Weekend Ramblings

This was a difficult weekend. My Aunt had a heart attack and is hospitalized. The Doctors aren't sure what they're going to do next. They've got her in a room that's running up charges but basically haven't done anything for her. She's just there in case something happens during the weekend. They wont actually do any real testing until today or tomorrow. Supposedly the specialist was out of town. In an area the size of Dallas and Fort Worth there is only one specialist? Give me a break.

On top of that we visited my grandmother in the nursing home, like we do every weekend. She was insisting that we take her home or kill her. She has alzheimers, and it's very difficult to see her like this. She was taken care of at home for several years, but it got to the place where the amount of care she required She was a strong believer, but this disease is robbing her in every way.

On the plus side, we had a great joint gathering of Awakening (the simple church I'm part of) and the Refuge. Interestingly many of the folks in the Refuge came from Shady Grove church which is where I was a member until the Lord moved me into the area of simple/organic church. We had great food, fellowship and amazing worship. It was a great time in the Lord.

Last night several of us went to Carinos to celebrate Kelly's birthday. She attends a COAH associated simple church called THE WAY. She also was part of Dallas Street Church for about a year. She just returned from a vacation to visit her family in Wisconsin. She will be leaving Saturday for a two month stint as an intensive care nurse on a Mercy Ship in Africa (Liberia I think.) We are all really proud of her. I'm sure that it is going to be life changing. I may not be able to make it to THE WAY's Wednesday gathering when they lay hands on her to send her out.
So, I took the opportunity to pray for her last night that she would have Jesus' heart for the people she will be caring for, that the Lord will let her lay hands on the sick and see them recover, that her ears will have be annointed to hear the Lord and her eyes will be annointed to see where he is at work. I can't wait to hear the stories.

Our COAH leadership team began tackling the questions about who are we leading, what are we leading, what should we be doing? etc. Everyone seems to be in a place of transistion at this stage and we're all asking the Lord what he wants to do with this group of people. They are hoping to spend time together at the House2House conference and seek God and see if he'll speak. I'll be missing the conference this year. My sister will be in from North Carolina so I will be with her.

That echoes where I am. I've been away from the Dallas Street Church almost two months now.
I've been trying to rest and seek the Lord. I've been reflecting on the successes and failures I was involved in as I was part of the Dallas Street Church. I believe my biggest failure was not modeling discipleship in a way that the guys on the street felt confident that they could do it as well. I reached out and helped out and gave. I reached out to people with servant evangelism. That's hard to do when you're homeless and don't have money.

So how do we make disciples inthe context of the poor. I believe it is more along the lines of silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I thee. The Apostles usually didn't have money. What they did, they did by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. We have to learn to live in faith and model that to those we disciple.

Oh well, that's enough of my rambling for today.

Former Homeless Man doing great

Last night I visited THE WAY, led by my friends Willie and Emily Butler. The way is one of our COAH (City on a Hill Connection) churches. Two other friends who were part of the Dallas Street Church call THE WAY home now, Ben Heap and John Sanders.

John used to be homeless. He now lives with Ben, is working a steady full time job, has paid off all his tickets and fines, and has now received his driver's license. I'm proud of both of these men.

I found out last night that John has been going to downtown Dallas on Saturdays the last couple of weeks. He's sharing what God has done for him with some people he knows trying to encourage them as well. I' m proud of John. I get the feeling he and Ben are going to start ministering in downtown Dallas more often. That's a blessing

Kelly, who also ministered with us will be leaving the country a week from Saturday. She'll spend the next two months serving as an ICU nurse on one of the Mercy Ships.

I'm really proud of all of these folks and am looking forward to seing and hearing what God will be doing in their lives. God is using them in powerful ways. Willie told the group that by the end of the year he wanted all of them to plan a foriegn mission trip. I think that is an excellent idea and frankly one that every Pastor should embrace. I think it would do wonders in changing the focus of their congregation. Too many congregations are focused inward. A foriegn mission trip can help change people's perspectives. Great job Willie.

