Can you help?

I know it has been awhile since I have truly blogged. Honestly, I really just haven't had the time in this transitional time in my life. But something is going on in my midst. God is moving so greatly that I feel utterly compelled to share. So instead of studying for my exam that starts in an hour...I'm going to share with you about how our God is moving mountains. (Who needs to study anyways??)

I am a part of a ministry here on campus called YACHT. The acronym stands for Youth Against Complacency and Homeless Today. This is a ministry that gathers twice a week-Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings- and drives into the city to do ministry with the homeless. Philadelphia has more homeless people than I have even seen, and many of them live right in Center City, usually in Love Park and the surrounding areas. The focus of the YACHT ministry is building relationships. We go in armed with a few PB&J sandwiches with the intentions of having a conversation and meeting with people week after week.

The most surprising thing for me has been that phrase “to do ministry with the homeless”, because it’s not what you think. It’s not at all what I thought it would be. This isn’t a ministry where I hit the streets and teach people about Jesus. This is a ministry where I go, and get taught about Jesus, by Jesus, and by some homeless men and women who know far more about a relationship with Jesus than I can wrap my mind around.

Granted, there are many who know nothing about Jesus. There are many broken people, lost in drug addiction, prostitution, and many other things. And I will do my very best to reach them with the Gospel, but it has been my experience thus far that I am the teacher turned learner, talker turned listener, minister turned student, and my eyes truly have been opened.

Last night was a precious night for me. We got to Love Park around 7, and it was a chilly night. It was one of my first times out when it had been so cold, and it was even a bit rainy. On my previous trips, there had been close to a hundred people in the park alone, and it was my prayer than many of them had found a warm place to sleep and the numbers would be smaller. But when I got there though, I saw more people than previous times. I handed out the few sandwiches I had and sat down with a gentleman I hadn’t met before. He had his bed made over the street grate where warm air comes out (common in Love Park). He asked me how I was doing, and I responded with my usual “Alright, how are you tonight?” and his response...brought tears to my eyes. He immediately responded by saying “Blessed, God is good to me.”

Me, in the warm jacket, with promise of a warm bed, food, a shower, and security could only muster an “I’m doing alright”, but a man with little clothing, a bed made of cardboard over a street gate and the promise of a cold rainy night spent on the streets was joyful and thankful for God and His provision.
The story is the same many times over. Person after person I speak with tell me they are thankful for what the Lord has given them. This faith, this gratitude, absolutely blows my mind, and is inspiring a change in my heart.

Noticing that I was shivering, another gentleman next to me took off his torn jacket, gloves, and hat and offered it to me. He then tore up some of his cardboard for me to sit on so I wouldn’t have to sit on the cold concrete. When a church arrived offering some bottled water and food, he immediately extended his provisions to me. A man, with nothing, offering me everything he has. Perhaps his only food for the day. His only coat, right off his back. My heart is pounding even as I write this. It was such a beautiful picture of the Gospel and love of Christ. A moment where I have never felt so close to Jesus.

I then began a conversation with him about how he keeps warm. So he took me on a walking tour of where many homeless gather at night. There’s an elevator shaft down the block that many sleep in who cannot be outside. There is also an underground subway access that many homeless men and women live in at night. But this is where there is frequent crime, so many only go down there when it snows. Others can stay in the shelters for the night. For the most part, they layer up their coats, lay down a card board and blanket over the grate and sleep right there in Love Park.

I share this with you today to tell you about what God is doing on the streets of Philadelphia. To paint you a picture of some of the moments I’m sharing with people just a “little down on luck” as they’d tell you. People much more thankful and aware of God’s perfect provision than I have ever been.
I also tell you this because God is doing even bigger things than teaching me about the Gospel through some homeless people. The other day, on a whim, I decided to post a need on The Common. The Common is a website that The Way uses that matches needs with people who can meet them. Thinking some people may be able to give an extra coat to my homeless friends, I posted it, expecting to receive a few coats when I go home over Thanksgiving.

