We hit the streets last night and it was a wonderful night to be out serving the Lord!! The weather was perfect and the people were out thick. We started out in the Washington Gardens Projects.
The team consisting of Michele Ware, Amanda, Erica, Eileen and I. We were so blessed to have Michele out again.
We were also blessed to have Amanda & Erica from "The Spa" (Spiritual & Personal Adjustments), this is a women's ministry home specially designed for discipleship. We can tell that Sandra Bontrager, the director has been doing well at what the Lord has called her to do because "the fruit was on the tree" as far as the Word coming from these two ladies. We look forward to the partnership between RAVEN and Spa ministries!!
The relationships are growing more and more, it is such a blessing to us to see the kids faces as we show up. They start running when they see the van to get their cookies. When we stop and park, they want to talk and they love to be hugged on. They hug us tight back and it seems like they hate for the hugs to end.
I made arrangements with one of the mothers last night to be able to take my little buddy "Pooh Bear" to church sometimes and also just to go hang out with him. He is such an awesome kid but he has no male to guide him in life. The first picture is "Pooh Bear" getting behind the wheel of the "RAVEN VAN" so that he can get a feel for the future when he's driving a RAVEN van.
People that live in the "Elkhart Area", we need mentors for these kids. We need more people to go with us and show the love of God to them. I know that if Jesus was on this earth that he would be smack dab in the middle of them. It grows on you to the point that there is nothing else that we would want to do than to be with them and to try to get their parent or sometimes parents on track.
This area is a mess in our own city!! We have kids going hungry right here in our own city!! We thank God that we do not sit in our comfortable house anymore watching tv or whatever other worldly things that stopped us from "doing what Jesus would want us to do. Look at some of the other faces of the kids of Washington Gardens.
They are so much fun to be around! It took us a long time to convince the girls in the van that we really had to go. They were dis-appointed but we told them that we would be back. They have heard that before in their lives and that is why we have to hold to our word and continue to show up every week. I actually go to this area 3-4 times a week for one reason or another.
After Washington Gardens we headed for Louie & Kelly's. The witnessing there was awesome!! Conviction fell on people as we ministered to them and also when the van ministered to them. Curtis was walking by us and looked at the front of the van and seen "Jesus Saves" and he stopped dead in his tracks and bowed his head.
We were able to minister to him and we are going to get together when he is sober. We were able to see how he wanted to hear the Word of God but also Satan kept tugging on him to get away from us. The names go on and on as to who we witnessed to, Eddie talked about how he knows that the Lord is coming back and he told us how he toured with the Grateful Dead for 27 years and how that effected his life.
His partner came from an area that we know well from being with RAVEN WestCoast, the "tenderloin district" of San Francisco. There was Obadiah, who we have been ministering to for years, when he saw me he just froze as his friends kept telling him to come he told them that he couldn't. Conviction from the Holy Spirit had fell on him and he knew that we had to talk to me. Obadiah is a song writer and has back-slidden away from the Lord. We believe that he is going to get his life on track once and for all!!
We headed over to the office from there (Taqueria Tijuana Restaurant) for a break. Brother Adrian Riley called us and met us there before heading out for the Harrison & Marion area. This area has a late night carry-out and is also well known for prostitution. We walked the streets for a short time then hung out in the area of the bar.
We ministered to many in this area, again the Holy Spirit stopping them in their tracks as I would say to the ones coming out of the carry-out "how long are you going to let the devil control your lives"? They would stop in their tracks and many had tears well up in their eyes. Many people knew one or more of us and they would even attempt to head the other direction to avoid us seeing them in this area.
There was hardly a minute that went by without all of us ministering to someone. We wrapped it up at about 2:00 a.m. this morning and we praised the Lord for blessing us with the honor of being able to be HIS witnesses.
Don't forget July 8th (next Saturday) from 11-2p the outreach in the parking lot of the Deliverance Temple Church located on Benham near Indiana. (Front of Washington Gardens Projects)
Dying for us was the most HE could do....Living for HIM is the least we can do....
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