More Good News

I got a voicemail from John yesterday. He was really excited. He passed the written part of his test for his drivers license. Today he takes the driving test. This will be another milestone for him. He is still staying with Ben. He's still working. He's been on the job 2-3 months now working LONG hours. He got all of his tickets paid off that he had accumulated while he was homeless.

(Ben is on the far left. John is in the middle wearing the winter cap, jacket, and red shirt)

I'm really proud of him. I'm also very proud of Ben. This wouldn't be happening except that Ben felt God really wanted to disciple John, so he has really given John this opportunity to turn his life around.

From Matthew 25

33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Ben, I think Jesus is pleased.

Stopped By Dallas Street Church

I stopped by the Dallas Street Church on Saturday. I wanted to see if Bill and David were still meeting. They are. There are some issues with the storage, which I am shutting down. I hoped that this month everything would be done. It's not. I paid one more month on it to give us time to get some resolution.

David was suffereing from headaches and a bad backache. I laid hands on him, rebuked the pain and spoke healing. After a few minutes of that, the pain went away. He was healed.

Reflections on Working with the Homeless

I've been away from Downtown Dallas a bit over a month now. Frankly I'm a little impatient. I don't sit and do nothing very well. I think in times like this, I see more Martha than Mary in my life. I'm sure that God is working on that in me. I have been spending more time in prayer, worship, and in the Word. Right now the Lord has me pouring over the Gospels... nothing else... just Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

What I do know is that I've learned some things about ministry from my time with the Street Church.

1. Be careful that you do not make people dependent upon you. While ministering with the street church, many of our folks began to see me as an answer to some of the things they wanted. It began subtly at first. After a time though, I learned some only wanted the "stuff" I could give them.

2. Dependency should be on the Lord, not you. You are not the source. God is.

3. I went downtown and ministered using "servant evangelism" approaches. I like to help people - so I took socks, and gloves, etc. This is ok on occassion. It cannot be the foundation of ministry.

4. So how do we minister. We minister in faith, in prayer, and in word. We must be more like Peter and John, silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I thee. The reason is that if you make disciples, they watch you. If you reach out to people using stuff, even if your heart is right in it, then they will feel they can't do that. Why? Because they don't really have stuff to give so they do nothing or very little.

5. I am re-evaluting how ministry is done. I don't want to be dogmatic, but I know I made big mistakes. I believe God blessed in spite of them because I did it out of love even though I messed up. There has to be a way to minister to people out of faith, letting the Father be their source and yet continue as God leads to use my own resources. The danger in this thinking is that I could become stingy, and excuse it by saying I'm teaching them dependence on God.

So that's what I am considering now.

First Saturday away from the Street Church

I got this email from Bill this week.


Hello John,
I just want to say that you are very special to me, as well as Ben and Kelly, and I completely understand your position ( not that you should worry if I didn't)
And I want to tell you that I care a lot about what you started, and I intend to continue it until Jesus says otherwise. I also realize
that HE will prevail on matter what. I will stay in touch.

Highest regards,

Billy

I was both gratified and saddened. This was my first Saturday where I'm no longer a leader or part of the Dallas Street Church. I bless Bill, David and Chris and ask God to direct their paths.

Endings are New Beginnings

Saturday was a sad day and yet an exciting one.

Over the past several weeks the Dallas Street Church has dwindled in size. I'm not upset. Most of the reasons were good. Most of our guys have gotten jobs and were beginning to move off of the streets. Sometimes their jobs kept them from gathering with us. In a couple of cases the guys are now working and living in the Fort Worth area and it's not practical for them to come to Dallas. One of them, John, is now a part of one of our sister Churches in Fort Worth, The Way, which is a great church led by my friends Willie and Emily Butler. As a result, our normal Saturday gathering were composed of David, Bill and myself.

In addition, in the past six weeks or so, The Bridge, which is the new Dallas homeless facility has opened up, dramatically changing where the homeless hang out, their traffic patterns and everything. Frankly, most seem to be hanging out in the new Bridge courtyard. It's not a place I want to minister for a couple of reasons. First, having that many people in close proximity isn't really conducive to one on one ministry. Second, just getting close to the facility I absolutely feel the presence of demonic forces. It's so strong, I feel it. While I have taken on demons before. I have no desire to try to face that much demonic presence by myself. I try to use wisdom when I go after the Kingdom of darkness.

