Back on Track

It has been a couple of weeks. Working at the Academy took its toll. It was a long stretch working every school day from 8:30-4:00 and then catching up at night on all the other stuff I needed to do. However, that is over, so now I can get back to business. Sunday's are getting very exciting. We are having neighbors showing up in the morning and we are seeing God working like I haven't seen in a while. Lives are being transformed that is for sure. We have added an Bible study on Sunday night and have been serving about 70 people each week. Tomorrow I head to the Conference Office to be interviewed by the Mission Group so that we can become a Conference Advance Special we are already a District Advance. On Thursday I am meeting with downtown pastors and community leaders to begin a process to discern what issues we might work on together. This weekend my mother in law is moving into the house next door to ours. She will be moving from Greentown where she has lived for 50 years. The following weekend there will be a mission team coming from the Goshen area. Andrew has completed marching band and is looking forward to the prom which, here, is in the fall not the spring. I am also working on a devotional called, "Life on the Porch" that will be used by supporters and area churches during advent. I have three more to write, most have gone to an editor to be fixed up and corrected, I am very excited about the project. I can't wait to have it all done. Thanks for the prayers. Jeff

Sidetracked

This week I feel kind of side tracked. I am substitute teaching at the Kokomo Academy, for 9 days replacing a teacher that is on vacation. School runs year round, so teachers rotate out on vacation. I hadn't worked there for about 6 weeks and when I was called back, the schedule had been changed. Previously I was in school from 7:30 AM-2:00 PM which for me was great, now I go from 8:00-3:30 which is not so great. I don't have as much time in the afternoon to work on church and outreach stuff. I made the nine day commitment so I will complete it, my time ends next Tuesday, five days to go. After that I doubt if I will return. This past Sunday we had some good friends visit us and work in the Outreach we served about 70 people dinner, had about 44 kids in Sidewalk Sunday School, 3 in youth group and two in a new Bible Study. We had our largest Sunday Morning crowd yet....47. I am working on an advent devotional and I am trying to get a newsletter out. Next week I am meeting with a Lutheran pastor to talk about supporting the outreach, we are planning a concert that will be a fundraiser, and I soon will be meeting with downtown pastors and leaders to discern issues that need to be addressed in the downtown. Things are really going, please keep me in your prayers. Jeff

Catch up

I spoke too soon, in previous posts I have talked about how it has been kind of slow. I need to learn when times are slower, that is God giving me a rest. Life has been so full that I have not had time at all to blog. While I can't fill you in on everything. Too much has happened. Here are the highlights:

• Bikes still coming in and going out
• 700 pounds of gleaned potatoes passed out
• Sidewalk Sunday School started at Pine Valley in the last two weeks we have reached about 30 children
• Sidewalk Sunday School and dinner on Sunday Night have been a huge success. The first week there were about 70 dinners and 44 children in Sidewalk Sunday School and 9 in youth group
• Last night we served closer to 90 dinner with about 48 in sidewalk Sunday school and 18 in youth group(some older boys left but they started out in the group)
• Grace United Methodist Church is purchasing carpet for the new children's area so the children will not have to sit on the floor
• The new children's area has opened with a fresh coat of paint and colorful decorations provided by Mary Ingle
• I am writing an Advent devotional that is called, "Life on the Porch", they are stories about those in the neighborhood who spend a great deal of time on their porches
• We have been averaging over 40 in church and since Mary Ingle started teaching Sunday school our children's Sunday School has gone from 3 or 4 to 8 or 9.
  
