Holiday Helping Hands Project - 2017

He’s one of those guys who I can’t wait to see. He struggles harder than anyone I know to stay alive every day. He is always battling the voices in his head. He is from a “well to do” family that disowned him. To drown out the voices he uses drugs and alcohol. But, for the past few months, he’s staying on his meds.

He has skills, but he hasn’t been able to keep it together for longer than 6 months in order to maintain a job. Because of his mental illness, lack of support and housing, he doesn’t live each day, he survives every day.

He is so hard on himself. When he messes up he tries to kill himself. He tried to hang himself in the woods but the branch broke, he tried to overdose on drugs but he threw up, he tried to cut himself but it hurt so much, he stopped cutting. He uses his suicide attempts as confirmation that God loves him and is watching over him. “He made that branch break; he won’t let me leave here because He has more for me to do.”

He always has stories of being on the streets that he shares. Like the time he was sleeping in a drainage ditch. “I was so comfy, plastic over my head, sleeping bag and I was in my jammies…I was sound asleep and I woke up to a roar I’d never heard before…there are no lions around here…oh no, water.” He was slammed by a wall of rain water, “The ride of my life, until I stopped…hard.”

He reminded me that he doesn’t have access to the weather channel and he saw stars when he was falling asleep and the next thing he knew he was seeing stars from crashing into the end of the drainage ditch.  I remember when he came to see me, he was still “soggy,” his PJ pants were still dripping and his shoes were soaked, squishing as he walked. “The bad guys hear me coming.”

His Dad died when he was young and he spent a lot of time with his “Holy roller” grandmother. He hasn’t seen her in a few years and he misses her a lot. He said she never judged him when he, “Went off and did really crazy things, I didn’t know what I was doing, but she didn’t care. She loved me all the way…you know when we were in church and she was praising Jesus, she glowed!” His face softened and his grin was childlike and the demons left him for a few moments.

I wanted God to freeze him like that. Father please take away his torment.  He wanted to run away to Colorado, “I like to ski.” But, as we talked he eventually knew it was not a wise decision, “I can’t get away from me, can I?”

I hold his rough, scarred and large hands and pray for him every time we see each other. His praises during the prayer are earnest as he wants God to heal him. He knows God can but he doesn’t believe God will heal him. “Maybe being crazy is the thorn in my side, me and Paul we have a lot in common, huh?” There’s that grin of hope.

We gave him a pair of water proof boots, which he wears with pride and thanks me every time he sees me. I tell him to stay safe and he tells me to pray for him.

Trust me. I am.

“…We are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…” Hebrews 12:28

She is estranged from her children and her husband committed suicide. She lives alone and sleeps on a cardboard box.  We’ve given her a rollator (walker with wheels) and although she’s in pain she walks around her apartment complex for the exercise.

She eventually said it was okay for me to take her to the store. She used an electric cart and was like a kid on a race car track, weaving up and down the aisles. I thought for sure we’d get a ticket for recklessness! I told her to get whatever she wanted. Each time she picked something up she looked at me for approval.  She kept saying, “You tell me if this is too much.” She couldn’t remember the last time she bought groceries without the dollar limit and restrictions of a food stamp card.

She chose items she hasn’t had in years, “real” butter, “really soft” toilet paper, and Cheetos…two bags.  We loaded everything in the car and I asked her what she wanted for dinner. She gave me a look like, “Did you forget what we just did?”

I asked her what restaurant she wanted to go to. “You mean out to eat? To sit down and let someone else cook??” “Yep.” She couldn’t think of one. I suggested Ron’s. She turned to me and made an “OOHHH” with her mouth and said, “Cheese fries.” She ordered a burger big enough to take half of it home, “Breakfast.”

We got to her apartment and I unloaded everything into her kitchen. She grabbed my hand and asked me to pray for her. As I prayed she rested her cheek on my hand.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12

This is the 13^th year for our Holiday Helping Hands Project! These are a couple of the many folks we get to love on throughout the year. Christmas to the families and individuals we serve, is often a reminder of loved ones lost, how poor they are, how alone they are, how their kidlets will get little or nothing from Santa, and how stressful this time of year is.  By giving, we hope to help them have some good memories.

Our purpose in all we do is always to provide the tangible in order to build relationships and introduce people to Jesus. We always pray over these families and the gifts we give. We provide the plan of salvation and an invitation to church and we will also provide a ride to church, with all the gifts we give. 

We are adopting just a few families and individuals this year for our Holiday Helping Hands Project. If you would like to adopt a family or donate some gifts, or help in other ways, please let me know. As always, we ask for you to pray for Isaiah 58, In His Service.

We don’t plan for the holidays, we pray and God directs. There may be more that He wants us to do or love on folks in new ways. We are ready to be obedient! Our heart’s desire is to have His heart’s desire. So it will be exciting to see all that He does with our Holiday Helping Hands Project through you! 

A few months ago, as I was praying for Isaiah 58, In His Service it became clear that we were about to “turn a corner.” Shortly thereafter we moved a 93 year old, WW II veteran into our Don Shank Ministry House. He’s doing well and beating the staff in checkers daily!

Another corner we are rounding is that on December 1^st, Isaiah 58, In His Service will have a home, a “safe haven!” This is an amazing answer to prayer and a gigantic leap of faith! We will be moving into a 3,000 square foot space that is in-between the Share House and Aim High Academy, two amazing ministries!!!

God is moving and calling us to deeper and harder ministry. I will share more soon as well as pictures!! Thank you for loving Isaiah 58, In His Service for the past 13 years by helping us love on others! Know that you are prayed for.

In His service,
deni

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Melody Beattie