Over the past few months both Ben and Kelly who were great sources of support have felt the need to move on.

As a result, a couple of weeks ago, I really started asking God for the next step. What did he want us to do? I really didn't know what direction we should take. I prayed. A few days ago, I got part of an answer. I felt like I heard the Lord say that my time with the street church was completed. I was done there.

I didn't know if that just meant I was to move on and it was to continue without me or if we were to shut it down completely.

Saturday, I told the guys that the Lord had told me my time was done. There was a lot of sadness. Bill wondered if God had been displeased with what we had done as a church. I told him I didn't think that was it at all. We had missed God many times, but we tried to be open and repentant and if we felt we missed God we tried to get back on track.

For a group that usually ran between seven and ten people, here's what happened in the year and a half that we gathered as a body.

Two people confessed Christ as their saviour and were baptized
Many grew in their relationship with Christ.
Many grew in their knowledge and study of the Word of God.
Some were healed as we prayed for them.
Some received a baptism of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gift of tongues for prayer.
Some got to go spend time with their families as we helped provide finances.
Many were warmed in the winter as we provided blankets, sleeping bags, and hot hands.
Many experienced Gods love as we brought them clothing and socks.
Many were fed.

I don't believe that God was unhappy. As a matter of fact, there were times I think he may have smiled.

Bill and David decided they would continue meeting and would spend time in prayer to see what God wanted to do with them. Would he continue having them meet? Will he bring new life, new breath, and new direction? Or will he tell them this season is done and he has somthing else for them? I don't know. God didn't let me in on the plans for them.

I started hanging out with the homeless back in October 2006. We became a simple church in January 2007. I've been ministering in downtown Dallas almost every week for nearly two years now and really I don't know what's coming next.

I've been in a place of transition all year - actually since the end of last year. I believe God has ministry planned for me, but I don't know what it is yet. God hasn't spoken to me about it. I don't know if it will be among the homeless or who. I've been trying to surrender my will to the Lord more and more to the point where recently I've told him wherever, whatever he wanted.

I think for a short season though, I'm going to relax in the Lord and seek him and make sure he is the focus in my life. I've been to Lakeland Florida for the outpouring once where God met me powerfully and I am returning, hoping for more.

So one journey ends and another begins.... or actually in many ways it's part of the same journey and we just stopped at a railway station waiting for the next leg of the journey to begin.

Another Homeless guy gets a job

I got an email yesterday. One of our newer guys who had gone missing for a few weeks contacted me. He has a job in Fort Worth now. He and his wife are getting custody of their child back. That's another positive.

That really only leaves two in our group without jobs. Pray for them. It's also time to make some decisions. As the guys are getting jobs, they are moving on to other churches closer to where they are working and living. This makes perfect sense and I encourage it. But that means we are down to just a couple of guys now. So there will be some key decisions about the future of the Dallas Street Church that are coming up. Pray for us.

Another one of the Guys gets a job

Chris, one of the guys downtown sent me a text message yesterday
He has a job and start orientation next Tuesday

Praise God.

Working Man

John Sandford was one of our original guys at the Dallas Street Church. He is now a working man. Yesterday he started working at a factory in Fort Worth. He's staying with Ben Heap who has taken him under wing to disciple him. As a matter of fact, Ben baptized him about a year ago while Ben was a part of the Street Church.

I'm really happy that John's got a chance for a new start and I am praying that he'll make the most of it. I'll miss him downtown. He'll start attending THE WAY, one of our sister churches in Fort Worth that Ben attends. It'll be a good place for him to go deeper in the Word.

Our prayers are for you, John.

John Got a Job

One of the men we've been praying for, John has a job and starts Friday. Thanks to Willie Butler, leader of THE WAY in Fort Worth, Kelly and Ben. They just got everything put together and got John over to Fort Worth for the appointment. Everything went great. He starts Friday. This is really exciting.

Just pray now we can work out housing arrangements for him until he earns enough to get his own place.

