Here
are some more boots on the ground reports.
It’s been a little busy around here lately …
I
received a random email. It was from the
pastor of an Hispanic church in Magnolia, Texas. He wanted me to know that they had just had a
service where they prayed specifically for us as we minister in Jesus’
name. We can feel those prayers, my
friend. Keep them coming.
We
found out that there have been people stopping in at Seaside at all hours of
the day and night, dropping off supplies and taking others, whether to use
themselves or to take to other people or other shelters. Several of our folks who live nearby are on
call to let folks in and out of the building.
Some have even been videoing and tweeting about their location. Sound a bit strange? Yeah, to me, too. But here’s the thing. One such visit came the other night. I wasn’t there, but our “on call-er” filled
me in. Seems two popular singers had
made their way to Galveston in conjunction with our Mercury One partners, and
they came by Seaside to pick up supplies so they could do some boots on the
ground ministry. They had to do some
tweeting; it’s just the thing to do, right?
They were able to enjoy a shrimp and fish taco dinner at a Seasider’s
home before heading back out on the road.
Oh, who were they? Kaya Jones and
Joy Villa. Some of you “older folks” may
have to get your grandkids to google them for you.
Chris
and I loaded up a carload of diapers and baby wipes and baby food to take to
the crisis pregnancy relief site in Santa Fe.
We dropped it off at a huge relief center set up at Dayspring Church. We saw trucks from the Billy Graham
organization, Salvation Army, the Lighthouse Charity Team, and several others,
along with countless cars. Everything
was so organized that people in need didn’t even have to get out of their cars
if they didn’t want to.
Next
we stopped in on some of the fire fighters who lost a lot and had no flood
insurance. At one house there was a crew
of off-duty fire fighters on site, hard at work helping repair a fence and tear
out sheetrock and sweep up the floors.
We asked if we could pray, and every fire fighter in the house stopped
working and gathered around, hats coming off.
After the prayer the homeowner said, in typical fire style, “You know,
Chappy, when any of these guys come up here from the Island, I make them show
their ID and passports. But you two don’t
have to show yours. You are welcome to
come up here any time and pray.” We’re
on it, Rudy.
A
request came in from a Seasider over in Santa Fe. They were looking for some help feeding lunch
to about 30 volunteers who were hauling and loading donations for livestock in
the county that have no feed or hay.
Hey, we’re not just a tourist attraction, you know. We arranged to cover two days for them. We decided to eat lunch yesterday at the
place that was cooking up the meals, a local Mom and Pop eatery here on the
Island, Mel’s Blue Plate Diner. We
offered to pay for the meals, but they wanted to do it as a donation to the
cause. They were going to do burgers and
fries, but when Becky, the owner found
out what the volunteers were doing, she would have none of that. She changed it to meatloaf and mashed potatoes
and green beans. She told us, “They’re
working hard. They need to eat
good.” By the way, we ate good,
too. Mel’s Diner might have some new
regulars. It’s on 38th Street
just north of Broadway. The sign is
faded but the service is just like you’re in an old-time diner. Quite the experience. OK, so much for the commercial. Oh, and the second day’s lunch will be
covered by Lighthouse Charities. Thank
you Stephanie and Lauren for making those connections.
Last
night some of our ladies met together for prayer. After they prayed Lauren’s phone rang. Caller ID said Washington, D.C. She doesn’t know anyone there, but decided to
answer anyway. It was FEMA in
Washington. They had heard she was
looking for some wheelchairs. Indeed
Lauren had posted that a local charity, The Jesse Tree, needed to replace some
wheelchairs. And it “just so happened”
that a Jesse Tree volunteer was sitting right next to Lauren. She handed over the phone and wheelchairs are
on the way.
The
ladies also talked about the spaghetti lunch they are cooking for someone in
Alvin. One of our Seaside crews has been
helping with supplies and mucking out in a very poor neighborhood there since
the flood waters receded. Chris asked if
the meal was for just one family or for a few others as well. The answer?
They are feeding around 100 people a hot meal – the whole
neighborhood. And apparently someone
else has already asked if they could do it next week.
In
case you haven’t yet made the connection, all of this is a God thing,
folks. We have a grand total of about 40
on average every Sunday in worship at Seaside.
1
Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Encourage one
another and build each other up.”
Father,
thank you for the ways you are awakening our eyes to creative ministry. Amen.
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