Karing for Keegan

There is a little boy from Evansville named Keegan Chupp. I've never met him or his parents Beth & Ryan, but they go to my church. Well, kinda. See, Keegan has medullablastoma. This poor baby even had a stroke before he was born. He was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 7 1/2 months. You can read more about him at http://karingforkeegan.blogspot.com/

His family is getting ready to head to NYC for his second round of treatments. The first worked, but the cancer came back - I believe in his spinal fluid. This poor family has already been through so much, and now they're having to fight this again. I'm pleading with you to check out www.bbqbenefit.com. Some of our friends are having a BBQ Benefit for them this Saturday, to try and get some funding raised for the Chupps. Even if you don't want the BBQ, please consider making a donation. Or, order some BBQ and I'll take it to the Rescue Mission, or to some of my underprivileged neighbors. Also, please consider volunteering Saturday morning. We need 10-12 more volunteers starting at 10:00 a.m. It's over at 2:00, but even if you can only show up for 30 minutes, please let me know.

As you probably already know, we aren't doing a summer outreach. I know that Thomasson Outreaches has a great following. If you've ever donated to us or volunteered with us in the past, please consider this cause. Yes, I'm begging and pleading. I can't imagine what this family is going through. I don't have kids. The only thing I can equate it to is if it was one of my nieces or nephews. And, I know that's not even close to the same. But, I want to help them as much as I can. Not because I have this overabundance of cash laying around. Not even because I love BBQ. Because I know they need it. And that's what "THE CHURCH" does. And, that's what you people do. You donate your time and resources to those less fortunate than you. And for some reason God has called me to organize stuff like that. He has helped me develop a network of people, believers and non-believers alike, that have a heart for outreach. I don't think outreach is only feeding hundreds of people - it can also be focused on one family. Please consider this cause, but do it quickly, as the benefit is this Saturday, so orders need to be placed by Thursday.

Thanks for being the awesome people that you are!!!

2010 Thanksgiving Outreach

First of all, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for volunteering with us for this year's Thanksgiving Outreach. Without awesome volunteers like you, this wouldn't be possible!

If you signed up to donate food or supplies and haven't dropped them off yet, you can either bring them Wednesday, or call Cookie (812.604.4349 or 812.422.4625). She should be at the restaurant today, but I don't want to make promises for her. Or, you can drop them off at my work.

The restaurant is located at 1010 S. Kentucky Avenue. It is located about halfway between Roca Bar and the Evansville Christian Life Center, just south of Washington Avenue. The sign on the top of the building says Evans Cafe, and the windows say Mrs. Cookie's Cookin'. The parking lot is across from the restaurant. Feel free to call me or Cookie if you get lost

If you are volunteering Wednesday to help prep food, we are meeting at the restaurant anytime after 2:00 p.m. I won't be there until after work, but please feel free to come anytime.

If you are volunteering Thursday, we will be prepping and setting up from 6:30-10:30 (I know, that's really evil). We will have a time of prayer and worship (if time allows) at 10:30, and will serve from 11:00-2:00. If we run out of food, we will close up early. We will also need several people to help cleanup, and we will be taking any leftover prepared food to the Rescue Mission. Please feel free to come whenever works best for your schedule. Please be thinking about where you would like to serve (kitchen, serving line, hospitality (making guests feel welcome and making sure they don't need anything), distributing clothes if we see a need, praying for people, cleanup). Please wear comfortable clothing and shoes. We will have a volunteer form for you to sign when you arrive and a name tag to wear so we know who our volunteers are.

Please join us in prayer for the next two days that we have the right amount of food, the right amount of volunteers to serve, and the right amount of guests. I believe that God will send whomever is supposed to be there, according to His plan. Also pray that He will change lives. I have seen first-hand how He uses these Outreaches to change people, both volunteers and guests.

Once again, thank you SO MUCH for being a part of this. There are lots of people who will have full bellies on Thanksgiving Day because of you!

2010 Thanksgiving Outreach - Updated List

I think the only food donation we need is turkeys. If you would like to purchase one and cook it, that would be awesome. If you'd like to purchase one and give it to us to cook, that would be great too! If you would like to donate something else, you can purchase some food to pass out to the homeless residents that they can take with them. Canned meats (tuna, vienna sausages, etc.) and snacks (peanut butter crackers, etc.) are very portable. Also, if you'd like to go through your closets and pull out some warm weather clothing or shoes, we will be distributing that if we have people in need.

