God continues to touch lives of the homeless

As we entered 2010, Martha and I prayed that God would help us reach even more of the homeless this year, especially in our home town of Dothan, Ala. God obviously heard our prayers, because He has been bringing more homeless to us already this year.

For example, on a recent Tuesday there were two homeless people making their way through Dothan. Right now they're transient homeless -- roaming from town to town. As they stopped to talk to someone in downtown Dothan, the man told the young man and woman they needed to go to Love In Action, and he told them where we were located. That man was homeless at this time last year and we helped him. He hasn't been homeless for more than 10 months now.

They made their way to the LIA Ministry Center in the middle of the afternoon. I just "happened" to be there, which is unusual because I'm usually at work at that time of the day. I met them and encouraged them to come back that evening for our Celebrate Recovery. I told them they would enjoy a great dinner, music and preaching.

They came back and stayed through the entire service. A friend provided shelter for them, and two days later they were headed toward Montgomery. God allowed us to show them His love, and to plant seeds of God's Word in their hearts. Our prayer now is for God to send someone to water those seeds.

That same Tuesday night another homeless man showed up and he was talking about committing suicide. He had been drinking, but I told him he came to the right place. He shared some of his story and I told him that he would find nothing but love at our Ministry Center. I told him we had plenty of coffee and we were about to enjoy a delicious dinner, so he came inside too.

Everyone welcomed him and poured the love of Jesus out on him. He received hugs and encouragement. After dinner our friend Alan Watson led worship. I looked over and the same man who was talking about ending his life earlier had his hands raised worshiping God. After Robert Risner preached a powerful message, that man came forward during the altar call, fell on his knees and literally cried to God. He prayed and made things right with the Father.

I spent a lot of time with him that weekend. He's been sober since that night. He's a sweet man, who really does love the Lord and desires to start walking closely with Him again. He's a hard worker and is looking for a permanent job. He'd been living in a tent in the woods, as many of the homeless do in Dothan. But after experiencing the love of Jesus that Tuesday night, he's ready to change his life and get out of the woods.

The weather turned cold, so we got him a hotel room. He was so appreciative. He went to church with us, and loved the service and enjoyed how nice everyone was to him. He's been able to find some temporary work since then and is paying for his own room. We're trying to help him find a full time job. He's someone who has experienced many hurts over the course of his 52 years. God can heal those hurts, and we are asking God to let us help him to get back on his feet again.

Then there was another homeless person recently. She's a woman and she was tired and hungry when we met her. She was a sweet lady, but she had some mental issues. She wasn't "crazy" as some people call those with mental problems who are living on the streets. She's just a little slow in some areas.

We asked her what she was hungry for and she said pizza and that CiCi's Pizza was her favorite place to eat pizza. So that's where we went. It's a buffet style restaurant and she must have been starving, because she stacked her plate. She's a very tiny woman, but she ate more than I did. For those of you who have seen me eat, you know not many people can do that. :-)

Then she did something that just brought tears to my eyes. She served us. She went up to my mom and asked if she thought if Martha and I wanted some dessert. So, she fixed us two dessert plates and served us. Have you ever been served by a homeless person? Let me tell you, it's about the most humbling thing you can experience.

Afterward, she was so tired that she fell asleep in the chairs at the LIA Ministry Center. Who knows how long it had been since she had a good night's rest. We found safe shelter for her that night, and she was in church with us the next day. Now she's made contact with a friend in a nearby town and she's living with that lady. More seeds planted by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ through acts of compassion.

God continues to touch the lives of the homeless, and it's so humbling to see how He uses Love In Action to do that. It takes all of us. All of you who pray for us and donate your finances and your time make it all possible. Thank you for helping us help the "least of these brothers of mine." (Matthew 25:40)