Faithful Prayer Partners,
Spring Break 2012 was a resounding success! Thro
ughout this update, I’ll include some pictures of the work the mission groups did throughout that week. FBC Earth, FBC Idalou, Calvary BC Friona, and Rush Creek Church Arlington painted four houses, added dress shoes and seasonal shoes to inventory and organized the hygiene and household items at A Step Up, and did kids clubs in five apartment communities. I’m beyond thankful for groups that will come and sacrifice their week to help the least of these. They did an outstanding job and I look forward to working with them again.
Now that the hygiene and household items are on the shelves, we only need a few more items to make our inventory complete. Throughout the rest of this week, I will be speaking with area businesses and grocery stores to see how they ca
n help us collect these items. Please pray that the we would be able to collect all the items we need and that the families who receive them would be blessed and know that God is showing them His kindness. We will make these items available through the schools this week, so please pray with me that this would be an effective ministry that blesses those who receive.
We have two new outreaches to pray about. First of all, the pastor at Eastridge BC has begun holding a bible study for Burmese Karen (pronounced Kah-RIN) and Kareny believers at Green Tree Village. We have an existing church plant there that attracts African refugees there and it’s a beautiful thing to see two pastors cooperating to reach residents for God’s Kingdom. Please pray for the work at Green Tree Village, that God would make His name famous, that He would open the hearts of the many Muslims that live there, and that all residents there would be reached with the gospel of Jesus.
One of our board members, Will Ratliff, has gathered a team and begun knocking doors and praying with residents at Glenwood Apartments. He hopes that some sort of missional community will form out of these efforts. So far, people have been receptive to the offers for prayer. It’s possible that they have met their person of peace there, so please pray for God to use Will’s team to make disciples of the residents of Glenwood Apts. and the surrounding area.
While at the Verge Conference earlier this month, I met with a campus pastor from an Amarillo church who is considering enlisting at least one small group to invest in an area elementary school that is in an impoverished community. I plan on meeting with him again this week to talk more about what this outreach would look like. Please pray that the Lord of the Harvest would prepare the hearts of the people in this area to receive His gospel and to give this church patience as they learned the challenges of reaching people in poverty.
As part of the upcoming Opportunity Conference, our Wheels to Prosper team will give away a car to a needy family. They are in the process of evaluating applications, so please pray that the Lord would guide them to the family that would be helped the most. Reliable transportation is often the biggest obstacle to a family transitioning out of poverty, so we’re excited to see God bless a family in a way that could have long term impact.
Last of all, please pray for us as we continue planning our first ever fundraiser, Walk a Mile in My Shoes, May 26. We are in the process of finding sponsors and registering teams. Our goal is to raise $12,000 through Walk a Mile in My Shoes and our fall banquet, Miles of Hope. Please pray that the Lord would inspire some area businesses to sponsor us and that we would have plenty of teams to participate in the walk. We’re excited about these fundraisers and appreciate your prayers as we continue the planning involved.If you or your business would like to be a sponsor for the walk, please contact me at jspmho@gmail.com or give me a call at (806) 236-3487.
Thank you for your prayers and support.
Grace,
Jeff Parsons, Director