As far as volunteers, we are going to start prepping on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. (I wont be there until after work though). We could use some more people for that. We will also prep on Thanksgiving Day from 6:30-10:30. We will serve from 11-2, and cleanup from 2-4.

Thanks SO MUCH for your support. This Outreach has been blessed by an enormous amount of people!

2010 Thanksgiving Outreach - Updated List

Volunteers needed:

Saturday November 13 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Pass out flyers to the neighborhood surrounding the restaurant

Sunday November 14 1:00 p.m. - Pass out flyers to the neighborhood surrounding the restaurant

Wednesday November 24 6:30 p.m. - Prep food and setup the restaurant

Thursday November 25 6:30 - 10:30 a.m. - Prep food and setup the restaurant

Thursday November 25 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Serve food

Thursday November 25 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Cleanup

Items needed:

35 cooked turkeys, carved and placed in freezer bags

90 lbs. bone-in ham (uncooked)

250 dinner rolls

500 servings of desserts

500 clamshell 3-section carryout containers

250 dessert plates

500 canned sodas or bottled water

5 lbs unsalted butter

5 dozen eggs

6 bags of celery

12 large cans of chicken broth

2010 Thanksgiving Outreach - Updated List

Volunteer Needs
Saturday November 12 9:30 a.m. and Sunday November 13 1:00 p.m.
We need a large group of people to help us distribute flyers to the neighborhood
Wednesday November 23 6:30 p.m.
Start prepping food and setting up the restaurant
Thursday November 24 6:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Finish prepping the food
Thursday November 25 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Serve the food
Thursday November 25 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Cleanup

Donation Needs
-400 lbs of turkey. That averages out to 35 12 lb turkeys. We need them cooked & placed into freezer bags with the juices. These can be done ahead of time. If you would like to cook it on Wednesday, just carve and bring to us refrigerated. If you aren't able to cook it, I have some people who are willing to cook turkeys.
-90 lbs of bone-in ham. This does NOT need to be cooked.
-40 lbs of sweet potatoes
-10 large cans of corn
-10 large cans of green beans
-500 servings of desserts. We ask that they are individually wrapped if possible.
-500 clamshell 3 section carryout container (available at gfs or sams)
-100 dessert plates
-500 canned sodas & bottled water
-25 lbs of NunnBetter self-rising white corn meal
-10 lbs of unsalted butter
-5 dozen eggs
-6 bags of celery
-20 cartons of chicken broth

2010 Thanksgiving Outreach - The "List"

Okay, here is the long anticipated "List". We are planning food for 500 people, and here is what we need to make it happen. You can drop off non-perishable food and monetary donations at Schmitt Photo, or directly to Viq or I. We need the turkeys and desserts the day before Thanksgiving - everything else we can start taking now. Please let me know if you have any questions.
-400 lbs of turkey. That averages out to 35 12 lb turkeys. We need them cooked & placed into freezer bags with the juices. These can be done ahead of time. If you would like to cook it on Wednesday, just carve and bring to us refrigerated.
-100 90 lbs of bone-in ham. This does NOT need to be cooked.
-1500 oz of instant mashed potatoes
-40 lbs of idaho potatoes
-40 lbs of sweet potatoes
-2000 oz of canned corn WE STILL NEED 18 LARGE CANS
-2000 oz of canned green beans WE STILL NEED 18 LARGE CANS
-500 small margarine cups (available at sams or gfs) SOMEONE HAS DONATED THESE
-500 silverware packets (available at sams or gfs) SOMEONE HAS DONATED THESE
-500 servings of desserts. We ask that the are individually wrapped if possible.
-500 clamshell 3 section carryout container (available at gfs or sams)
-100 dessert plates
-1 roll of 55-gal trashbags SOMEONE HAS DONATED THESE
-10 rolls of papertowels
-3 boxes of latex gloves (size M, L, & XL) SOMEONE HAS DONATED THESE
-500 canned sodas & bottled water

Please let me know if you have any questions, or would like to make a donation. And, thank you in advance for helping us provide a home-cooked meal to those who won't get one any other way!