• Mary and I visit every child that attends sidewalk Sunday school at both locations. We called on about 30 families
  
• I have had two funerals and after this Saturday two weddings in the past 2 weeks
• Then there have been meetings, lunches, Bible studies, sermons to prepare and a whole bunch of other stuff

I am thankful for:

• my wife and family who are supportive
• the many, many volunteers
• volunteers helping me during the week keeping the church building open and entering data in the computer
• God for answering prayers and giving strength
• for the church I serve that is soooo supportive
  

Current Prayer Concerns:

• Pray for a volunteer to work with middle school boys. It would be great to have an African-American Male to work with this sports minded group of African-American boys. I fear if we don't get them now they will get in major trouble, they already cause minor trouble through the neighborhood. However, they show up at the church to eat and to see if have someone to do something with them. We have a great worker that is willing to work with the 8-10 middle school s but 18 or more teens are too much for one person.
• Pray for food(cans of food) we are very, very low(we have zero)
• Pray for continued volunteers on Saturday and Sunday nights
• Pray for people that we be good at weekly visitation

That's it for now. I will try to update more often.

Week in Review

Saturday(Sept. 2) - Spent much of the day mowing grass. It had rained for days. A neighbor mowed my yard while a church member and myself spent about 4 hours caring for the church yard. In the midst of that I was able to spend the morning with my friend David who was here from North Judson, as well a friend from Lowell in the evening. At noon I picked up the first bike. It was given to a guy who just got a job and had no transportation.

Sunday(Sept. 3) - Worship went well. We had more kids than usual. Mary Ingle our new Volunteer Director of Children's Outreach, for KUO, had her first Sunday in church with us, she is now our Sunday School Teacher. She left her church to become a missionary here. A noon we had a family meal with my brother and sister's in law. Of course we had our cookout, our last hotdog cookout for the season. This Sunday a church is providing a fried chicken picnic. On the 17th we bring the children back in. After the cookout we went to a birthday party for a great friend and spent the evening relaxing and laughing with friends.

Monday(Sept. 4) - Patric and Laura spent Labor Day with us. Took the day off.

Tuesday ( Sept. 5) Went to my weekly breakfast meeting at Panera Bread. Spoke at "Added Grace" the senior age group from Grace UMC at noon and got caught up on some office work.

Wednesday (Sept. 6) Went to "Youth Workers Cafe" a place where those who work with youth gather to share ideas and to network. It was an eclectic group: School Superintendent, mental health workers, social workers, police officer, non profit folk like me, about 30 people. At night led our regular Bible Study group we had 12 there a very good group.

Thursday (Sept. 7) More bikes came in we are up to 12 with more on the way. Produce came from the Community Garden and about everything is gone except some squash and some beets. I spent the morning working on a story for a devotional booklet that I hope to have completed for Advent. It will be called Life on the Porch. The booklet will be made up of positive stories of people that live in the apartments that are being the hands and feet of Jesus. There are more stories than one would think. Mowed our yard again.

Friday (Sept. 8) Today's agenda: mow church yard, meet with accountability partner, attend a noon prayer meeting, praying for those who suffer, writing some thank you notes, have a meeting at 4:00, unloading bread that arrives this afternoon and finishing bulletin an sermon for Sunday. This Friday not nearly as slow as last Friday.

Thanks for the prayers Jeff

Slooooooooow Friday

The children were yelling, "Hey pastor Jeff, watch me!!", as they flipped backwards out of the swing at the playground in the Apartment Complex.

Two more children came running up asking excitedly, "Is it church day yet"?

"Sorry not today", was my response.

Talking with various people on their porches I learned that things are kind of tense, as money is scarce, food supplies are running low, and drinking is on the rise. Alcohol and drug abuse always increases when things get tough. There was plenty of yelling and frustration. Yet at the same time, it seemed quieter than normal. Not as many children out.

