A Case for Revolution, Through Abraham & Isaac

God works in mysterious ways.

We all know that. We’ve all been able to look back on something and totally see how He intervened or made something happen. We’ve all asked for ABC, but got XYZ…later realizing that XYZ was, indeed, what we needed after all.

To borrow a line from one of my very favorite songs: Well, God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son”. Abe said, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on!” God said, “No”. Abe say, “What???” God said, “You can do what you want, Abe, but the next time you see me comin’, you’d better run!!!” (“Highway 61 Revisited”, by Bob Dylan)

You know the story…Abraham and his wife Sarah wanted a child so badly for a long time. When they FINALLY (and believe me, their “finally” was WAAAAY longer than any “finally” you or I will ever experience) had a son, God wants them to do what????? He wants Abraham to sacrifice him. K-I-L-L H-I-M.

Murder is wrong, right? But, so is disobeying God. And you think you’re facing conundrums in your life!!! At the last second, of course, God, realizing that Abraham is so willing to seek God’s will that he’ll even take his own child’s life, tells Abraham not to. Because He knows now that Abe WAS WILLING TO GO THE DISTANCE. For God.

I’ve been talking a lot with the college students in our ministry lately about things that are happening in the world. In a nutshell, it seems to me that people seem to be waking up to God’s calling. As the Bible says will happen, when we do that (seek God, do his work), Satan wakes up, too.

I’m going to take a tangent here, to provide some background, but I promise I do have a point…

I have a theory that for the most part, Satan leaves us (well-off, modern Western believers) alone. Why would he waste his time? We’re comfortable. Nothing really shakes us into action. Or shakes us into a dependency of leaning on God. We have everything we need at WalMart. In the grand scheme of things, we aren’t “needing for” anything. At all. So as long as we plod along and follow the American dream, I feel Satan leaves us to it.

He busies himself where his efforts are truly needed: Places like Africa and other third world places, where Christians are living radically. Where they MUST cry out to God, call on Him, lean on Him fully, and depend on Him for everything they do. To be a Christian in America doesn’t mean much. I’m not bashing America, but the very freedom that we all (myself included) love so much, means that we don’t have to take much of a “stand” for our faith. Now, in Africa, Asia, India, and lots of other places, Christians DO have to take a stand. And in many cases, the consequence is death. THAT is the place Satan wants/needs to put his efforts.

But…as I said…I feel we are waking up to what we’re supposed to be doing. I have a little bit. I’m not saying I’m “making the stand” or doing anything significant. But the Dirty Roots Revolution is a collective effort that started organically with a bunch of folks going out and making a difference for Christ. And good HAS come of it. Lives have been touched.

On one particular day (see Alexander’s Story on our blog), I think the world was actually altered by all of the goodness flying around. While I knew something beautiful had happened, I didn’t expect negative repercussions.

I now realize that all of that goodness that happened (several innocent bystanders were nudged into positive action because of Alexander’s story)…a little apathy was defeated that day. People got involved and DID good. And, Satan, while he was busy with something that “mattered”, snapped to attention and said, “WHAT was THAT????”

I take no credit for this. In fact, I didn’t even realize these things until later.

Ever since that day, things have been harder for the DRR. We’ve struggled more. We’ve run into more roadblocks. But, we’ve also been more and more blessed.

We’ve become a target for Christians who are angry that we’re encouraging folks to reach out to “the least of these”.

Alexander – the homeless man we were able to get new glasses for – was attacked the week after we got the glasses. For the sake of time and space, I won’t go into the details (but would be willing to talk to you about the situation). We were originally told the new glasses were broken. After a LOT of stress, prayer, running around, etc., we FINALLY learned, about two weeks later, that what during the attack, Alexander’s bag was stolen. When the thief saw the glasses, he found someone who knew Alexander and returned them. He kept the bag, but returned the glasses. We were devastated by the original news, but lifted it up. And God worked.

At the same time these negative things were happening (which were ALL happening at the same time, by the way), I was asked to speak for about six different organizations and churches over the course of about four days. I was asked to speak to youth ministers at the AgapeFest. I was invited to share the DRR message on the main stage at Agape in front of about 5,000 people.

With the action came two attacks. Through the attacks we prayed. We were blessed.

