Thank you to all of our friends and ministry partners who have made 2009 such a blessed ministry year. We pray your holiday will be a time of joyful worship with friends and family.
The mission will be closed for Christmas on Thursday, December 16th and will reopen Sunday, January 3rd. All services, including donation drop off and pick up will be closed.
This week, most of the nation is experiencing it’s first taste of winter. Even here in OKC, we’ve managed to dodge the ice, but not the temps. We have definitely been made aware of winter’s presence.
Wednesday, we unloaded a semi truck full of food from the Food Bank. While helping with the unloading, one of our favorite neighbors, Clyde, began growing icicles from his Santa-like beard. I was his unloading partner and also experienced the same phenomenon around my hoodie.
Today, Luke and I went on our weekly large furniture pick up journey. As we drove to SW OKC, we couldn’t help but notice that the van’s heater wasn’t kicking in. By the first pick up, we were frozen solid. The silly thing didn’t heat up until hours later. Brrrr!
I know all of us have had similar experiences this week. But for most of us these moments are brief and remedied by a warm home, cozy car, and hot chocolate. For some of our close friends at the mission, this is an hourly, daily, even monthly condition most can not retreat from. What a heartbreaking thought. Paul said this week in prayer time, “I have a hard time going to sleep at night until I pray for my homeless friends by name…Roy, Robert, Lou, Dwight…”
I know that a lot of us have similar thoughts and prayers going up. What if God is wanting to use us to answer the very prayers we are praying for the homeless and poor? What if we are called daily to remedy the problem?
Maybe we could buy a cup of hot coffee or a warm pair of gloves for a bell ringer. Or swing by Mcdonald’s and pick up an extra value meal and give a hot meal and “God bless you” to the man with the cardboard sign on the corner. Maybe it’s becoming involved in a local urban ministry with your family.
We challenge you to pray not only for the homeless and those negatively affected by the cold weather, but also to be used as an answer to the very prayer you are praying.
Ron
Today, we received 7,800 pounds of canned goods from this year’s student food drive. Each participating non-profit who helps pick up the canned goods from area schools receives a portion of the donated food. We were happy to help pick up and even happier to be able to load the cans in boxes of families needing help this holiday season. What a huge blessing. Thank you to all the students who gave abundantly to those in need!
This past Sunday evening my wife, Mackenzie, had a conversation with one of the Cross and Crown “fathers” that has been coming since day 1. We see him every Sunday for meal and worship, Monday for AA meeting, Tuesday for Bible study and sometimes on Wednesday, just to check in with us.
He is an alcoholic and has been since he was a teenager, having his first alcohol at the age of 12. He grew up in a small Oklahoma town and now lives on the streets of OKC, literally. He has a handful of places he sleeps at on a night to night bases and time to time is able to score the floor of a laundry room when it gets too cold. He is a loner but periodically will buddy up with someone else from the streets, mostly as form of protection and friendship. We have no idea how he is still alive. His body is brittle from the abuse, both physical and substance, he has endured over the years.
He is one of the kindest, most gentle, soft-hearted men I have ever known. He is funny and you can’t have a conversation with him without him intentionally jabbing your feet with his cane. Every time he does it he thinks it’s the funniest thing ever and he can’t contain his laughter, which makes it that much funnier.
Sunday, following our meal and worship, one of his traveling buddies told Mackenzie to be praying for our friend, Steven (it’s just easier to tell a story when people have names…so, like it or not, his name is Steven). He went on to tell her that Steven had been taken to the hospital and was experiencing some other issues, which he didn’t go on to explain entirely. Based on our history with Steven we assumed he had either been beat up or was sick from dealing with the cold and harsh environment.
After some investigation and asking around Mackenzie discovered that Steven had been taken to the hospital because he had a seizure. He had a seizure because he tried to not drink for a day…
Some of Steven’s family, who he doesn’t speak to regularly, located and contacted him. He expressed an interest in spending Thanksgiving with them and so they made a deal with him. The deal was this…be sober and come to the family Thanksgiving meal.
His body couldn’t handle it. To be honest, I was surprised he tried not to drink for a day. That’s how absolutely trapped he is by alcohol. His life is a struggle and his struggle is his life. His body craves it and when he doesn’t feed those cravings, his body responds by shutting down.
Needless to say, Mackenzie was heart-broken to hear about Steven and his predicament. The worst part being that she, as well as anyone else that knew about Steven’s situation, had very little ability to influence his situation in a positive way. It’s one of those scenarios when you say, “Wow, that’s sad”, and then you can’t do anything about it. The good news is that we saw and talked to Steven when he came to Bible study today. He was in good spirits and was back to his regular joking self. I wish I could end the story on a positive note but the bad news is he probably won’t be attending the family Thanksgiving, as far as I know. Maybe his family will decide to let him still come, or maybe just to eat, or maybe they will visit him instead of him going to them. I don’t know. I guess all I can do is to ask you to consider this story, think about that person you know that may not have a family to spend Thanksgiving with this year and ask them to be apart of yours.
