Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone. We praise God for what He did in 2008, and we praise God for what He is going to do in 2009.

Prayer requests

I have some prayer requests for everyone to pray about. Here they are:

- Love In Action Board Member Justin Swasey's parents are both having surgery today. His mom broke a kneecap and his dad fell and broke his hip. Pray for his mom and dad, for the doctors and nurses, for successful surgeries and for quick and healthy recoveries. Pray for Justin and his brothers as they take care of their parents. It's not easy seeing your parents go through things like this. Pray for comfort, strength and peace.

- Pray for ministries that Love In Action works closely with: Eagle's Nest Ministry in Atlanta, Ga.; Mama Tina's Mission House in Dothan, Ala.; Sunset Park Community Church in Brooklyn, NY; Mission New York City; Love In Action World Ministries in Plantation, Fla.; Arms Outstretched Ministry in Triangle, Va.; Street Light Ministries in Chantilly, Va. They all do great work. Pray for God's direction and provision. And, pray for strength and wisdom to do everything God wants them to do.

- Pray for the following churches: Harvest Church, Dothan; Christ-Life Church, Enterprise; First United Methodist Church, Dothan; Southside Baptist Church, Ozark; Tabernacle United Methodist Church, Dothan. All of these churches have been a great support to Love In Action. Please pray for God's direction and blessings for these churches.

- Pray for Love In Action as we have a very ambitious schedule for 2009. There is much more we desire to do. Only finances and time stand in the way. But, as I have learned the hard way over my 42 years (wow, I'm getting old), wait on God and His timing is always perfect. There is so much to do here in Dothan and throughout the U.S., over in Haiti and the Dominican, and now an opportunity has opened up in Africa. People are amazed everything gets done on a totally volunteer basis. That's just God. He gives us strength to do it, and He gives us volunteers to help get everything done.

- Please keep Martha and me in your prayers. Working full-time jobs and doing ministry full time can take a lot out of us, but that's not a complaint. We love doing the ministry. At some point in time we know we will be doing this full time. Whether it's in the near future or later in life after we retire; it's however God wants to do it. When God calls you to a ministry, it's not a burden, it's a blessing. Love In Action is a great blessing to us. We thank and praise God often for blessing us with this ministry.

- Please keep our five-member board of directors in your prayers. They have come alongside us and are working hard in their spare time to help us help the "least of these." (Matthew 25:40). My mom, Mike, Brian, Dwight and Justin are all awesome people, and it's an honor to serve God with them.

- Pray for everyone who supports Love In Action. We couldn't do anything without them. Their prayers and donations of finances and supplies mean everything to us. They have blessed thousands and thousands of homeless people and the poor over the past eight years. Thanks to their generosity, thousands have come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior over the past eight years. Pray for God's continued blessings upon their lives.

Thanks for joining me in prayer. God bless.

Excellent message Brian

I just want to say thanks to Brian Turner for preaching a great message this morning at Harvest Church in Dothan. Brian is assistant to the pastors at Harvest and a Love In Action board member.

Brian's message was excellent. He brought the Word and used great illustrations and analogies. He did a great job of challenging us.

Martha and I are getting the CD.

Excellent job Brian. I love you Bro.

A chat with Pastor Larry Arnold

I sat down with Pastor Larry Arnold of Eagle's Nest Community Church in Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 13, 2008, following our Christmas Shoebox Outreach for the Homeless. We had a great talk about ministry and how much our ministries mean to each other. Click on the video and enjoy.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. Celebrate Jesus and enjoy family and friends.

Overcoming homelessness

Here's a good story from PalmBeachPost.com about a young man overcoming homelessness to play football at the University of Miami. And, more importantly, he's about to earn a four-year degree.

He was a diamond in the rough. There are many like him on the streets. That's why we do what we do. We've got to keep giving hope to the hopeless.

Here's the link to the story:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2008/12/22/a1c_dixon_1223.html



Thanks for the link Dwight.

Gifts for needy children

Love In Action provided Christmas gifts for needy children in Dothan, Ala., today. I loaded up my truck at our warehouse during my lunch break and took the gifts to Mama Tina's Mission House to help with their annual Christmas presents outreach to the needy children in Dothan.

They do a wonderful job every year of helping to make sure needy children in Dothan have presents on Christmas Day. We were glad to be able to help with toys and clothes.

There is still time to get presents to Mama Tina to help with their Christmas outreach. If you live in the Wiregrass and would like to donate gifts for needy children in Dothan, call Mama Tina at 334-714-3482.

Christmas message

Here's a video of my Christmas message to the homeless in Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 13. It was an awesome outreach with about 50 people making decisions for Jesus Christ. Thanks again to everyone who prayed, helped, and donated. All of you are wonderful.
We serve an awesome God!

Merry Christmas everyone.

Giving back

Dave Albertson has experienced many ups and downs in his 58 years of life. About two months ago he became homeless when he lost his job and housing. His son Bryan lost his housing the very same day. When we found Dave and Bryan they were living in tents in our hometown of Dothan, Ala. The week of Thanksgiving we were able to get them out of their tents and into a hotel room. Thanks to many people donating to help them they are still in that same hotel room.

Dave has 10 years experience as an electrician, but the holidays are a tough time to find work in that field. In this economy it's hard to find a job of any kind. He has been looking hard and we have been looking as well. Hopefully at the beginning of 2009 a job will open for him. One company has told him they think one will be available after the first of the year.

In the mean time, Dave has been working hard to serve God. He has a great desire to serve God at every opportunity. When we went to Atlanta for our annual Christmas outreach to the homeless, he wanted to go. He plays the slide trombone, so I asked him to play a Christmas song during the service in Atlanta. He was excited about doing it and he did an excellent job.

He said it was tough because he was homeless and he was playing in front of about 100 homeless people. It touched him as much as he touched everyone in that service. Above is a video of Dave playing during the service.

Please keep Dave and Bryan in your prayers.

Under the bridges in Dothan

We went under the bridges today in Dothan, Ala. We found where some of the homeless sleep and go to get out from the weather. Go to our Web site at www.loveinactionministries.com for more information and a photo slideshow.

Thanks to LIA board members Dwight Deal and Brian Turner for joining Martha and me in this outreach to give Christmas shoebox gifts to the homeless in Dothan.

Thanks

A big "Thank You" to Mama, Franklin, Robert, Mike, Dwight, Justin and Jeremy for coming out to the Love In Action warehouse to help Martha and me with our work day. We got a lot accomplished. A very long wall was taken down and all the nails pulled from the wood. Our conference room received its first coat of pant, all of the clothes were sorted and put up, and a lot of cleaning up was done. It was an extremely productive day.

I want to give a special "Thank You" to Franklin and Robert. They have been working hard the past two weeks at the warehouse and now we have electricity to places we needed it and light switches that makes everything a lot easier. They also got our conference room's carpet cleaned. Thanks so much.

Thanks again everyone. All of you are awesome! Things are really coming together at the warehouse, and that will help make the ministry even more efficient and productive.

End of year giving

If you are looking for some tax credit, then don't forget about end of the year giving. Whether you want to give your tax deductible gift to Love In Action, your church or another ministry, don't forget to do so.

If you want to make an end of the year tax deductible donation to Love In Action, please be sure your check arrives by Dec. 31. You can make your check payable to and mail it to:

Love In Action International Ministries
P.O. Box 85
Dothan, AL 36302

Work day this Friday

We are going to have a work day this Friday at our warehouse if any of you can make it. We have been continuing to work to get the warehouse in shape. Franklin Moore has been leading the efforts to get electricity into the conference room and office area. We now need to paint those rooms. There is also a framed wall we need to take down.

In addition to that work, we have a lot of clothes that need sorting.

If you can make it, our warehouse is located at 1140 Montgomery Hwy. in Dothan next to the Piggly Wiggly. We'll get started at 9 a.m. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and God bless.

Photos from Christmas outreach

The homeless woman pictured above is an example of how drugs can destroy a person's life. She earned a college degree and had a bright future ahead of her. Then her sister was killed and she couldn't handle it, so she turned to drugs. Now she lives on the streets and lives for her next high. It's so sad and heartbreaking to see someone living like her. She was recently shot when trying to steal someone's drugs on the streets.

I'm thankful we were able to minister to her and help her on Saturday. Please pray for her. Pray that God will open her eyes and remind her of her once bright future.

Go to our Web site at www.loveinactionministries.com for a photo slideshow of the outreach.

A great day in Atlanta

We're back home from Atlanta. It was a wonderful outreach today. About 50 people accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and rededicated their lives to Him. We served about 200 dinners and distributed shoebox Christmas gifts to the homeless.

