Prayer for Rangi

This past Thursday we met a guy called Rangi. We gave him some food and just said hello. He was quite friendly and open - probably due to the alcohol he was drinking. We asked him what was going on in his life. He said he was a family man, having 4 children, but 2 mothers. He expressed how he wants whats best for his children, and was proud they were getting an education that he never got. He also finds it hard to show love to his children since he doesn't have enough money to buy them gifts. We encouraged him its more about spending time with them and simply telling them how much you love them thats important, and to be an example to your kids.

So please pray for Rangi, and his children, and that he loves them, shows them how to be a good person by example, and to ease on his alcohol.

Thursday 19 November JFH

Hey guys, Stephen here,
Since Duncan was away last week I thought I'd try writing a summary of what happened last Thursday :) Sorry it's taken so long to get out, i'm a noob :P

I think it's cool to reflect and remember what has happened after each night we go out, so that we can continue to pray for those we meet.

Well here is how it went:

The first guy we met, almost straight away, saw the food and clothes and lit up, leading us a short distance away to where a group of (maybe)homeless people sat. Passing by I would not have noticed they were homeless, and I'm not sure they all were, some were dressed pretty well, and they didn't seem to carry the characteristic unwashed smell that I'm now pretty familiar with. The sandwiches were eagrly passed among the group, who were sitting on two benches, facing each other. I felt like an outsider to their little group as I tried to talk with the guy closest to me, he was probably around 17-19. I introduced myself and asked his name, he said it was CJ (or TJ? my memory with names is bad). As I asked him what he'd been up to today, and said I'd been at University, I noticed that while he was sitting I was still standing, and suddenly was aware that it might look like I was asserting superiority by remaining standing.. this was the last thing on my mind, and I wonder how can we show these guys we value them and that we want to help. Reflecting on this I think the best way is obviously God's way, and to be more like Jesus we need to pray (really pray) for His Spirit to empower us. Maybe this is something for us to keep in mind, I know it is for me.

Continuing on we saw Andrew with his landscape drawing, which was a lot more colourful than the when we saw it last week. We chatted with Andrew for a while and he shared about being adopted, and not knowing what family really meant until he had his own child. Let's pray that he finds his true Father in God, and true family in the body of Christ!

Next we met Carbon in the same place as last week on Hobson Street. While last week he chatted for ages, this week he seemed distracted, and we quickly said goodbye. We then gave some of the sandwiches n drink to a lady at the bus stop, and she mumbled some lovely words of gratitude which i didn't quite catch as we continued on.

Now camped on the steps of the city mission was a man we'd never met before, nicely dressed in a jacket, and reading a thick novel. We gave him some food and chatted about reading, and how he enjoys it cause he has a lot of time on his hands... then I asked if he'd ever read the Bible, and he matter-of-factly said something along the lines of "don't go there." So I shut up. We chatted a bit more and said goodbye, leaving me feeling rather disheartened, but it's not about me is it? Let's hope and pray for the opportunity to be a part of Jesus turning this man back to Himself. We didn't get his name... but hopefully we'll meet again.

Walkin back down to queen street we passed two homeless guys in the little garden on Wellesly behind the civic. One of them was in the corner, sniffing on something... he had an aerosol can with him. Would it have been loving to walk up to him, grab the can and the bag he was sniffing from and chuck them out? I wanted so much to do that... but couldn't.

From a distance his older brother (presumably) accepted food from us and shouted something about the grim reaper to his brother as we walked with him down to queen st. Here he crossed the road to deliver some food to another homeless friend, but we headed to the bus stop where we would no doubt find Kevin and Alvin. We talked lightheartedly with these guys for a while then I had to leave for my bus, and the night was over.

Wish I could say more right now but I have a train to catch :P
Peace

What they need the most?

Having gone out just a few times, I'm probably not the most qualified to talk about this. And I certainly haven't walked a mile in their shoes. But what I have observed is that they need warm clothes. Sure they need food and drink, but it is actually fairly common for people to give these, and these are unfortunately perishable. On the streets, its winter all year round so it is very important to have something to keep you warm. City Mission do supply blankets, but blankets seem to be lost or left lying around. I think jerseys and jackets, beanies, gloves and socks are best because they tend to wear them.

So it all started a few weeks ago when I went out with the Salvation Army. I was in the van as it drove up to a large group of homeless people. And they literally swamped over the van looking for some warm clothes. Right there I felt something stir. A need so basic, yet not met. And it was something I could help with. Just the last Thursday when we went out, I packed a large box of clothes (see picture above) and went out hoping I would be able to give it away. The very first group of homeless people happened to be a group of about 7, and they very quickly emptied the entire box!

So I implore all of you, look in your closets for clothes you feel will benefit these people. Look out at the Warehouse, or garage sales for good deals for warm clothes. And pray that we can resource more so that we can clothe more people. We really hope to make it a regular thing.

Finances

We are in the middle of planning how we are going to manage our finances.  We praise God for the huge amount of support we have currently received, and thank all of you for your support.  We now need prayer as to how we are going to manage our funds, be good stewards of the money and resources we have received.

Prayer pointers

• our Planning and Management
• our Transparency
• the giving of resources
• people to assist in administration