My point here is that God’s children are waking up. But that means Satan will, too. I used to hear people say “Satan did this or that” and it bothered me. A college student once told me in frustration, “I’m sick, I’m stressed, I’m busy, I have too much homework, I’m behind, and now, this morning I tried to print a paper and my printer broke. The devil is attacking me!” That’s giving Satan a little more credit than I’m comfortable with. I don’t think that situation is the devil…that’s just a crummy day in an imperfect world.

Again…when we wake up…Satan will wake up. This is happening everywhere. College students are coming back from missions trips and telling me that the work of the DRR is being echoed by small groups across the globe! This is amazing!!!

But we must realize, when we wake up and do God’s work, there will be trouble. Jesus Himself said people wouldn’t get it. People would not like it.

But He told us we’d be blessed by it. We do good…we may experience troubles…we give those up to God…we lean on Him…we pray. And blessings will come our way, too. To sustain us through the hard times.

I pray for peace now more than I ever have. Not answers. Not even comfort. Not for deliverance. Just peace. Peace.Peace.Peace. Peace just for today.

As promised, here is my point…

Six of the students in our college group have been planning for many months to travel to Ethiopia with a group called International Crisis Aid. ICA is most known for rescuing girls across the globe from the hells of sex trafficking. Our friends on this trip will have a bit of that experience, as well as working in a medical clinic, an orphanage, etc. Their hearts are IN this. They fell called/led to go. They WANT to go.

Then the word came that there was a mistake and there weren’t enough folks signed up to go. So it was put on hold. They were told only a miracle could make it happen.

But word came in later on, that they WERE going to be able to go. Miracle! They resumed fundraising efforts, now with an even tighter deadline. They had a lot to raise.

The trip is right around the corner and everything was almost ready. They got a call about two hours ago, saying the trip was off. This time for good. The United States has declared Ethiopia unsafe due to a potentially volatile election wherein they’re expecting riots, etc.

These kids will NOT be going to Ethiopia.

And while they’re all broken-hearted about it, keep thinking it’s yet ANOTHER “Abraham & Isaac” story. I’ve heard SO many of these over the last couple of months. “We thought God wanted this…”, “God put it in our hearts and we worked so hard for Him…”, “We cried out to God and He moved, but then things changed…”.

The DRR even had a situation present itself that we thought would be HUGE for our future. A real answer to prayer. And it fell apart in our hands. Not for lack of trying or praying. It just wasn’t right. For whatever reason. God knows.

In all of these various situations I’m thinking of, folks involved didn’t do anything wrong. Quite the opposite. They did what they were called to do. Many times against great odds. They lifted the situations up to God. I can tell you personally, with the DRR, we prayed that God would take this situation and do what he wants. It’s scary to do that. and it’s painful when you do and then it doesn’t work.

The people involved in all of these situations I’m thinking of were left feeling empty when God seemingly switched gears on them.

But…my thought right now, and my question is, “What if God is getting us ready?”

I’m not what you’d call a super-“charismatic” Christian. But my experiences lately have nudged me a weency bit more in that direction. When I speak for the DRR I always say that it doesn’t take an expert to know that things are just flat wrong in our world. They’re “off”. Things are NOT right.

I said to our college group once that I felt their generation was going to make the world better. One of them corrected me – rightfully so – and reminded me that, biblically speaking, the “world” IS going to keep getting worse. BUT…the chasm between the good and the bad, the light and the dark, is going to get wider. And THAT is good. She knew what I was getting at, but I needed to rephrase: The world will get worse. But…those who truly seek the Lord are going to have to stand up and REALLY seek Him. To cry out for Him. To give it all up for him. Scary stuff, to be sure. But GOOD stuff. What HE intended all along.

I’m not alleging we’re in the end-times. I figure those started the day Jesus went to Heaven. That’s not my concern right now.

But “hot and cold” is the concern. If we’re going to say we’re “hot”….we have to live “hot”. And we have to expect trouble.

So, what if this is where we are? I’ve talked to so many people who have echoed these thoughts. So many people have affirmed that they feel this “darkness”, too. I don’t know what else to call it or how else to define it. There’s just a “darkness”.

But there’s also light. And I feel that the countless “Abraham & Isaac” moments that my friends are experiencing, are, for lack of a better term, “getting them ready”. For what? For…something.

Maybe this is how God whittles us down…refines us. Maybe this is how He helps us see what’s important. For those six students…this Ethiopia trip is important. One of them has already told me, “I know I’m going…I just don’t know when”.