About 25 volunteers from five different churches joined us. They came from Dothan, Enterprise and Ozark, Ala., and Rome and Atlanta, Ga. Thanks to all of the volunteers, to all of you who prayed for the outreach, and to those who donated shoeboxes, hygiene items, food and money so we would could purchase the supplies necessary to have such an incredible outreach. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I will post videos, photo slideshows and more information from this Christmas outreach soon. But for now, it's time for bed. Good night and God bless.

We're in Atlanta

We made it safely to Atlanta. My mom traveled with us. Our cargo trailer is filled with more than 200 shoeboxes, 10 fully cooked hams, eight large cans of green beans, a lot of sweet potato casseroles, and nearly 30 dozen homemade cookies. (I had to test a few of them to make sure they were good. :-)

Thanks to my mom and Pat Beech of Harvest Church for making all of the delicious cookies. The homeless love homemade food, and they seldom get homemade cookies.

Thanks to everyone who donated shoeboxes for our outreach. Lisa Lewis of Harvest Church got her doctor's office involved at Urological Associates in the Doctors Center at Flowers Hospital, and got enough donations for more than 75 shoeboxes. The Dothan Elks Lodge donated 50 shoeboxes.

Mike Simmons of Harvest Church hit local businesses and got more than $200 donated.

Thanks to everyone who helped this year. You helped to bless a lot of homeless people and remind them that God loves them and so do we. Sharing the love of Jesus; that's what Christmas is all about.

We're excited about tomorrow's outreach. We're expecting volunteers from Dothan and Enterprise, Ala., and Rome and Atlanta, Ga. Please continue praying for the outreach.

Thanks and God bless.

New board of directors

Martha and I are very excited about Love In Action's new board of directors. We prayed for most of this year about who to ask to serve on the board and God has assembled a great team.

Our new board members are: Susie Tuck, Mike Shroades, Justin Swasey, Brian Turner and Dwight Deal. All of them have a great heart for the homeless and poor, and they all have the same vision that God has given us for Love In Action.

Susie is my mom. She's been active with Love In Action from the beginning. She has done a tremendous amount of work for us over the years, including helping with outreaches throughout the country, getting us donations of money and items, and speaking at churches about the ministry. She's an awesome woman of God.

Mike is a co-founder of Love In Action. Mike and I founded this ministry eight years ago and it would take a long time to write everything we have experienced. It would also take a long time to tell you how much Mike means to Martha and me. He's more than a brother and more than a minister. He is an awesome man of God and one of the best leaders - in or out of the church - that I have ever had the privilege of working with. He has a tremendous heart for people.

Justin is another awesome man of God. His a tremendous leader with great ideas. He has a big heart for the lost and hurting. Justin has traveled the country with us over the years as well. There are many stories we could share about those experiences. Justin has the ability to minister to children and youth unlike anyone I've ever seen before. No matter where we're at, the children will flock to him.

Brian is an awesome man of God with strong leadership skills. He's a hard worker and a man of his word. If he says he's going to do something, he will do it. He has a heart for people and for ministry. Brian was a catalyst for us getting our warehouse. He's a strong teacher of the Bible, and has become a great friend.

Dwight is pure energy. He's an awesome man of God who wants to help the "least of these." Dwight has helped us out in so many ways the past few months. From making contacts to getting the giant mud hole in front of the garage door at our warehouse fixed to helping us plan for various outreaches, he has been a tremendous blessing. He's become Love In Action's top chef too. Well, Dwight and Don Swanson are our top chefs. Dwight has also become a great friend.

We are excited about 2009. With a strong team assembled, I know God has many great things for us to do next year and in the years to come. We have a very ambitious schedule for 2009, which we discussed at our first board meeting Monday night. I'll share more on that later.

Thanks to Mama, Mike, Justin, Brian and Dwight for agreeing to serve with us. Martha and I love and appreciate each of you. I ask that all of you reading this blog to keep all seven of us in your prayers.

Thanks and God bless.

Looking forward to Christmas outreach

We're getting ready for our annual Shoeboxes for the Homeless Christmas Outreach. Martha and I spent most of the day at the warehouse putting together shoeboxes.

It's going to be another great outreach next weekend with our friends in Atlanta at Eagle's Nest Community Church. We will have a service, cook and serve a delicious Christmas meal, and then give the shoebox gifts to the homeless.

We're excited about the team of volunteers that will join us in Atlanta. There will be volunteers from Dothan, Ozark and Enterprise, Ala., and Atlanta and Rome, Ga. Christians from different churches coming together to reach the lost and hurting for Jesus. That's how the Body of Christ is suppose to work. No banner other than Jesus Christ will be raised.

Please be in prayer for this very important outreach.

Thanks and God bless.

Great Bible study

The new small Bible study group we've started with Dave, Bryan and Russ continues to be great. We met tonight once again at the Atlanta Bread Company (the butternut squash soup with sour cream is delicious by the way). Bryan had to work tonight, but Russ, Dave and his girlfriend Debbie were all there.

As we started our Bible study, a man walked up to the table and asked, "You are Ken, right?" I had sent an e-mail out the other day to people in the Dothan, Ala., area on the Love In Action e-mail list asking if anyone had any leads on jobs for Dave and Russ. Someone forwarded the e-mail to this man. Through his job he helps people find jobs. He told us about a job at a steel fabrication plant here in Dothan. I quickly introduced him to Russ and Dave. He then made a phone call and the person told him that he would hold that job and see if Dave could do it. Praise God! We'll find out more tomorrow.

That guy had a couple of things that Russ was interested in too that deals with some struggles in his life. Plus, I'm going to help Russ put a resume together and turn it into that steel fabrication plant, because he has a lot of experience in that line of work.

The topic of our Bible study was "Assurance." Assurance in our salvation in Jesus Christ. All of the verses just jumped out at us and we had a lot of great discussion. Philippians 1:6 was one of the verses we studied tonight. It reads, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Dave and Russ know that God has began a good work in them and that He is perfecting it. Martha and I realize that too. These Bible studies haven't just been for Dave, Bryan and Russ. It's been for us too. It's been awesome. Debbie enjoyed it tonight too and will join us as she's able too. She's in extremely bad health. Please pray for her.

Then a very awesome thing happened. Russ and his wife are separated. As we were on the last part of our Bible study, Shanon walked through the doors. Shanon said she wasn't going to stop as she was driving by, but she couldn't go by. After joining us, she said, "This is the Russ I fell in love with." There is hope in that situation, and they both know that Jesus is that hope.

It's amazing what God is doing in the lives of three homeless men. Martha and I truly believe God is restoring their lives. We're seeing it happening. They all still have a ways to go, but they're smiling again, they're now serious about living for Jesus, and they want stability in their lives again. Also, they all want to serve with Love In Action.

That's awesome! That's God!

Thanksgiving Day video

I finally had time to finish the video from our Thanksgiving Day outreach.
Thanks again to all of the volunteers, First United Methodist Church in Dothan, Ala., and Mama Tina's Mission House in Dothan.

You can also see a slideshow from the outreach on our Web site at www.loveinactionministries.com

There are hurting people everywhere

There is so much hurt and suffering in the world today. So many people living without hope. It's in my hometown and it's in your hometown. All you have to do is take a moment, look around and listen. You see it in the eyes of the people and hear it in their conversations. I challenge you to pray and ask God to show you these people. I'll take that challenge a step further. Pray and ask God to show you the people and then ask Him to use you to bring His hope into their lives. Before you pray, make sure you are serious, because God will do it. Don't pray that prayer if you're not willing to follow through.

I wrote an earlier blog about an early morning prayer meeting Martha and I attended. We've been ministering to the homeless and poor for years -- four years as husband and wife and eight years all total. At that prayer meeting we asked God to pour out His love on the hurting in Dothan, Ala. We asked him to use us, work through us.

You've read how God answered that prayer just minutes later. He brought Dave and Bryan into our lives. They're the two homeless men who were living in a tent. You noticed I used the phrase "were living in a tent." They are now in a hotel where people can stay weeks at a time. This will be their first night in a real bed with a shelter over their heads this week. They now have food in a refrigerator and freezer. They see how God is working in their lives, and while they are tired, they are very thankful. The next step is getting Dave a job, then getting them into their own home. Dave has a heart for the ministry, and God is already using him. They both are allowing me to speak into their lives and give them advice as well. Pray for me that I will give them the right advice.

Today, while we were waiting in line to check them into the hotel, Dave and I were talking about Jesus and the ministry. I heard a guy in front of us mention that he's a carpenter and there's no work right now. He didn't know how he would pay for his rent, but his former boss loaned him the money for another week's rent at the hotel.

As Dave and I were walking to check out the room that was available, that man stopped us and said he heard us talking about a ministry. He said, "please pray for me" and started to walk into his room. At the same time, Dave and I said, "we'll pray for you right now." The man's name is Russ and he invited us into his room and we prayed. He's hurting really bad. He's going through a divorce, doesn't have a job and doesn't know where his next meal is coming from.