We received 10 more Thanksgiving baskets from Oakcrest yesterday which helps us complete our last day of food baskets today. This morning, Feed The Children called and is donating 32 turkeys this morning. We had 20 and the new total makes our 50 for the day! Amazing how God works.
The Good News of Victory
1The Spirit of the LORD God
has taken control of me!
The LORD has chosen and sent me
to tell the oppressed
the good news,
to heal the brokenhearted,
and to announce freedom
for prisoners and captives.
2This is the year
when the LORD God
will show kindness to us
and punish our enemies.
The LORD has sent me
to comfort those who mourn,
3especially in Jerusalem.
He sent me to give them flowers
in place of their sorrow,
olive oil in place of tears,
and joyous praise
in place of broken hearts.
They will be called
“Trees of Justice,”
planted by the LORD
to honor his name.
4Then they will rebuild cities
that have been in ruins
for many generations.
Isaiah 61 CEV
It never ceases to amaze us how God chooses to work at the mission. In just the right time, just in the right amount, God shows up in a powerful way. Yesterday, the youth group from Oakcrest Church of Christ delivered 250 Thanksgiving baskets complete with all the trimmings for a holiday meal. God’s just in time, just in the right amount!
Tay, one of our now college students, came to worship with us last night. We needed one more person to help run sound and slides…Tay was there! Afterward, we loaded him up with a college care package full of snacks from a food shipment we had just received from the Regional Food Bank. God’s just in time, just in the right amount!
This morning, there was a knock on the door and when we answered, we found Paul, one of our volunteers. He brought 16 dozen cinnamon rolls donated by Full Cup Doughnuts in Edmond. The weather had taken a turn for the colder, so every person who entered today received a warm cinnamon roll and hot coffee. The perfect thing to combat the cold. God’s just in time, just in the right amount!
God provides everything we need, even things we don’t, to remind us we are loved. Don’t miss an opportunity today to be used to offer someone their daily bread. You may be the last ingredient needed for His special “just in time, just in the right amount” bread.
Luke and I are constantly trying to find new and creative ways to engage youth into conversation. After much brainstorming, we decided we needed to create another time to hang out with kids in their environment instead of always asking them to come to us. Novel idea I know! So we packed our bags last week and headed to Taco Bell on NW 23rd and May to hang out with the Taft and NW Classen kids.
We had a really fun time. We didn’t have to worry about spills, preparing food, or how to get everyone out when we were ready to leave. Fun! So we just sat and talked with kids. We would do silly dares asking kids to perform embarrassing stunts. One was asking Darvin, an AZTEC student, to visit with an elderly lady. Surprisingly Darvin walked right over and began a conversation.
Afterward, Darvin reported his conversation. She was new to town and alone. Jessica and Darvin decided to go back over and pray with the lady. So out of the first event, the kids are already ministering to others. Luke and I will be rotating fast food chains in the area every Wednesday after school. Each Wednesday will cost around $30. Let us know if you would like to fund a week!
Last week the Cross and Crown staff ran our normal schedule Monday and Tuesday but then closed up shop to head to Cincinnati Wednesday through Sunday. We attended the CCDA conference with much anticipation (http://www.ccda.org). Just like two years ago, we weren’t disappointed.
I enjoy the CCDA conferences in large part because it is a gathering of people, ministries and Christ followers with similar intentions. Their main focuses are “community development” (that’s the “CD” part), social justice and intentional relationships while reclaiming and restoring under-resourced communities.
After going two years ago and being blown away by the speakers and workshops I had high expectations this time around. This year was just as successful. The speakers were great (Shane Claiborne is always intriguing… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4TjXZNeBZ0 ) and the workshops had just as much practical application and ideas for youth that I could ask for. But, the biggest thing I took away from the four day conference was how relational Jesus was while He walked this earth.
One of the workshop teachers said, “No significant learning occurs unless there is significant relationship”, and I think Jesus modeled this best. Jesus invested the majority of His time into twelve men, His disciples. It confirmed that no matter what kind, how many, how effective or ineffective the ministries are at Cross and Crown we are to be relationally focused, as Jesus was. The food panty, clothing room, medical clinic, youth activities at Rock Island, optometrist ect. are all hooks. Hooks to get us into relationship with the people in our neighborhood.
It puts a new twist of the scripture in Matthew 28:19-20, which says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Disciples. Disciples. Not just believers, but disciples. Jesus had 12. He invested the majority of his time with these 12. I need to do the same. The One who spoke everything into existence choose 12 lives to invest in. I need to be relationally focused and intentional about spending time and energy with a specific few.
If you’re ever interested in doing the same, come check us out.
Luke
Our four unit apartment building is coming right along. With all new plumbing, electrical, and hvac, the sheet rock work was able to be completed this week. Tape and texture will be applied in the next two weeks.
We are excited to see these transitional living spaces become a reality during ’09. Our hope is that they will become a great resource for the Rebuilding The Walls Program and our neighborhood.
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