Transitions

This week, I told the guys that it is time to seek God about leadership within the group.
Some would say that this is crazy, but I really sense this is God's leading. So, I put it out there to them. I will be out of town next week, so I asked them over the next two weeks to pray and seek the Lord about who should lead the Dallas Street Church going forward.

I believe that God wants me freed up to reach out beyond the group more. We have a couple of guys that are quite capable of leading the study of God's word and prayer. We still need someone to lead worship.

I will not abandon them. I will plan to meet ocassionally with the person God selects to lead to help out. We'll work out ways they can communicate with me regularly. I am also looking to connect them up to our COAH network leadership team.

I still plan to be a part of the street church, but my presence will be diminished as the rest grow and mature into leadership. I've been leading the group for nearly a year and a half now and feel like we have a couple of folks certainly that God could use to continue helping the rest of their brothers in Christ grow.

In many ways I feel like Dallas Street Church is my ministry baby. But now, it's time for the baby to grow beyond what it can if I keep my hand on it.

I don't really know what that means for me. I'll probably be out on the streets more - sharing. I still feel that I'm supposed to spend time reaching out to other groups of homeless in the area. Maybe I'll be in other parts of Dallas. Maybe I'll be downtown near the new homeless center near downtown. Maybe I'll go to Fort Worth or Denton. I really don't know yet. Soooo, the adventure continues.

Back Downtown

I missed last week down on the streets. I had driven downtown, but was having trouble finding a place to park because of the Cinco De Mayo celebrations. I forgot to bring cash so I couldn't use any of the pay parking areas. Anyway, I was back this week.

Bill is still working, helping get a house ready to sell. Munday and Leonard weren't there, so I don't know how it was going with them.

We went to Subway. It's been a while since we shared a meal. We ate and I taught about hearing the voice of God. Reggie was supposed to teach, but said he hadn't had a chance to prepare. He says he'll be ready next week.

John is pretty frustrated with his job search. He's put in about twenty applications so far and hasn't had any interviews. He's frustrated with the application process. I pointed out that he has to keep working it.

Anyway, no real changes in the past two weeks. I really am praying for these guys to be able to find work. It's scriptural. God wants men to work. In addition, I think it will help them out of the cycle of hopelessness they often find themselves in. Of course, as we keep reminding them, their true value is in what Jesus has done for them. It really is all about Jesus.

Podcast

Last week I was on Robin Yardell's and Roger Kegg's Podcast, "Road to Emmeus."
http://rd2em.wordpress.com/2008/04/20/r2e-014-john-lunt-and-the-dallas-street-church/
If you want to know some of my story, check it out there.

Good News from the Streets

On Saturday I ran late getting downtown. I was about half an hour late. We normally start at 1:30 and I arrived at 2:00. What I found really encouraged me. The guys had already had a time of worship and were already into the bible study when I arrived. I was so encouraged to see them taking the initiative. Munday was teaching on being our brother's keeper.

On the job front. Leonard has worked at his new job for a week and gets his first check later this week.

Bill was offered some temporary work that will probably last a few weeks. He is helping get a house ready for market. He started working on it last week.

Munday has several temporary jobs going. Early in the week he goes to Canton to work for a farmer. Then later in the week he is helping with restoration of a house with some other odd jobs.

We prayed for God to help each man get a job.

God is moving and I'm grateful.

Updates on Jobs

One of our guys got a job last week. He starts work this morning. Praise the Lord.
Two others have had interviews. The rest did put in several job applications.

One of our older guys, is a little discouraged. He has been putting in applications for several weeks. He really worked to better himself, going through a special computer course at a local community college. He successfully completed the course, earning a certificate showing that he had become proficient using a number of applications. He dresses well and carries himself well. Unfortunately, he feels like he isn't being hired because of a misdemeanor assault charge back in his past - and his age.

Those of you who read this. If you can pray that God will give these guys favor with employers. I believe God wants them to work. I believe the Word of God makes that clear. They are now taking steps, acting in faith, trying to do their part. But we need help from the Lord.

Taking the Step

This past Saturday I met with our little street church. We didn't do our usual activity. Instead, the Lord laid it on my heart to help these guys move forward with getting a job. They have all said they wanted to work, so my mission was to try to take away an obstacle.

