Isaiah 58, In His Service provides the
tangible in order to build relationships and introduce people to Jesus. We
remain steadfast in prayer. Asking God to bring us into a more intimate
relationship with Him and lead us deeper in service. “Faith is taking the step, even
when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We took two leaps of faith in 2017. We moved a 93 year old
Veteran, on Hospice, from a nursing home into our Don Shank Ministry House. We have made the front living room into
his master suite. Since he is bedbound we brought the outside world inside to
him. He has a CD player with CD’s of his favorites, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline
and Johnny Cash. William, a Viet Nam Veteran, set up a humongous flat screen TV so
they can watch the Rifleman together…DVD’s are on the way soon. Ann and her team are providing care for
our Veteran around the clock. Thank you to Chrissy,
Corey and Connor for graciously
getting ‘whooped’ over and over at checkers. Thank you Adele for faithfully listening to his stories, even when she’s heard
them before. Jennifer, APRN and Dr. Lamb continue to respond to evening and weekend texts and showing up in
person to work through his health concerns. A special thank you to Nick, an amazing fireman who has put up
smoke detectors, brought crew from the USS
Tulsa to visit and remains a good friend. Thank you Nathan of Riggs Abney Law
Firm for helping our Vet get his affairs in order.
It means so much to have folks who have walked with us for some
time with faithful support; tangible and financial gifts, prayers, texts, reading
& responding to our emails and cards. It is always exciting when we are
blessed by new donors! Your unconditional love continues to inspire and
encourage, thank you! Gary
Anderson, Adele Baker, Joyce Beiger, Donna Birkenfeld, Linda & Brad Bookout,
Bruce & Dana Bower, Dr. Shea & David Bowling, Pastor Cody & Breanna Brumley,, Anna
Callaway, Robyn Campbell, Terri & William Clayton, Dr. Carolyn Cobb, Dell &
Kevin Coutant, Marilyn Inhofe Davis, Tammy Davis, Shannon Davison, Dr. Pamela
Denning, Deniese Dillon, Julie Donelson,
Susan Dornblaser, Elizabeth Duncklee, Facilitators Class of First Baptist
Church, First Church of the Nazarene, First
Fruits Ministries, Dr. Rachele & Matthew Floyd, Jacquelyn Franklin, Chrissy
Frey, Dorothy & Myron Goforth, Dayna & Bobby Goins, Katie Goodson, JoAnn
Gower, Peggy Greenfield, Linda Hale, Dr. Tom & Terri Hamilton, Hollie &
John Hawkins, Dr. Michael & Gretchen Haugh, Dr. Alex Himaya, Dr. Arthur Holleman, Wade Holman, Jennie Howard, Dr. Valerie Howard,
Paula & Rick Hutchings, Indian Health Care Resource Center, Becky &
David John, Cindy & Michael Jones, Ellen Jones, Martha & John Jones, Jewel
Kemberling, Hayden Lankie, Becca Leath, Mickey & Mike Lemery, Jill &
Eric Marshall, Mac Martin, Melissa & Mark McAuliff, Bridget McClendon, William
McWilliam, Naomi Meeks, Tara & Arik Miller, Jan Karon & the Mitford
Children’s Foundation, Michael Morton, Nancy O’Banion, Dr. Jennifer & Alan
O’Dell, Pastor Matt Philpot, Elaine & Richard Post, Cheri Potts & Stan
Hall, Martha & Charlie Powell, Dr. Rachel & Tim Ray, Yolanda Robinson, Shepherd’s
Class,
Carmelita Skeeter, Aly Sparkman Speers, Diane Steen & Larry
Lathrop, Dr.’s Susan & John Studebaker, Brenda Taylor, Christy & David
Taylor, Becca Thoman, Dr.’s Heather & Roy Thompson, Rene Thompson, Renee
Vaught, Georgeann & Ted Wagner, Stacey
Wilson, Jean Winfrey, Monica Woodlee, Mark & Dawn Wright, Dru & John
Young, and John Zito.
A “home” for Isaiah 58, In His Service has been
our heart’s desire for some time. Through prayer, wise counsel and courage only
God can give, we signed a lease for a 3,124 square foot space in the Admiral Shopping Center. Isaiah
58, In His Service is in between two amazing ministries, Aim High Academy and Share House. I was given the key on
December 1st and spent some
time with Jill our landlord; feeling
thankful and knowing in my heart of hearts that God has plans for Isaiah
58, In His Service that are only possible through Him. Nothing is
better than to be affirmed that your heart’s desire is the Father’s. Then the
next morning at 11:30am on December 2nd I was in a car wreck. A
young woman ran a red light and totaled my car. Thankfully no one was seriously
hurt. Our Chevy Astro van is on loan to a single Mom so she could continue her
work as a caregiver and her night shift at Macy’s.
