I want to start out with a loud shout of “Thanks!” to all
who gave finances and to those who
prayed.- “Thank you!”
This was our eight annual Christmas Outreach-they are all
special- this one was no exception. It really is an awesome time to go out and be
a blessing this time of year as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. So many people
in America
are wrapped up into the commercial side of Christmas. This is why I especially
love reminding everyone we meet that it’s about a living Savior who was born and
grew up and lived a sinless life to be the sacrifice for our sins, those who
cry out to Him and repent. Amen.
We had an incredible time ministering to seventeen families.
We targeted needy families, (many single mothers with kids) we prearranged the
delivery of these boxes so we could go right to their homes. We do it this way,
so we can spend some quality time with each family- to minister to them;
offering prayer, sharing the real meaning of Christmas, sharing the Gospel,
loving on the people- It’s an incredible opportunity.
By the way, we loaded these boxes up! We put everything in
them for a family time meal. We did the math and every box came to around
$30.00. (Again, a big shout of thanks to those who gave financially). We also
put some gifts in these boxes for the kids and teens and we offered everyone a
Bible.
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| The Boxes were loaded up! |
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| 17 Blessed Christmas Boxes!! |
Also, we tackled the elements as well, we got nailed with
several inches of snow, but that didn’t stop us, it actually added to the
Christmas event.
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| Christmas Box Weather!!...amen! |
A big thanks to Andy, Corrie, and Parker VanArsdale for
their help delivering five of the boxes also a shout out to my comrade & brother
in Christ Lance Prathaftakis who is always more than eager to share the love
of Jesus! We all had a great time
ministering.
All of the families we talked to were so thankful for the Christmas
Box. Some of the people we met were followers of Christ and we were able to exhort
and encourage them in their walk with the Lord. We met many who were seeking
God and had a lot of questions- we ministered, we loved on them and testified
of Jesus-sharing with them as the Holy Spirit was leading us. We gave out many
Bibles and encouraged those who received Bibles to talk to God and read His
Word.
Some Testimonies:
The whole day was marvelous and each encounter is unique and
a story in and of itself. Lance, Parker and myself went to twelve separate
homes/apartments here are a few of the encounters:
One lady named faith- cried out to Jesus for
forgiveness of sins and to be her Lord & Savior! She had a couple of teen
age sons; it was so awesome seeing them watch her Mother cry out to Jesus. The
young guys took Bibles and were encouraged.
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| A Soul won to Jesus! |
One apartment we entered had a single mom with 4 little
boys. Her name was Kasha and we spent some time ministering to her. She was
struggling as a single Mom with four little boys. She said she knew the Lord.
We encouraged her to stay connected with other believers and to keep close to
Jesus. It is so sad to see many of these young woman with all these children
with no father around. It breaks your heart.
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| An Awesome family! |
We ministered to a sweet little lady named Jeanette, we
crossed paths by accident and she was sharing her situation and struggles to
make ends meet. We had an extra Christmas Box an we were stirred to bless her.
So we joined her in her apartment sharing and ministering to her for a while. She was so grateful and she was so appreciative as tears of thanks flowed from
her eyes. Amen!
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| Jeanette was so thankful to receive a Christmas box |
Another apartment we went into had several families in it.
There was some great dialog in there as many people were asking questions and
desiring to know more about Jesus. In fact, the longer we were there the more
people started showing up. The little kids had tons of energy, and it got
hectic at times with so many talking at once, but it was a blessing being with
them. We testified, shared Christ, prayed with everyone and handed out several
Bibles in this apartment.
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| We had an awesome time with all of these folk! |
We also ministered to these families: Roberto, Arthur, Tatiana,
Mike, Ella, Shania and many either knew the Lord or weren’t quite ready to call
out to him this day but they were blessed and seen the tangible love of Christ
as we blessed them sowed into them.
Probably the
highlight of the day came for us at Linda’s apartment. She was an elderly very
needy lady and so thankful that we came. As we walked into her small apartment
we noticed several other people seated around the kitchen table. They were
blasting some Marvin Gaye music- so it wasn’t the easiest to talk. You almost
had to shout to be heard. We carried the Christmas Box in and as we set it in
the kitchen and as we talked for minute- and this one big fellow who was seated
at the table grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward himself. As I got a
good look at him I could see he was weeping. I bent down to him to try to hear
him (over the Marvin Gay music), he kept saying between sob’s, “I’m running
from God- I’m hiding from the Lord.”
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| Great Encounter with these people...PTL! |
There were three people, including this big fellow named
LaRosa, seated around the kitchen table. They were all playing cards, drinking
beer and listening to Marvin Gaye. Ha!.. You just never know what you will
encounter on these type of outreaches. So as LaRosa- was weeping, the other
fellow started sharing that he used to hang out at the Salvation Army. The gal
at the table remained quite the whole time we were there.
Lance and I turned loose on the group exhorting to them the
Lord’s goodness as we turn from our sins and go after God. Both Lance and I
testified of our wretched pasts and how God set us free, delivered us and made
us brand new!. The good part is he will do the same for you! By this time,
someone had turned the music down to the point where we didn’t have to shout
-Praise the Lord! We then had LaRosa stand up and we laid hands on him and lead
him in a prayer of repentance calling out to God for forgiveness. It was a
beautiful! We embraced and prayed over them all… just simply sharing the love
of Christ!
Thanks for reading this. Thanks for your prayers and
support. I am so looking forward to what the Lord has in store next…God bless
you all
Steve
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