For some, maybe this is how God shows us what is NOT important. What we’re willing to sacrifice or live without. Using the Ethiopia example, maybe some of the students gave up something in order to save money for their trip. Maybe now they know they can live without whatever that was.

Or maybe everyone going through these “Abraham & Isaac” experiences is just supposed to realize that they’re awake now and CAN NOT go back to sleep.

I’m pretty sure weird times are ahead. I’m pretty sure we’re going to enter a period of time where what is right and moral is not necessarily the same thing as what is accepted or common (or maybe even legal?).

You’ve heard me say that we’ve taken the claws of the lion before. Jesus is the lion. And we’ve made him “easily digestible”. We did that so people wouldn’t fear Him. But…he is NOT easily digestible.

Everything is upside down in the Kingdom of our God. Poor means rich. Death means life. Last means first. Sacrifice means gain.

As a society we put so much value in being “counter-cultural”. NOTHING is more revolutionary or counter-cultural than following Jesus. Nothing. And while the “counter-cultural” stuff we seek out (which is mass produced, by the way…duh!) is pretty much generally accepted, being counter-cultural the Jesus way WILL . PISS . PEOPLE . OFF.

There is no more delicate way to say that. But I believe it’s the truth. THE GOVERNMENT DIDN’T WANT TO KILL JESUS. THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS DID. Weird times. And that’s not just a crazy story…That was Jesus. Our King. Our example. The One we’re supposed to strive to be like.

One of the characters in the “Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe” (Mr. Beaver, I think?) said, “Safe??? Ooooh, make no mistake He is NOT safe. He IS good….but He is N-O-T safe.”

Get your armor ready, friends.

EPHESIANS 6:10-20

FINAL POST FROM BRITNEY'S SOUTH AMERICA TRIP

Britney Villhauer is a senior at Greenville College and is one of the original members of what became the Dirty Roots Revolution. Britney has an amazing heart for God's people and desires not only to make a difference in this world for Christ, but also to get to know all kinds of different people as much as possible. She's spent many summers in Guatemala and spent this past semester in various points throughout South America. She's graciously provides us blog posts during her journeys and here is the final one. Thanks, Britney!!!
-Ryan Mifflin, DRR Director


I am back in the US now. I arrived home April 29th and I have been kind of sulking ever since. I am so sad that this semester is over because it really was the best semester of my life. I learned so much! I feel more on fire now than I ever have before about making a difference in the world.

My 10 day practicum on the Kekoldi Indigenous Reserve was great. It was quite challenging to try to embrace a culture that is so different from mine. They are MUCH more laid back and slow paced. But they are also very hard workers. I got to help out with taking care of the iguanas in their iguana conservation project. I also learned a lot about medicinal plants, how to live in harmony with the forest, and how to make use of the forest without exploiting it. I learned a lot about the Bribri culture and I even learned a little of their language. It was really interesting to learn about this reality that I have never seen before.

Then I joined back up with the rest of the group to head to Cuba for 10 days. I bet I could have stayed there the whole semester and I would have never run out of questions. It is such a complex, interesting, amazing place!

It was really cool to learn about Cuba from a Cuban perspective because when we've learned about it in school it has always been from a US perspective. Cuba has always been “the evil commies”. But this unique opportunity allowed us to interact with the Cuban people and hear their perspective on politics, economics, and social justice issues. It is not all bad!

The fact that everyone has free health care and education all the way through the university just blew my mind! Imagine if I could have gotten all of my treatments for free! And no one would have college loans! And Cuba is the safest place in the western hemisphere. That was something they were very proud of. Multiple people mentioned the fact that they never have school shootings in Cuba. It is illegal for people to have guns. We might see this as taking away their right to bear arms, but it also grants the people freedom in safety. Like I said: very complex. It's all about your perspective. Basically everyone we talked to did say that the mixed economy of Cuba needed to take on a little more capitalism in order to balance it out better. People are frustrated that they can not raise their standard of living above a certain level. We had the opportunity to live with host families in Cuba and see what their day to day life is like. We had a meeting at the Ministry of Education, the National Assembly for the People's Power with a Cuban Parliament member, we went to the International school of medicine where foreigners are able to become doctors for free, we had talks with an economist, participated in community outreach activities... And we went to THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACH IN THE WORLD! Our trip to Cuba was legal because we obtained a license from the US treasury department. What an incredible time I had!

