June 3rd, 2023 Prayer Update
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”
We had a great outreach on Saturday, June 3rd. Thank you for your faithful prayers. God enabled us to be effective. The teams were sent out with the goal of identifying people who had previously received a gospel presentation who might be ready to have a more directed Bible study.
We are very excited to begin diving deeper into God's word with our homeless friends. Please continue praying for the logistics as we plan and prepare to make that program a success. We are not looking to be perfect but it's our fervent hope to watch as God does His work. Please pray for God to bless our Bible studies and that He provides the right people to lead those studies. Please also pray that we encounter people wanting to study.
MARTINEZ TEAM
Glen is an ex-Marine who describes himself as 'retired.' He told our team he reads his Bible regularly and wants to have a discussion from the book of Revelation. We took down Glen's phone number and it's our intention to coordinate a meeting spot to begin our first Bible study session. Please pray that God allows for this to happen?
The second number we took down to consider for a Bible study was Irene. We found Irene with her dog, Gigi. She was provided with hot coffee and blessing bags and our team prayed for the circumstances she finds herself in.
Another three seemed interested in a Bible Study. They are Brooke, Brian, and Caroline. Brooke engaged in a deep conversation with our team. Brian took a large letter Bible and Caroline asked for prayer to find a job and improve her housing situation.
We also met Lisa and Sean who were not interested in participating in a Bible Study at this time, though we've seen some progress with Sean.
In addition, Bob, Mike, Peter and Carolyn indicated an interest in a Bible study.
It's our prayer that if we begin doing a regular Bible study in Martinez others would be curious and open to joining.
We offered sandwiches, blessing bags, and hot coffee to Shawna, Deanna, Nick, Robin, and Beth. They weren't interested in engaging with us in the gospel. Please pray for softened hearts to His word.
NORTH CONCORD TEAM
Our North Concord team was blessed to be able to give out all of their supplies and engage in several deep conversations.
David claims to be a Christian. He has a Bible and he was given a pair of reading glasses. Our team prayed for his situation which included getting off the street. His wife passed away five years ago and he is still mourning.
Heather in the tent told us her foot was in pain. Billy her boyfriend was very friendly. The couple followed the team around and asking for more coffee. Billy while somewhat preoccupied with helping Heather did express some time ago that he was interested in a Bible study.
Lonny and Nicky didn’t come out of the tent. They are reading the book of John and were happy to receive the food offered to them. They are thinking about the Bible and talking about it. Praise the Lord that they are reading it. The team prayed for them and thought they were listening.
Sydney shared that she spent three years in a drug rehab program. She, unfortunately, relapsed due to living with other drug users. We talked at length with Sydney about the Bay Area Rescue Mission and the resources offered there. We also provided her with a booklet called Cross Talking; a Daily Gospel for Transforming Addicts along with a Bible. Please be praying that Sydney would find ultimate victory over her addiction through God's help and transforming work in her life. Only God has the power to truly change people.
CENTRAL CONCORD TEAM
Our team ministering in central Concord found a group of Spanish speakers and offered them Bibles in Spanish along with individual booklets of the Gospel of John. Not having a Spanish speaker on our team, they were unable to engage in a meaningful way. Please join us in prayer for Emiliano, Armando, Breno Macedo, Jose & Juan.
One of our best conversations in central Concord was with Klaus. He is a painter and usually sets himself up in Todos Santos Plaza where he sells his art. We've spoken with Klaus before. This time Klaus started getting angry when our team spoke about sin but during our prayer for him and his girlfriend Jennifer he was brought to tears. We pray God softens Klaus' heart to the gospel message through the care and compassion we were able to show.
We met Anthony who shared that he was recently attacked by a very large dog and hospitalized for his injuries. We can be praying that God would allow his injuries to properly heal. Anthony shared that he ended up on the street after a DUI eight or nine years ago. Our team engaged him in a gospel conversation and prayer. He claims to attend church. We can be praying that God will provide Anthony with a job and allow him a way to get off the streets.
Please also pray for Jennifer (pictured below) and for Michael and Rosa. These three were unable to focus on the conversation we attempted to have with them and are clearly struggling with their addiction. Please pray God enables them to break free so they have the clarity of mind to understand the gospel message.
Jennifer was a young lady that should not be living in this type of environment. As we tried to speak to her, she was more concerned about acquiring marijuana than discussing her current living situation, much less hearing the Gospel. We gave her lunch/water and left her with the booklet, "Our Daily Bread". Please pray she reads the gospel material and that God would draw her to Himself.
PITTSBURG & ANTIOCH TEAM
Anthony is a day laborer with some health issues. He seemed lucid when our team approached him and he let them pray for him. They have given Anthony a Bible in the past but he admitted that he doesn't open it up. Let's continue to pray for Anthony and ask God to draw him to read the word.
Victor is a man our team has seen on several occasions. He is also a day laborer. They offered him sandwiches and prayer and he admitted to being a drug user. Our team was able to have a frank conversation with him about choosing God over drugs and contemplating the long-term effects of those two very different decisions. We pray that something said will resonate with him.
Dale talked fast and low and was hard to hear. He claims to know Christ and nodded as we presented the gospel to him. The team took down his phone number in hopes of offering him the opportunity to study the Bible with us in the future.
Teddy and Samantha asked for prayer for a safe place to go once their homeless encampment gets bulldozed by the city. They were very much concerned with finding shelter and were on a waiting list for a shelter in the area. Both said they would be interested in a future Bible study.
Janelle engaged our team with the question 'Why does God allow evil to happen?' which allowed for a gospel conversation. She was offered a Bible and the encouragement to read the gospel of John. She asked for prayer after being harassed by the local authorities about their camp.
Please also pray for Michael who was more concerned about food than God and LaShawnda who has been living on the streets for four years. She likes where she is at, and has no desire to change her situation. We are confident the Lord can do a work in both of these people. Pray that we are faithful to spread the gospel seed and lifted them up in prayer as well.
We were thankful that we got a lot of interest in our future Bible Study from most of the people we encountered over the various location. Please pray for God's wisdom on the right location to set up our ministry RV so that we can have the maximum impact for the kingdom of God.
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!