Amazing ministry taking place

So much has been going on I haven't had time to blog this week. Between ministry and work, it's been a crazy week, but a good kind of crazy.

Remember the family we gave a car to two weeks ago? Well, the car had a couple of problems with it, but not any longer. Richard, a former homeless man we helped get off the streets last year, is an outstanding mechanic, as well as an outstanding Christian man. When he saw the need, he jumped right on it. In a day-and-a-half he was finished and now their car is running good. Talk about giving back. We appreciate Richard.

It's amazing the ministry that goes on at the Love In Action Ministry Center. The homeless come and we give them food, hygiene items and clothes. Recently, one of our volunteers gave a homeless man, Junior, a haircut. I didn't know he was a barber, but he did an outstanding job and Junior looked and felt a lot better after the haircut and beard trim.

I take haircuts for granted. If I need one, I go get one. The homeless can't do that. Some go a year or more without a haircut, and when they receive one like Junior did, it blesses them. It really helps their self esteem.

Tuesday nights continue to be amazing. Despite not having air conditioning, an average of 120-125 people still attend. It's hot, but people still enjoy the service. Yes, we would like to have A/C and we are praying for God to make the way, but until then, we'll keep praising and worshiping Him.

We now have a children's service on Tuesday nights. Martha and I had never thought about a children's service. But we started meeting more homeless families, more needy families, and some families of the Houston County Communication Corrections Work Release inmates are joining their loved ones at Celebrate Recovery. Praise God! Seeing families restored and worshiping together is awesome!

We started the children's program two weeks ago. A few of our younger volunteers said they would lead it. We had 15 children that first night. This past Tuesday we had 21. Wow! Teaching the young and old and all of the family the Word of God. It's amazing. God is totally blowing us away.

Our Wednesday night Bible studies are getting better and better. Like Tuesday nights, we have a good mixture of homeless, needy and work release inmates. Our theme the past few weeks has been "Decisions." Life is full of decisions and we need to make more right ones than wrong ones. We have seen in the Bible and talked about how our decisions affect more than us individually; they affect our family and friends, too.

We have looked at Daniel, Noah and David and the decisions they made. We will keep looking at David for a few more weeks. The discussion has been great. So many of the people are participating through reading and discussion. This past Wednesday we had a lot of new men from work release, and they jumped right in on the study. They really blew Martha and me away by their humbleness and participation. This is going to be a good group of guys to work with.

It was also great hearing one of the older work release guys, who will be getting out in a month, give the new inmates advice. He told them they had a great opportunity to really get to know God by coming to Love In Action. And, if they get serious with God their lives would be totally changed like his. James is a good man, and he is a totally different person than when we first met him. He is going to do great when he's released. God has already provided a good job and home for him. He's going to keep coming to Love In Action and his home church of Harvest.

It's so awesome seeing lives changed by the power of God, and I never get tired of seeing it. We serve an awesome God! And, we thank Him and praise Him for everything He is doing.

We also thank all of our volunteers, those who give financially to LIA, those who give items to us, and those who pray for us. Without all of you, we could never do what we do. Thank you!