He has food now and I pray some hope. Martha and I visited him tonight and prayed with him. He desires to be back with his wife, to have a job, and be at peace again. He asked if we would come see him tomorrow for Bible study. How could we say no? So, I told him and then Dave, that we'll go to the Atlanta Bread Company for lunch tomorrow and have a Bible study there. Hopefully Bryan will be able to join us.

Russ wants to go to church with us Sunday morning. If Bryan isn't working, he will be in church with us as well. Dave will be at another church on Sunday because of a prior commitment, then at Harvest the next Sunday.

God is moving and working. I was thinking tonight. Where was Jesus when He walked the earth? He was ministering to the poor and hurting. Martha and I are so thankful for this ministry and for the call God has on our lives. God has moved us to another level now. It's hard to explain, but every where we turn God leads us to see people hurting. I pray we'll always be ready and able to help and bring them the greatest hope of all, and that's life and salvation in Jesus Christ.

Thankful for Thanksgiving outreach

Today was an incredible day. It's a Thanksgiving Martha and I will remember for a long time. More than 50 volunteers helped make this outreach so successful. We have never had so many volunteers. It was awesome to have so many people with servant hearts working together as the Body of Christ to share the love of Jesus with so many people.

As always is the case with a Love In Action outreach, there were volunteers from a variety of churches. There were volunteers from Harvest Church in Dothan, First United Methodist Church in Dothan, First Baptist Church in Dothan, Southside Baptist Church in Ozark, Ala., and The Potter's House in Enterprise, Ala.

Our goal was to serve 250 dinners. We ended up with 358 dinners. We served turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet potato casserole, peas, carrots and a variety of desserts.

We delivered 100 dinners to Mama Tina's Mission House, then went out into the toughest and most poverty-stricken neighborhoods in Dothan. In addition to serving dinners to hundreds of people, we also prayed for many people. Many of them asked us to pray for them. We served and prayed with the homeless, gang members, prostitutes, drug dealers and users, good people who live in dangerous areas, mothers, children ... all kinds of people. We wanted them to know that Jesus loves them and so do we.

An added blessing was Dave and Bryan Albertson volunteering with us. Dave and Bryan are the homeless men I wrote about in previous blog entries. They wanted to be involved. They have seen the love of Jesus poured out on them this week, so they wanted to be part of the outreach and serve God. They did a great job.

Tomorrow we are going to put them in a local hotel for the next week. That will get them out of their tents and into a room where they can get some good sleep, shower, stay warm, and be safe. Dave is continuing to look for work. Bryan is working at a fast food restaurant. I believe it will only be a matter of time before they are in their own place.

Thanks to everyone who volunteered today. Thanks to everyone who prayed for this outreach. Thanks to everyone who cooked and gave financially to make this outreach possible. A special thank you to First United Methodist for opening their church to us and allowing us to use their kitchen and fellowship hall. We couldn't have done this outreach without their generosity. Also, a special thanks to our home church, Harvest. About 40 of our volunteers were from Harvest.

Ready to serve dinner

The turkey has been sliced, the dressing and sweet potato casseroles are ready to cook. We're ready for our Thanksgiving Day outreach in Dothan, Ala., where we're going to serve at least 250 dinners tomorrow. The food looks good. In addition to the turkey, dressing and sweet potato casseroles, we will serve green beens, rolls and desserts.

We want to thank First United Methodist in Dothan for opening up their wonderful kitchen for us. We'll be cooking bright and early and then preparing the plates in their kitchen.

We're expecting a lot of volunteers. Mine and Martha's phones have been ringing with people telling us they are going to help us tomorrow. We're excited. For many people, it will be their first exposure to people living in severe poverty. Some are bringing their children so they can learn to serve the less fortunate and to see how fortunate they are.

We pray that everyone will have a great Thanksgiving, and please pray for the outreach.

Meeting Bryan

Tonight I met Bryan. He is Dave's son. They are the ones in my last blog who are homeless in Dothan and living in a tent in the woods. Dave kept his word and came to the Church of the Nations' Thanksgiving service tonight. Bryan came with him.

Bryan is quiet. Around Dave everyone is quiet, because he loves to talk. And that's OK. He has some interesting stories to tell. He's a nice man.

When I first met Bryan tonight, he wasn't smiling. Going through what he and his dad are going through would take the smile off of most people's faces. Throughout the service I prayed for him and asked God to touch him.

After the service I asked Brian if he needed to talk to get some things off his chest. He said "yes, how did you know?" We talked for about 30 minutes, then we prayed. He said he had accepted Jesus, but there are issues in his life he needs to deal with. He understands that Jesus is the only way.

The youth group from Harvest did a great job tonight. The youth worship team did a wonderful job of leading us in worship tonight, then the youth performed a drama. It was very powerful. Bryan said, "it was awesome."

After the service we went to McDonald's to eat. During the meal I saw Bryan smile for the first time, then he laughed. I knew at that moment, Jesus was working in his heart.

Please pray for Dave and Bryan. I told them tonight that I know they are going to be fine and God will turn their situation around. I guaranteed them God would if they trust completely in Him.

Martha shared her favorite verse with them, Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

My wife is so precious. Dave and Bryan both smiled after she shared that scripture with them. Our God is so good.

A call for help

God is so amazing. He is really stirring the waters here in Dothan, Ala. He is gathering a remnant of His people to do a great work. One of our pastors at Harvest, Sean Nix, invited Martha and me to a time of prayer this morning at Dothan Christian Fellowship between 6-8. Martha and I usually aren't up at 5 a.m. We usually try to squeeze every second of sleep in that we can. I joked with her last night by saying, "Gosh, you always have to sacrifice something when God is moving in your life." :-)

We went to bed early and got up relatively easy at 5 a.m. There were around 20 people praying at DCF. A good number of teens were there, and there were some people our age and some older. A young man played the guitar and we prayed. We prayed silently, then at other times some of us prayed out loud. At times, the young man would sing a new song that God had placed on his heart.

The prayers were of repentance, of intercession for our city and region. We prayed for God to work through His people in Dothan to show the people His love. It was a great time of prayer and sharing God's word.

Martha and I left about 7:30 so she could get to work on time. Here's where it gets really good. You've heard the saying, "be careful what you ask for." Minutes after praying to God to empower us to help people, my phone rang. A man in need of help saw the Love In Action sign on our warehouse that was installed last week. My phone number is on that sign.

The man's name is Dave, and he was getting a tire worked on at a tire shop close to the warehouse. He had gone to the Piggly Wiggly to check about a job. He's an electrician, but just recently got laid off. He and his son are living in a tent here in Dothan. His son is working and just got his first pay check.

I told him I would meet him at the warehouse in 20 minutes. He arrived just after I did. He's probably in his 50s and very nice. He said he was born again and loved the Lord. He shared his story with me, and he's been through one heart break after another. I told him it wasn't a coincidence that he called. I then shared with him about the prayer meeting this morning and how we were asking God to help us help others and show them His love. His eyes teared up. He knew God had a plan for him.

I told him to take whatever he needed. He said, "I don't want to take too much, because there are people in worse shape than I am." He's not the only homeless person I've heard say that. I helped him pack up some blankets, pillows, pillow cases and hygiene items. He was so happy to get a tooth brush and tooth paste. He said he had lost his. I also told him to pick out one of the nice winter leather coats we have. They are nice and lined, so they will help keep him and his son warm.

As we loaded his car, I saw that his front right tire was going flat. He said the shop had just plugged that tire. I told him before he left I wanted to pray with him. He wanted me to. I prayed for God's favor and for God to pour His love out on Dave.

About 10 minutes later, Dave called me and he was excited. He said the tire shop gave him a free tire. They put it on and said it was free. He said that was God already working in his life.

That's called hope, and we know that only Jesus can give us true hope.

For those who don't know, I'm the editor of the Dothan Eagle. One of our reporters is working on a Thanksgiving story about people who are hungry this Thanksgiving. This morning she came into my office and said she's having a hard time getting in touch with anyone in that situation. I told her about Dave. I called him and asked if he would be willing to talk with her. He was. I pray someone who can give him a job will see that story.

There is a church called Church of the Nations on the other side of the Piggly Wiggly where our warehouse is at, and they are serving Thanksgiving dinner for the needy tonight. Martha and I haven't met the pastor, but the youth from Harvest is helping serve tonight. So, we're going to be there to help and meet the pastor and his wife. I invited Dave and his son to the dinner and Dave said he will be there. Be praying for Dave and his son.

God is amazing. Martha and I have dedicated our lives to helping the homeless and poor, and to reaching the lost. This morning, after being involved in a great time of prayer, God opened another door. And, it was a direct answer to prayer. God's love is amazing.

