottle in his pocket to help him relieve the shakes in the morning. He told us that he was going to quit drinking because it was killing him. Of course, he said he was not making any promises because he did not want to lie. Tony suggested that he pour out his whiskey if he was serious. He said he could not do that. Paul suggested that he quit trying stop drinking and focus on accepting Christ as his Savior. He suggested to Chris that the real problem was sin. Until he recognized that he was just as bad as others on the street and everyone else in the world, he could not stop acting in response to his sin. Chris responded that he could never be a “Jesus Crispy”, no offense to us. We told him we took no offense but that was his only hope. Finally after talking, we all prayed for Chris and asked God to do the work in Chris’s heart for the change he desired. Then Chris left and headed for the mission.

We had a big crowd Tuesday night. We served 85 hot meals and lots of coffee with the assistance of 18 volunteers. As every week, we had many requests for blankets, aspirin, and clothing. There are so many needs. Some never ask for anything and others ask for something every week. As I looked in the crowd, I was surprised to see Rufus. I had not seen him in years. I remember when Paul first started his ministry; he bought Rufus a pair of shoes. He is a quiet man and but very respectful. It is good to see some of the folks that came each Tuesday night over 6 years ago.
~Marc