2010 Thanksgiving Outreach - Informational Meeting - Sunday 9/26 1:00 pm

This will be an informational meeting to help us put together our teams. If you are not able to attend, but would like to help with the Outreach, here is where we need help. Please let me know where you are interested in serving.
-designing flyers and promotional materials
-securing donations (food and monetary)
-getting the word out to the community (media, shelters, organizations)
-people to canvas the neighborhood and shelters with flyers and promotional materials. We usually do this the weekend before, which would be Nov 20 and 21.
-people to help prep food on Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday morning.
-people to actually help on Thursday. We will need servers, people to work in the kitchen, cleanup, and some people to take leftover food to the Rescue Mission. I also want a few people to walk around and converse with people.

Dinner at Ms. Cookie's is $9.50 a plate. She takes cash only. Please let me know by 9/24 if you are able to attend so that she may prep her kitchen.

2010 Thanksgiving Outreach - Planning Meeting

We will be meeting on Thursday, August 12 6:00 p.m. at Ms Cookie's Cookin' 1010 S Kentucky Avenue (the old Evans Cafe) If you are able to make it to the meeting, Ms. Cookie takes cash only, and dinners are $8 a plate.

The purpose of this meeting is to start putting together teams for the 2010 Thanksgiving Outreach. If you aren't able to attend, but would like to be part of the Outreach, please let me know in what area you are interested in serving.

We need help with the following:
securing donations (food and monetary)
organizing volunteers
getting the word out to the community
designing flyers and promotional materials

The week of the Outreach, we will need help prepping food, and we will need help all day on 11/25 prepping, serving, and cleaning up.

2010 Thanksgiving Outreach - An Exciting Announcement

I'm not going to bore everyone with the details, but I have an exciting announcement.

While patronizing a local restaurant last night for the first time, we started talking about our outreaches. I've been praying for a few weeks "Lord, do you want our outreaches to cross the money savin' bridge?" (yes, I've seriously said "money savin' bridge" to the Creator of the universe). Well, I think He answered that question last night. Mrs. Cookie owns the old Evans Cafe on Kentucky and Washington (right across from our beloved Ray Ray's). She asked us what we were doing this year for Thanksgiving. I explained that our biggest challenge is finding somewhere that has shelter, power, and water. She got a look in her eyes, and-she is letting us use her restaurant for our Thanksgiving Outreach this year! We don't have to worry about shelter from the weather, using sternos to keep food warm, not having water or a restroom. We can invite these people in, give them a table to sit at and serve them...literally serve them. I have been praying for a building since last November. God has provided, and exceeded my expectations! I just wanted a building...I never expected a restaurant! We will have a full kitchen at our disposal.

I just can't tell you how excited I am about this. I literally can't sleep. All last night I kept thinking I was dreaming. There is something so surreal about this. Last year, we planned the Outreach in 3 weeks. Now, we've got way more time, and a place to have it! I was praying about this last night, and I am planning on cooking for 500 people. I know that seems crazy, but...we did 342 in June and didn't even realize it. Having a kitchen at our disposal makes it even more possible.

So, please pray about this and see if the Lord is calling you to volunteer or donate. I don't want Mrs. Cookie to have to go to any expense at all. I don't know the specifics yet, of course, but we're gonna need a LOT of food, and a LOT of help!

This is just so awesome. I wish I could explain how I'm feeling right now! Thanks to all of you for supporting us!

July 2010 Nashville Flood Relief Trip

We will be taking another team to Nashville on July 31st for Flood Relief, partnering with Hands On Nashville. Please let me know if you're interested. The need is still great, as most people have forgotten about the flood.

