I just love being with my life group in this way. It's really special. There's something about DOING work alongside others - and how precious it is to be the hands and feet of Jesus TOGETHER. There is something satisfying about it. It makes me think of the verse John 4:34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work"
Dear Life Group, Thank You. I love you.
Buttering the bread!
Icing the Cake!
Hollie's Bread!
Serving Dessert!
Serving Drinks!
Passing Out Utensils!
Almost Ready!
Cleaning up, She begged to mop. I was more than happy to give the green light and let her know the door to my house was always open not just to her but to mopping too! She said, "Mopping is so fun! I never mopped before!"
Dave passing out hugs in the food line!!!!! We missed this aspect of serving the last time we were at Travis Park - I love this. Thanks Dave! Everyone gets a hug before they get their meal. I ponder the love of Our Heavenly Father when I think of one guy in particular who was in line. He was short and stocky with dark skin. I noticed Dave grabbed him up and held him for an unusually long time. Go Jesus Go!
I sat with a homeless couple, Denny and Annie. I asked if it would be OK if I chatted with them while they ate and if I asked them questions while they were trying to chew their food. Denny smiled warmly, "Yes, we're just country folk." Annie smiled eagerly and nodded her head up and down, "Yes, we'd love it!" They were both very thin. He would have been a handsome old man with his white hair and icy blue eyes if it weren't for the large skin tags under his eyes and on the sides of his nose. After speaking with him for a while, I no longer noticed them. She wore a Dallas Cowboys baseball cap with straight, shoulder length dirty blonde hair and bangs. Her eyes were brown. They both wore glasses. They were in their late 50's or in their 60's and their faces were very wrinkled. They came from Arkansas "on a $100 bill and with God's hand upon them." They know Jesus and see his provision in their life - as people put gas in their car here and there and helped them with a busted tire. They were thankful for their spaghetti meal, red velvet cake and sweet tea tonight.
They are seeking work and get up at 3:30 AM in order to be available for day labor. They explained many of the odd jobs they have been doing: pushing water out of a Home Depot that was flooded after the big rain we got 2 weeks ago, putting price tags on socks, and roofing. "That was the first time I wore rubber boots up to my knees," she said. "Oh, they provided rubber boots for the job huh?" I asked. She laughed, "Yes, that's about all they provided!" He said they hired them for 4 hours but only needed them 2. He said they were very kind and paid them for 4 hours anyway.
He talked about how one of his jobs didn't provide a ride back to Hope
for Haven and it took him four hours to get back "home." She said he
was pretty grumpy when he got back. I asked her if she gave him a foot
rub when he made it in and she lowered her head, swung it back and forth
and said, "oh bull!"
They sell newspapers on Sunday mornings near the RIM. They get paid $7 a piece just for showing up there and then get 20 cents for every paper they sell. He stutters but not so much so that it's annoying or slows down the conversation.
They talked about how thankful they were that they have a car to sleep in. They said the people at the homeless shelter fight all the time and just sit around staring at the wall. She can't figure out why they don't get up and do something. They both wondered why those people couldn't be happy in their situation. They said people there get mad at them for their happiness. He said "I've got the Lord and I've got her, so that makes me happy! They can't tell me I can't be happy!"
He grew up on a dairy farm milking cows. They talked about how robots milk the cows nowadays and what's going to happen when those robots mess up?!?! And now people drink all sorts of milk, soy milk, rice milk. They seemed so put out by it. They were such "hicks" - I loved them.
Anyway, I learned a lot more from them - we talked a lot about dairy farms, milking cows, how cool God is to provide for our daily needs - how they are in a season where their dependence on him is minute to minute. He raised two boys as a single dad. She has a son and daughter age 21 and 28. When I asked her more about her children, she said, "The last time I talked to my daughter, she thought she was an atheist. I wrote her about a 21 page letter talking about that."
We talked a pretty long time, and it's getting too late for more to write much more. I just really enjoyed my time with them. The last time I went to Travis Park, I sat with a young couple. He said to me, "Yeah, I tried that day labor stuff, but it was just too hard. That's why I don't work." I think God knew I needed to sit with someone who wasn't so blind - someone who was trying.
We prayed together at the end at which time Joy came up and started playing with my pony tail. I introduced them and they were tickled to meet her. I felt sad I might not see them again.