Those of you in Dothan, keep praying. Those who live elsewhere, believe God to start a great movement in your hometown. Start praying and start doing His will. God is looking for people who will stand in the gap and who are available to Him. I'm thankful and humbled that God is working through Martha and me and Love In Action. It's exciting to be a part of what God is doing here in Dothan, throughout the nation in the inner cities, and in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Martha's personal devotional yesterday was Matthew 19:26: "Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Yes they are, and I believe Dave will see that too.

A great conference

Today ended our annual Fall Renewal Conference at Harvest Church in Dothan, Ala. Dr. Bill Ury preached today from Matthew 28:18b-20: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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."

It's a very familiar verse to most of us. It's the Great Commission that Jesus gives all of us. However, Dr. Ury explained it in a way I've never heard before. When Jesus says "go and make disciples," I've always taken that as a command, and it is. However, He's not just saying go and save the world ... see you later ... have a nice life. The translation of the word "go" means "going." As Dr. Ury said, that doesn't make sense in English. "Therefore going." It's not grammatically correct.

Jesus is saying to all of us, just like he said to His disciples, "come on, go with me." Notice Jesus said all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. The Father gave Him that authority. Jesus also says He is with us always. We can't reach our city, our region, our nation, our world without Jesus. When we do things in our own power we fail. When we do it with Jesus, we are always successful. He has been given all authority and He wants us to go with Him and reach the world.

It was a great message. All five of his messages were great this weekend. As Pastor Ralph said this morning, this is probably the most challenging conference we've had at Harvest; the most where we were challenged by God's Word.

It was an awesome conference, and I thank Pastor Ralph and everyone on staff at Harvest for this wonderful conference. Thanks for putting it together, for bringing in Dr. Ury, and for everyone who did everything behind the scenes to make the conference such a great success. I want to especially thank Cheryl Hidle and the entire Harvest Praise Team. Y'all were awesome and led us into the presence of God during every service. You always do every week. Ministering three straight days and for five services is a lot. You are very much appreciated. And, thanks to Dr. Ury for challenging us with God's word. You were a tremendous blessing to Martha and me, and to everyone who attended.

Now the key is implementing everything we learned and were challenged with during the conference. If we don't do that then we wasted our time this weekend. Martha and I are excited about putting God's word into action in our lives.

Wow, what a great day!

This was indeed a great day. It started bright and early at 8 a.m. with Dr. Bill Ury leading a men's Bible study. He challenged us with do we want to have a heart like Saul or a heart like David. Then from 9-11 a.m. he led a Bible study for everyone. He taught from Hosea. He brought out so many awesome points. It really ministered to Martha and me.

Then tonight he taught from 1 Kings 22. He talked about a relatively unknown prophet named Micaiah. He was the only prophet out of 300 the king had who would tell him the truth. The king didn't like it, but Micaiah would not back down. In fact, he said, "As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what the LORD tells me." (v. 14)

The challenge tonight was, who will be the "one." Who will be the one to stand for God under any and every situation? It was a very powerful message. I asked a dear brother of mine at Harvest to pray with me. God has given me some awesome opportunities to lead in both church and in the secular world. I wish I could say I've been 100 percent in taking advantage of every situation for God's glory, but I can't. There have been times I've messed up. There have been times I should have been "the one" for God. Brian prayed over me and prayed for boldness. I want more boldness for the Lord.

The praise and worship was great again tonight. I really didn't want to leave. The sweet Spirit of God was resting in the house tonight. I praise Him for that.

It was wonderful to worship with my great brother Justin Swasey tonight. He came from Enterprise to attend tonight's service. Thanks for coming Justin. Martha and I love you Bro. I pray God touched you tonight.

I pray everyone will have a great day at church tomorrow.

Awesome first night

The first night of our Fall Renewal Conference at Harvest Church in Dothan, Ala., was awesome. Cheryl Hidle and the Harvest Praise Team rocked the house for Jesus tonight. From the very first note there was an awesome freedom in the sanctuary. You could tell people were prayed up and came expecting tonight. The praise and worship was awesome.

Dr. Bill Ury brought a great message out of Mark 10:17-23. He preached on the "Good Life," and that's allowing God to live through you. Too often we try to live for God through ourselves. It's only when we open up completely to God and allow Him to live through us do we truly live the "Good Life." His message was a lot better than what I just wrote. I'll be buying the CDs from this conference to share with others and to review myself. The man is a great teacher of God's Word.

Well, it's time for bed. The men are getting together with Bill early in the morning, then he's teaching a seminar from 9-11 a.m. for everyone. Saturday's service begins at 7 p.m. If you can come, I encourage you to do so. You will receive a great blessing. Bill's teaching will challenge you.

New video

Here's our latest video. This one shows the incredible donation of supplies from Brett Robinson Vacation Rentals and Real Estate in Orange Beach, Ala. We want to thank them again for this incredible donation, and we want to thank Justin Swasey again for his help unloading the truck at our warehouse.

New sign at warehouse

Our new sign was installed today at our warehouse. We're excited to get the sign installed. Things are beginning to come together at the warehouse.

Two weeks ago a big mud hole that was in front of the big roll up door at the warehouse was fixed. We're working on the inside to get electricity ran into the part we're going to use for an office and conference room. We're also working on installing a bathroom. We're working with the city of Dothan to make sure everything is done by code.

You can go to our Web site at www.loveinactionministries.com (there is a link on this blog page) and see a slideshow of the sign installation.

Fall Renewal Conference

If you live in the Dothan area, I would like to invite you to join our home church, Harvest Church, for our annual Fall Renewal Conference this Friday-Sunday (Nov. 21-23). Harvest is located at 2727 Fortner Street in Dothan, just off the Ross Clark Circle.

Dr. Bill Ury will be the guest speaker. I've never heard him before, but I trust my pastor and if Ralph says Bill is an outstanding speaker, then I know he is. I've heard others say the same thing.

The conference will be held Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 7. Dr. Ury will be the guest speaker at all three Sunday morning services too. There will also be a session from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday. Nursery will be available at all services.

In Harvest's most recent newsletter, here is Pastor Ralph's suggestions for how to get the most out of the conference:

• Come ready to seek Him in worship. This is a short conference (only Friday night through Sunday morning), so come prepared and expectant. Friday and Saturday nights we will have extended worship and ministry following the service.

• Ask the Lord to move in you! Pray for personal breakthroughs and transformation.

• Ask Him to deepen your love for Him and your relationship with Him.

• Determine to have someone pray for you at least once.

• Pray for others at Harvest as God brings them to mind.

• Pray for our church – for deeper love, devotion, and passion for Christ, for His kingdom, and for the world He died for, to use this conference to continue shaping us into the family of believers He wants Harvest to be.

I hope you can attend at least one of the services. If it is anything close to as good as our spring conference was, then you will receive a tremendous blessing. I know God spoke to my heart and ministered to me in a mighty way during the spring conference. And, it wasn't long after that when God started opening more doors for our ministry.

I believe if you are prayed up and come expecting God to do something in your life during conferences like this, and during regular church services, then God will move mightily in your life.

An incredible donation

It's been a busy, but a very good weekend.

On Friday, Martha and I rented a 24-foot truck and traveled to Orange Beach, Alabama, to pick up sheets, blankets, mattress covers and pillows from our friends at Brett/Robinson Real Estate and Vacation Rentals. They are such a tremendous blessing to Love In Action. Thankfully, they had five of their workers helping us load the truck. They worked hard and fast and soon that big truck was completely loaded from front to back and top to bottom. We barely got the door closed. It was an incredible donation.

How much did we bring back to our warehouse? Well, let me put it this way. When we stopped at a weigh station in Florida, the officer informed us that our truck was 2,300 pounds over its weight limit. I'm not a trucker so I didn't know what was going to happen, but he told me to have a good night and that was it. Whew! Martha was in the truck praying the entire time I was in the office talking with the officer.

On Saturday, Justin Swasey, who is one of our board of directors, met us at the warehouse and helped us unload it. Thank you Justin! It took the three of us 2.5 hours to unload it, which is less time than we thought it would take. I also want to thank our warehouse neighbors, the Piggly Wiggly, for letting us borrow a cart. That saved all of our backs. Thanks David!

We also want to thank another LIA board member, Mike Shroades, for taking the three of us out to lunch. We needed some refueling after unloading that truck.

Now we have a bunch of sheets and mattress covers to ship to Haiti the next time we ship a container over there. The blankets will be a big blessing to the homeless. We actually need more blankets, so if anyone would like to donate blankets, please do. It looks like it's going to be a longer winter than usual this year, so we will need more blankets.

We also received another blessing on Saturday. We got a call from our home church, Harvest Church, and they had women's and children's clothes to donate to LIA. The church had asked people to donate clothes, then yesterday people who needed clothes could come and pick out what they needed for free. What wasn't taken was donated to us. The bags of clothes filled the back of our Tundra, and they were nice clothes and exactly what we need for Haiti. Thank you Harvest!

