May 13, 2009

Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' "And he added, "These are the true words of God." Rev. 19:9

Even though this passage deals with the wedding of the Lamb, I sometimes feel that we get glimpses of heaven here on earth when we are invited into someone’s home. We first met P, L, and M about 8 months ago when another client asked us to meet them. When we knocked on their door they were very welcoming and invited us into their home. L suffers from MS and it’s difficult for her to get around. In the months we’ve known L her condition has greatly worsened, she has suffered a couple of strokes and her right side is almost useless. We don’t get the opportunity to see them every week as sometimes it’s very busy on the streets. Last week P called and asked us to please stop by. Little did we know that we were going to be blessed by this visit with them, we walked out of that house in awe of the awesome work of our wonderful Lord. It’s hard to even write about this I just want to cry with joy.

M told us about his trip down south to attend his brother’s funeral and the healing that took place with his family. While he was gone L and P were held up at gun point in their backyard. The guy held a gun to L’s head while P emptied her purse. They were all so excited that no one was hurt and they only lost a little money. M said that when he got home and heard about what happened he got on his knees and thanked the Lord and it was a confirmation that the Lord was calling him back into relationship with Him. So he got on the phone and called his other brother, L’s ex-husband, and arranged for L to see her kids on Mother’s Day for the first time in 10 years. M mentioned that they had been under a lot of attack from the enemy lately but rather than discourage him it is giving him strength. He then prayed for us, he prayed the most beautiful prayer; he thanked God for using us to remind him that the Lord never forsakes us but is always and forever with us. M said that for the last 5 years he has strayed and turned his back on the Lord but he is ready to get back on the path the Lord has set before him. He then said something odd, he said, “you have no idea who I am or who I was before I fell but you will hear of me again.” Father, we thank you for the work you do in each of our lives and we give thanks for the restoration that is taking place in this home.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Prov. 16:9
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
Prov. 19:21

Last week I didn’t send out an email as we had our Intercessory prayer evenings on Monday and Tuesday so I wrote the words above about our Thursday outreach and planned to send it out last night. Then we hit the streets this Monday and Tuesday and the Lord thwarted my plan so that His plan would prevail.

Monday we saw our friend B. B suffers with a hole in his chest, a result of a lung transplant. The doctor who performed the operation didn’t get to go back and close him up because he sadly passed away. Now B can’t find a doctor that is willing to close the hole so B keeps getting clots in his chest and has to be rushed to the hospital so they can remove them. We’ve been faithfully joining B and his wife T in prayer for healing and at our Intercessory prayer last Monday many petitioned the Lord on B’s behalf. When we saw B this Monday he said, “we missed you last week but we felt your prayers and they have been answered, I found a Doctor to help me!!!” Faithful, Lord you are so faithful, merciful, and loving. Thank you for providing a Doctor that can help B regain his strength and may his heart and mouth be filled with praises to YOU!

Tuesday I received a call from a young woman I haven’t seen in over a year. She gave me her address and asked if the team could stop by and visit with her. I was totally unprepared for the outpouring of love, mercy and renewed friendship we were about to experience. We drove down T’s street and saw her standing in front of the house, Bonnie and I jumped out of the van for hugs and then T said, “please come in the house Emma wants to see you.” We almost started crying right there on the street, we didn’t expect to see Emma, we hadn’t seen her in over 2 years and I honestly never expected to see her again.

We’ve known Emma since the spring of 2002 when we first met her grandchildren. We’ve experienced many up’s and down’s with this family, mostly down’s as they were not open to hearing about Christ. We would try to talk to them about Christ but they weren’t interested. They would let us pray with them though in fact Emma would call everyone into the room for prayer.