You can get more information at http://betheltemple.org/content.asp?article=635

July 2010 Henderson Ball Field Outreach

Check out this awesome opportunity to serve. We've got 40+ slots we need to fill. Please let me know if you're interested. It is a great chance to show the Love of Christ!

http://www.onelifenetwork.in/henderson/2010/07/heres-an-awesome-chance-to-serve-others/

2010 Garvin Park Outreach - $300

Many of you have heard me refer to the "insurance policy" issue, but probably have no idea what that's all about. The original idea for the Garvin Park Outreach was "Bands & BBQ" - exactly what it sounds like. We were going to have bands on the stage, and serve BBQ. It was a disaster from the very beginning. We couldn't find bands. We had issues getting the BBQ smokers. We didn't have many volunteers. And then, the insurance policy. In order to use the stage, we had to fill out an application. If we were to have more than 300 people, we had to have an insurance policy - $5 million aggregate. I was told by a friend of our that it would be around $300. So, I worked my tail off to raise $300. There was an insurance agent (a friend of a friend) who was supposed to get the policy for us - we never heard from him. So, we started searching ourselves After about a week, I finally found one - in Australia, for $3000. That was obviously not going to happen. We tried talking to the Parks Department to see if they would lower the requirement, and they wouldn't. We noticed on the application that it said 300 people at any one time, not the entire day. I tried to argue this point, and they wouldn't budge. We eventually decided to kill the Bands & BBQ idea and just feed people. We really didn't want to, but it just seemed like our only option at that point. (and it worked out beautifully!)

So, we still had this magic number of $300, plus $51 left from Thanksgiving. One of our friends got the idea to pass out Need-It-Keep-It envelopes. He wanted to donate as much money as we had already raised ($300) to this cause. So, he made 300 envelopes with $1 each in them. A dear family friend also sent us 2 $10 Sonic Gift Cards to help the needy. Since there aren't any Sonic restaurants close to the area, I just stuck them in 2 of the envelopes, hoping it would bless someone, or they could bless someone with it. If you aren't familiar with this concept, please check out needitkeepit.org I LOVE the idea!

On Wednesday we made arrangements to meet Brandon Barnard for the first time. We sat down and counted how much we had left. $356. So, we kept $56 to use for the food pantries and gave the rest to Brandon. As we were standing there with him, I realized that we gave him $300. The same amount of the insurance policy. The same amount that went in the envelopes. The same amount that I was SO upset about. I just didn't know how we'd come up with that much money, and then when we changed the whole concept, I was SO upset about the fact that I had raised it for an un-needed insurance policy. God seriously slapped me across the face at that very moment...I really believe that he had this $300 planned all along for THIS purpose, not for the insurance policy. At that very moment, standing outside a firestation with a man who had just buried his 74 day old daughter, I realized that all the "disaster" we had went through was worth it. I always say when we're going through tough times that He has a plan for it, we just don't see it yet. It takes a while, but we always see how He worked in the situation.

2010 Garvin Park Outreach - Thanks?

thank
–verb 1. to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to

grat·i·tude
–noun the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful


thank·ful
-Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful a benefit; grateful.

hum·ble
–adjective
1. not proud or arrogant; modest
2. a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.
3. low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly
4. respectful
5. low in height, level, etc.; small in size

None of these words really work for me. I don't think there is a word to describe what I want to say to everyone who was a part of the Garvin Park Outreach. So, I'm going to leave it at "thanks", which doesn't even begin to do it justice.

For those of you that weren't with us last weekend, I'd like to give a recap of what happened.

Friday night, we were supposed to have 9 people to help dish out 400 servings of potato salad and cole slaw, count all of the desserts and sodas, and get everything ready for Saturday. We had 4, and we didn't have nearly enough potato salad and cole slaw. As you probably know, I had already been feeling like maybe this Outreach wasn't supposed to happen, and that just made it worse. So, we got more salads and kept on dishing until the last little piece of cabbage was scraped from the container. There wasn't time to count stuff, so I was just taking a leap of faith that planning was correct and we had enough.

