This week, we had the priviledge of working with a group of volunteers from Chicago. They helped us sort and assemble hygiene kits for our homeless friends. We have so much admiration, affection, and respect for these great people who sacrifice their vacation to come and labor in our great city of New Orleans. Not always, but often times, it is the youth who come here and serve. It amazes me, that these spirited brothers and sisters labor all day in the heat, and yet they still have the desire to serve by helping the team with mid week preparations. The preparations vary from week to week, sometimes it means making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and packing the brown bag lunches we will hand out on Saturday or assembling hygiene kits. The task is always different the desire to serve is always the same. It is so great being able to share in this joy with our friends that come to volunteer in New Orleans.
Often after the work is done, we have the opportunity to sit with the group and share testimonies. It is amazing to hear how God has moved in their lives and miraculously opened doors in order for them to be in New Orleans serving, giving, and encouraging. It is also really great to hear about their ministries at their homes. One other thing we hear often is how a lot of the volunteers that come here to serve and help heal the hurt end up experiencing great healing themselves!
We truly enjoy meeting and serving with all the groups with whom we connect. This week the fellowship was just a little bit "sweeter" as we introduced the Chicago crew to good old New Orleans snowballs. The boys equally enjoyed the fellowship this week.
I want to thank Hinesburg Community Alliance Church that so generously provided all the donations for the hygiene kits, and all the other great resources we were equiped with in order to serve our friends.
Below, I am including a special note from Sarah with Edgewater Baptist Church. I hope it encourages you as much as it has encouraged us. Also, be sure to check out the photos they shared with us in our slideshow.
Our group is from Edgewater Baptist Church in Chicago. Many of us are involved in a the children's and youth ministries at our church. We have an afterschool program 4 days a week, along with a 6-week full day summer day camp program for families in our neighborhood. Many of our youth have come through the leadership training program that we have for junior high school students, and several served as day camp teachers this past summer. Being from an urban environment, we wanted to give the youth an opportunity to serve others in a different urban environment. So New Orleans and Celebration Church seemed to be the right place to go! We're really grateful to Toni Collins, Celebration Church and CrossRoads Ministry for housing and supervising our groups as we worked on houses in New Orleans this past week. We were pleasantly surprised to help out with the homeless outreach ministry this past Thursday night, as we packed up bags of donated deodorant, toothpaste, socks, etc. It was a huge blessing to hear the stories of Angie and Katie as they recalled the hand of God upon their lives over the past few years to bring them to where they are now.
And our youth had lots of fun playing with the boys!:)
God bless!
Sarah Shedd
PRAYER REQUESTS
Ricky- He was in good spirits, allowing the boys to play with his glove and softball as we visited. He again requested prayer for his sister Nancy. He is staying in a local motel which has given him the extra incentive to cut back in his drinking. He expressed the importance of living life one day at a time. We were really encouraged by Ricky taking time to walk over into the shade and join us in prayer. Shaan, Kati, and I took turns praying for Nancy and Ricky. Ricky took a turn praying for Shaan, Jack, Kati, and me in our specific needs as well. His specific prayer request is for his sister, Nancy. She has heart problems and needs surgery; however, the doctors are giving her medication to get her healthy enough for surgery. Please pray for our friend Ricky that he may receive deliverance from alcohol. Also pray that he will continue to seek the Lord, and that he may be a witness to his peers.
Terry- He was not very trusting of us. He asked many question about whom we were and our purpose of being in the French Quarter. His question to me was, “Are you some kind of missionary or something?” As a result, in brief I shared with him my testimony. Although, I offered to pray with him, he denied the opportunity. Instead, he asked that we would pray that he would receive a blessing. It is clear to me, that he is not very trusting and it will take some time to get to know him. Please pray that we will have more opportunities to visit with him.
Glen- He is waiting for his retirement to begin paying this next month. Until then he has no income and will be staying in Jackson Square on the weekends and at the Salvation Army during the week. His biggest challenge seems to be balancing his blood sugar while he lives on the street. Please pray for his health and for the time we share with him next week.
Don-Jack was drawn to him first. I think it was the baseball cap and the facial hair that intrigued him. Later Jack shared with us, that Don made him miss his dad. It was Jack’s fascination with him that opened the door for us to dialogue with him. Don shared with us that he suffers from frequent seizures as a result of epilepsy. He is also having issues with his feet swelling. He is trying to get social security but he has not seen any doctors regularly enough recently to have proper documentation. Please pray for his caseworker, to be able to serve him and provide appropriate supports for him. Pray for Don to receive relief from the seizures and the swelling in his feet.
Regge- He had just been released from jail after serving a four and half week sentence. He shared with us that during this time he experienced a God incident, when he had the opportunity to meet with a chaplain. Regge is walking out of jail refreshed, inspired, and sober. He was excited to see us and shared that although he had not thought about us for a while, that he thought about us that very morning, and there we were to greet him as he reentered the square. Please pray for Regge to experience deliverance from alcohol. Also, please pray that when he stumbles that he will not be discouraged, but will continue to the Lord for his strength.
Ruban- He and Shannon had a great time working in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, upon their return, several of their dogs were ill and most of the money earned went to an expensive veterinarian bill. Please pray for this friendship as we are going to have another opportunity to make a house visit and follow up further with them.