Thanks again to Brett/Robinson. That business and their people are a tremendous blessing and we appreciate them and everything they do for us. We pray God's richest blessings upon them. If any of you ever vacation in Orange Beach, which is a beautiful beach on the white sandy coast of the Gulf of Mexico, give Brett/Robinson a call about their condos at 1-800-211-7892 or visit their Web site at www.brett-robinson.com.

Looking for some help

If you live in or near Dothan, Ala., and aren't doing anything around 9 a.m. this Saturday, we could sure use your help at our warehouse.

Martha and I are renting a 24-foot truck and going to Orange Beach, Ala., this Friday to pick up a bunch of sheets and blankets from our friends at Brett/Robinson. We usually take our pickup truck and cargo trailer, but there are always a lot of sheets and blankets left behind. We are going to try to clean out their warehouse, so there will be a lot to unload Saturday. Brett/Robinson will have workers meet use at the warehouse to help load the truck.

If you can help, our warehouse is located at 1140 Montgomery Hwy., Dothan, next to the Piggly Wiggly. If you haven't seen the warehouse, please come check it out. It's easy to see the vision for this ministry once you step inside the large warehouse.

Thanks and God bless.

A dying child's last wish

Here is a link to an incredible video on CNN.com about an 11-year-old child in the state of Washington. He is dying from leukemia. He only has a week to live. Do you know what his last wish is? No, it's not to go to Disney World or to meet a famous person. It is to feed the homeless in his community.

Get some tissues ready before watching this video. This child is a great inspiration. He proves that none of us have any excuses. Let's be sure to be about our Father's business.

Here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2008/11/09/jaffey.wa.last.wish.komo

Thanksgiving Day outreach

I can't believe it's nearly Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to sitting down at Mama Mills' kitchen table in New Brockton and enjoying a delicious dinner with family. We will have more than enough to eat, and I know I will be miserable after dinner. Sounds familiar?

Throughout my entire life, I've never known anything but big Thanksgiving dinners with my family. Unfortunately, many people won't experience such a wonderful day with plenty of food this Thanksgiving. This year, more than in recent years, more people are struggling. More people have fallen into poverty and more people are homeless.

On Thanksgiving Day, here in our hometown of Dothan, Ala., Love In Action is going to prepare and deliver delicious Thanksgiving dinners for 250 people. Some will be homeless and others will be too poor to provide their own dinner. Our prayer is that through this act of kindness, people will see the love of Jesus Christ and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. We pray that for 250 people, this Thanksgiving will be one they remember fondly.

If you live in the Dothan area and would like to help, I invite you to join us. The good folks at First United Methodist Church in Dothan are going to let us use their kitchen. Love In Action will be cooking all of the turkeys, green beans, dressing and rolls. If you want to cook some sweet potato casseroles and/or desserts, please do so.

We will meet at First United Methodist, 1380 West Main Street, at 8:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Day and finish preparing everything, and then we'll dish up the food into the containers. At 11 a.m. we will start distributing the food throughout some impoverished areas in Dothan.

Here's a link about this outreach on our Web site http://www.loveinactionministries.com/thanksgiving_day_outreach.htm

If you want more information, send me an e-mail at kentuck@loveinactionministries.com or call me at 334-494-4995.

If you cannot participate, but would like to donate money to help cover the costs, please send your donation to: Love In Action, P.O. Box 85, Dothan, AL 36302. Or, you can donate online at the bottom of our home page: http://www.loveinactionministries.com

Please pray for this outreach and please help us help the poor and homeless have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Celebrating our anniversary

Four years ago today, God blessed me with the most awesome, sweet, loving, beautiful woman in the world. Martha and I exchanged our wedding vows four years ago today, and these have been the best four years of my life.

I've never met anyone as loving, caring and sweet as my wife. Martha is the most beautiful woman in the world too. I've never experienced this kind of love before. I know it is God loving me through her.

She's my wife, my best friend and my ministry partner. I told her from the beginning that marrying an editor probably isn't the easiest thing in the world. Some times I have weird hours and long days, like getting home at 2:30 a.m. on election night. But, instead of complaining, she does things like baking cookies for my newsroom and bringing them to us while we're waiting for election results to come in. My staff loves Martha too. In fact, I don't know of anyone who has met Martha who doesn't love her. Even 400 editors at a convention in New Orleans thought she was just the greatest. They were right.

Have you ever ministered to the homeless with your wife? Let me tell you, it's one thing to minister the love of Jesus to people, but to do it with your wife is one of the greatest feelings you will ever have.

Love In Action International Ministries has grown tremendously these past four years, and that's no coincidence. It would not be where it's at today without Martha. We work together in running this ministry. What's cool, is she's loved every minute of it. No complaining. No staying at home while I respond to God's call on my life. She is right there with me, together. God has a call on her life too. He's called us together, and it's been the most incredible four years anyone could ever pray to have. I can't wait to see what this next year holds, and the year after that, and on and on.

Nope, there is no one like my Martha. I love you Martha, so very, very much. Other than Jesus saving me, you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I hope I tell you enough how much I love you. Thank you for loving me like you do. Thank you for supporting me in everything I do. I wouldn't be where I'm at in my career without your love and support. Our ministry wouldn't be where it's at without you.

I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.

Happy anniversary beautiful.

- Ken

A prayer request for my nephew

My nephew, James Reid, and the Alabama National Guard unit he has been training with for the past year left Tallassee this morning heading to Indiana. They will train there for the four to six weeks, then deploy to Iraq for a year.

Many of you know James as he has taken part in many of our outreaches. He was a fixture at a lot of our Jesus Jam Festivals, especially the ones we did locally. Remember the flips he used to do? He's always been a clown. I always get blamed for that for some reason. :-)

James is very special to me, as are all of my nephews and nieces. I love them all very much. Please pray for his safety and for the safety of everyone in that national guard unit and for all of them to come back home safely.

Pray for James' wife, Krystle, and their two precious children - Kenny (2 years old) and Wyatt (6 weeks old). Pray for all of us in his family as we will miss him tremendously.

Pray for all of our American troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and everywhere throughout the world. Pray for their families. Pray for all of our nation's leaders as well.

Some of you have gone through this already with members of your family. It's a tough time. But, we know God is with James. We're very proud of him. He's a fine young man with a beautiful family.

Here's a link to a column I wrote recently about James: http://www.dothaneagle.com/dea/news/opinion/columnists/article/my_little_buddy_is_going_to_war/42830/

Thank you for your prayers.

Tweaking our logo

We tweaked our Love In Action logo. For more than seven years the cross in the logo has been yellow. Martha suggested that we try making it red. We changed it and liked it. It makes the cross stand out more. Jesus paid the ultimate price for all of us on the cross, and that's the message we are sharing throughout the nation and world.

What do you think about the tweak?

Blankets for Dothan

This afternoon during my lunch break at work, I drove over to our warehouse and loaded the back of my Tundra with blankets. I had called Mama Tina's Mission House here in Dothan, Alabama, and asked if they needed blankets. Mama Tina said they did.

I took more than 50 blankets over there this afternoon and they were so thankful. Mama Tina shouted "Thank You Jesus!"

A woman was there whose house had burned a week ago. She said that she needed blankets for her children and herself. God's timing is always perfect!

It's turned winter time here in southeast Alabama, and throughout the most of the country. I thank God that we had blankets on hand to help those who are in need. Back in September, we delivered a lot of blankets to Eagle's Nest in Atlanta, so they would have them when it turned cold. They are able to hand them out to the homeless now. We also gave out a lot of blankets to the homeless then too, even to a couple and their 1-year-old baby. I pray that precious child is safe and warm tonight.

No matter where you live, there are people who are poor and cannot afford to pay for heat. Look around, ask, find them and help them. God will bless you for doing so.

"If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." - Matthew 10:42

We're about to run out of blankets, so another trip to Orange Beach, Alabama, will be coming up soon. Our goal with the warehouse is to fill it up and empty it out, fill it up, empty it ... While we haven't filled up that huge warehouse yet, we have put a lot of supplies in there, and we have given most of it away to those in need. I know God will bless us with more to put in the warehouse, so we can help even more people.

Pray for the poor and homeless as the winter weather has moved in, and in many places it won't warm up again until next spring. Here in Alabama, it will warm up again soon, but we still have some cold nights ahead of us this winter. For the poor and homeless, there are a lot of cold nights ahead.

The Dominican Republic Project

I finally got the video edited and posted about the Dominican Republic Project. Please go to www.loveinactionministries.com and click either on the "Click here" link in the Dominican Project box or click on the link for Love In Action Ministries.com TV. Or, here on this blog page the Dominican video is at the top of the video choices.