Saturday morning, our alarm went off - 90 minutes late. Fantastic. We were supposed to meet at 7:30 to load stuff up, and then be at the park at 8:00. Of course we were late, but so were the people we were supposed to meet. I got to the park with a truckful of food, and we had 2 volunteers. Two!!! I was terrified, but at that point, there was no turning back. We finished unloading the truck as more volunteers started showing up. And then more, and more. One of our volunteers, Spring Time, said to a man who had been helping us unload "Bye Gary. Are you coming back to eat later?" Up until this point, we all thought he was one of her friends. Oh no - she found him sleeping on one of the picnic tables when she got there, and he helped us unload food that was meant for him (see definition for "humble" above) Very soon after that, she went out in the park to distribute flyers. She came back with a man named Ken. Remember that name - it will be very important later. Then a man with riding a bike with no shirt showed up. He and Ken threw on gloves and helped us wipe down tables and organize food. Food that was meant for them. We got done much earlier than expected, so I told all of the volunteers to sit and rest, spend some time in prayer, and prepare our hearts for what was going to happen that day. We read and discussed Matthew 25, our reason for doing this. I read some excerpts from Eats with Sinners, a book on well, eating with sinners. We listened to Tear Down the Walls by Hillsong United. And then, we prayed. A big group of us, while homeless men were sitting on the tables just behind us. About halfway through, we hear a voice that none of us recognized. He started praying to Yahweh and Jesuwah. I honestly don't remember what he said, but I remember goosebumps and not wanting to pray after him! When we were finished, I looked up and realized it was the guy on the bike. His name is Ronnie. That name will become important too. Somewhere in the moments to come, more people started showing up, and we realized we didn't have as much food as we thought. We started making sandwiches, and realized we didn't have enough bread. We started icing down salads, and realized we didn't have enough ice. It was terrifying at best. We actually left twice to go get more food and drinks, and STILL ran out of food. Our best estimate is 342 people were served. We had 350 forks to start out with, and left with 8. Eight!! We planned on feeding 200. Apparently God had planned on more.

So, the "important" names. First, Ronnie. Viq and I really felt called to give Ronnie some kind of job to do at our house. Now, that's weird for me, because I DON'T give money to homeless people, and I certainly don't tell them where I lived. But, we decided that we had some mulch that needed laid. Ronnie said he'd be over the next morning to work on it for us. He showed up on Sunday morning earlier than he had said, and worked his tail off. I was afraid to tell him where we lived, but decided to trust the Lord with the situation. He then came back to the house on Tuesday night while Viq was at work. I was seriously trembling. But, I went out on the front porch to see what he needed. Nothing. He just came over to tell me thank you for giving him the opportunity to earn a little cash.

Now, for Ken. Ken walks with a cane, has an eye patch, and you can tell he's much older than he should be. One of our volunteers, Misty, prayed with Ken for healing in his legs. And he prayed to give his life to the Lord. At that very moment, I realized that ALL the events leading up to this had been a challenge from God. He knows my heart, but He also knows my willingness to give up when things get hard. I'm so glad I didn't. Would Ken have been saved without the Outreach? Maybe. I don't know. But I'm SO grateful that the Lord used Misty at our Outreach to bring him into the Kingdom.

One of the greatest parts of the day was that we had SO many volunteers that I was able to walk around and talk to people, making sure they had enough to eat and drink, and sitting down listening to their stories. Sometimes, that's all these people want. I looked up 4 or 5 times and noticed there was literally not a place to sit. God SERIOUSLY showed up in that shelter house! Yes, we ran out of food at the end. I never expected that. We were able to make a small donation of potato salad and cole slaw to the Rescue Mission for their evening meal, but not as much as I had planned. There were a LOT of people that came over from the pool next door. Maybe they didn't fall into the target demographic "homeless and underprivileged", but they were hungry, and we were able to feed them. There were little kids in swim gear running around with Dorito-stained orange fingertips. It was awesome.

So, thanks guys. Thanks so much for being a part of this. You JUST don't understand - we couldn't have done it without each and everyone of you. I was going to make a list - a list of items and services people donated. But honestly, there was so much that I just can't remember every single thing.

