Hi Everyone! Another amazing day on the Relief Bus…God has been so good and we have had SO many moments of pure blessings over the past two days!
Today we served lunch in South Bronx. To try and describe the South Bronx is difficult but I would like to try to paint you a picture. Steve, our bus leader for the 2nd day said that the poverty there is astounding. He also prepared us to meet some tough people. With all of that, it was another beautiful day just overflowing with God’s presence. We are all still absorbing the many blessings we have experienced but do have some special moments we would like to share…these are special moments that have touched our teams hearts today. These were moments shared at dinner this evening…
My dad, Rick, shared a story of a woman who flagged him over to her car on the street corner. This woman was with her sister and nephew and asked for prayer. My dad was able to talk to these three people who shared stories of their lives and their love for Christ. The nephew had in the past been heavy into drugs. He shared with my dad that he walked in on his mother praying for him one day and that day changed his life forever…
John shared a story about handing out flyers…there were a number of people blocks down the road that were very tough, hesitant to take flyers, unfriendly, etc. Then he saw some of these same individuals come to the bus and let that tough guard down. There was a change when they were in the presence of the bus and people who loved and cared for them. These tough people were now polite, friendly, appreciative and able to be themselves.
Teresa shared a story of a woman that asked to be prayed with. Her husband was assaulted by a police officer and unable to work due to his injuries. She spoke very little English so Teresa got one of the bilingual volunteers, Anna, to help translate. Even though the conversation was in Spanish, it quickly became apparent to Teresa when Anna put her hand over the woman’s heart that she was giving her life to Jesus. Her husband then regave his life to Jesus…what more can I share about that. Wow!
Kathleen shared a story from last night about a woman named Denise. The woman came up when we were packing up last night to talk to Kathleen and Jo. She appeared to be bi-polar or have some sort of mental condition and kept talking about needing a miracle. Kathleen and Jo described this woman as very agitated. She stuck around and circled up at the bus for our final prayer at the close of the night. We all joined hands and during the prayer she was completely still and calm. Kathleen and Jo then had the opportunity to pray with her after our group prayer and again she was very still and calm. She came to the bus very agitated and left the bus peaceful and calm. She stood there until the bus left…
Hailey shared a story about last night and some of the kids we met. The projects where we were in Newark were very dangerous. We were told that there had recently been a murder in which a woman was murdered, decapitated and hung in a tree. At this location there were a lot of kids alone on the streets. Hailey was able to put together treat bags of crayons, coloring books, candy, toothbrushes and story books. There were two boys, ages 7 and 8 that Hailey, myself and my dad were going to walk home. It was around the corner down the block. It was dark and we were SO saddened by the fact that these little ones were out in the dark in this dangerous area by themselves. We headed down the block and next thing we know the bus leader is running after us to stop us from leaving the bus area. It was too dangerous for us to walk these young boys home…can you imagine?
These are only half the stories I have to share…I am out of time because we are going to a Hip Hop church service this evening. I will be back after that to continue…There is no way that I can possibly describe these moments fully with my words but hopefully you can see how we have been blessed, how wonderful God is and how much opportunity there is to love people! God is so good! God continues to amaze me!