Please watch it as it describes the situation and the opportunities we have to make a huge difference in the lives of 162 very poor children and about 750 adults living in slums outside of Santo Domingo. These are people without a country. Back in the 1950s, the Dominican needed help harvesting sugar cane. Haiti sent a large group of poor, uneducated people to work. The money went back to the government of Haiti, so the people were basically used as slaves.

Generation after generation are still living that way. The Dominican government does not recognize these people and neither does the Haiti government. They need our help desperately. We have the opportunity to repair a building, which will be used as a school, so the children can receive an education. We will also use it to provide at least one good meal a day for them, then expand it to provide meals for about 900 people. We also have a vision to provide medical care by setting up clinics.

There is a lot to be done, and we need your help to do it. Please pray about what God would have you to do. We need $8,000 to do all of the basic repairs. If you would like to go with us when Martha and I go to the Dominican, please get ready by getting your passport and going to your local county health department to get your vaccinations. As soon as we raise the money, we will be going.

Thanks and God bless,

Ken

Check out our Web site

I encourage everyone to check out our Web site at http://www.loveinactionministries.com. We have updated it with new information, photos and videos. You can learn more about Project Haiti and Project Dominican (I still have one video to edit and post for Project Dominican. Hopefully I will be able to do that tonight).

You can see and hear about the horrible living conditions in Haiti. We have online photo galleries showing you scenes from Haiti and the Dominican. I will warn you, the photos are heartbreaking. Even during Katrina, we haven't seen this kind of destruction here in the U.S. Plus, the Haiti government doesn't have the means to help their people like the U.S. does.

We also have our Christmas Shoeboxes for the Homeless highlighted on our home page. It's time to start putting the shoeboxes together. We will be in Atlanta Dec. 13, for our annual Christmas outreach.

Please visit our Web site often. We keep it updated, and it gives you the opportunity to see and hear what is going on with the ministry. It's amazing what God has done through Love In Action this year, and there is more coming up.

Martha and I are very thankful for all of you who pray for us, give financially to LIA, and give of your time to help us reach the lost and the hurting throughout the U.S. and the world.

We're back home

Elva Dalberis, Martha Tuck, Marie Nelson and Ken Tuck stand in front of a 24-foot truck filled with supplies that Love In Action delivered to Ft. Lauderdale to be shipped to Haiti.


Martha and I made it back home this morning around 4. We had a great trip. It was great finally meeting Marie in person. She's a wonderful woman of God. And we met her husband Raoul, daughter Samantha, and friend Elva. They are a wonderful family, and are committed to doing all they can to help in Haiti.

Marie, Raoul and Elva were all born in Haiti and moved to the U.S. years ago and are U.S. citizens. They can't believe the devastation of their native country. Raoul shared stories about how as a child everything he ate - meats and vegetables - all came from Haiti. He said they didn't need to purchase food from other countries, although it was available. Now, after the deforestation, soil is eroding into the sea. This makes it very tough to grow anything. Then, after four hurricanes in one month, the country is in disarray.

We are excited to be partners with them - Love In Action World Ministries - helping the people of Haiti. Together, we can and are making a difference. While the situation is tremendous, we know that we can make a difference one person, one church, one village at a time.

The supplies we trucked down to Ft. Lauderdale nearly filled a storage building. Everything was stacked to the ceiling. Soon, the container will be filled and shipped to Haiti.

We will soon have some slideshows on our Web site showing the desperation and destruction in Haiti. We will leave some photos out, because of the graphic content. However, it is reality. We have photos of dead children following one of the hurricanes. It would break your heart.

Also, did you know Haitians pay money for cakes of clay to eat? Marie and Raoul gave us a piece of hard, heat baked clay that Haitians eat just to have something on their stomachs. Tears filled mine and Martha's eyes as we held and looked at a piece of dirt that is used as food.

As I've stated before, this wasn't a one time event for Love In Action International Ministries. We are committed to the long-term. It may take a lifetime of helping in Haiti, and we will be there helping. Helping to meet the needs of the people, and most importantly, introducing them to Jesus Christ.

We are committed to helping in the Dominican Republic as well, and I will have more on that later.

And, we are committed to helping the homeless throughout the U.S. Thank you for your prayers and financial support. Please, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9)

We made it

Martha and I arrived at our hotel in Ft. Lauderdale at 2:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. Alabama time). The Web site I used to "map" our "quest" here showed that it would be about 8.5 hours from Dothan. They were wrong. It took 10.5 hours. But, the truck rides really good, so it was an easy trip.

We're excited about meeting Marie for the first time in person. We've been working together with her and her ministry, which has a very similar name - Love In Action World Ministries - for over a year now, but this will be the first time we have ever met in person.

We're going to get some sleep though, then call Marie. We'll then unload the truck, chat for a while and do some planning for Haiti and the Dominican Republic, then we'll get back in the truck and drive home.

It's a lot of driving, but more than worth it. To know that we are helping people in Haiti who are literally starving and have absolutely nothing makes it all worthwhile.

Thanks to everyone who gave financially and who gave food for this trip. The fuel to get down here and back and the cost of shipping a container to Haiti is not cheap, but many of you have given financially to help cover the costs. Many of you gave so we could buy all of the food. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thanks for everyone's prayers. Martha and I know we have a lot of people praying for us and praying for traveling mercies.

Good night ... or is it good morning?

Helping in Haiti one person at a time

We have most of the food on pallets at the warehouse ready to be loaded onto the 24-foot rental truck. I'll pick the truck up late Thursday afternoon, then we'll work until everything is loaded Thursday night. Then, when Martha and I get off work Friday afternoon all we have to do is get in the truck and drive to Ft. Lauderdale.

I thought the 24-foot truck would be too big at first, but I think we will come close to filling it up. We have a good amount of food, and a lot of sheets, blankets and soap.

The need is so great in Haiti that it could be overwhelming. But, we're looking at this just like we look at working with the homeless here in the U.S. God has called us to reach them one person at a time. We'll do that in Haiti too. There are churches we will be working with to help the pastors provide food for their congregatons and villages. We'll help them one person, one church, one village at a time.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support.

Helping people of Haiti

It was another busy, but good weekend for Martha and me. Last Saturday we worked for about 11 hours at our warehouse. This past Saturday we drove to Orange Beach, Ala., and back to Dothan. We made the trip to pick up thousands of sheets to ship to Haiti.

Thanks to the generosity of Brett/Robinson Real Estate and Vacation Rentals in Orange Beach, Love In Action will be able to ship thousands of sheets to Haiti. The hospitals in Haiti have very little to work with, including no sheets for beds. They will soon have sheets, pillow cases and blankets.

This coming weekend, we will rent a truck and fill it with sheets, pillow cases, blankets, towels, food and hygiene items. We will drive to Miami where we will combine that truckload of supplies with our partners in South Florida, then ship it all to Haiti.

As I mentioned in my precious blog entry, Love In Action is committed to helping for the long term. It's going to take our help and that of many other organizations and many countries. Pray for a miracle. That's what Haitians need.

Please keep praying for the people of Haiti. Please keep praying for us as we help them. It's isn't cheap to ship containers to Haiti. The cost of shipping one container and getting it out of customs is between $4,000-$4,500 dollars. If you are able to give to help us, please do.

300,000 children displaced

Martha and I just finished talking with our partners we're working with to help the people in Haiti. The situation has not gotten any better there. People have no homes. They're sleeping in the streets, in the mud, any where and every where. They have little to no food. The most heart-wrenching news was more than 300,000 children are displaced.

Marie said children told them they lost their parents, aunts, uncles and other relatives in the hurricanes. The children are literally on their own. Many say at night they get touched in inappropriate ways.

Americans think things are bad because the economy has gone south. We don't know tough times. It's unimagineable what the people of Haiti go through every day.

We must continue to pray and help. Within the next week, Love In Action will ship food to our partners in Ft. Lauderdale to help fill a container and then ship it to Haiti where it will be distributed to the people. The problem is so bad that a large shipping container of food will barely make a dent in the situation. However, every little bit of help is needed.

Love In Action is committed to helping for the long term. It's going to take our help and that of many other organizations and many countries. Pray for a miracle. That's what Haitians need.

Martha and I won't be able to make it to Haiti this year, but we will next year. They need help and they need to hear about the one true God who loves them and sent His only Son to save them. The door is wide open to share Jesus in Haiti. We have church contacts in Haiti and we're excited about working with them to help the people with their physical needs, which opens the door to help them with their spiritual needs.

We're also still working on helping repair a school in a poor village in the Dominican Republic. We're trying to raise funds to do that and to continue our work in Haiti.

Please pray and please help us help those who can't help themselves.

Give Me Your Eyes

Have you ever heard Brandon Heath's song "Give Me Your Eyes"? If you listen to contemporary Christian music I'm sure you have since it's No. 7 on 20 The Countdown Magazine this week.

It's an awesome song and really speaks to my heart. We need to look at people through God's eyes. There are millions of people with broken hearts and millions who live on the streets who are forgotten by society. God can mend all of those broken hearts, and He has not forgotten the homeless.

