Everybody knows where to come for sandwiches...
including the police
Hello all, Praise God. He is Good all the time. I was not there myself but on Wednesday we had an interesting run in with the police here in town. Andy was there a little early waiting for Pat and the rest of his crew to come, when he stepped out of his car and two officers in there car started to tell Andy how they did not think it was a good idea what he was doing here. They appreciated what we were trying to do but that the street that we are on is just too dangerous for such a thing. That before we come and as soon as we leave, thugs and hoodlums converge on the place and start dealing crack. That where we are standing is the worst part of the worst neighborhood and that it would be a better idea if we could either stop doing this or if we insist on doing this that we move to a new safer location. Andy was very polite, althought the officer was speaking loud enough for everyone around to hear what was being said to Andy. The police also wanted to know “who is behind all this? What church or organization? Who makes the food? Etc.” Andy just told them that a lot of people are involved and that different people and groups help make the food. Which is all true. Andy was not defiant to their authority but at the same time he did not concede anything as to stopping. So as the officer moved along, everybody came around and started talking and as Andy put it, “we talked about it as a family together” and he assured them that we were not going to stop but we were going to keep coming each week. It is funny to see all the angles and approaches that Satan uses and who he works through. I am sure these officers are well meaning but they are just blind to the Big Picture of this kingdom work. And as Andy put it “this is exactly where we want to be, in the worst part of the worst neighborhood” There is no use to turn on a lamp in the middle of sunshining day. You need to turn on a lamp in the night, in the darkness, so that anyone who could not see now has the opportunity to see. This is why we are where we are. God has put us here, and this is where he wants us and we will stay obedient to Him and stay there until He tells us to go somewhere else. But until then we are not going anywhere. God really pressed upon me early on that the consistency was what was going to change peoples hearts. It is not an overnight thing, we can’t just do this once and feel good for a little bit and think that we have done our job. We need to be consistent in our love for these people. This is what has stayed in my mind through this whole journey. I thank everyone for your prayers. It is those prayers that give us the encouragement to stay strong to stay consistent and to keep loving these people so that one day we will see fruit from all this seed we have sown. We have started to see this fruit already just in the people that come by and take a lunch, the people that stick around fro prayer or bible study. God is working in their hearts and He is using us as part of that plan He has for them. As Glenda told me a while back “You just wait Mitch, I have known these people my whole life and they are changing, pretty soon you are going to see a lot of testimonies about what God is doing and how He used you to do it.”
So all that being said, it was a funny kind of Wednesday. So on Thursday as it would happen, I had no run ins with any police and in the study we talked out Paul’s testimony which is in . I encourage you to read it. Paul talks how he was taken from persecuting Christians to becoming one. Testimonies are powerful things. And everyone has one, including you. The struggles that you go through today may be a help and encouragement to someone tomorrow. So be thankful in all things, because God is good all the time. for His glory, Mitch
1. Debra Harper Says:
“Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances” Proverbs 25: 11
Good job Andy!
Proverbs 24: 3
“By wisdom a house is built (your Ministry)
And by knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.”
(The souls ready for the harvest)
