On Christmas Eve, 3 staff and 4 volunteers shared meals with people who needed them. Now this didn’t turn out exactly like we had planned, but as often happens when our plan is covered with prayer, God stepped in and orchestrated a whole new outreach.
It turned out that there were not very many people on the street between 6 & 7 pm, so while Beth Paz and John Roferos headed to the east side of Lake Avenue near the Metro station, Henry Jones and Rachel Smith took the west side. Nancy Smith joined Barbara and Chris Charlot in chatting with people walking by our marquee and were able to give away a small number of Chick-fil-A meals. Then the idea came to us to reach out to those who were helping right on our campus. The concierge cleaners, our custodial staff and security were all very pleased to receive a hot chicken sandwich in the middle of their work shift. We were also able to share a meal with a church member who is experiencing a big transition in life. When John and Beth returned, they had this story to share:
“John and I had a meaningful experience praying for and engaging members of our community that are house-less on Christmas Eve. We met several people by name, shared the Chick-fil-A meal from Lake Ave. Church and asked if there was anything we could pray for.”
“We were privileged to hear small pieces of their stories and to offer prayers together. One was an immigrant from Iraq who asked prayer for their family; another is dating a gang member and we prayed for safety; another struggling with addiction to heroin and feeling suicidal after the loss of his mother—for hope and feeling the love of Jesus.”
“I, Beth, was blessed to receive their trust and reminded of my life without stability and regular housing for two years. We felt the kinship of humanity and our common need for a Savior. Thanks be to God for Jesus.”