March 2nd Prayer Update
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with who there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Thank you for your faithful prayers for our ministry. The Lord was kind to stop the rain while we were out ministering to the homeless. This allowed us to have better conversations with those we encountered. It's our desire to see people find freedom from the bondage of sin and despair and turn to Jesus. Their need can sometimes be overwhelming but we know God is greater.
Thank you to those who stepped up to fill the lunch slots of our last outreach. We do have a continued need for more lunch and snack sign-ups for our Outreach Saturdays. If you have the ability, please consider signing up to make 20 bagged lunches for one of our upcoming outreaches.
Our second annual "Walkathon" is only days away. We have over 100 participants registered and we are nearly at our financial goal. We are looking forward to the time of fellowship together. If you have a desire to make a contribution we will happily match you with one of those walking raising funds.
Theone and Granville both have medical issues that are being cared for by the CORE program. We are thankful they've been able to receive adequate medical care.
North Concord Team
This is the third outreach in a row that we've spoken with Theone. She shared a praise she was able to get her documents notarized and her finances are starting to fall into place. Theone has been homeless for eight years. She shared a prayer request concerning the receiving of a serious health diagnosis. We continue to pray for her that the spiritual blinders would be removed and she would see her need for salvation. (look for a more full explanation)
The team had a good conversation with Josh, who is Theone’s son. They were impressed with how much he listened as the team very clearly explained the gospel. The team spent quite a bit of time sharing God's word with Josh. He had a Bible that was given to him before. He was encouraged yet again to read reminding him where he should begin. Though he was not wanting to accept God's offer of salvation, he was strongly urged not to delay considering his need. An attempt was made to have Josh study the Bible with us.
Granville asked for prayer that he might get the money to enable him to visit his storage unit and get to his belongings. He showed our team his recent leg injury which appeared to be very swollen. The team prayed for both of these matters and that he would continue to take his antibiotics.
Zach had a good conversation with our team about the holiness of God and the difference between God's punishment of sin and the discipline of His people. He requested prayer for "enlightenment" but didn't give us anything more specific because he felt that asking prayer for himself was selfish.
Filepe (who goes by Flip) talked about his history with Catholicism. One of our volunteers felt moved to invite him to "The Story" which is being sponsored by NorthCreek Church. They offered him a free ticket to the show. Please pray that Flip accepts the offer enabling him to hear and respond to the gospel message presented through art and word.
Paul lives in a beat-up mobile home and told our team he is a church goer. Consideration is being given as to whether or not he might be a good bible study candidate. Paul has a lot of health issues. Paul shared he used to be a successful business owner with his own Termite company. After a divorce, and a turn in the economy, he lost everything and ended up homeless. Paul has two daughters that he is still in contact with. The team invited him to church and prayed for his health issues.
The team did a final stop at the Concord homeless shelter and had a conversation with a Persian man named Faruk. He has been at the homeless shelter for the last 100 days after losing his job. He didn't choose to be homeless but it was the result of a life event. The team gave him information for the local Iranian fellowship which meets at Northcreek Church in hopes that he would attend. They exchanged numbers with Faruk so they could offer him a ride to church on Sunday.
Central Concord
The central Concord team had several conversations some of which were less fruitful; with Alex, David, Stacy, Cathy, and Nacho. Nevertheless, they were thankful to be able to show them practical kindness.
Shaina, was open to gospel conversation. She was also recovering from some extensive injuries. She had a broken femur and a black eye but didn't give the team any details. She was very sweet, and happy to receive a Bible, reading glasses, and flash light. We prayed for Shaina's safety and provided her with information for the Bay Area Rescue Mission.
Jeff is about 45 years old, and to our knowledge, this was our first conversation with Jeff. He shared he used to be a general contractor but that he walked away from his job when he was in his 30s and ended up homeless. He was putting his contracting knowledge to good use as he had set up a series of tarps to direct the rain away from his sleeping setup. Jeff was with a disabled woman and they both seemed sober and coherent. The team had a generally positive conversation with Jeff though he declined the Bible offered to him.
Kareem had a lengthy conversation with our team and shared he has a Muslim background. Please be praying for the gospel seeds that were planted.