And boy oh boy has the church of Jesus Christ responded. While I am not home to witness it, I am being told of many many coats being collected. I see facebook statuses, emails, other churches joining the effort, college students going dorm to dorm, people at workplaces gathering them. The response is so much bigger than I expected. God is truly using this, and I have not a doubt in my mind that anyone who needs a jacket will be provided for.

Knowing this, I met a man last night named Spencer. He didn’t have a jacket, and mine was much too small for him. I asked him how he was going to get one. He told me “I know Jesus will get me some coat. I know he gonna take care of me” And thanks to the response of the church of Jesus Christ, I was able to tell him absolutely. And that I was going to come back with a coat for him very soon, thanks to Jesus. Spencer literally began to dance and worship at the top of his lungs. He then told me he was going to be there every night waiting for me to come back, that his name was Spencer, and then he begged me not to forget about him.

If you are apart of this collection, know that these are real people, with real needs, who REALLY need your extra jacket, socks, boots, hats, gloves, blankets, or whatever you can give. And this isn’t a one time deal, I’ll be collecting these all winter long. Many of them need several jackets to layer, and they need blankets to sleep in. Sleeping bags are great!

I know, that I know, that I know, that I know, that God is using us to provide for some of His people. We can do this, and we can provide exactly what they need. I pray that you’ll join us in this effort to keep our brothers and sisters warm on the streets this winter, and I thank you SO MUCH if you have.

May we be thankful for our own blessings. Amen.

Today is a new day, and we will never be the same.

What's on my mind

I just really can't figure out what I'm supposed to be doing with my life right now. Society says college. My heart says maybe not. I'm really not sure if college is the answer I'm looking for. I find myself oftentimes asking "Why am I just sitting here talking about Jesus when there is so much to be done?!"
I am learning a lot.
And I do like Eastern.
I'm just not sure if this is right.
Or if I'm just being impatient.


I am so frustrated!

I saw this on post-secret today. And it's my secret too.

college is not what I expected.

or maybe its everything I expected.

I found a notebook today while packing for school and it had this written on the front of it.
"She's turning her life into something sacred. Each breath a new birth. Each moment a new chance. She bows her head, gathers her dreams from a pure deep stream and stretches her arms towards the sky..."

I love it.

What God is teaching me

This summer has been such a summer of growth for me for MANY reasons. A summer of absolute stretching and pulling in every direction. And in this stretching and pulling, I have learned volumes about my calling, my capabilities, and myself. I have never been in such a lonely valley with such a responsibility to other people. In fact, I have never been so alone. And yet there are moments, where I have never been so thankful for the way God is working in my life to teach me.
Some things I have learned(or been re-taught) so far:

-No matter how underprepared I feel, God makes a way. God equips you. God teaches you. And God carries you. And if I am called, I am capable.
- Trust God alone.
- I am not called to work in an office. My place is not behind a desk.
- I am called to work with teens. And I am called to preach and teach.
-The Bible speaks the right message at exactly the right time.
- I have been forced to stand on my own two feet spiritually. To fight my own battles without a mentor. And I have learned that any doubts I had about the strength of my faith were unwarranted. My faith has been tested, and I am here.
-No matter how alone I feel and have felt, God has held me.
-Growing hurts. It sucks. But there are glimpses of glory.
-God is relentless. He never stops working on us, even when we ignore Him.
-Standing up for Truth can get you into some trouble.
-There is nothing outside of the grace of God. Nothing. (And it is our responsibility to live that)
-GRACE IS HARD.
-OBEDIENCE IS HARD.
-HOLINESS IS HARD.
- Good friends can keep your eyes focused on what is important.
-There is good in evil. And God will use everything for His glory.
- Ragamuffin teenagers are sometimes the most mature, gracious, and Godly people of all.
- Truth always triumphs.
-Prayer is answered. Sometimes, even in ways we DO NOT expect it.
I expect there to be much more taught to me in the next few weeks. And I look forward to it.