All God asks of us is to allow Him to work through us; be His hands and feet. We just need to be obedient to God and willing for Him to work through us. When we do, it's amazing what God does. That's what Love In Action is all about - proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ through acts of compassion. Putting feet to Matthew 25:35-36. Letting the broken hearted know that God loves them and has a plan for them (Jeremiah 29:11).

Here's a link to Brandon Heath's Give Me Your Eyes video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTsYAZvHsEQ (copy and paste it into your Internet browser)

Watch the video and listen to the song and let it minister to you and challenge you to look at people through the eyes of God.

Here are the lyrics:

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black tile
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus:
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 broken hearted
The ones that live far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see.
yeah
yeah
yeah
yeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
Hes out of work
Hes buying time
all those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus

I've Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all alone

Chorus X 2

God's provision in troubled times

I believe one thing God is doing during these horrible economic times our country is suffering through is to show His great provision. I have never been one who has relied on the government to provide for my needs. I have depended upon the Lord and He has always come through for Love In Action and for me personally.

You hear people talking about giving to charitable groups are lower because of the economic meltdown. But, when God wants to accomplish something, He will make the way. If God gives you the vision, He will supply the provision. We have witnessed that with Love In Action.

The past few months have been an incredible time of blessing. We were blessed with a huge warehouse for an incredibly low rent. A trucking company is now donating food to us. Churches are conducting food drives for our Food for Haiti project. Four or five 50-gallon barrels of peanut oil is being donated from a company for Haiti. There's a good possibility that a local trucking company is going to ship the food for Haiti to south Florida free of charge. Before going to Atlanta a few weeks ago, we were given hundreds of pairs of new jeans and socks. A company in Orange Beach, Ala., donates a large quantity of blankets, towels and soap to Love In Action on a regular basis. We were given a pallet jack for the warehouse. People have been giving faithfully and new people are now supporting Love In Action. There's a big mud hole in front of the garage at the warehouse, but the cement and labor to fix it is being donated. We have new volunteers donating their time to help with the ministry.

Tell me our God can't do things in the good and so-called bad times! We serve the one true God who created this universe, sent His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins, and raised Jesus from the dead. We serve a very loving God. God is love, and He will provide all of our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I like this verse in 2 Corinthians 9:10: "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness."

I'm getting so excited about what God is doing, I'm about to get my "preach" on just writing this.

This blog is to encourage you that if you are going through tough times, keep trusting in God. He will make the way. He will sustain you and bless you. You can't beat the faithfulness of God.

Thank you to those who are involved with Love In Action. Thank you for your time, your resources and financial contributions. Together, we are reaching our local community, the nation and the world with the love of Jesus Christ. There is much to do, so don't grow weary in well doing. Let's keep the momentum going. I can't wait to see what God is going to do next.

Food is coming in

Before we moved into our warehouse, we did not have anywhere to store food for distribution. But thanks to God for blessing us with a 33,000 square foot warehouse recently, we were able to receive our first shipment of food this past Friday from Old Dominion Freight Lines. Thanks Shane for helping to set that up.

As most of you know, we're working on gathering food to ship to the country of Haiti. Last Friday's shipment gave us some much-needed items for Haiti, including oats and saltine crackers. We almost have our cargo trailer filled with food, water and diapers. Our goal is to fill two cargo trailers and take them to Miami to ship to Haiti. We praise God for everyone who has been donating food for Haiti and money for us to purchase food and to help ship the supplies.

A special thank you goes out to Southside Baptist Church in Ozark, Ala., Tabernacle Methodist Church in Taylor, Ala., and Eagle's Nest Community Church in Atlanta. They have been collecting food for Haiti, and that's why our trailer is nearly full. You are helping some of the neediest people in the world, and God will continue to bless you for doing so.

If any other churches would like to conduct food drives for our Food for Haiti project, please do. This won't be a one-time shipment. Haiti is a country where starvation and malnutrition exists. God is leading us to help the people in the Caribbean, and we know it will open the doors to sharing Jesus with them. It won't just be Haiti. We will also be working in the Dominican Republic, where we are raising funds to repair a school in a poor village. And, we will be working in Jamaica.

Please keep us in our prayers as we continue our work in the Caribbean and continue reaching out to the homeless here in the U.S.

Atlanta videos posted

I have finally finished editing and posting three videos of Atlanta Outreach '08 on our Web site - http://www.loveinactionministries.com
The first video is an interview with Pastor Harold Smith of Eagle's Nest Community Church and Day 1 of the outreach.

The second video is of me preaching at Eagle's Nest on Day 2 of the outreach. More than 60 people accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior after hearing God's Word.

The third video is a wrap-up of the two-day outreach.

A photo slideshow from the outreach is also on our Web site.

I encourage you to watch the videos and slideshow to see the body of Christ working together to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through acts of compassion. I believe it will encourage and inspire you. It was an amazing outreach, and we praise God for everything He did and is still doing as a result of that outreach.

Thanks again to everyone who volunteered with us in Atlanta. People came from Dothan and Ozark, Alabama, and Rome and Atlanta, Georgia, to take part in the outreach. Every one of them did an outstanding job. Thanks also to everyone who prayed for the outreach, and who donated money and supplies to make the outreach possible.

Most of all, I thank God. We serve an awesome God.

More good news from Atlanta

As Martha and I were driving back home today we talked with Pastor Harold Smith at Eagle's Nest and he was still excited from this past weekend. He said Sunday's service at Eagle's Nest went great with new people not only attending, but joining the church as well. And, most importantly, five more people accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Harold said that was all a direct result from this past weekend's outreach.

Praise Jesus! God allowed us to see a bountiful harvest on Saturday with more than 60 people accepting Jesus Christ. He also worked through us to plant and water seeds, then more souls were harvested Sunday. That is awesome! Our God is awesome!

Martha and I are glad to be back home. After the two-day outreach in Atlanta, we went up to the mountains in north Georgia for a couple of days of resting and refreshing. God blessed us with beautiful weather and the scenery was as beautiful as always.

Before going to the mountains, we went to the Third Day concert Saturday night in Atlanta. After 16 years, Third Day still does a wonderful job in concert. It's more like a praise and worship service. They were great. Jars of Clay opened the concert, and they are still a real good Christian band. A band named Robert Randolph and the Family Band played next. Martha and I had never heard of them. They didn't have many lyrics, but they have some extremely talented musicians. Robert Randolph plays a mean slide guitar. That dude can rock! Then Switchfoot played. They were great. Their front man is perfect for a Christian rock band. He has all the energy, a great voice and very talented on the guitar.

Now we're back home and focusing on food for Haiti and repairing that school building in the Dominican Republic.

More than 60 saved

Atlanta Outeach '08 was an incredible weekend. We saw God touch people's lives, and during Saturday afternoon's altar call, more than 60 homeless people accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Praise God! That's what it's all about. That's why we do what we do. The most important thing any of us can ever do is accept Jesus into our hearts and turn our lives over to Him. For those we ministered to this weekend, the first step in turning their lives around, coming off the streets, being delivered from drug and alcohol addiction is committing their lives to Jesus.

I knew God wanted me to share Jeremiah 29:11 with the people on Saturday. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

That's a verse Martha has been sharing with people for years. God has wonderful plans for all of us, no matter if we're homeless or living in a $10 million mansion. He wants to prosper us and give us a hope and a future. Our hope is entirely in Jesus Christ. I will post a video of the message soon to our Web site.

The church was packed with nearly 100 homeless people. It was incredible, and truly an honor to preach behind the pulpit of Eagle's Nest Community Church. Each person who attended the service also received a new Bible. Thanks Dwight for those Bibles.

After the service, we served around 150 people lunch. We had delicious grilled chicken, baked beans, corn and homemade pound cake. I want to thank Bill Dorminy for the chicken; our "chefs" Dwight, Don, Bill and Todd; the women of Southside Baptist in Ozark, Ala., and Cross Pointe Community Church in Rome, Ga., for all of the delicious cakes. We had an awesome group of volunteers. There were volunteers from our home church of Harvest Church in Dothan, Ala., First United Methodist Church in Dothan, Ala., Southside Baptist, Cross Pointe Community Church, and of course Eagle's Nest Community Church. That's one of my favorite things about our outreaches. The body of Christ comes together with only one agenda -- sharing Jesus Christ with people.

We also gave away blankets and jackets as the nights have turned cool in Atlanta. We were also able to unpack, sort and fold all of the new blue jeans we brought up there, and help fold and organize the Eagle's Nest's clothes closet.

Thanks to everyone who volunteered, prayed and financially supported this outreach. I know God will bless you for it, and your reward in Heaven will be great.

