Feeling Blessed

Last night I went outside to get some fresh air. It has been so hot out here and it was finally cooling down, so I put baby boy down for his bed time, got some ice water and sat on the ground taking in the cool air. It was so refreshing. I looked around me and noticed the stars were out, the moon was shining, there were twinkling lights from the airplanes, the tall trees around me, and the quiet, peaceful sound. It was so awesome. I sat there looking at the sky and thinking how small I am in comparison of things. I was thinking how nice it was to take a breather after going through the heat everyday. The thing that really got me was feeling so small. I then starting thinking, "Lord, how awesome is it that you use my husband and I for this ministry! Why did you pick us out of all the others to be called where we are and doing what we are doing? It is so awesome and we feel so privileged! Thank you, God for calling us to this ministry!" We are so happy and feel so blessed to be called to work with the poor and homeless. This isn't an easy ministry to have because you do have to have a lot of patience, you have to win their trust, you can't really make a living out of it financially, people fight you because they want you to live the American dream and have wrong ideas of what the homeless are like. But, that is okay because we know without question that God called us here to do exactly what we are doing. There is nothing better than following what God wants for you to do and see Him work through you than to live whatever everyone else wants you to do. He has blessed us so much and is continuing to bless.
Some things that has been happening....
1) we are continuing to pastor a small congregation that was started a couple years back. They are growing spiritually and reaching their neighbors
2) we have started meeting and having Bible studies at a state assistance living apartment. It is growing every week. This is a group that has loads of questions and it takes a lot of patience because some of them have disabilities that can make it challenging. This is a great thing that is going because some of them could not sit in a regular church service and get anything from it. They need things explained and feel free to ask questions during the teaching. They are really responding to it. My husband is such a great teacher and has a gift that God gave him to be able to do this.
3) the homeless ministry is going so well. They run up to my husband on the street, wanting to know if he is the pastor they have heard about. They don't want money, food, clothing, shelter, they only ask that he teach them. They want him with them everyday guiding them. How often do you hear that? They do have needs that we aren't able to give at this point, but their main thing is teaching and friendship.
So, please pray for these ministries that God has given to us to do. When Jesus was here on earth, He faced the same things we do. He was homeless himself and reached the homeless, the prostitutes, the disabled. He reached all of them. What a privileged to be called to the same. I am so excited to watch the change in these peoples lives.
We also feel blessed for the people God has surrounded us with. I am in such awe at how He works. I was thinking the other day how I would sit and listen to missionaries that came to my church when I was a child. I would love hearing their stories. I remember one particular missionary that came who said that they sacrificed in order to be where they were at. They would sit at the table with no food and thank God for the food He was going to provide them. They heard a knock at the door and there was food sitting there for them to eat. I heard that story and thought, "Wow! That would be neat to see that happen! I hope I can do that some day!" Well, it has happened. I don't live in another country far off, but our mission field is right here. We don't get paid for the ministry that we do. The only job that God has opened up for making any money is delivering flowers and papers. Well, this last month we didn't even make enough to pay for the whole rent much less the other bills and food. It was amazing because the food that we had in the refrigerator and cabinets seemed to stretch longer than usual. We were going to be with our stomachs growling, but we did have a little to eat. We were then completely out of everything and wasn't going to have anything to eat that night and a lady gave us a bag of rice, vegetables, and things. I didn't know what exactly I could do to make it last, but it did. It lasted all week and I was able to come up with different recipes. We were then out of that stuff and one day (all on the same day) we received a gift card to a grocery store that we can buy the kinds of things that I can eat because of my allergies, we got a check from someone that said they didn't know why, but God laid it on their heart to give, and then we received another check from a couple because they had heard baby boy was crying for banana's and we didn't have any. Wow! That was overwhelming and I just got on my knees and started crying because it was going to be enough money to buy another week of groceries and pay the bills that we had overdue. Praise God!
That isn't the end of the story though. I talked to a friend of mine who is selling all they have so they can go to Guatemala and help the poor there. They are selling all their possessions and moving with their 4 children with no support, but faith in God. I was asking her if they had a missions board that they were working through for support with finances. She said, no. They knew God wanted them there and He was going to take care of them. They have told people their needs and have a website to be able to give, but that is it. I told them what we were going through and she said she was going to tell her friends about us so they could pray. We were just excited about that. The next morning I received an email from a lady I don't even know, but is a friend of my friend and she said the day she received information about us and our ministry and needs, she had received money back that she over payed for her business and that check was ours. It was a check that will give us food for a couple weeks. Even right now as I write all this, I am in tears and filled with such thankfulness for these people in allowing God to work through them and for thankfulness in God calling us to this ministry and for taking care of us. As small as we are in comparison to this world and God's big creation and yet He takes care of little, ole me. WOW!
So, there you have it. Why do we feel blessed? We feel blessed because we were called to be His children. We were called to do this ministry. We have some great people who give us so much support and are coworkers in His Great Ministry. Thank you!