Day Forty-Eight

Amazing stuff today. 1000 backpacks to hand out to needy families. Families who had been lined up outside of the Gaynor center since 4:30 am. I am there as a volunteer and as I walk up to enter the building it is a sea of faces in a line that stretches around the building, down the side,and into the parking lot. Will there be enough backpacks? Child after child steps up to receive theirs. I am line monitor, crowd control, and after an hour of seeing them being passed out someone recommends that we should cut the line off before we run out, afraid of angry people who had waited in line for hours only to be told that there were none left. When this was suggested to Pastor Jay he kindly replied "loaves and fishes people, loaves and fishes, God will provide". OK. The next thirty minutes continued the same, wave of person after person stepping up to receive the backpack, until . . . I noticed a lull in the line. It was slowly subsiding. There were still a few trickling in but not the non-stop bodies stepping forward. I looked around and a there were still a few backpacks and . . . a only a handful to recieve them! How good is our God who provides just what is needed when it is needed, every time. Oh yeah, and the crazy rain storm held off during the entire event only to began 30 minutes after. I love God's world.

Day 44

Wow, it's been a long time since I have had Internet service to log in, well that's one excuse! OK Saturday, Walter the cable guy comes to hook up Internet. I have to make a point to make conversation with him because it is out of my comfort zone. Walter is a guy probably in his late 50's early 60's, VERY rough around the edges, smells of smoke, and makes a couple of jokes that are borderline creepy. I just keep thinking "I must invite him to church, I must invite him to church". I'm getting myself all worked up and stressed out about how to ask him so, I pray. Then the calm comes, more conversation, and finally out comes the words "Walter I want to invite you to church. It's right next door". Oh my, that was easy. Prayer works. First time I have ever invited a complete stranger to church . . . how sad, but also a new beginning. Oh yeah, he turned me down, said he goes with his grandchildren but that's OK. It never hurts to ask! I'll ask someone else, who knows maybe our paths will cross and I will get to ask him again.