Today I did not have a lot do. I met with an accountability partner at 11:00, went to my every Friday prayer for those who suffer service at the Episcopalian church. After that nothing. Sure there are many things I could do. After all as a former restaurant manager, I could hear myself saying, "If you have time to lean you have time to clean", but nothing demanding my time. It made the afternoon go verrrrrry sloooooooooooooooow. I can't imagine not really have anything to do the majority of time. Yet many of the residents ask me if I have anything for them to do, as they too have little to do. They are fast becoming a committed volunteer pool for the outreach. Since most have little to do during the day, I can recruit them for last minute stuff, which is a blessing. I got a taste of the life that many of my neighbors live everyday. Little money to do something fun, no where in particular to go, feeling bored. If they do have a job, there is worry about how they will get there tomorrow and then doing the same thing over and over for $5.25 an hour, as the meter ticks on childcare and as their rent raises. Thinking about all of that made me go for a walk and on the walk I encountered people-- which in turn gave me new energy. I had an Ephinany a as I was walking through the neighborhood, I realized that on Sunday I get a paycheck and will have some cash, tomorrow I will be busier than I want to be, and I will engage in some sort of entertainment even later tonight, even if it is just watching TV or surfing the Internet. My neighbors will experience more of the same---tomorrow and the next day after that. I did not realize how hard is to break free from the grip of poverty. Poverty is not just about not having money, it is about not have any resources (education, family, church, jobs, cars, or hope). I know that most of the 300 families that KUO works with, struggle everyday and feel forsaken by God. I am beginning to wonder if they are God forsaken or church forsaken? Please continue to pray that as we work in the mission field we will be able to create a culture of hope. Thanks for the prayers. Jeff

Went to Indy

Yesterday, we went to Indy, as we moved Patric and Laura to their new apartment on the campus of Christian Theological Seminary which is located on the Butler Campus. We also visited Jonathan who moved to Indy while we were in New York. He lives on the third floor of an old building on 16th and Delaware in downtown Indy. He starts at IUPUI tomorrow. I worked on administrative stuff which is not my favorite thing to do, but I got stuff off my desk, that had been there for a long time. God is really moving....we are having more and more people in church on Sunday Morning, we are having new volunteers almost every Sunday Night, hotdogs are pouring in as well as chips, cookies and drinks. We are preparing to bring the children back in in about three weeks and expanding to new areas. Thank you for the prayers. Jeff

Back Pack Update

Last Tuesday we distributed 150 filled backpacks!!!! One volunteer looked out the window and saw a mass of kids with parents returning home with colorful backpacks on their backs. We did have a snag in the plan, we had to turn 33 kids away. We took their names and addresses and told them we would have their backpacks to them soon. I quickly put out an email and by Sunday we had all the orders filled with about 10 left over. God is working through his people!!!!
Last Wednesday we left for a mini vacation, we attended a wedding of a friend in a town near New York City. Chris and I took a train into New York on Friday, we went early and saw the Good Morning America Friday concert, featuring Carri Underwood. We also saw Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts and whoever the weatherman is. We experienced Times Square, the Empire State Building, Macy's Department Store and Madison Square Gardens. The wedding was very nice with lots of food. Returning home we are catching up on sleep, chores and phone calls. Thanks for the prayers. Jeff

Bookbag blessings!!!!

This morning was awesome!!!! All the bookbags, that were generously given by so many, were piled in front of the altar in our sanctuary. Enough was kept out so each attender received a bookbag. During the service there was time when we prayed for the children that would receive the bags. The neat part was that we had one child in church today that will be receiving a bag(she was the only child in church). I called her up for children's time, and asked her if she would help me pray. She agreed. I asked her to put her hand on the pile. She knelt down beside the pile and put her hand on the bookbags. The rest of the congregation got out their bag and we prayed for the children that were going to receive the bag, asking that each child, would grow up to be Godly women and men. Seeing the little first grader, in her pink dress, kneeling beside the bags was a sight that few will forget. We will be passing out the bags this Tuesday at 6:00. Thanks for the prayers. Jeff