I made a withdrawal from my checking account and met with each of the guys one on one. We talked about what they needed to move on. They all needed dockers or dress pants. A couple needed shoes. Some needed shirts. Some needed socks and underwear. Others needed deoderant. I tried to make sure each had enough money to get what they needed along with money for DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) passes.

Some asked why we didn't just get their sizes and go get the clothes for them. Wouldn't that be more responsible. In a lot of cases it would. However, these guys have to start taking some responsibilty themselves. I believe that's what God wants and that's the direction we are moving.

Each man told me he had somewhere he could go to clean up, shower, shave, etc. So that wouldn't be an obstacle for them. It was mainly the clothing and transportation.

One of our men Bill, said he had been trying to get a job all that week, but he was running into trouble because he didn't have his own car. When they saw that he had to ride the bus, they weren't interested. That of course was a downer to everyone. I reminded Bill and the rest that this is in God's hands and his Word makes it absolutely clear that he wants them to work. So we prayed. We prayed for favor. We asked God to move obstacles out of the way and we are believing God that he will help each of them get a job to start moving back to being part of the working world.

I believe we've helped establish a good foundation for most of these men, so I am hopeful, God will take this and do something wonderful with it.

If you read this and have the opportunity, please pray for Bill, John S., Reggie, Munday, and David as they try to start a new life. Even if they get a job, things will still be difficult until they can earn enough money to get an apartment. I'm hopeful that God will help in that as well.

Proud of Bill

Last Saturday, Bill felt compassion on someone downtown while we were ministering. Bill is living in a home temporarily. He's looking for work, but doesn't have a job yet. He had a ten dollar bill in his pocket and ended up giving it to this person.

Afterward he was concerned. He really needed that ten dollars and had given it away. I took him aside and asked him if he thought God was pleased by what he had done. He thought a second and he said yes.

I was very tempted to go find an ATM machine and replace the money Bill gave away, but I had a check in my Spirit. I believe God is teaching Bill something, to trust him for his needs.

We prayed together. I prayed that God would meet every need Bill has. I look forward to hearing the testimonies. After praying, Bill felt calm and at ease. It's not easy, but I believe God is taking Bill through some major steps in Kingdom thinking and I am really proud of Bill.

Changing Course

It's not about me. I understand that intellectually, but somehow, even when I think I'm doing right, it often crops back in.

The first evidence I saw of this was a while ago when I started looking at the fact I was "leading" our bible study at the street church?

How will our guys learn to make disciples if they're not even being equipped to lead a bible study. How will they learn to share the Word of God with others. So, a few weeks ago, I started having the rest of the folks lead the studies. It's been fun watching them grow this way.

Then I felt conviction about the way we serve the homeless. Often we take socks or winter caps and other items to give away. I have always enjoyed doing what is called servant evangelism. So, I brought over the approach I knew to use.

There's a problem with this approach. It's dependent on me. Most of our street church folks can't duplicate this approach because they don't have the financial resources to do it.

I was reminded of Peter and John going to the temple in the Book of Acts when they met the lame man. "Silver and Gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee." Our folks on the street don't have silver and gold, so how can they serve? How can they minister? What can they do?

They can pray for the sick and see them recover. They can pray for God to move in people's lives. They can share the good news. They can share their testimony. These are the things we will begin to work with them and teach them. That's the kind of outreach we will do on the streets. That's not to say we're going to stop giving out socks completely. But I don't want our folks thinking they can't share with people and minister to them because they can't duplicate what I've done.

After this the Lord got really personal with me. He told me that I was allowing too much of my identity to be in the fact I was labeled as the "leader" of the street church. He wants my identity to be in him and in him alone. I don't think I intended to start thinking that way, but unfortunately, I have. That's got to change. I've repented.

Some more changes appear to be on the horizon. Willie, leader of THE WAY, one of our simple churches in our network, believes he can help get some of our guys jobs at a factory in Fort Worth. He knows the management and has worked with them placing refugees before. Well I told our guys about it a couple of weeks ago. Three of the guys want to pursue it which excites me. They have to be drug free, have ID and their social security card. All three meet these requirements. So hopefully in the next couple of weeks we'll be able to take them to fill out applications and take their drug tests - then hopefully they'll move into the world of the gainfully employed.