This family has experienced more tragedy than any family I’ve ever met. The children have witnessed a murder, had someone they called Auntie, die on the living room sofa after being brutally beaten on the streets. They’ve been robbed, beaten, taken to the hospital because of carbon monoxide poisoning and had things done to the children no child should ever experience. Many times we would go visit them almost expecting to hear some new horror story. Then about 2 ½ years ago Emma, the grandmother and caregiver for the children, was in a major car accident and not expected to live. While she was in the hospital the 5 younger children were placed in foster care leaving the oldest girl at home. While the oldest girl T was living in the home it burned down! Thankfully T wasn’t hurt but she became homeless and wandered around from friend to friend. Over the years we would hear about Emma and the kids. Emma was in rehab in Oakland Co. but no one could remember the name of the place so we couldn’t visit. We had no way to contact the children so we lost contact with them. About a year ago we were told that Emma was living with a friend back in her old neighborhood but again, no one knew the address and truth be told, I wasn’t willing to drive up and down the streets looking for any sign of her. In my rebellious mind I thought the Lord was telling me that this relationship had come to an end.

Lord, forgive me for not trusting that you were still working in their lives, and thank you for bringing to my mind, before we entered the house, something that Emma said about a week before she had her accident. “I’ve been feeling that I need to get right with God”, she said. When we walked in the house T led us to the room where Emma was sitting in a hospital bed. She was so excited to see us and tell us that she has been trusting in the Lord to get her through each day and that the Lord was giving her the strength to walk again. Emma is still in a lot of pain and she can only walk to the restroom and back but I saw something in her I’ve never seen before HOPE!!!!

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Psalm 25:4-6

More good news!!!! The children are being returned to Emma at the end of this month!
Praise God for His goodness and mercy.

Rejoicing in Him,
Donna

April 21, 2009

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Joy and peace that’s what this week has been like. No moments of fear, anxiety, highs, or lows, just total peace. It’s so wonderful to hit the streets and meet people that are thankful for prayer and hope. Last night as we were heading back home we had one lunch bag left and then we saw this little elderly lady using a cane get off the bus in front of us. We normally would not approach someone who was obviously not working the streets but we all felt a prompting to speak to this lady. When we introduced ourselves and asked if she would like a lunch bag and prayer her whole face lit up and she said, ‘Thank you Lord!’ She told us that she was hungry and the lunch bag was an answer to prayer. Father we thank you that you prompt us to speak to ALL your children no matter their age. Meeting her blessed us and encouraged her with your love.

Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come. Psalm 71:18

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
Luke 14:13

Tonight felt like the banquet! We saw so many who were crippled and poor. While we were stopped at an intersection we saw a man in a wheelchair waving us down. After we prayed for him he told us about a group of his neighbors that were confined to wheelchairs and could not come out to get a bag and prayer. We asked him if we could circle around and park in front of the building and have someone come out that could get lunch bags for his neighbors. Cindy and I were very familiar with the building this man lived in and it breaks our hearts to think that people have to live there. This building isn’t much better than a cardboard box; it rarely has heat, lights or water. The rent is on a day to day basis and most of the people that live there are disabled. We were so thankful that we had a banquet to share with all of them. Thank you Jesus that you care for the least of these and that you bless us with the provisions to share with them.

Have a blessed week,
Donna

P.S. We still have our blog site if you find that easier to navigate or would like to help support our efforts on the street:
http://abide70x7.tumblr.com/

April 14, 2009

I’m so thankful to all of you for the wonderful gift of Easter Baskets, Bibles, prayer, compassion for the 70x7 clients and most of all for the love we share in Christ. This year we received 500 brand new New Testament Bibles, donated by the customers of Family Christian Book Stores in Sterling Heights, and 503 beautiful Easter Baskets. The whole team was so blessed to be able to give these out and to share Christ with so many. Thank you again for the wonderful blessing.

I’ve been praying about sharing 2 things that happened over the last few weeks of outreach. I wasn’t sure if I could share these stories without getting in the way of what the Lord wants to say. I decided to leave it alone and only share encouraging uplifting stories but this past weekend while celebrating the Risen Lord I felt the prompting to share what happened.