Full week

It has been a good week, very full but good. Sack lunches were served Mon-Fri volunteers arrived at about 11:00 AM and left at about 12:40 PM. About 70 childrenwere served per day. I had an opportunity to speak to a Kiwanis group on Tuesday Morning. In the midst of this there were groups that were sorting through hundreds and hundreds of items of clothing, some working in the morning others at night. At the same time another, group was sorting and stocking items for personal hygiene packs that will be passed out next Tuesday. I got to go shopping for backpacks and talked with a woman as we waited in line at a store, she told me about a miracle healing in her daughter, as she told her story she began to weep, I never met her before, but right in the middle of family dollar she shared her "Jesus" Story with me. Mary Ingle and I were interviewed for an article that is to appear in the weekly paper about Sidewalk Sunday School. The community garden gave us produce everyday this week and it was distributed through a produce stand sat up in our driveway. We estimate that nearly 1200 pounds of produce was distributed this week. On Tuesday Night the apartment complex had "August Night Out" there was a dunk tank, a moon jump and pedal cars on a track. The police provided the fun and Target provided the food. In the midst of this event, I was presented with a Thank You card signed by most of the residents and a plaque that expressed their appreciation. I shared with them that without the scores and scores of volunteers the things that we do would not be done. I wanted them to know that what happens around here is by far, not a one man show. I only share about the plaque to let everyone know that all the things you do are appreciated.

Today nearly 200 garbage bags full of clothing left the church in the arms of happy parents and kids. They were hauled home in red wagons or strollers. Clothes will go out again tomorrow. Today we received food left from a funeral dinner, more clothing, hundreds of packs of colored pencils and markers, along with 6 cases of hotdogs with 120 in each case, more bread and cans and cans of food and about 20 more backpacks, did I fail to mention more clothes?

I sense that God is up to something, just not sure what it is. Need to get outside and get the grass mowed. Thank you so much for all the prayers. Jeff

Kick Start Back Packs

Wow!!! We are so close in completing our KICK Start Backpack Project. KICK stands for Kids Individual Care Kit to give them a kick start to good hygiene as school begins. A KICK Start Backpack is a backpack filled with shampoo, soap, toilet tissue, toothpaste and brush, and a comb, pick or brush with deodorant for teens. With the help of the local Kiwanis and churches we have almost everything we need for 150 backpacks. We still need about 70 backpacks which we know will receive. Thanks to all who made this worthwhile project a success.

Cook-Out Buffet

Last night was the biggest night we have had outside. We served an estimated 175-200 people. Our menu was large as we had some great last minute donations. We had hotdogs, corn on the cob(200 plus ears), mac and cheese, cloe slaw, potato salad, pork and beans, a veggie tray, banana's, apples, grapes and cookies. Unbelievably we did not run out of any food except the fruit near the end. In the over 90 plus heat we had 39 volunteers. We had the senior citizen class and the youth group from Grace UMC join us. It was our first intergenerational group. The Older folks served the food, the youth played with the kids, helped them with their plates, walked them home, and even fed some little ones. Along with the two groups from Grace church(21) we had folks there from McGrawsville UMC(5), Russiaville UMC(1), FaithUMC(1), Crossroads Community(3), Abundant Life(2), St. Lukes UMC(3) and Trinity UMC(3).

We were also blessed with produce from the community garden we gave away zucchini, cabbage and cucumbers- the Crossroads group brought fresh green beans which was gone in a flash. Along with our regular bags of food(cereal, juice, peanut butter, pasta, sunflower seeds, and jello), we gave away about 75 loaves of bread and 125 bags of assorted chips.

It is amazing what God is doing outside the church walls as many churches come together to be missionaries in their own community. Thanks for the prayers. Jeff

Updates

Just an update on the K.I.C.K. Starters (see article below dated 7/17) we have received most of the items for the pack. Mike the pastor of St. Lukes UMC emailed and asked about book bags. I am not aware of anyone in town giving away book bags, so after exchanging email thoughts we decided we would try to collect 150 book bags and place the hygiene items in it. An email went out to local churches yesterday morning by afternoon we had 20 bags delivered. God is so good. In our neighborhood the month of July is a bit too long. We have been blessed to help neighbors with what we have in the way of food but we have little. We are giving away cheese that was left from VBS, peanut butter, cranberry juice, a couple of cans of vegetables and a bag of chips. Bread does not come until tomorrow and food stamps start coming next Tuesday, depending on where you fall in the alphabet, food stamps are disturbed from the 1st-10th of each month. Some folks have about two weeks to wait.

