First blog for 2010

Hey guys
so for homeless on our first start up it was a quiet night but praise the lord for the people who did turn up. I was worried for numbers but I learnt about trusting the lord because he does provide.

So this week I met a guy called tama who I haven’t seen on the street before but we just happened to give him something to drink and promised to come back and get him food as we hadn’t got the food yet
We met up and then came back to the same spot finding tama leaving so we gave him some food like we promised. We then met a guy called keepa in the same spot tama was sitting at which was outside farmers. He looked fairly old as if he was in his 40’s and he had said he grew up pretty much on the streets. He normally hangs out with fat boy who is now currently being looked after by some ex streeties living in south Auckland. (Praise god). He also uses to go to HISWAY church with Andrew but hasn’t attended for some time. I managed to gather some courage to ask him who he thought Jesus was and his response was he knew of him but didn’t know him. This really encouraged me as he told me with so much honesty. I then found out he has a big passion for his Maori heritage and his marae and that he has a gifted skill in carving. I suggested he do some bone carving or green stone carving and sell his stuff with a busker’s license. I also learnt that he has 3 kids and they all stay with their mothers. One is 5 one is 13 and one is 17. He also is an uncle for 6 kids.
This was the main person I spoke to this week and didn’t really feel much of a connection with Alvin or Kelvin or with mark. It was a rather quiet night on the streets but pray that a lot of guys living on the streets are moving into homes and getting jobs.

please continue to pray for us guys and god bless yall
Duncan

weekly blog

Hey guys sorry it’s been a long time since I’ve blogged but thanks so much for lee and Steven for filling in for me while I’ve been out at camp

last week I was there at homeless but my team met one person drawing closer to the end of the night so it wasn’t so eventful for my group hence why lee blogged

This week we started off with a leaders meeting. It was to talk about what we wanted to do for Christmas. The only common theme we had through the ideas was to share a common meal with the homeless.
our now Christmas idea is to have a pre packed picnic at Albert part starting about 6:30-7 on Thursday the 17^th.
So if you want to have some one on one time with some homeless people and keen for kai to feed your pukus then come along. Anyone and everyone’s welcome!

this week we met outside maca’s and had a fairly large crew turn up. It was great to see so many people support and wanting to reach out to the homeless people and brake down societal barriers with us! Two boys named Trent and Eddie who attended for their first time last week attended this week again and loved it. They immediately noticed the homeless person relaxing at the bus stop across the road. Before we were even ready there were well on their way just chatting to him and really getting to know him. It was super encouraging for me to see these boys do what they do. They have such a heart for people it’s awesome. The guy they were talking to they had met last week and his name was Noel. Noel wasn’t originally from Auckland but was born and raised in the Hastings areas. As sad as it was he looked to be a fairly old man in his 40’s possibly heading towards his 50’s and his left arm had been amputated as all there is, is a stub from his elbow if I can recall correctly. Please pray that we are able to get to know Noel better over the summer periods.

We then all met up again and realising we had a group of about 15 of us we decided to split up into 2 groups and go separate ways. I wanted to head towards st Mathew’s church this week as I didn’t get to last week and took a bunch of people with me including Trent and Eddie. The other group was lead by Steven and they headed towards bottom of Queen Street with new comer Hasini.

As my group approached the sky tower we Trent noticed someone sitting at the bus stop with a massive travel bag. Immediately he led our group there and sat down and started talking to him. I found it encouraging that he is comfortable to sit with these people so easily and that it also helps break down barriers when talking to them so they may not feel that there is a “superiority” between us and them. Its very encouraging! This guy we met called himself “holder”. He is of Maori decent and had just gotten into Auckland that day. He was from Whangarei and had come down to look into some entitlement that Maori people are supposed to have. He was looking into a specific set of money set aside for Maori people that was meant to be used for housing only. He had said that the laws have changed and made it more and more complicated and harder to access this money that was entitled to the Maori people. He was very knowledgeable about Maori history and the treaty of Waitangi. When we spoke to him about what we were doing he said that he believes that the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. He also believes a lot of the rich love money hence why they strive more for it but yet where the poor love people more and give and share their money with other people as a community, Yet this is why they are poor. It was a very interesting conversation that we had with him and pray that he is still around so we may get to know him more and learn from him if there is wisdom from him that he would like to pass on.

As we headed to the church we met carbon once again. However it was a quick conversation as he was ready for bed. He has been doing well so pray that he continues to do well living on the streets and that we can continue to get to know him.