Returning to the US was super hard. I was so sad to say goodbye to people who have impacted me so much. But I am very thankful for everything I have learned and I am excited to be able to share some new perspective with people back at home. Thanks for supporting me this semester. I really appreciate your thoughts and prayers. Next adventure: GRADUATION!

Love, Britney

PRAYER MEETING TONIGHT

Revolutionaries:

I’ve had a heavy heart today, for many various reasons. The DRR has been growing. Because of that, we’ve had many “growing pains”. We’ve also had many challenges, unrelated to that growth. More on these matters later.

I’ve been wanting to start a larger-scale “Pray for the DRR” initiative, but wasn’t sure how to do it. More on this later, too.

I’ve been sitting at my desk, trying to focus, and simultaneously struggling through these things. I read two blog posts by one of our board members, Miranda, and they pushed me to the point of tears. With nothing left to do, I closed my office door, laid with my face on the floor, and begged God to do SOMEthing. To take all of this and do what He wants with it.

I’ve been thinking of holding a DRR “prayer meeting” the last few days, but it never felt right.

And this morning, while I was crying out to God, with no lead-up and no apparent reason, I saw a circle of people, holding hands, praying under my carport.

I can’t argue with that.

Tonight at 8:15 p.m., I’d like to invite you to the Dirty Roots Revolution HQ (a.k.a “My Garage”). I’ll fill you in on some of what we’ve been facing and we’ll pray together for the DRR, for those we serve, for our leadership, etc. It’s fitting that the location is the site of an upcoming project, wherein we hope to convert my garage into office/storage space for the DRR to make us more efficient and effective. We can ask for blessings on that, too.

This is a “first” for us, but we ask that if you’re available and interested, to please join us. We will cry out to God to ask His blessing on the efforts of the DRR, His guidance for our leadership, and most of all for His will be done.

This is short-notice. But our board feels that this is of the utmost urgency for us. We don’t have time to plan, we feel we must do this now. More than anything else, we're in need of prayer now.

This is a come-and-go event. If you’re late, just join the group. If you need to leave, just slip away. You can stay the entire time, or for five minutes.

If you can’t make it, please pray from your home or wherever you are. Lift up the DRR as a group, lift up our volunteers, lift up those we serve, lift up our leadership. Pray for clarity, strength, unity, etc. MOST OF ALL, PRAY THAT GOD WOULD SHOW US WHAT HE WANTS AND THAT WE RECEIVE THAT MESSAGE AND PUT WHATEVER HE WANTS INTO ACTION.

We’ll consider this the official start of the “Pray for the DRR” initiative. You’ll hear a lot more about that possibly as early as tonight, but definitely in the next day or so.

Thank you so very much.

Thanks to each of you for your interest in and support of the Dirty Roots Revolution. One person CAN make a difference through small things. One of the “easy” actions we can take is prayer. Thank you for your prayers. Each on of you matters and each one of your prayers matter. Those who pray are just as revolutionary as those who “give” and/or “go”. That is our one true constant need.

We hope to see you tonight, even if only for a while. Again, if you can’t make it, please feel free to pray on your own.

In it with you,
Ryan Mifflin
Director, Dirty Roots Revolution

A SHIRT FOR YOU...A SHIRT FOR YOUR HOMELESS BROTHER/SISTER

Luke 3.11 says, “John answered, ‘The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same’”.

One of our volunteers, Greenville High School student Sam Filby, came to us with an idea: Sell T-shirts to promote the DRR and for each T-shirt we sell, we also donate one to one of our homeless brothers and sisters on the streets in St. Louis during our weekly Homeless Outreach. So, we’re doing just that!

3.11 Project T-shirts are available in charcoal gray men’s or women’s styles, sizes Small through 3XL. Men’s T-shirts are $20 and women’s are $25. Each T-shirt sold will provide you with a shirt AND will cover the expense of one that will go to a homeless individual. You can also submit a personal note, which will be delivered to your homeless brother/sister along with your shirt.

We’re taking orders through the end of the day May 9th. We’ll turn the order in May 10th and have T-shirts back and ready for you to pick up on Friday, May 14th.

TO PLACE AN ORDER FOR A 3.11 T-SHIRT, PLEASE EMAIL US AT INFO@DIRTYROOTSREVOLUTION.COM OR CALL 618.267.5436. PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED PRIOR TO THE ORDER BEING PLACED ON MAY 10TH.