Ready for an awesome day

It's Saturday morning and Martha and I are about to check out of the hotel and head back to Eagle's Nest. We know this is going to be an awesome day. It's going to be a very busy day as we cook and serve the homeless lunch, organize clothes and distribute clothes, socks, blankets and Bibles. We know God is going to do awesome things today.

God has given me a word today that comes from Jeremiah 29:11. That's Martha's favorite verse, and one she has shared with countless homeless people. God has really been burning it in my heart recently. He has a plan ... a very good plan for all of us. He wants to prosper us and not harm us. He has a plan to give us a hope and a future.

Please be praying for us and those we minister to today.

I won't be able to post video this weekend. I forgot to download a program. It's the first time I have tried to post video from one of our events. It's always a learning process. I'll have it all together for the next one. But, visit our Web site later next week. I'll post all of the video then. You will enjoy the one from yesterday. Bro. Harold shared some wonderful things about what God is doing here in Atlanta.

Thanks and God bless.

A beautiful day

It's been a wonderful first day of ministry here at Atlanta Outreach '08. God blessed us with a beautiful day and beautiful people to minister to. Most of them can't see their beauty, but God does and we do too. They have a tremendous amount of potential. The key is turning their lives over to God and letting Him lead them.

We met Bro. Harold Smith at Eagle's Nest Community Church a little after 10 a.m. It's always great seeing Bro. Harold. He's a great friend and a great brother. It was the first time Martha and I had seen their new building. Tears filled our eyes as we walked through the doors. It's a beautiful facility. I told Harold that it was the faithfulness of God. We were with them when they had a very small storefront church. To see the new building was amazing. God is awesome!

We then unloaded all of the blankets, towels, soap, shampoo, and blue jeans from our cargo trailer. Harold was thrilled to receive everything.

We then set up in the parking lot at Eagle's Nest and cooked hotdogs. The homeless lined up to receive lunch. We served 160 hotdogs, 100 bags of individual-sized bags of potato chips and 10 gallons of lemonade. We also handed out copies of the Gospel of John.

We prayed with many of them. There are so many needs and so many people hurting. Some asked for prayer as they walked up, and others quickly said "yes" when we asked if we could pray for them.

It's always humbling to be used by God in ministering to the homeless. When we finished, Martha and I shared a cry. We see the potential in them. We want them to know that God loves them and that He has a plan for their lives.

It was a beautiful day ministering to beautiful people. We serve a beautiful and awesome God.

Arrived in Atlanta

Martha and I arrived in Atlanta around 2 a.m. local time. After six hours of sleep, we're ready to go. I don't mind traveling late like that, especially if I have some good music to sing to. We cranked Third Day all the way here. If you haven't bought their new CD, Revelation, I highly recommend it. Pray for Martha's hearing though. She had to listen to me sing all the way here. We're going to the Third Day concert here in Atlanta Saturday night. I was just practicing. Maybe they will let me get on stage and sing with them. Well, OK. Maybe not.

We're excited that Atlanta Outreach '08 is finally here. We've been preparing and planning this outreach for months. We filled up our cargo trailer with supplies to distribute to the homeless this weekend and for Eagle's Nest to use through their daily ministry to the homeless. We brought hundreds of new blue jeans, blankets, towels, socks, soap, and shampoo.

I will be updating this blog and our Web site throughout the weekend. We'll include photos and videos as well, so you can see and hear what's going on in Atlanta. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Ready for Atlanta

Well, Martha and I are about ready to head to the ATL for "Atlanta Outreach '08." The two-day outreach to the homeless with our friends at Eagle's Nest is going to be awesome. This will be our first visit with Bro. Harold and Pastor Larry in their new church building. We can't wait to see them and the building.

We will be pulling our cargo trailer filled with blankets, jackets, towels, soap, new blue jeans, and more to distribute to the homeless and for Eagle's Nest's bath ministry for the homeless.

For those of you joining us this weekend, please be careful driving. For those of you who can't join us, please be praying for this important outreach. Pray for souls to be saved, lives changed and needs met. Pray for people to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and decide to come off the streets.

We will keep you updated on this blog and on our Web site throughout the weekend, so check back to see what God is doing. We're hoping to have video updates on our Web site as well.

Thanks and God bless.

Hope and self-confidence can change lives

Here's a column I wrote for today's Dothan Eagle. Martha and I found this documentary fascinating.

By Ken Tuck

Published: September 13, 2008

Sometimes, all it takes is a little hope and self-confidence for people to turn their lives around.

My wife and I have a ministry that works with the homeless throughout the nation, and over the years it’s been amazing to see how giving people hope can give them a different outlook on life.

The hope we offer them is Jesus Christ and the hope that some people really do care about them. We have seen people come off the streets and live productive lives.

Thursday night we saw something else that shows how important self-confidence is to people.

We watched the USA men’s soccer team defeat Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier match on ESPN 2. Following the game was a documentary called “Kicking It.” I was about to change channels when the narrator mentioned homeless people playing soccer. For obvious reasons, Martha and I kept watching.

An organization called the Homeless World Cup Foundation has developed an incredible program that brings homeless people together from around the world to play a soccer World Cup tournament every year. This year’s event, in Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 1-7, will be the sixth Homeless World Cup.

Many people may find it hard to imagine the homeless playing soccer. It certainly never crossed my mind. But, after watching the documentary, it makes perfect sense. If you have ever played a team sport, you understand how you learn discipline and teamwork, and how it can help develop a sense of self-worth. In other words, sports can help you gain self-confidence.

The homeless don’t play on a traditional soccer field. They play “street soccer.” The field is small and it’s four-on-four. It reminds me of indoor soccer, but the field is smaller and it’s played outdoors.

The Foundation has helped start local grassroots soccer teams in more than 60 nations with more than 25,000 homeless people participating. The homeless play soccer year-round, and eight players are picked to represent their individual countries in the Homeless World Cup.

Through watching the documentary, you can see the players gaining self-confidence. As they did, their attitudes changed, and many of their lives did as well.

The success rate of the organization is amazing. According to its Web site, following the 2006 Homeless World Cup:
92 percent of the players have a new motivation for life
73 percent have changed their lives for the better
93 percent of the players have successfully addressed a drug or alcohol dependency
35 percent have secured regular employment
44 percent have improved their housing situation
39 percent chose to pursue education
72 percent continue to play soccer

You have to remember the homeless are ignored by society and have no sense of self-worth, so these stats are incredible. It shows what can happen when people are cared for.

The Foundation hopes to support and fund grassroots soccer projects in more than 75 countries by 2012, and to involve between 100,000 and one million players worldwide.

Considering there are more than one billion homeless people in the world, those numbers are very attainable.

Ken Tuck is the managing editor of the Dothan Eagle. He can be reached at ktuck@dothaneagle.com or 334-712-7960.

On the Web:
http://www.homelessworldcup.org
http://www.kickingitthefilm.com

Here are the needs

Hey everyone. It's been a great day of prayer and fasting. For those of you who were able to join us, thank you.
At the end of this day of prayer and fasting, I received the list of materials we need to repair the school building in the Dominican Republic. The need is great, but we serve a great God. The total cost for repairing the school and shipping food to Haiti will be around $10,000.

That's a lot of money for us, but we know God will provide. Please continue praying for these two very important outreaches. If you are able to give financially to help us raise money for these two life-changing opportunities please do so. If you know people who can help, please tell them about it.

God is doing so much all around the world, and I thank God that He is working through Love In Action here in the U.S. and in other parts of the world.

As I have been writing about recently, God has opened up two great doors in the Caribbean to minister and help those who can't help themselves. We now have contacts in Haiti, who we can ship food and other supplies to and they will make sure the people who need it will get it.

So many people in Haiti are in dire need of food. You have read and seen the reports of how devastated Haiti is after four hurricanes within the past month have pummeled the tiny island. Many of the people were already starving and malnourished before the hurricanes. Now the situation is worse. God has opened a door for us to help.

The other great opportunity is in the Dominican Republic. We can help establish a school in one of the small villages in the Dominican. The school would serve 162 children. We can help provide them with an education and food for at least one good meal a day. We may also be able to feed up to 900 people a day in that same village. It will be a continuous project, but the school building is in bad need of repair before the children can begin school.

Here is more good news about God's provision. As it turned out, we are going to have to pay rent on our warehouse. But the cost of the rent is definitely an awesome deal. It is $150 a month. However, a wonderful brother in the Lord has committed to paying the rent for us. That just leaves the utilities and insurance. God is so awesome!

I know I've said it and written it a million times, but Martha and I are so excited about what God is doing. It's so humbling and so awesome. God is awesome! That's still the best word in the English language I have found to describe God, but it doesn't even come close to really describing our God.

Thank you for your prayers and for your support.

Please go to our Web site at www.loveinactionministries.com for more information about these two awesome opportunities and about our upcoming outreach to the homeless in Atlanta.
Thank you again and God bless.