We hit the streets last Sunday and our friend Adam went with us. It was an absolutely beautiful day. We got up to Austin St. around 4:00 so everyone was starting to go in already. We kind of got a late start but we still got to see a lot of our friends. Everyone was inside in about 45 mins to an hour so we headed down to the church to see if Tom and Jennifer were there. When we got there Tammy and her husband ran up to the truck to greet us and they told us that Tom and Jennifer were in a nearby town working for a carnival that had come to town and they were thinking about traveling with them when they moved to a different town. They would help set up and tear down the carnival as it traveled. We never actually talked to them so I'm not sure if they stayed or if they went.
We moved on to the rest of our regular stops. We stopped at the Stew Pot first and handed out crackers and water there. We saw "momma" down on the corner of Canton and Park. This is right past the stew pot, this is where we first met "momma". Please keep "momma" in your prayers, she just looked very tired.
A lot of people told us that the cops have been giving them a hard time since the new homeless center is going up. I guess if you can't see the "problem" it's not really that bad, right?
When we got down by the Millet Paper Co. we had ran out of crackers. All we had left was water. When we got out of the truck we heard a few of the guys say "Do you have anything to eat, I'm starving". We reluctantly told them that the only thing we had was water. After everyone got water we were trying to decide if we needed to go get more crackers and God put it on Scottie's heart to go get sandwiches for them. We got in the truck and headed to the store and Scottie said "These guys aren't getting anything to eat, no one is feeding them. This is probably their only chance for food tonight". So we all agreed sandwiches were a good idea. So that's what we did. We made sandwiches.....on the tailgate of my truck in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. :)
We moved on to the rest of our regular stops. We stopped at the Stew Pot first and handed out crackers and water there. We saw "momma" down on the corner of Canton and Park. This is right past the stew pot, this is where we first met "momma". Please keep "momma" in your prayers, she just looked very tired.
A lot of people told us that the cops have been giving them a hard time since the new homeless center is going up. I guess if you can't see the "problem" it's not really that bad, right?
When we got down by the Millet Paper Co. we had ran out of crackers. All we had left was water. When we got out of the truck we heard a few of the guys say "Do you have anything to eat, I'm starving". We reluctantly told them that the only thing we had was water. After everyone got water we were trying to decide if we needed to go get more crackers and God put it on Scottie's heart to go get sandwiches for them. We got in the truck and headed to the store and Scottie said "These guys aren't getting anything to eat, no one is feeding them. This is probably their only chance for food tonight". So we all agreed sandwiches were a good idea. So that's what we did. We made sandwiches.....on the tailgate of my truck in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. :)
We made 48 sandwiches. There was about 30 people on that street so we thought we were good. We got there and when we got out of the truck they said in surprise "Y'all are back?".
Scottie told them to get in a line and we handed out the sandwiches. The word travels fast when you have food. Guys kept coming around the corner and getting in line. They were coming from the resource center which is just around the corner from the street we were on. We ran out of sandwiches in about 3 minutes. Not everyone got a sandwhich.
While we were there we were talking to Fugi. Scottie had recognized him and called him by name earlier when we were at the stew pot. Fugi was surprised Scottie remembered him. Please keep Fugi in your prayers for his "habits". Pray for God to move in his life.
Kenneth Green is one of the most interesting people we've met on the streets. Each time we talk to him it seems like God reveals himself a little more if you listen closely. Great truths come from Kenneth's mouth; he's a simple man that dreams big.
Kenneth, talking about his jewelry production, says simply "You see, I dream big. When I lay down there (pointing to his sleeping bag on the sidewalk) and I look up (pointing to the sky) it makes me realize how small I am and how big He is. So I dream big."
Why is it that it takes having nothing to realize how big God is and you truly rely on Him for everything. Why is it that we get so consumed with our everyday issues, bills, kids, work, soccer practice, traffic, etc., that we seem to forget just how big God really is?
Look beyond your world, look beyond the pale blue dot we live on, look beyond this life. Look at how great God really is and look how little credit we give Him. I bought this house, I paid for my car, I have a job, this is My family. Once we understand that none of these are ours by our own accomplishments, but rather blessing from God, we would have a greater understanding of how BIG GOD really is and how much He truly loves us.
If we would just realize how small we are.
Look around you at all of God's glory and splendor. How can it be that easy to forget? Take time to realize how big God really is and dare to dream big.
Please be in prayer for those out on the streets.
Britney & Scottie