Heading towards the city mission I spotted a person by the car park however the rest of my group continued towards the mission. Pearl followed with me as I sat next to this person and tried to get to know him. His name was Wiri John Paul and he had been drinking all day he had said. He had been raised in south Auckland and went to Aorere College. (in case those of you are reading this and don’t know Aorere is one of the schools in south Auckland that has a lot of crime and fights amongst the students there) he finished at 6^th form and left in 2002. Once he left he managed to get some work from allied work forced as a labourer. He did that for about 3 years. From there he was living on the streets and it has been an on and off occasion for about 8 years since. Recently for him he was sentenced to jail for 4 weeks for fines I think it was yet because jail had been too full over the periods he had been released after a few days in which he was really thankful for. That Thursday night I met him was the day he was released and had wanted to go to Glen Innes to drink with his brother Norman who use to live on the streets as well as it was his birthday. He had mentioned from living on the streets he had his own crowd of friends and he was also friends of Fat boy. He also felt comfortable with us to tell us that he was in pain as he had ulcers on his leg. His leg was really swollen and he said he really wanted it to get better so he could go back to try find some work. Meeting Wiri was really heart breaking and encouraging for me as it was a really great conversation and I could see where god may have played a role in his life like the recent get out of jail situation. It was also heart breaking about him living on the streets for so long and about his leg with ulcers on it. I then proceeded to ask him if he would be comfortable if we prayed for him and his leg and situation which he accepted. After we had prayed for him he shook our hands as we went of and managed to say god bless you too. I know it’s a common saying but to me I felt he really appreciated it that someone took the time out to hear his story and care about him. Please pray for Wiri John Paul for his leg to get better and so that he is able to find work. Also pray he stays out of trouble and that he is able to reunite with his brother again and celebrate that he does no longer have to serve the sentence of 4 weeks in jail.

After that we reunited with our group and headed towards the bus stop behind Aotea square. There was one sleeping and one looking out for the one sleeping. We offered them juice and food and went on their way. They seemed a bit side tracked but also seemed very tired hence why we left fairly quickly so they could rest. From there we met up with the other group and called it a night.

Please continue to pray for our mission and vision to reach these people on the streets. Pray for continued support and that we rely on the lord for our strength and that we are not doing things out of our own will. Pray for guidance for organisation preparation and servant hood for our Christmas picnic thing for the homeless. Pray that trough our actions and words spoken that we are true representatives of Christ!

Thank you guys for reading and thank you for those who managed to turn up and attend every week. It is really appreciated. Thank you for all your prayers and for all your support. God bless you all.
Grace and peace with you all!

Duncan

Christmas Ideas

On Thursday the 17th of December we are going to be doing something special for our homeless brothers and sisters.

Little Hampers- We were thinking maybe creating little hampers, with goodies which homeless families might need. We were thinking of the bare necessities which the homeless struggle to get a hold off. These hmapers will also include cards written out wishing them blessings in the name of Jesus.

Christmas Crackers- As part of breaking down the barriers we thought this would also be fun.

We are excited about maybe having a picnic in Albert Park. Having a picninic removes the top down approach that we normally have on Thursday nights. For example, us blessed come to give you poor some food. We hope the picnic will create an atmosphere where we can share stories, laughs, and most importantly the salvation story with them.

We figure this event could cost us between $300-$350 dollars, so we are really praying for fianncial provision from the lord. Please pray about it!

12-3066-0281347-00.

But most importnalty please pray for us. For the plaaning and execution of this event.

Thanks,

Lee Moraes

Homeless Night: 26/11/2009

Hi,

Good day folks!!!!!

Last week can be desribed as a transforming week for myself. When the vision for this had started it was hands on and spontaneous. We were just doing it.

Now as it has gone bigger there is alot more of administration and planning that is needed.

So last week, we were joined by Eddie and Trent . These two men of God were real doers and inspired me thoroughly. They met the homeless, were genuinely interested in their lives, and partaked in their lives.

They jammed with a busker on the street, and then they blasted their speaker with music request by a homeless man that had been beaten up.

I do not think that we all have musical blessing, but we do all have blessings that we can share naturally with the homeless, we need to love them by inquiring about their lives and just doing life with them.

The highlight form last week is when we visiting a group by IMAX, this included Ida, Reynelle, C-Dub, and Machu. C-Dub was on fire today as he spoke authoritvely of the bible and Christ as saviour. This was amazing to me as last time i ran into him the week before he was angry and swearing because we intterupted him whil he was doing drugs. Just showed me how God can work and love others. It was inspiring to see the relationship C-Dub had with the Lord Jesus.

When i reflect this moment stood out for me. Amazing!Praise Jesus!Priase the Holy Spirit! Amen.

Doing something every thursday can be very restricting in building a relationship and sharing more and more about Jesus. As part of the city community i hope to spend more time getting to know the homeless, whether its sharing my breakfast and lunchtimes with them.

Cant wait to see what happens tonight!

Lee

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