New Ways to Support the DRR

Revolutionaries:

We have a few events coming up and we need YOUR help in staffing them!

1) Agape Fest. The annual Agape Fest is Friday, April 30th and Saturday, May 1st at the Bond County Fairgrounds. DRR is one of the featured charities there and we will have a booth. We need smiling faces to greet folks, tell them about the DRR, and sell T-shirts and backpacks. We need folks to work in shifts. If you are going to be at the Agape Fest already, feel free to sign up. If you’re not planning on attending already, we can get you in free – but only for your shift. THIS IS A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SPREAD THE WORD ON THE DRR!!!!

2) Homeless Outreach on May 1st. Most folks involved in our weekly Homeless Outreach will not be available for that trip on Saturday, May 1st (DRR officials will be working at Agape and most of our college-age volunteers will be attending Agape). If you have gone on previous trips, it would be especially beneficial for us to have some experienced volunteers.

3) BBQ Fundraisers. We’d like to start hosting fundraising BBQs at Capri IGA in Greenville. These are fairly easy events and are good fundraisers for groups like us. We have two thoughts on this: One…we could form an actual committee of volunteers who can organize the BBQs as often as once a month. Two…we can just schedule events and solicit volunteers for each one individually. If we do a “committee”, we’ll need to have a leader of that committee.

If any of these opportunities appeal to you, please contact me ASAP! You can email me at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com, call me at 618.267.5436, or reach me through Facebook.

***If you’re interested in AGAPE FEST, please give me specific info of when you’re willing to work, how long, etc.

***If you’re interested in helping with the HOMELESS OUTREACH on May 1st, just let me know and I’ll get you the details you need.

***If you’re interested in helping with the BBQ FUNDRAISERS, let me know your thoughts and if you want to help, to lead the committee, etc.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO FOR THE DRR!!!!

Get Your DRR Backpack - Just $8 Each!!!

The Dirty Roots Revolution is selling draw-string backpacks for just $ 8 each! Show your love for the DRR with this handy item.

We have these on hand, so contact us at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com or 618.267.5436 and we'll arrange the transaction!

The specific info:
These 110-gram non-woven polypropelene bags measure 16.5" X 13" when laid flat and have a spacious interior compartment.

YOU Have Blessed Derrick!

During our weekly Homeless Outreach on April 10th, I asked some of our homeless friends if it would be a benefit to them if we started bringing a nurse with us once a month. I thought a nurse could dress wounds, tend to other issues, and advise our brothers and sisters on the street how to deal with whatever health concerns they may have. The answer was a definite “yes”. So we will work towards that.

About halfway through our outreach trip that day, our dear friend Alexander (remember the glasses story?) told informed me that Derrick was “really falling out” (prison/street slang for “in bad shape”). Derrick is most likely in his sixties and walks with a cane. He also has diabetes, which is an extremely common ailment of the homeless folks we serve. He wasn’t feeling very well, but didn’t exhibit any symptoms that were overly-alarming to anyone. Alexander walked with him to where Derrick’s sister stayed, so he could be with her. (Note: We didn’t say ‘Derrick’s sister’s home’ or ‘where she lived’. The term among the homeless community is ‘where they STAY’).

This past Saturday, Derrick was the first person I visited with on our Homeless Outreach. He came up to me and immediately said, “Did you bring your nurse with you today?” I told him that we hadn’t gotten that lined up yet and it would take some time, but I could see in his eyes that something was wrong and he was scared. His diabetes had gotten much worse and he hadn’t been able to obtain the necessary medicine. Alexander had been keeping an eye on him again and Derrick’s stomach was become very bloated.

Derrick had been able to qualify for unemployment benefits for a time and could rely on that to help him pay for medication. However, those benefits had run out and with it went all of his income. I wonder if he could qualify for disability, but that is an unbelievably arduous and extremely lengthy process for our homeless brothers and sisters to go through. Most are denied.

At any rate, Derrick informed me that he was in pretty bad shape. My wife and I spent a couple of hours with him and Alexander, exploring our options to get him the help he needed.

No doctor or emergency room would see him. His case wasn’t “emergent” and unless it’s an emergency situation, doctors and ERs don’t have to provide care. He couldn’t pay, so they couldn’t (scratch that…wouldn’t) take him.