Each day, we are distributing sack lunches to children under the age of 18. The school system was providing lunches with their program ending last Friday. We picked it up on Monday. The lunches are catered and are funded by IUK. When the school provided lunch the largest group ever served was 50 kids the average was 30. We received 50 lunches on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We served 49 on Monday, 51 on Tuesday and had to turn 10 kids away and lock the door early on Wednesday. We upped the order to 70 starting today (Thursday). A stereotype of people living in government housing is that those folks don't work. That is untrue. Many do work. The welfare to work program provides mothers with two years of benefits and then helps them find jobs or mothers are required to work for local agencies to continue to receive government aid. Several of our neighbors have jobs in a meat processing plant in Logansport (about 30 miles away). Problem---gasoline is over $3.00 a gallon. It is becoming difficult to get back and forth to work. The Outreach nor the church has the funds to help with any kind of gas assistance and local agencies are running out of resources. Carpools are being organized and gas sharing is happening, pop cans are being collected to get people to work, those working in Logansport are becoming a community. That's cool.

Other mothers without cars walk to work, we are seeing a need for bikes. Several bikes have been donated and they are given to people with jobs who need them to get to work. Working bikes are scarce so we can only give bikes to those who need transportation to work. We have several broken bikes, that do us little good as we have no one right now who knows how to fix them nor the resources to purchase the parts. Enough rambling. Please keep everyone here in your prayers.

59 cent mission trip

They came pouring in at about 11:15 as the U haul was being loaded with bags and bags of food (the truck was being filled by some of the young adult guys next door). They huddled downstairs making a plan ready to divide and conquer. Two of them blind, most of them girls which the one guy didn't seem to mind and then there was their leader(a board member and a regular volunteer). The "they" were some youth from Crossroads Community Church who had volunteered to join the other 6 of us go door to door for "Groceries and Prayer". After a time of prayer we left to church to begin the work. At first a bit neverous , the youth's confidence increased as bag after bag of food was taken from the truck and brought to the door. It became evident that the youth could sense they were being used by God, as they became louder and louder as they knocked on the doors and yelled, "Groceries and Prayer from Kokomo Urban Outreach." Residents would come to the door to accept food and many took them up on the prayer offer too. It blessed me when I saw one of the blind girls praying for an older neighbor who has trouble walking, and the neighbor praying for the blind girl. There was church going on, on the steps of the apartments. We also found some families that were desperate for help. Like the woman who had a miscarriage the day before and had no toilet paper or soap in her home or the father and son who has had to borrow food for the past five days. We prayed with the sick, the despised, the addicted, the confused and the hopeless. By the time we were finished we had a group of children following us and "helping" us carry the groceries. After we visited the nearly 200 apartments in Garden Square we moved on to Pine Valley where 100 more families received bags of food. Believe it or not each youth only paid 59 cents for this mission trip to buy a coke at BP as they traveled to the second apartment complex, however, I believe even the 59 cents became a gift from their leader, making this "mission trip" a freebie. Thank you youth from Crossroads for helping to create a culture of hope in a seemingly hopeless place. Thank you Kokomo Rescue Mission for donating the food that we distributed to nearly 300 families. I would also like to St. Luke's UMC for donating the money to pay for the U-Haul Truck through their leftover gifts to our VBS. Thank you to our friends at Russiaville UMC for helping us sack groceries the day before we delivered. A special thanks to the residents who came across the street to help us bag groceries and load the truck. And of course, thanks to all the "regular" volunteers who give time to the "Outreach" event after event. Thanks to all of you for the prayers. Jeff