Alexa Ridgeway

Ally Duncan

Amanda McDowell

Amber Hinton

Bill Merkel

Brandon & Jessica Barnard

Brighton Cornerston Healthcare

Brit Van Laeken

Candice Jenkins

Cathy Lockridge

Chance Schultz

Christy Johnson

Cindy Rose

Damon & Teresa Hancock

David & Sande Hancock

David Kapp

Drew Shockley

Evansville Department of Parks & Recreation

Evansville Print Specialists

Evansville Rescue Mission

Fraternal Order of Eagles #4023-Emily & Family

Ginger Ware

Greek's Pizza

Heath Farmer

Jamie Wayne

Jennifer Griese

Jennifer Williams

Jeremy Secrest

John Bush & Small Group

Junior League of Henderson

Kat Isbell

Ken & Viki Thomasson

Kendra Melchior

Kimberly & Patrick Hodges

Lewis Bakeries

Lindsay Chaffee

Lisa Cresci

Mary Chesire

Matthew & Jennifer Frankic

Melinda Bachman

Misty Miles

Nathan Lengacher

Nick Phillips

Nicole Gibson

Nikky Wilson

Patti Spooner

Patty Vanoven

Rafferty's

Rob Tant

Romina York

Sara Woodard

Spring Time McCullagh

Stacy Kirchoff

Summer & Steve Aulich

Susan Fullerton

Viki Bowers

Now, for Thanksgiving. I'm honestly taking a break from "outreaching" right now. But, Thanksgiving is coming soon. And, we've got plenty of time that we can start planning now, and make it AWESOME! I'm not sure exactly where we will do it, but we are toying with the idea of Henderson. I found out last week that the resources for the homeless and underprivileged are very few there. So, it seems perfect to me. But, we'll see what the Lord has in store for us. Please pray that he will give us some ideas. Thanks again guys. I love working with all of you while being obedient to His calling!

If you have any pictures or reflections from the Outreach, please email them to thomassonoutreaches@gmail.com and I'll post them to the blog.

2010 Garvin Park Outreach - Pictures

Ken with Misty, who prayed with him to give his life to Jesus! A one-eyed, illiterate homeless man. That's what it's about guys!
Prayer before we blessed the meal.

Steve. We found out that he was planning on staying on the picnic tables overnight, so we gave him a package of napkins as a pillow. He was SO happy! He needs clothes, so if you guys have 32" pants, Large shirts, or 9 1/2 shoes, let me know.

Look at all that food! Thanks for making it happen!
There were four or five times I looked up and there wasn't a seat in the house. Amazing!

2010 Garvin Park Outreach - Prayer requests

Here is what we will be praying for on 6/19 at 815 am CT and 1215 pm CT. Please join us at the park, or in the comfort of your own home

-The Bleemel/Gerlach family. My family will be laying my dear Uncle Bob to rest at 100 pm CT. Specifically pray for his three children, Tommy (19 years old), Willy (16 years old), and BethAnn (12 years old); his wife Karen; his sister (my mom) Cathy; his brother Steve; and my papaw Herman
-The Barnards. I don't really know what to say here; just pray for them.
-The Risch family, as they are going through losing their parents and their child due to a car accident today. It's my understanding that one of their children is in the hospital, and we really need to lift them up
-The Outreach. Pray that we will have the right amount of food, the right amount of guests, the right amount of volunteers, and the right amount of cash for the Barnards. Pray that we will reach those He wants us to reach, and that He will open all of our eyes to see them
-children. All the children who have lost a father. I myself know that it's a very hard time of year
-fathers. All the fathers who have lost a child. I've seen this in our own family, and I've seen how hard it is for these men
-our pastors, worship leaders, church planters, and those at bigstuf
-the homeless who are on our streets and the underprivileged in this town. Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in THIS city!
-all of our volunteers and those who have donated.
-the people who just don't get what we're doing. Hoping we can sow some seeds, or at least pick out rocks so someone else can sow seeds later
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2010 Garvin Park Outreach - Prayer requests

Here is what we will be praying for on 6/19 at 815 am CT and 1215 pm CT. Please join us at the park, or in the comfort of your own home

-The Bleemel/Gerlach family. My family will be laying my dear Uncle Bob to rest at 100 pm CT. Specifically pray for his three children, Tommy (19 years old), Willy (16 years old), and BethAnn (12 years old); his wife Karen; his sister (my mom) Cathy; his brother Steve; and my papaw Herman
-The Barnards. I don't really know what to say here; just pray for them.
-The Risch family, as they are going through losing their parents and their child due to a car accident today. It's my understanding that one of their children is in the hospital, and we really need to lift them up
-The Outreach. Pray that we will have the right amount of food, the right amount of guests, the right amount of volunteers, and the right amount of cash for the Barnards. Pray that we will reach those He wants us to reach, and that He will open all of our eyes to see them
-children. All the children who have lost a father. I myself know that it's a very hard time of year
-fathers. All the fathers who have lost a child. I've seen this in our own family, and I've seen how hard it is for these men
-our pastors, worship leaders, church planters, and those at bigstuf
-the homeless who are on our streets and the underprivileged in this town. Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in THIS city!
-all of our volunteers and those who have donated.
-the people who just don't get what we're doing. Hoping we can sow some seeds, or at least pick out rocks so someone else can sow seeds later
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2010 Garvin Park Outreach - Be Careful What You Pray For!

