Article on MSM in HomeLife Magazine

Jason Boyett is a freelance writer and speaker whose writings have appeared in a lot of publications including Relevant Magazine (one of my favorites). We stayed with his family in Amarillo, Texas while on our journey last year and even got the opportunity to speak at his church.  He interviewed us for an article that is coming out in the October issue of HomeLife Magazine, a Southern Baptist publication (not the snake taming sect), but is linked here if you want a sneak peek.

Praise and prayer

We are praising the Lord for the small and big stirrings that we have felt during the last few days.  God is the Great Connector and Networker…we are continuing to find this as Truth!

We have a date set on the calendar for Andy and a friend (who is providing his talents and some materials) to begin working on the food sharing shack in our garage!  Please be praying that finances and extra materials show up for that weekend.  We say “show up” because God literally dumped premium plywood onto the street, in front of our house, that will be used for the sharing shack.  He is sovereign, creative and has a great sense of humor!

We also have the next prayer meeting set for October 6.  Please be praying, in advance, for the right people to come, His voice to be heard, and freedom to reign as we fellowship and pray together for this community.

And last but certainly not least, we are hearing and being encouraged that yes, God has put us here for a REASON!!!  Community members have voiced and are seeing that Hubbard is lacking in services and dedication to help the poor.  Some folks have even specifically prayed for a food pantry of some kind.  If that is not something to be praising Him for, I don’t know what is!  I am amazed and thankful for God to have all the plans laid out.  He DOES know how things are going to work and all he needs is willing workers.

Mustard Seeds

Many of you who have followed us from the beginning of our journey with the least of these, have hopefully seen a recurring theme.  God has been with us and continues to move as His children move towards those His Son walked with a couple thousand years ago.  Jesus spent the majority of his time with the poor, and the neglected.  He calls us to do the same.  My heart has been changed over the last few years because I have heard and have responded, even when I feel like my efforts are no good.

Andy and I started our journey by just going downtown Portland, bringing  water bottles, talking to people,  and just being available to have God use us.  More than often we need to pull ourselves out of our comfort zones to allow God to make us into who He knows we can be.  Our hearts have been molded, broken, and deepened as we have begun to walk the path of Jesus.  By placing ourselves where we know the homeless hang out and looking for opportunities to love on people has given us new and interesting ways of seeing the Kingdom of God and understanding His love for us.

Church Under the Bridge is a ministry that began in 2007 as a fruit of what God was planting in our hearts.  Our desire to seek God in the hidden places became so strong that we just couldn’t help but bring people with us, make it a regular part of our lives, and begin real relationships with vagrants, homeless, and forgotten people of downtown Portland.  We began bringing meals, first aid, donated clothing, shoes, etc. and asked the Lord to encamp His angels around this space to bring His peace, comfort, and safety for our new friends.  God continued to show up and STILL DOES!  Church Under the Bridge is still going strong- stronger than ever, ministering and spreading the Word of Life among the least of these underneath the Steel Bridge in Portland, OR.  We have had a couple opportunitites, since we’ve been back home, to join these friends and have seen the amazing work God has done over the last year.  This last time under the bridge they served over approximately 250 burgers and hot dogs.  The word has spread throughout the area that this is the place to be to not only get food on Sundays but warm and friendly fellowship.

Our heart and vision for this ministry has always been to bring the Kingdom of God.  What does that mean?  To bring a Spirit of love, equality, innocence, and hope.  We eat with our homeless friends, and bring our children.  There have been countless stories of those we serve, serving, ministering, and helping.  When this happens we see how only God can break down barriers of expectations, preconceived ideas, and judgmental thoughts.

Dean and Shelly Mallon and Mike and Cindi Gerkman and MANY others have been bold enough to take the baton from Andy and I, allowing God to bring Freedom to the captives and Hope to the hopeless under the Steel Bridge.  There have been many times when they go down and feel overwhelmed by the numbers, stories, and feelings of not doing or being enough.  They need prayer, workers who love Jesus, and encouragement to continue this good work.  Please check out their website here.  They meet, eat, and serve under the Steel Bridge every 4th Sunday of the month.  If you would like to join please contact them through their website.

I felt compelled to share all of this with you to show what little mustard seeds can grow into.  One small step of obedience and trust in our big God can go a VERY long way.  And to see these acts of faith grow and change into amazing and beautiful fruits is a gift that we don’t always necessarily see.  As Andy and I step into a new season of faith and ministry we desire to continue taking small steps of boldness and trust to increase the Kingdom of God.  We will be joining Church Under the Bridge as often as possible as we also seek to bring a fresh breath of God to Hubbard, OR.  You are welcome and encouraged to join us in either place.  We know Jesus will touch your heart!

Equipping for Battle

We had our first prayer meeting this past Tuesday, and although we were small in numbers, the Lord heard our prayers.  It was a good evening of sharing our vision for our community and asking the Lord to continue to reveal his vision for us.  By the end of the night we felt loved, refreshed and energized for the next steps for MSM.   The most important thing any of us can do to advance the Kingdom is get on our knees and pray.  By going to Him, He will center us and send us back out with the tools that we need.  We believe this past Tuesday night was just the beginning of equiping ourselves for battle, and we are excited about meeting again next month.

If you are interested in how you can pray for us, click this link.  It is a weekly prayer calendar that you can use to pray for specific things for us.  Feel free to share it with others, you can never have too much prayer!