VBS and other assorted items

VBS went well. We didn't have huge numbers but the 20 plus children that came had a great time. We had the best of the best from every church. It was a good time. I hope to have some pictures. I took my camera to vbs and took quite a few pictures. There was some sort of writing on the screen, however, I could not see it without my glasses. I later learned it said, "No memory Card". So much for my carefully planned pictures. I presided over some very good friends daughter's wedding on Saturday, which I enjoyed. On Sunday we had a nice crowd in church and we had a good cookout. Today I spoke at the Kiwanis Club and was very well received. They are helping put together some personal hygiene kits to give to the children before school starts. The kits are to give kids a K.I.C.K.(Kids Individual Care Kits) Start to caring for themselves. It will contain toothpaste and toothbrush, a comb, shampoo, a bar of soap, and toilet paper. We want to have 150 ready to go. Before I left I had commitments of all the toothpaste, toothbrushes and soap. Someone brought us about 40 packages of toilet paper. We are well on our way. Thanks for the prayers especially as we pack food tomorrow and pass it out on Wednesday door to door.

Thank you note to St. Lukes UMC

Wow!! What a great few days in VBS. We had so many wonderful volunteers from churches like Crossroads and Abundant Life(boy did we need them) and we received items from Grace UMC. The folks at St. Lukes UMC approached me about doing VBS and working with us to plan and to provide the resources to make VBS happen. St. Lukes sent many volunteers, provided the food, the decorations and the finances needed to make the VBS successful. We had a great song leader from Crossroads Karen Malone, also from Crossroads was Stephanie who brought her usual band of wonderful helpers and of course our Children's Outreach Director Mary Ingle was present along with Intern Patric Newton. The Storyteller, the Registration coordinator, the kitchen crew(including youth from St. Lukes) and the actor in the skit were all from St. Lukes. We also appreciated the Children's Bibles donated by Bebe Doris from the Kokomo Rescue Mission. Following is a letter sent to St. Lukes Church:

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for making a difference in the lives of 25 children at our VBS outreach. I wish you could have met the children that were so touched. Few of them attend any church and for some it was the first time they heard about Jesus. It has been neat to walk through the apartment complex a week afterwards hearing the children singing the songs they learned in Bible School. It has been a blessing to work more one on one with the children than we are able to do in a large cookout setting. Thank you for providing workers, cookies, food, decorations, finances and prayers. I want you all to know that the neighborhood has been buzzing since VBS asking when we are going to do it again!!! You have been salt and light to a community that needs both. I also wanted you to know that your gifts not only helped the children at VBS, as the leftover food was used at Sunday's cookout. Leftover money was used to rent a U Haul truck($25.00) to deliver groceries to 300 families in two apartment complexes and will be used to purchase much needed shelving($40.00) to hold food until it can be distributed, our little plastic book shelves that surrounded our distribution room walls collapsed under the weight of the food. I would especially like to thank Jean Tarner for organizing and preparing VBS for us so it ran well even though she was called away.


Thanks again.

Jeff Newton Director of Kokomo Urban Outreach

VBS

Today is our first day of VBS. We are doing a mini version, three days for 1.5 hours. As usual we are blazing new trails into unknown parts. Please pray for us as all our volunteers are arriving at about 12:30 it starts at 1:00. We have to organize them and move them where we need them. We do have the five main areas story, games, crafts, music and food covered with the best of the best leaders. I not sure I have ever seen so much talent in each area. What is interesting is that they are all from different churches. The primary church helping is St. Lukes which has supplied a great deal of materials. I hope to get some pictures today and will post as I get them. Thanks for the prayers. Jeff

A Nice Weekend (Part Two)

Wow!!! This week flew by. I thought I would have part 2 of last weekend up long ago. But, alas, time slips by. Last Sunday we had several nice visitors in the church, we had folks from South Carolina, Texas, and Florida. The cook out was nice because it only rained for 15 minutes instead of the usual whole time we are out there. It has rained on us every week for about 5 weeks. It was nice to have enough volunteers and we even had some missionaries from Guatemala.