Remember how I said I wasn't sure how I got this way, this person I'm turning into? I had a taste of that yesterday. I will preface this by saying Be Careful What You Pray For. Seriously.

Yesterday morning, I was standing in my bathroom drying my hair and Brandon Heath's Give Me Your Eyes came on. Now, I've heard this song hundreds of times. There have been times where it's come on and I haven't paid attention. Other times I've kinda hummed along. And other times, I've seriously prayed it. I've closed my eyes and raised my hands and really meant it. The last time I remember doing that was right before Halloween, and then I woke up one day and wanted to feed hungry people. Yesterday morning was another one of those times. I was running a bit late for work, but didn't realize that something was going to happen that would make me even later. Let's call it a Divine Appointment. I was walking out to the car, and saw a guy just in front of our house pushing a shopping cart full of cans. Now, I don't know that he was necessarily homeless, but he was definitely underprivileged. Right up my alley. So, I grabbed some Outreach flyers out of the car and gave him a dozen or so. He said he lives on Fulton. I've learned in the last 6 months that "I live on Fulton" doesn't necessarily mean he lives in a house on Fulton. Richard said he lived on 1st Avenue by JD Byrider. We later found out he meant under the bridge on 1st Avenue. I then invited the man to go through our recycling bin every other week to get our cans. Who does that?!? The thing was, he was SO appreciative, SO humble. He was seriously a nice guy!

Now, here's why I say be careful what you pray for. Here are the lyrics to the chorus of the song that I was belting out to my Father.

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the brokenhearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten. Be careful with that. Because if it's part of His plan, He will! Don't ask to Tear Down The Walls, because He will make it happen! Maybe as I was singing these songs, I didn't really mean it. Well, it's a bit late for that. He has changed my heart forever. He's given me a heart for the ones forgotten. And I'm hoping that we can reach every single one of those people that He wants us to reach on Saturday. I really truly believe that serving a ham and cheese sandwich and some potato salad and a soda will help at least one person realize that they aren't forgotten.

Now, as far as the Outreach goes, we can still use cash, as we are donating that to the Barnards. You can find out more information at barnardkids.blogspot.com I'd like to give them as much as we can. As far as supplies and food, I think we're good. The only thing we will need is ice, if you'd like to bring some. We'll find out on Saturday if we've got enough food, and worst case scenario, we'll have to go buy more. And, we still need volunteers! Either at 8:00 a.m. for Food Prep, or 12:00 for serving and hospitality. It's really important to me that we have people walking around just talking to these people. I've recently discovered that sometimes all they need is for someone to just sit down and talk to them like they're normal people. If you aren't able to make it, please join us in prayer at 8:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. I will post some prayer points later. If you'd like to come to the park just for prayer, please feel free. And if you can only volunteer for an hour, or would like to stay the whole 11 hours, please come on down. Thank for your support guys. I feel so honored to be doing life with people who are so generous and willing to make sacrifices.

2010 Garvin Park Outreach - 3 days to go

We have three days until this Outreach, and we have nearly everything we need. We still need to get sodas and gatorade, snacks and desserts, and ice. If you would like to donate any of these items, please let me know by 4 pm tomorrow, as I will be shopping tomorrow after work.


I am amazed at how this has all come together. I can honestly say it has been a near-disaster since the beginning. There were so many things that went wrong. I'm still wondering in the back of my mind if God was closing doors, or if Satan was trying to stop this from happening. 72 hours from now, I think that question will be answered. I just can't wait to see what God will do with Saturday!

I would like to encourage everyone to come out on saturday after 100 pm, just to check things out. I promise you, if your eyes are open and willing to look, you will see things and people that will forever change you. Please pray for us up until 500pm saturday. I really hope this Outreach is bathed in prayer by my prayer warrior friends