Sandy- Every time we meet with her, we are encouraged to hear how the Lord is moving in her life. Because someone blessed us financially, we were able to bless her by dining at the restaurant where she works. As soon, as she realized we were sitting at one of her tables, she ran over to tell us more about how God is moving in reconciling her relationship with her ex-husband and her teenage daughter. She exclaimed loudly as she walked away from our table, “Prayer works!” You can only imagine the joy we shared with her in that moment. Please continue to pray for the reconciliation of this relationship, as Sandy’s greatest desire is to be in her daughter’s life and be a positive influence. Also please pray that she will continue to be receptive to a relationship with the Lord and that she can grow in her own faith.
Popsicle Lady- A month ago we met her and were able to bless her by purchasing multiple popsicles on a hot day in the Square. I stood close by as the boys ministered to her and brought joy to her afternoon. Yesterday, she was especially joyful again to see them, but also because they remembered her. After they hugged her, he reached down below her cart and pulled out two identical toys she had purchased for Shaan and Jack, hoping she would see them again. Please pray for this woman and the boys that they will be able to continue planting seeds and share their own testimony with her.
Coolio- Although he clearly had been drinking, he was more sober than normal in the early afternoon. This is different because normally he is passed out from drinking as early as ten. He was very happy to see us and enjoyed allowing the boys to play his drum and bucket. Please pray that he will receive deliverance from his addiction to alcohol.
Ellory- He recognized us right away, as people who had helped him and his nephew in the past. He is going to be moving into a place in a few months and he is interested in receiving help with getting furniture. It was neat to see that he still had a contact card we had given him several months ago. He stated that we were an important contact. Of course, this was a great compliment to us and we were encouraged to know that we would have future opportunities to serve him and plant more seeds. Please pray that he will in fact reach out to us again, so that we can put him in touch with appropriate resources and provide some natural supports for him once he is in housing.
Russ- We never know what to expect when we encounter Russ from one week to the next. Regardless he is always excited to see us and engage in conversation. Even more recently has dropped his con with us and is more truthful with current circumstances. Most recently, he has suffered a mild stroke. Since we are not medical doctors we don’t know how severe the stroke has affected him. However, he has lost a lot of use of his right hand. We referred him to a clinic and social worker who would further be able to help him. Please pray for his health and for deliverance from his addiction to alcohol.
Tom- He returned to New Orleans earlier in the week from a tour of the Western United States. During that tour, he was finally able to visit his son in prison. Although his son wanted him to stay in California, he decided to return to New Orleans. His traveling partner is still in California healing from an injury, but intends on returning to New Orleans as well. It was interesting that he remembered us, and seemed surprised that we were still out on the streets, despite the Claiborne Camp being closed. Please pray that we will have more opportunities to invest in this friendship.
Beohbi- He was genuinely happy to visit with myself and the boys. He seems to really be encouraged just by our presence on the river, but also I am deeply encouraged to be greeted by his smile each week. He has such a genuine gentleness about him, and a natural gift of encouragement. Something different this week is that he requested prayer for himself. Normally, his prayer request is very specific, but always for someone else in his life. So please pray for him as he is recovering from what seems to be a stomach bug. Please pray for a full recovery for him, but also for clean health for all those who come into contact with him while he may still be contagious.
Chuck- Although we saw him on the river, we were unable to have the opportunity to visit with him. The one thing though I want to share, is that it was deeply encouraging to see, that he was still wearing the shoes that we were able to purchase for him. The other thing I want to share is that he was not hanging out with the normal crew. He was actually spending time over where Beohbi and another one of our friends vend their handmade jewelry. This may be a sign of his disconnecting from some of the negative influences in his life. Please pray for him, that his desire he expressed in recent weeks to find employment has been answered and will manifest quickly. Also, please pray that he will be begin to surround himself with positive influences daily in order to move beyond his current circumstances.
Guitar Mike- Mike generously shared his guitar with Jack and I. Jack strummed a few notes on his guitar first. Then I attempted to play “Blessed Be Your Name” on his badly tuned guitar. However, with the loud drumming of a boy across the sidewalk from us, and also a multitude of loud men and women wearing red dresses passing by, the song was inaudible. I do not have a specific prayer request for Mike.
Scott- It is really hard to know what to share with you about him. He is clearly in a delusional state. Not only that but he has been belligerently drunk the last three times we have spent time with him. He is aggressive and unable to control himself. Unfortunately, as much as we love Scott and have shared in some great times of prayer with him, we now have had to make the decision to disengage from contact with him. He is in serious need of an intervention in his life. PLEASE pray that God will intervene in his life, before he injures himself, injures someone else, or someone else injures him. Also, please pray for binding of the evil that has control over him, because clearly this is not the true Scott anyone knows.
Name Unknown- Although his face is a familiar one, there has never been any personal contact. However, today it was clear that he knows who we are, what are purposes are in the street. He stood by our side during our contact with Scott, and made sure that we were always safe. Please pray that we would have the opportunity in the future week to engage with him on a more personal level. Also, he expressed the desire to harm Scott, because of the disrespect he showed to everyone on the river. Please pray that God would show him more appropriate ways to help Scott rather than physical violence.