A couple of weeks ago I had been in conversation with a 23 year old man who is living with his 26 year old girlfriend with their three children, about marriage(he wondered how important it really was). I explained about commitment, the example being set for the children, the importance of promising to stay true to one person, honoring the children's mother etc. He asked if the time came would I do the service. I told him I would. I have had many conversations with him and her and see them everyday as they live across from us. Their children participate in our outreach. He and his girlfriend are very nice. Thursday I heard a knocking at the door when I opened it he was on the porch with a license in hand, saying lets do it now. I agreed. However, his wife to be felt she could not get married in a t-shirt and blue jeans which is all she had. They found some money and she went to buy a new outfit. He too found his best clothes and they dressed the children up the best they could. Two of their neighbors got dressed up to be witnesses. While they were getting ready I went out and bought a cake and got some sodas on ice. A friend, Steph. had just the day before brought some plastic silverware wrapped in napkins tied with a ribbon and a tablecloth to the church. At 8:30 the two were married, he was very excited, and they both had a good feeling, like they made something right. They crossed the street and went home. Patric and I quickly picked up the cake, drinks, table, plates etc and we set up a reception in their front yard. It was the exact spot where a gunshot rang out a few months ago, the space was being redeemed with a wholesome party. All the neighbors came out to congratulate them and to grab a piece of cake, meanwhile Patric and I slipped away into the shadows. From my picture window I would occasionally glance across the street to see how things were going, it went well. The party went on for about an hour and for the first time I saw a community come together, without drinking, screaming, fighting just friends having a great time. The children were playing and dancing and at least on this night life was good.

Tonight we are going to a Pastor's family picnic, unbelievably I think all three sons are going with us. Tomorrow I speak at New Waverly United Methodist Church which is just west of 31 off of 24. Patric will be speaking at Trinity as part of his internship. Tomorrow night the children will be treated to some Gospel magic.

Next week, I am not teaching at all. I taught 3 days this past week(the Academy boys go year round). I will be focusing on VBS. If you received our newsletter, you read that we were looking for some Bibles to give at VBS. We got them. If you are not getting the newsletter and would like to, you may subscribe to it by typing your email into the box at the top right hand side of this page.

Thanks for the prayers. Jeff

A Nice Weekend (Part One)

This weekend was a nice weekend. It was nice because I was able to hang out with some very nice people. On Saturday afternoon we had a baby shower for a young woman in the apartments. She is due at the end of the month and had nothing for her child. We collected clothing, diapers, lotion, a car seat, play pen, toys, everything she needed, she did have a bed. We also bought a cake, made punch, had peanuts and mints. Then there was the card table with a baby shower table cloth, with matching napkins and cups and we had some folding chairs. We set all of that outside of her apartment under the shade of a large tree and knocked on the door. The woman was surprised!!! I don't think she ever has been to a shower, and surely didn't expect one. She was very nice, humble, and appreciative. She opened each package very slowly and looked at each item. She would comment about the softness of the material, the stitching in the bibs and the practicality of the diapers. She didn't want to eat the cake(the cake was important to her, not sure she has had many just for her) because it was so beautiful. She savored every bite. We helped her carry her things into her apartment and noticed she had no furniture, none!!! There were plastic grocery bags of clothes around the walls. We asked her about the furniture, she said she was going to rent some after the baby was born. We told her not to, that we would be on the lookout for some. She needs everything but beds.

At the shower we met two very nice boys on bikes one was 6 the other 5. The five year old stopped at the shower as we were setting up. He was quiet, kind, polite. We we put the peanuts on the table he asked if he could please have some, we said sure. He grabbed handfuls and began to quickly eat. He obviously had not had anything to eat for a while. His brother joined us, these two little guys ate two pieces of cake, two glasses of juice, a bunch of peanuts and a couple of mints. It may not have been the healthiest meal, but they went away with food in their stomach.