I've offered to pay the firts month's rent if they get a job and they are willing to be roommates.

But if this goes on as planned, there won't be much of a group left in Dallas. So then what? Probably the guys that go to Fort Worth would be part of a new evangelism effort our COAH network is doing with the homeless in Fort Worth. They may even be part of a new gathering in Fort Worth. So what will I do? Will I work with Fort Worth or work with Dallas? Or is the Lord preparing to move me in a completely different directions? I don't know yet.

Saturday Afternoon with the Homeless - Dallas Street Church 3-10-2008

I've been spending a lot of time in prayer the last couple of weeks. I believe prayer is a necessary foundation for ministry and I had been trying to do a lot in my own strength, so I needed to spend some serious time with the Lord.

Last Tuesday night or so as I prayed, I felt like the Lord prompted me with a question. "Would I like to feel his heart for the homeless in Dallas?" I said yes.

He showed me the Day Resource Center and then I felt a brokenness. I felt like Jesus was weeping over the people there. It was painful and it was pure. It was pure love for them. It only lasted a moment. I don't think I could handle it very well.

After that I felt the Lord say, they need to know my love. I want you to wash their feet.

Frankly, I hadn't really expected that, but I went back to the scriptures in John 13:

12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

I wondered about the fact that we may not be washing the feet of disciples, so did this scripture really apply? Maybe I was trying to talk myself out of it. But the thought persisted through the week. "Wash their feet."

I started hearing the weather report. Earlier in the week it was supposed to be in the sixties on Saturday. Then as we got closer, the temperature was only supposed to get up in the 50s. So I wondered if we should do it if it were cold. I still got the response "wash their feet."

So I figured out how to take some warm water downtown.

As we usually do, we had our meal time and time in the Word of God. We had a fairly large group with us; about ten people. Reggie's girlfriend joined us along with a couple of other gentleman. I'm terrible with names and had forgotten them. But I will pray for them this week.

Kelly did an excellent job sharing the Word with us. She pointed out that we can rely on the Power of God to give us boldness to speak to people about our faith. The initial text that she used was 1 Corinthians 2:

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony[a] of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human[b] wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

This was an excellent lead in for me. I told our guys what I believed the Lord was saying to me about washing people's feet. I knew this would be a problem for some of them and I didn't believe I was supposed to twist any arms. I asked them to spend thirty minutes praying and if they were interested meet me by my car.

As we were praying Ben joined us. At 3:30, almost all of our regular group was there. We went over to the Day Resource Center and set up a couple of chairs.

We had a lot of people come over, but when they found out what kind of ministry we were doing, most left quickly. We did wash the feet of two ladies, both believers, both wanting prayer.

One lady was on the streets because her transportation broke down. That kept her from being able to get her child to daycare. As she was trying to work that out, she lost her job, then her place. She is now at the Gateway Center for moms and their children. She is trying to get her child in a childcare that will work out so she can start looking for work again, but her child is way down the list. So we prayed for her and ministered to her as we washed her feet. She really enjoyed the foot washing. Then we rubbed lotion into her dry skin and gave her a new pair of socks.

Another lady just wanted a Christian Lady friend that she could share with and talk to. She was looking for some Christian fellowship on the streets. So we ministered toher and prayed with her as well.

We had another couple, who wer Christians, but were trying to stay clean from drugs. We ministered to them and prayed for their marriage as well.

There were several others who wanted prayer for various things. I believe God is going to move powerfully in each of those situations.

At then end Kelly said she really enjoyed this kind of ministry. People who were just interested in stuff, didn't stay around long. Both those who were looking for God came. I think she was right about that.

It doesn't mean we won't still try to minister to everyone. I don't mind giving out socks and meeting practical physical needs. But I want to introduce people to Jesus and his love. I don't want people looking at me as their source. Jesus can meet their needs, I can't.

I was glad we got a chance to minister to people this way. Interestingly, both ladies who's feet we washed were disciples of Jesus.