“Look, there is someone lying on the sidewalk should we go back and see if we can help?” Everyone was in agreement that we needed to help this person. So I flipped a u-turn and pulled up next to the guy. We could see that he was having seizures, his legs were shaking and his chest was convulsing, yet he was able to talk to us. I called 911 and asked for an ambulance. We asked if he was diabetic, epileptic or if he could even sit up. He replied no to all our questions. Cindy and I got out of the van and put a blanket over him. We were rather surprised to see that this was a man that was in excellent physical shape, flawless skin, good muscle tone, beautiful teeth and dressed well. Not to be judgmental but he did not fit the description of someone we expected to see in this section of the city lying on the sidewalk. We laid hands on him and Cindy prayed for him. He grabbed Cindy’s hands, started crying and said over and over, “thank you so much for the prayer I love you.” Before Cindy could reply a change came over him, his eyes bugged out, he started drooling and in a totally different voice he yelled; “Get Out! Get Out! Get Out!” We all knew what was happening so Cindy and I got in the van as we didn’t know if he had a weapon. We did not leave him though we just sat in the van praying until the ambulance arrived about a minute later. When the ambulance pulled up the man threw off the blanket, got up and walked into the ambulance as if nothing was wrong. Needless to say on the drive home the air was pregnant with prayers of thanksgiving for safety, for healing and deliverance for the young man and shouts of praise to our Lord for the gift of His grace, love, sacrifice and victory on the cross. Please pray that this man is physically healed of whatever afflicted him and that he recognizes that the Lord was with him, speaking to him, healing him, touching him and loving him the whole time.

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Cor. 15:57
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

“The prayer van is here.” We hear this every time we pull up in front of this derelict building and wait for all our friends to come running down the stairs. This evening someone new came to the van and found out that the ‘Hound of Heaven’ was pursuing him. When Amy asked to pray with him he fell apart. He told her that his father was the pastor of a mega-church, he had given his life to Christ many years ago, he knew the Bible backwards and forwards, and had written the words on his heart. Yet, temptation overcame him and he submitted to it. He cried out for the strength not to walk back up those steps and indulge again. In all my years of outreach I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed anyone so broken and repentant. His tears, his agony, and his groans tore at our hearts. Lord you know this young man, you hear his cries for help, restore him, lift him up, bring healing and wholeness to his life and the life of his family. Wrap your arms around him, guide him as he takes the steps to leave the life of debauchery, open the heart of his father as you did for the prodigal.

"Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:12-13

He is Risen!!!!
Donna

March 23, 2009

They will be so kind and merciful and good, that they will be a light in the dark for others who do the right thing. Psalm 112:4 (CEV)

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2 (CEV)

It’s dark, cold, and depressingly filled with burned out homes, then you meet one of God’s little lights; planted in the land of the shadow of death. Each week we look forward to seeing ‘A’ again. She has become one of our first stops when we hit the streets. I really think the Lord had us meet her so that we could be encouraged by His light that shines through her. She lives in a home that is falling apart and filled with not just her stuff but the things of people she knows that lost their homes. It almost looks like a big storage unit with bags and boxes everywhere. ‘A’ has a slight disability so rather than have her come out to the van we go into her home. She greets us with the biggest smile and a huge hug. She then tells us all about her Bible Study earlier in the day. Well, except for this last week, her doctor changed her medication and she fell asleep during the Study. Thank you Father that you place people in our lives that bless us with their knowledge and love for you and in turn lavishes some of that love on us.

Some nights we go out on the streets feeling like a blind beggar looking for alms, forgetting that no matter what the night is like the Lord is busy pouring out His living water on the seeds that have been scattered in the neighborhoods. It is by His grace and mercy that we get to love on so many people that are lost and hurting. And we rejoice every time someone takes our hands for prayer.

Now Christ Jesus has come to show us the kindness of God. Christ our Savior defeated death and brought us the good news. It shines like a light and offers life that never ends. 2 Tim. 1:10 (CEV)

Have a blessed week,
Donna

"Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out." Deut.28:6

March 17, 2009:

Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. Jeremiah 17:14 NIV

I wish I could say that N prays this passage for his own healing but I really don’t think he knows how so we intercede for him and petition the Father to heal him. I’ve known N since he was 10 years old, he is now 17 and even more lost and confused. He’s been in and out of Juvenile centers, has a very tumultuous relationship with his parents and for the last 2 years has been squatting in abandoned homes. We lost touch with him about 3 months ago when he moved from the last place he was staying. Tonight as I was loading up the van for outreach I received a call from N asking us to stop by his new residence. What a joy it was to hear from him and get his new address. He then told me that he was shot in the left butt-cheek on Sunday. When we arrived at his place he came out to see us with the assistance of T and J and using a cane. It was so good to see all 3 young men, we’ve really missed them. But it was heartbreaking seeing N again knowing that he had to rely on friends for his care and shelter. Lord, I thank you that N called us tonight and I pray that you will heal not only his body but his mind and his spirit. May N use this time of healing to open his heart to you. May he see that you are his only source of strength and that you have a perfect plan for his life.