On Saturday night I visited a parishioner who is having surgery today. They have only been coming to the church for a few months. Very nice folks. I arrived at dinner time and they set down a plate....good food. Our whole family spent the rest of the evening at the home of some good friends, laughing and watching our six adult children play together. It was strange as our kids live everywhere and really haven't been together for years. As we watched them play a game called "Ladder Ball", it seemed as if we were looking at them as if they were in elementary school again when we gathered our two families together often.

This post is getting kind of lengthly and I have to be going to teach at the academy(they go to school year round). We will just call this "A nice weekend pt. 1". Thanks for the prayers. Jeff

A Ton of Food to Distribute

We received more than a ton of food today. We plan on passing it out in the middle of the month when things start to get tight. I am looking forward to passing out groceries and praying with folks that we serve. Today we received:

• 350 pounds of salmon
• 200 pounds of instant potatoes
• 300 pounds of rice
• 500 pounds of individual cups of chocolate and vanilla pudding
• 120 pounds of pasta
• 600 cans of fruit
• 450 packages of Raman noodles
• 420 pounds of peanut butter
• 48 cans of black beans
• 24 jars of pickle relish
• 300 pounds of table salt
• 42 bottles of juice
• 24 boxes of cereral
• 52 loaves of bread
• 68 bags of corn chips
• 32 cans of black olives

Tomorrow at 2:00 we will be having a surprise baby shower for one of the women in the apartments she is due at the end of July and has nothing. We have gathered stuff together and we're taking a card table, a table cloth, a cake and some punch setting it all up in the yard in front of her apartment. I think it will be a surprise. People say we're crazy, but I think Jesus would through a party for a single mom that has no support or resources and that is just what we are going to do. Thanks for the prayers. Jeff

Did you want your burger wet or well...

This picture is not us, but it looked like us last night. I carefully watched the weather yesterday afternoon and knew that rain was headed our way, big time. At 4:15 it was not raining, we(me and a small group of volunteers )decided we would start the picnic early as rain was on the way. We quickly loaded everything up, drove to the picnic site and started unloading....it began to sprinkle. By the time everything was unloaded and set up it began to rain. We were under a canopy of trees so it really wasn't too bad. We knew that this was an important week as it is the last of the month, not much food available right now. So we thought the rain would blow over quickly and we could serve the needed food. There were children already in line waiting for either a pork burger or a hotdog to get done. It began to rain harder, volunteers went to cars and retrieved umbrellas. The situation became worse as the harder in rained, the longer the line became. The long line was something we were used to, however, this time children and parents were asking for 4 or 5 sandwiches so they could take them home to their families. The serving table was getting wetter and wetter. One volunteer had a tarp in her car we got it and covered the table, trying to keep meat, buns and chips dry. Dee one of our main stay volunteers was working hard under the tarp as two of us tried to hold it up high enough for her to prepare the meals and keep the food and her dry(she was the only one on the serving line, usually there are 5 or 6). People came out with broken umbrellas, plastic trash bags, and even towels over their heads, many had nothing just stood in the pouring rain, drenched and shivering. People were patient as they waited at times up to 10 minutes for their food, as our pork burgers took a bit of time to cook. We were thanked over and over for serving in the rain. It seemed like the rain nor the line would ever let up. Finally, after an hour and 45 minutes the line disappeared along with 100 pork burgers, 60 hotdogs, 20 large bags of potato chips, 200 cups of chocolate pudding and 150 juice bottles. As we began to load up the rain stopped and the sun returned. The children began to fill the grounds, playing and jumping in the mudpuddles. We left wet and tired, yet sensing that we were used by God. Last night was a defining moment in my life as I am quite sure I would never wait in the pouring rain to get a free hotdog and a handful of chips.....but then again I have never really been hungry either. Thanks for the prayers. Special thanks to our "all wet" volunteers that went well beyond the call of duty. They were Gary and Dee Hostetler, Boyd and Dan Mozingo(all from McGrawsville UMC), Jim Williams from Grace UMC, Cindy Myers from St. Lukes UMC, and Pastor Mike Tarner from Russiaville UMC. Jeff