June 17th, 2023 Prayer Update
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. ”
Outreach Teams in front of our new Ministry RV
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! We had a wonderful outreach Saturday and had our very first in-depth Bible study in Martinez utilizing our new ministry RV! It was so rewarding, and made us so very thankful to see God's word opened and explained in depth in a safe place where we could demonstrate hospitality and Jesus' love. Thank you so much for your diligent prayers for our ministry and your support in so many different ways. We are excited to see what the Lord will continue to do through our ministry for the remainder of this year. He is so faithful! Praise the Lord!
The Bible study team arrived early to prepare and pray for their first Bible study candidate. Our RV is equipped with Bibles, coffee, and other refreshments.
MARTINEZ TEAM
God blessed us with a very productive Bible study with Glen. We were excited that he was ready and waiting when our RV rolled in. The team spent 45 minutes studying God's word and reading through Psalm 139 with him. There was an additional blessing for the team in their time of mutual study. Before leaving, Glen was asked if he would be willing to come to church. Please pray with us that he will attend at some point in the near future.
The team was very thoughtful in their time with Glen by having each person reading passages and answering his questions. Glen seemed very comfortable, interacting and open during their time together. They discussed forgiveness at length and went through every question in the Bible study printout being used. The team was able to give Glen a study Bible. Glen is open to another Bible study in the future. At his initiation, the team discussed potential jobs he could pursue. Glen hugged the team members and said, "The RV was super, that was great."
Besides our time with Glen, the team only saw one other person at the Martinez Marina since the city had recently cleared everyone out of the Marina parking lot.
Bishop was excited to receive a giant print Bible. He opened it up and started discussing some passages in Genesis with us.
NORTH CONCORD TEAM
On our last few outreaches in North Concord, Lonnie and Nicole have been a bit standoffish. However, this time Lonnie ran out to talk to us when we approached his tent. He was really excited to share that he just started a business mowing lawns. He wasn't wanting to have a conversation on spiritual matters but he accepted prayer. His wife Nicole remained in their tent. Please pray with us for Lonny to have success in his business and that God enables this to be a vehicle to help them change their situation.
Heather came out of her tent and immediately asked our team for first aid supplies. We provided her with some bandages for her foot which was recently injured. She asked for a Bible and we offered him a good quality giant print Bible and she was so excited. We pray that it will encourage her to open it often and read God's word and meet Jesus within its pages.
We had an interesting conversation with Bishop. He was happy to accept the Bible offered and flipped it open to discuss some passages right away with us. It seemed he wasn't really considering the gospel presentation, but we trust God's Spirit to work in his heart according to God's will. As we left some additional gospel material, we would ask you to pray with us that God would reveal Himself to Bishop.
We've seen Jarrett for several years. Unfortunately on this occasion we did not have a meaningful gospel conversation with him, as he wanted to talk about all the 4 wheel vehicles he's building form spare parts he finds... We're thankful for the long term relationship nevertheless.
Steven seems to have some knowledge of the Bible. He has chosen the homeless lifestyle and lives far removed from the other encampments or busy streets so he can live in relative peace. He demonstrated a lot of intelligence and our team spent a lot of time with him getting to know him, building rapport, and sharing the gospel. Please pray with us for his heart to be softened, his eyes to be opened to see and receive God's gift of salvation.
CENTRAL CONCORD TEAM
Our two most productive conversations on Saturday were with Jesus and Jose. We were thankful to have a Spanish speaker on the team who engaged both of these men in gospel conversations and offered them Bibles in Spanish. Jesus said we were a blessing to him.
Jose shared that he is from El Salvador and that he and his wife have been in the US for six years and have been homeless this last year. His prayer request was for housing and a job. His wife seemed to be in a bad mood and was throwing things around inside their tent while we shared with Jose. Our exhortation to him was his need for God and that we are unable to do things completely independent of Him. We offered and he accepted two Spanish Bibles, one for himself and one for his wife.
On our previous outreach we spoke with Anthony who shared that a large dog bit him. It seems his injury has healed and he is doing well. Anthony is always pretty friendly and has much ambition to get out of his situation. He is a strong candidate for a future Bible study. Please pray with us for this to take place.
We've known Ricky for years. Our team was happy to provide him with food and talk to him about Christ. It wasn't a productive conversation but we are happy to keep the relationship going. Ricky is living with Tammy who is sick with COPD resulting in a very heavy cough.
Sophia really struggles mentally and while we didn't see her during this outreach we were told she is living with a boyfriend in an RV. We are grateful that she has a safer place to sleep.
At one of the encampments we came to those living there recently received police orders to vacate the area so many expressed concern about where they would go next.
We spoke with Clint for a long time and prayed for him as well. He shared that he has a rod in his arm from an old injury and it's hard for him to work. Our team diligently shared the gospel as well as resources he might employ to improve his situation.
Please be praying with us for Frank, Mike, Don, Gus, Claus, Jen, and Jennifer who didn't want to engage in spiritual conversations with our team but were happy to receive food and blessing bags (which contain gospel material). It's our hope their hearts will be moved in the quietness of their tent to read the gospel tracts inside. We know God uses the materials we faithfully distribute.
PITTSBURG & ANTIOCH TEAM
Mikey might have been one of the most challenging conversations for our team. He says he believes in many gods and that there is no truth found in the Bible. Our volunteers challenged him to take a Bible and read it, but he was unmoved and also declined prayer. Please pray with us for God to soften Mikey's heart and prepare him for any future conversation we have with him.
Please also pray for Emmanuel, Anthony, Brandy, Rico, and Mike J.
Jamie didn't make eye contact with our team when they approached. After taking some coffee and food, she opened up about her daughter who has been addicted to heroin since age 12. She has remained on the streets so she can stay closer to her daughter. We gave Jamie a booklet on being free from addiction asking her to read it for herself.
We found Wade in a tent with a large infected spider bite on his hand. The team gave him some medical care from our first aid kit. He shared he has been homeless for seven months. He is going through a divorce, and has lost his children to foster care. The team prayed for him for healing and salvation.
Keeton claims to be a believer and says his mission is to live amongst the homeless. He demonstrated "some" knowledge of the word but the team questions whether or not he is truly saved given his circumstances. He was encouraged to be in fellowship at a local church. Please pray with us for Keeton.
Do you love studying God's word with people? We would love to have you join our new Bible study program.
Please consider signing up for our next outreach on June 17th. We have open slots to bring a breakfast item, pack some lunches or bake some cookies for our volunteers. We greatly appreciate your help.
We continue to pray for those who might be able to contribute a small additional monthly gift of $25 or $50 a month to help with ongoing Hope680 expenses, included our offices, and RV maintenance. We are trusting God to continue to provide through you!
FYI Our Executive Staff and Leaders (including Toby and all team leaders) are unpaid volunteers - all donations go 100% towards the running of Hope680, including administrative contractors, our facilities, and RV maintenance costs, as well as ministry supplies.
Thank you for your faithful prayers, support and encouragement! We are so thankful for each and every person who reads and prays through these updates! You're a crucial part of Hope680, and you bring Glory to God through your prayers and service!