Wonderful things are happening!
We continue to get referrals for practical household needs and now the clothing referrals are coming in. Our first month we had 13 clothing appointments! Doesn’t sound like much? Over 350 pieces of clothing have been given to those guests. With that, even more important has been the prayer and encouragement given. Learning as we go, there are families that get referred for furniture that need clothing and as a result, there is another connection point made. The general community does not know of our clothing ministry yet so we do expect it to grow quickly when there is awareness.
“You don’t know how nice this is. These clothes are SO nice! Thank you. I wasn’t expecting this to be so nice.”
“I’ve never had capris before! These were made for me. Look at them they fit perfect!”
“I feel peace here. I know someone is praying. It’s so peaceful.”
“Can I wear these home? These shoes feel so good on my feet I’m going to wear them home.”
“My daughter graduates this week. She is going to wear this and I will wear this.”
“These shoes are kickin!”
“The child can’t wear pants because of her sore bottom so these dresses will be great for her.”
“I found a place where I feel I am understood.”
” I could really use prayer.”
A delivery went to a couple that the husband will be starting chemo very soon after having an operation for his cancer. They had an air mattress that was very odd. One side was like a giant speedbump. “See? We can’t even sleep on it.”
They pulled out a massage wand that was packed by a volunteer right after the wife shared of her back and leg pain. “How did you know we could use this? Did you pick this for us?”
“No, we didn’t know. I think God had something to do with it!”
Next time we saw them at their clothing appointment, they reported they are sleeping SO good on their “new” bed and were so grateful. “WOW. WOW. WOW.” the man said. “You thought of everything. Who packed that up? Everything we pulled out, we needed. Thank you so much.”
Yesterday a woman was given resources to leave her abuser. Please pray for her to be strong as she retreats to a shelter. She showed us her bruises when we met. This woman was the second woman during the week we met who was leaving her abuser! It seems there are waves of situations that are put in front of us that can only be explained by God’s orchestration.
Others are coming to the Lord. Praise God! Seeds are planted as we serve… “I could tell you were Christians.” one woman said.
” I would like a mentor. Someone to talk to and listen to me”. A man requested this help recently.
We are getting Hispanic referrals and have made a connection with the pastor of the Hispanic church that meets at Cross of Glory. That church is about a mile from us. Please pray for this exciting opportunity!
A huge THANK YOU to the person(s) who donated our phones and provided financial help to install the wiring for them and our internet access!!!! This is the first time since we started R&R that we’ve had these luxuries in our space! Praise God for these as they are used A LOT! Now we can also provide internet access to job and housing hunters at our Service Station as of last week.
There are so many great examples of God’s hand in R&R. Thank you for your support and prayers. If you would be interested in joining our crew, we will soon have a list of available volunteer slots posted.