March 16th Prayer Update
““...Let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.””
Outreach Spotlight: Maya
After more than a year of sharing the gospel with Maya, not only did she accept our invitation to attend our RV Bible Study, but she also attended church on Sunday!
It's officially Spring and we've been busy here at Hope680. With Palm Sunday and Easter rapidly approaching we've condensed our prayer email imparting the highlights. Please join us in lifting these individuals up to the Lord in prayer. May the seriousness and joy of the season resonate with each one as they are faced with the truth of Christ's death and resurrection.
Outreach Spotlight: Maya
In our Bible study with Maya, the team studied Psalm 139. They were thankful for the time to have an in-depth conversation about the substitutionary death of Christ. It was evident that Maya was struggling to understand and believe all the components of salvation although she would claim to be a believer and had previously been baptized. We pray that the things discussed will be something that she continues to consider. Maya has five children, ages 10-22 years old who live in Concord with their grandmother. Her main prayer request was for a job.
Church attendance and Shower:
Maya accepted our invitation to attend church the following day. The RV and volunteers picked Maya up first thing in the morning with the plan to provide her a shower before church. She attended the Sojourners class and main Sunday service at NorthCreek Church.
Our volunteer Catherine shared the following report, “She was quiet as you might expect coming to a new church with a lot of people. I do believe she listened intently and answered questions during Sunday School class, though they were quiet, I heard them. The Sojourners were unbelievably sweet to her and welcomed her with open arms letting her know they hope to see her again. I invited her to The Story with hopes she can get a ride with her daughter, so we will see. There’s a chance that they will be swept, she has both our numbers and that’s the best we can do until we meet again.”
Due to how long it took Maya to gather her belongings she ended up utilizing the RV shower after church was concluded rather than before as intended. We can be praying that with two consecutive days of gospel exposure that the Lord will use that in Maya's life to produce a desire to get right with Him.
Walkathon Recap
Our final Walkathon numbers are in and we are praising the Lord!
123 people participated on March 9th
200 donations
$21,321.90 raised
With all that is happening during a busy season for many, participation in this event was truly welcome and the Lord richly blessed our ministry through the efforts of many! Thank you to all who helped, raised funds, and participated with us!
Donation News:
This week the home-school co-op ‘Classical Homeschool Day’ gathered and donated enough supplies to fill over 100 blessing bags for Hope680. We are so grateful for their help to get these needed materials beyond Easter. We are still in need of blessing bag supplies. We will be coordinating and offering an invitation to participate in the assembling of blessing bags in late April which will enable our outreaches to be supplied through the summer. Stay tuned for more information!
North Concord Team
The Concord team happened to find an old friend named Cyprus who had a makeshift structure sheltering him under a freeway overpass. When he poked his head of out his shelter he noticed the team and accepted food had a good gospel conversation and got caught up. He said he was glad to see the team and naturally we were glad to see him. Not being hard to miss, the team spotted a horse Cyprus is caring for; how he is doing this is a total enigma.
We found Lee pushing a shopping cart. He stopped and had a good conversation with our team. He gladly received a Bible and we immediately opened it with him to the book of John. Please pray with us that he reads through and that we might meet him in the future to discuss what he's read.
David (pictured below) is someone we’ve also interacted with on multiple occasions. The team had a good conversation with David. We offered and he received prayer, a Bible, reading glasses, along with the some food. The team asked David to use his reading glasses and had him read a passage out loud. He shared he recently had a job opportunity that ultimately didn’t work out. David's skill is in the area of drywall hanging. He asked for prayer he would get a job soon. David anticipates an inheritance from his mother who recently passed away and the team used that as an encouragement to consider the eternal inheritance available to him if he repents of his sin. He was encouraged to continue to read the Bible before they see him again.
The team made a final stop at the Concord shelter and distributed the remaining blessing bags and lunches. Overall this team had five significant gospel conversations.
Martinez Team
Generally, the Martinez team goes directly to the Marina but their path was blocked by a large and slow-moving freight train. That caused the team to direct their attention elsewhere. The Lord directed their path to several that they could invest considerable time in. This additional time helped to communicate that the team wasn't there to just check 'good works' boxes off of a spiritual checklist, but because they have genuine love and care for those they are serving.
Zack is an individual the team spent significant time with near his makeshift wooden structure. He remembered talking to us two weeks ago. He told the team that he was mad at God about his circumstances. He struggles with medical-related heart issues. The team spent 45 minutes with Zack sharing the gospel and praying for him. He was directed specifically to read the Psalms and Proverbs this week. Please be praying with us for Zack.
Andrew and dog Zoey (pictured above) also struggles with his health. Previously he told us of a construction job injury several years prior that has left a lasting impact on his back. He has additional medical issues and the team encouraged him to go to a doctor and get some antibiotics. He is familiar with the gospel message though he has not embraced it. Andrew has the ability to send and receive emails so he provided the team with his email address. The team prayed with him and left him with food as well.
Chris & Danielle were encountered in Martinez. While Danielle didn't come out of their tent Chris spent time in conversation with the team. He shared his mother is a retired Episcopal minister. Chris used to have a job at a local hardware store and they recently got kicked out of their permanent housing.
The team ended with a stop at a local 7-11 where there typically is a gathering of homeless. We found Richard there and gave him some food. Richard is a younger man who was given a pocket edition of the scriptures after he said he didn't have the ability to take a larger version. The team makes every effort to overcome objections when offering God's word to the homeless and we were thankful to have those small Bibles for just this occasion. Richard was very honest to share that he doesn't have any motivation to get off the street. We prayed for him as we left him.
We pray that these folks sense the love of Christ and respond and say yes to Christ and their calling for their salvation
RV Team:
The RV team had an appointment with Amy and Maya for a Bible study in our Ministry RV. When they went to meet Amy, she didn't realize that the Bible study was set for Saturday rather than Sunday so she wasn't ready to attend. Maya was available and went with the team (story featured at the top of this report)
The RV team also had the opportunity to engage with other homeless folks in the area before the Bible study. They spoke specifically with Terrance, Lucas, and Tess.
Terrance makes excuses and wasn't very engaged in a gospel conversation on this occasion, though we've had better conversations with him in the past.
Lucas is very inquisitive and the team invited him to join the Bible study in the RV with Maya. He declined saying that he had another appointment. He said he had lots of questions, and some strange ideas, but seemed open and willing to learn more. He wanted to compare the God of the Bible to the gods of Greek mythology.
Our conversation with Tess focused on how God is the true and living God and how we are accountable to Him. She asked about reincarnation and walked away when the team said the Bible doesn't teach reincarnation. We suspect Tess is grieving the loss of her pet bunny and is looking for hope to be reunited with her pet. She was very emotional as they interacted with her as the loss was only a few days prior.
JOIN US!
Our Next Outreach is April 6th 2024
Please consider serving during a Saturday Outreach in one of the following ways:
1) Prepare Lunches
2) Serving at the Homeless Camps
3) Volunteer Breakfast
4) Cookies for Volunteers
Our ministry is a labor of love with the main purpose of providing gospel hope through practical means to the homeless. Thank you for serving alongside of us!
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, including our ministry supplies, 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.