My Struggling Friends

Every time I go to the City Mission, it takes days to unpack the pile of thoughts and emotions that crash around inside my head. This past Sunday was no different. Eight incredible people from Grace Church served a crowd of hurting people who attended the Missions Sunday lunch. A meal offered to the homeless in our community.

I’m always amazed by our people. How graciously they engage with our struggling friends. How quickly and enthusiastically they jump into the simple tasks of kitchen work, serving food and clean-up after the meal. Watching them sit at the tables encouraging the guests with broad hope filled smiles will be one more indelible memory for me.

I can’t begin to recount the many conversations I had but the content was the same in all of them. People pleading for help. “Help me buy medicine!”---“Help me with a few bucks to feed my child!”---“Help me get free of Oxycotton!”, ---“Help me get a room so I can get off the street!”….“Help me….help myself!”

Mark writes of a time when a large crowd followed Jesus and pressed around Him. I felt that exact thing on Sunday. People pushing in extremely close asking for just a moment of my attention, hoping for a little relief. It was overwhelming.

The afternoon ended with me and this alcoholic guy hand in hand praying for Christ to grant forgiveness and a new start. Not sure how to close this post. I'm still sorting things out.

Horrible News From Haiti!

I’ve been on the phone this morning with various ministries that serve on the front line in Haiti. Grace Church has been sending teams to Haiti for the past 10 years to help push back the darkness and poverty of the poorest nation in our hemisphere. Next week we begin the process of assembling the team for the 2009 trip.

Haiti has been savaged by three successive hurricanes in a matter of just a few weeks. The news I received this morning broke my heart. 1200 people have drowned. That number is expected to expand 10/20 times once relief workers are actually able to get into the area. The major roads have completely washed away. 1 million people are displaced. One half of Haiti lives on one dollar a day. They now need at least three. They won’t make it without a miracle. People have been sitting on rooftops for over three weeks because the mud is waste deep. That means most of them are dead. People are eating dirt to stay alive. The UN is trying to get cooked rice into the region because they can’t store anything bagged due to standing water. Entire church congregations have drowned. No fuel, food or medicine has made it through from the southern ports to the masses in the north.

Please pray for these wonderful people who struggle so deeply. The cry in the streets is …“Haiti is dead!” I’ll have more news as I receive it. Pray for our missionaries working desperately to make a difference. Pray for their safety as increased violence is erupting.