Martinez Team:
The Martinez team did quite a bit of hiking during this outreach to reach the different homeless encampments. Their first stop was to say hello to Steve and his dog Reggie. Steve has become a very familiar face and is always open to a good conversation. Steve asked for general prayer.
Next, the team had a conversation with a new gentleman named Mike, who was living in his car. He shared that he grew up in a church-going household but he had a lot of doubts and questions about the Bible. He expressed the belief that we are currently in the Great Tribulation predicted in the book of Revelation. The team presented the gospel to Mike and while he had tears in his eyes and appeared to be very moved he was not in a position to make a decision for Christ. Please pray with us for Mike, that God will open his eyes and soften his heart.
We reconnected with Rich. On the last few outreaches, he asked for addiction resources to give to his friend Lori, and on this outreach he had a good report. His friend Lori went to a doctor to get help and they are offering her a program to help her get off drugs. This was an encouragement to Rich.
We had a difficult conversation with Greg, a 60-year-old man with a titanium leg. He was in a brand-new rental car anticipating that he would have to return the car to the rental company in just a matter of days. This and other matters were causing him some distress. The team spent extra time to encourage Greg to the Bay Area Rescue Mission. He did not respond positively to the encouragement. We are praying for God's intervention.
The photo above shows the team's final stop to 7-Eleven where they found four people sitting on the curb. They handed out the remainder of the lunches they had and offered a few sleeping bags. The folks there were Ronnie, Jim, Filepe and an unnamed man.
Vallejo Team
We ventured, yet again, into Vallejo. We discovered each of the large encampments have different names. On this outreach, our team focused on the encampment called 'Sea Food City Camp.' It has about 10 RVs and a dozen tents.
The team was able to have a conversation with the camp's governess, Amy. She knows everyone in the camp and all of their different issues. She knows the gospel well and has bible verses memorized. She appears to be one looking out for the needs of those around her. She gave encouragement to our team who in turn prayed for her safety. When she saw our team with a Bible she asked if she could have it. We willingly and happily offered it to her. She discouraged our team from going to the next camp due to the lack of safety.
Randy says he is "spiritual" but not "religious." He declined prayer yet he accepted a Bible and information about the Bay Area Rescue Mission. He was accompanied with a woman named Vicky.
Gloria and John are grandparents of four girls they are taking care of in their van in the homeless encampment. The team worked to provide them with social services so they would get practical help as they care for these young girls. They also shared the gospel with John and gave him a Bible. John grew up in a Christian household, but he believed that ‘good deeds’ could get him to heaven. The team encouraged him to lead his family through the gospel of John.
The team also spent time with Ricky and Jamale and shared the gospel with them.
Jacob looked to be between 30 and 40 years of age. When the team approached Jacob initially he didn't want to give us his name and wanted to be called 'New York.' When he shared he grew up in Vallejo this opened up a point of connection. One of the volunteers on the team also grew up in Vallejo and was able to connect with Jacob to the point that he shared his name and opened up about his addictions and his family. They offered him a Bible, which he accepted as well as information about the Bay Area Rescue Mission. He asked for prayer for his three kids and his addiction.
Edwardo is a Spanish speaker from Mexico. He told our team that he has two kids; an 18-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl. Edwardo plans to travel to Los Angeles to see his daughter and surprise her for her birthday. Edwardo had never heard the word 'gospel' before. This was a good opening for the team to share about Jesus' gift of salvation and correct his thinking that he could earn salvation with good works.
Veronica expresses a genuine faith in God. She was able to quote John 3:16 to our team, word perfect. She also demonstrated a heart for those around her. She had a pile of jackets that she had gathered to distribute to those in the camp who didn't have jackets. The team prayed that God would change her situation. Veronica's heart and attitude greatly ministered to those on the team. our team. We only sacrifice a matter of hours a month and some people are literally giving all they have in service to others.
The Vallejo team quickly ran out of food to distribute as the need was very great. We plan on sending that team with a greater number of meals on the next outreach to better meet the need. "And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest." Matthew 9:38
JOIN US!
Our Next Outreach is March 16th 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.