This left our “land shark” (a very large lift van that was donated
to us right after we were incorporated) as the kids of Comanche Park call it,
for me to drive. The wreck did not deter me from the ministry God had laid out
before me that day which included moving a foster mom from one apartment to
another. On December 3rd we had our first Board of Director’s
meeting in our new home. Our amazing Board,
Julie, Mark, Melissa, Chrissy and Paula
prayer walked and dedicated the building and ministry to the glory of God. On
December 9th, Wade, Yolanda,
David, Patrick, Bruce and Dana
miraculously emptied two storage units and a garage and delivered everything
safe and sound to our new home! On New
Year’s Eve we gathered in Isaiah 58, In His Service’s new home
and prayed for so many who suffered loss in 2017 and we prayed with hope for
2018. Prayer by candlelight made for an incredibly blessed evening!
We were invited by a woman to empty and clean her home. We began
on a Saturday morning in June and continued working, bringing her breakfast and
praying for her on Saturdays through October. Anna, Chrissy and Wade
were faithful servants and we had extra help from Keri, Mike and Maggie.
I was honored to share the Isaiah 58, In His Service story with
the Sand Springs Church of the Nazarene!
Thank you to Mary, Donna, John, Amy
and everyone else who made me feel at home. We received 20+ cases of toilet
paper and 8+ cases of soap from Lyndra and
her lady friends. Often we would deliver groceries to seniors and families and
the toilet paper was the first item they ‘oohed and awed’ over!
Driving around town I try to keep gift cards and bags of snacks
and hygiene items in my vehicle to give away. Putting these bags together can
be costly but this year we were blessed and blessed and blessed! Incredible “Blessings in a Bag” were given to us by
Tia and Mical early in the year. For our Holiday Helping Hands Project we received Blessing
Bags from Aly and her “gal group.” We also received Blessing Bags from Katy and her kidlets, Isabel,
Justice and Reagan who provided
colorful art and scriptures for each bag.
All of the bags were hand packed and included needed items such as
water, gloves, snacks, toothbrush, hygiene items, etc. Isaiah 58, In His Service
added gift cards to McDonalds, an invitation to my church, the Church at Downtown and the plan of salvation to each bag.
In April we celebrated a teen’s birthday by taking him and some of
his friends from Comanche Park to Beijing Gourmet Chinese Buffet and Winter Jam! In July we took a group to
see a Driller’s Baseball Game for
their Family, Faith and Fun night! Hotdogs for everybody!
On Mother’s Day we put
together a special basket and delivered to 7 unsuspecting Moms! Widows, single
moms, foster moms and a grandma were reminded how special they are and how much
they are appreciated.
Many times over the year needs would arise and God would send a
hero to step in and be the hands and feet of Christ for us. Brian repaired garage doors for us, Jorge completely repaired the hole in
the ceiling of the ministry house, Chuck
repaired an oven and did a walk through at our new home to point out areas
in need of attention, and Blake, of All Plumbing was called on to light the
pilot on our water heater in the ministry house. Rick made deliveries for us and unclogged a sink. Wade, you know what they say about
owning a truck and a trailer…you’ll always get called on to move things. Time
and time again Wade loaded his truck
and trailer for us and then unloaded it, loaded, unloaded… He demonstrated his
mechanical skills many times including putting up a gate, replacing the dead
bolt and door handle and fixing the fence at the ministry house. He also set
off a bug bomb for us. Wade is the epitome of, “Here I am Lord, send me.”
I was humbled to be invited to First Baptist Jenks and spend an evening with the W.R.A.P. ministry; a ministry to
fostering and adopting families. They
are doing the tough work and the essential work of raising hurt children to
know the Jesus Who loves them wholly and completely.
Mike
and Mickey, You Are Special Ministry have been faithful servants
throughout this year. Taking folks to the hospital for procedures, delivering
furniture and buying, wrapping and delivering gifts for our Holiday Helping
Hands Project. They were present for the signing of our lease. We
have shared many cups of coffee together and they are faithful friends who pray
for Isaiah 58, In His Service and
are amazing examples of what it means to live sacrificially for Jesus. We are humbled to be their partners in sharing
the gospel and loving on people in need.