MY LITTLE children, I write you these things so that you may not violate God's law and sin. But if anyone should sin, we have an Advocate (One Who will intercede for us) with the Father--[it is] Jesus Christ [the all] righteous [upright, just, Who conforms to the Father's will in every purpose, thought, and action]. 1 John 2:1 (AMP)

Trusting in Him,
Donna

P.S. only a few more weeks until Easter and we still need your help with Easter Baskets. If you like to help us bless others with the gift of an Easter Basket please contact me. Thank you!

"Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out." Deut.28:6

March 10, 2009:

Don't violate your daughter by making her a whore—the whole country would soon become a brothel, filled with sordid sex. Lev. 19:29 MSG

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28 NIV

I always think of these 2 verses in the same vein. Violation of either a daughter or a son whether by a parent, a family member, a family friend, or a stranger can destroy the soul sending the victim on a path of self destruction. At least that’s the way the victim tends to feel until they have an encounter with the living God.

I’ve witnessed so much pain this last week that I feel angry, scared and hopeful all at the same time. I’m hopeful because I know the freedom that comes from laying the burdens at the foot of the cross. In one sentence I yell at the Father to take our free will away and in the next breath I thank Him for loving us enough to give us that free will. Sometimes I want to walk away from doing outreach, I don’t want to love and pray for the people anymore. Thankfully those thoughts are short lived and I know who is gloating when my thoughts turn in that direction. But, I have a savior who is victorious, who laid down His life for me, not just me but the very people I want to run away from. I also have some awesome friends like you who are willing to intercede for the lost and hurting. Thank you Jesus that your ears are always attuned to our prayers.

We met a beautiful young lady that is so confused. She feels the only life open to her is one of addiction and prostitution. She said that she knows she should want the kind of life that her family wants her to live but she’s not worthy. After being sexually abused as a young child she feels that drugs to ease the pain are her only option. We talked to her and prayed with her but she doesn’t believe in a personal savior and so why should she trust in someone she doesn’t believe exists. Church attendance as a child was required of her but it seemed like all she did was stand up, sit down, and kneel, nothing felt real. Father may we be used by you to show her that having you in our lives is light and life itself and may that light shine through us in such a way that this precious little girl wants to know and trust you. The saddest thing is that this young lady is not an exception but more the norm in the women that we meet. They fight to stay clean yet have a hard time giving up the sex and the addiction to chaos. Having been violated they feel they are unworthy to live a life of peace and love.

We met K for the second time this week and his prayer was to be released from his life of hell. He then confided that he has been having thoughts of suicide because he can’t stand the pain of his situation anymore and he doesn’t know how to break the addictive cycle. Suicide, this is a word that is spoken to us too many times and it is so heartbreaking to hear so many feel that they have no other choice in order to relieve the pain of their existence. I am so thankful for the awesome team the Lord has put together. A team that will listen to what people like K speak about finality. A team that is willing to get out of the van; pull K to the side and speak truth into him. Jesus wrap K in your loving arms show him that life is worth living and that with you he can break the bonds of addiction, homelessness, and depression.
So many we saw this week seemed so lost, so desperate for a savior but did not understand that they actually have a savior in Jesus Christ. One who is willing to carry their burden, to set them free from addiction, and depression. It can be so convicting to meet these people and when you pray for them to hear the Lord also asking you to trust Him. Trust Him that His Holy Spirit is at work in those willing to open their hearts and not listen to the world tell us we are failures because we don’t live what the world considers the ‘good’ life.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Rejoicing in our Savior!
Donna

"Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out." Deut.28:6