This is not a statement on healthcare. But the simple fact is that this man needed insulin and until he was in worse shape (foaming at the mouth, perhaps, as some of our diabetic homeless friends have been found doing), he was not going to receive traditional medical care.

I spent some time in the St. Louis Public Library, trying to locate any sort of clinic that might help. Every single one of them was closed on Saturdays. I found programs that might help with payment for medication. Closed on Saturdays. I asked him if we could call the physician he sees and have his prescription sent to a nearby Schnucks, where we could get him generic meds at a lower rate. He sees his physician at a clinic which is closed on Saturdays.

We finally accepted the fact that, barring an unfortunate medical catastrophe, Derrick was not going to get his medication over the weekend. We found out that he takes ten different types of medication for his diabetes. To get all of them would be about $50. To get just the insulin would be approximately $30. It’s $15 to see the doctor, which is a required to get the prescriptions.

Derrick had scraped enough money together to see the doctor late last week, but had no money for the medication. We asked if he could promise to meet us at a specific time Monday, so we could get him to his clinic. He said he could. And Alexander said he’d stick with Derrick until Monday and would go with him and us to the clinic.

After some more investigating, I found two regular DRR volunteers, Jonas and Hannah, who were willing to drive to St. Louis and get Derrick to the clinic. We sent them with the $50 today. As I type this, I just received a text from Hannah saying they had just met Derrick and Alexander and were on their way.

We left the information on financial assistance for prescriptions with Alexander and Derrick. Alexander promised to go through the info with Derrick and see what he might qualify for.

The DRR cannot purchase medicine for all of our homeless friends. And we cannot purchase it regularly for Derrick. We told him this had to be a one-time thing. A stop-gap measure. And we asked him to keep it to himself that it was us who provided the funding for the medicine. He understood.

However, we could not in good consciousness turn our back on this need. It was obvious to my completely untrained eye that Derrick was in pretty bad shape. My grandfather has diabetes and his belly blows up sometimes, too. He has to have the fluid drained from it regularly. Maybe that’s what Derrick needs. Either way, I feel confident in saying that if we didn’t get his insulin soon, he would have died.

The DRR has just come through a very tough financial time. In the 4 days prior to this Homeless Outreach trip, we had received a few donations that helped us regain some more secure footing. I do not believe it to be a coincidence that we had received these gifts just prior to this need arising.

This is what your support allows us to do. We purchase small toiletry items and small snacks and distribute those every Saturday. But those things aren’t the point. They’re items we can use to make connections with folks. And once those connections are made and relationships develop, that’s when our ministry begins.

A few months ago, we were able to bless Alexander with a new pair of glasses, which he was in dire need of (through this, we discovered that he has severe glaucoma, which we’re looking into treatment options for…so please keep Alexander in your prayers).

Now, we have provided Derrick with medication when he desperately needs it. YOU make it possible for us to meet these needs, to minister to these folks, to make a difference in their lives.

We don’t take on expenses such as this very often, but when it’s the right thing to do, we do it.

If you would like to support the Dirty Roots Revolution, or if you’d like to give specifically to this cause, to offset the expenses associated with Derrick’s medicine, you can send your gift to:

Dirty Roots Revolution
C/O: Ryan Mifflin
615 East Oak St.
Greenville, IL 62246

You can also contribute online through our website: www.DirtyRootsRevolution.com.

If you have questions or would like to discuss with me ways to support the DRR, please do not hesitate to email me at info@dirtyrootsrevolution.com or call me at 618.267.5436.

If you are a nurse or any other type of medical personnel, and are interested in accompanying the DRR to St. Louis occasionally, please contact me to discuss possibilities.

Thank you for your support. Whether you give finances and/or materials for us to distribute on the Homeless Outreach, whether you go on the outreach trips, or whether you lift our group up in prayer, you are involved in making a difference in the lives of many people!

One final thought. As Derrick and Alexander were preparing to leave our outreach site Saturday morning, I was visiting with a few other folks who had come by. Alexander asked me if he could interrupt me for just a moment. I said, “Sure”. He wanted to be sure him and I and Derrick prayed together before we left each other for the week.

So, with arms around each other, we prayed. We all prayed for the well-being of everyone on the street. Alexander and I prayed for Derrick and that God would sustain him until Monday. I thanked God (and still do) that Alexander was there to help Derrick.
And Derrick thanked God for the DRR and the blessing we promised to provide him.

Thank you for what you do to make that possible.