Hayden,
my delivery dude, and I delivered Thanksgiving baskets donated by St. John’s Episcopal Church to
individuals and families. Chrissy, Corey
and Connor delivered pre-cooked
Thanksgiving dinners to individuals and families for a total of 19 baskets! Our
13th
Annual Holiday Helping Hands Project provided
Christmas gifts to 42 individuals and families this year. Thank you for faithfully adopting those God put
on our heart, Heather, Rachel, Adele, Jennifer,
Alan, and Mickey.
Such a blessing to have a “ministry home” for folks to meet,
listen to Christmas music, pray for and wrap gifts for those we adopted this
year!! Thank you to Paula, Rick, Scotti,
Eva, Molly, Jenny, Julie, Chrissy and a special thank you to Connor for putting a bookcase together,
finding the bike pump and then airing up tires!
Elaine
made two HOPE
pillows that were given to two widows who are also cancer survivors. Elaine is also my rock, my
accountability partner, my prayer warrior and my best friend. Thank you for
undergirding me! Cheri and Stan who own the Million Dollar Inn in
Pawhuska, had the floors redone. They gave the old wood to Jim Ellis in Oregon who made beautiful
crosses and gave them to Isaiah 58, In His Service!
John of Z Automotive has saved the day for many of our vehicles.
Many times I would just “show up” with a leak, or a burned out light or a check
engine light and John would take the time to make a repair so I could continue
making my deliveries or home visits. This partnership has blessed so many in
our community! He also has repaired bikes, assistive devices and provided
incredible support to those we serve. Thank you John!
We are humbled to continue our partnerships with Genscripts Pharmacy, thank you Mark and Justin and staff for
always taking such good care of those we send to you; Downtown Tulsa Tag Agency, and Yellow
Checker Cab Company.
A special thank you to the CARES
department of the Tulsa Fire Department,
Captain Baker, Nick and Johnny
and especially Fire Station 24 who
has come to the rescue more than once!!
Melba
has been our faithful bookkeeper for the last few years. She has
struggled to decipher my handwriting as she enters receipts and amounts on the
computer to send to Stanfield and O’Dell,
our accounting firm. Our 990 will be
available in May for review.
Leslie,
thank you for “getting it,” and listening to me vent. Thank you for your
willingness to remain in the trenches, when it is messy, dangerous and flat out
beyond belief! You rock!
Carmelita
and the Indian Health Care Resource Center
allow me to serve our Native American
patients with resources provided by Isaiah 58, In His Service. The
opportunity to practice hands and feet social work in a non-profit medical
clinic is a blessing that was seemingly tailor made for me! Each day is an
adventure into joy and tragedy, tears and laughter, righteous frustration and
barrier breaking. I face each day with the Hope of knowing that God has placed
me exactly where I am and I am humbled to get to do what I do. Carmelita, thank you for letting me do
what I was called to do!
2018.
Is it beginning like 2017 ended? Same routines, same habits, same devotionals.
What if 2018 could be radically different? What if we put God first…literally.
Jesus above family, work, community group, vacation…me. What if we asked God to
change us from the inside out? To send us where we don’t want to go, where we
would NEVER go? To send us to the place that scares us the most. What if we
took off everything that is selfish, spoiled, and sacred and laid it all at His
feet? The hurting around us is palpable. It is time. God first, others second,
me last. Isaiah 58, In His Service
is opening the door to change. We challenge
you to step outside your comfort zone. Now
is the time to take that step of faith! We need your help!
Know
that you are prayed for…
“I thank God every time I remember
you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your
partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of
this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until
the day of
Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1: 3-6
In His Service,
deni
We can do more. We can do better.
“You know what I hear all the time when I go to speak at churches
or conferences? `I could never do what you’re doing.’ You know what I say?
Usually I say something like, ` Well, I understand. This is what God has called
me to do.’
You know what I WANT to say? `Why not?’ Stop being so weak. God
did not create you to be a scared, irrelevant Christian. Why can’t you do this?
What is holding you back if you know what God’s Word says and you know what
He’s capable of doing? Why? Why? Why? Stop being afraid of the gutter and just
go get in it.’ The world looks at the Church and sees a bunch of people too
afraid to approach them.”
-The Gutter by Craig Gross
“Do not be afraid of change. Be
afraid of not changing.” Anonymous.
"We live in a world
in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say, ‘It's not my child,
not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see
the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.” – Fred Rogers
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