Seven days on the road with friends and strangers can change a life forever!

We arrived in Chicago on Friday, 10/5 and immediately went to work. Our first contact was with Emmaus Ministries. They have worked in the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago for over two decades. With a primary focus of helping men stuck in male prostitution and drug abuse, they are incredibly dedicated and wonderfully relational! Our duty was to immerse ourselves in their culture; we had to make one friend and one observation. Each of our teams returned to the comfort of our YWAM house with both. God used the time we spent with Emmaus to open our eyes and our hearts to a need we didn’t even realize exists.  By being a constant presence of hope, followers of Jesus are making a big impression in a extremely dark place. It was a privilege to serve with them.

On Saturday, we served at Cornerstone, a community center and homeless shelter owned by Jesus People. While we toured JP’s facilities, we found numerous aspects of their community that fascinated us (though most admitted that living with 425 other people wasn’t really our thing). Once we got to the shelter,  we served dinner to both shelter residents and members of the community. Their generosity towards “the least of these” was inspiring and a great reminder of how we should operate even while at home. After serving almost 300 trays of ravioli, corn, fruit and bread, our team cleaned up their facilities.  Sweeping, mopping, wiping down, doing dishes… a great amount of effort went into making sure we got their rooms as clean and pretty as can be.

A day of tourism fit into our schedule perfectly. Deep dish pizza, Willis tower and the ferris wheel on the Navy Pier consumed our Sunday afternoon and evening. Once we got back to our YWAM house, we started baking homemade cookies and brownies for the dinner that we were supposed to serve on Monday night. It was a busy, late night but well worth the effort once we made it to the next day.

On Monday evening, we provided a moonlight picnic for the Night Ministries health bus. Their bus travels to three destinations each night, so we met up with them at their first stop on Wilson Street around 7pm. We served sandwiches, chips, granola bars and desserts to over 100 people. If anyone wanted second (or third or fourth) helpings, they were allowed to go back through the line and see us again. After we ran out of food to give, the bus and people stayed for almost a half hour. Prayers were offered and more friendships were made. Their stories and their resilience will stick with us forever. We do believe that our lives were changed by the sweet people we met that night… I just pray they were as touched by us as we were by them.

So, see?! Seven days can change everything. We couldn’t have come back unscathed. We couldn’t have come back oblivious or too forgetful. God completed some great works this week, and I know He started many more. We are so blessed to be called. In fact, we feel called to other places and to other people now. Please be in prayer about coming with us on our next journey.

In a matter of hours, we had put together a group of people to help them get home. We fed them, got them a hotel to clean up in, purchased Greyhound tickets for them, repackaged all of their stuff to travel and finally saw them head west around 1pm on Thursday. Our 24 hours in their life seems like stuff of legends now. We took them into our hearts and our homes. We splurged on the kids and they blessed us with wit and smiles and laughter.

Their journey home was rocky and I’m quite sure there were times I deemed my intervention too risky or just too much. However, the impact we had in just a few hours has stayed with us ever since. We’ve texted the family several times since these fateful days and I’m glad to say that they made it home with all of their stuff by that weekend.

Lessons learned??? Yeah, of course! Some of us learned that we have to be flexible to be used of God. Some of us learned how to listen to the promptings of God and turn our car and our lives around just at the spur of the moment. Others learned that God’s love was a lot like that lost mother’s – relentless, strong and powerful. Overall, we all learned that God has a great purpose for us being together and for us being able to REACH OUT.

It’s funny to note here that there’s not a single picture of Monique, Zach, Quinton or Erica. The only proof we have that this crazy story even happened is the joy we all still share because of it… well that and a worn-out Celtics cap Zach left in my car.

Thanks so much for taking time to look into helping our community! Frisco Reach Out has been giving to the underprivileged and underserved of the area for several years now and continues to grow and help in new ways each year.

Please take time to look through the information, photos and videos provided here and always feel free to ask any question. We’re always looking for new ways to work and we’re always open to discussing opportunities.

On Wednesday, April 4th, we took our first load of supplies to Mustang Creek Community Church in Forney. After being completely overwhelmed with supplies and volunteers, we were asked to take the second load of relief supplies to Lancaster. Even trying to get to our drop-off places was a learning experience, rarely having solid contacts or good directions but it all worked out in every way every time! David, from Genesis Metro, offered to take whatever supplies we might have to deliver on Saturday the 7th. Most of those went to help the Red Cross who were stationed in Lancaster High School’s field house.

Thinking our efforts were complete, I felt good about our experience but still had a nagging feeling that there was more that could be done. On Sunday afternoon, I received some info from one of our volunteers that Royse City had been overlooked by some of the major efforts. So piling back into the car and getting some very generous donations from our friends, family and volunteers, we set off to find an unincorporated section of Royse City that had been badly hit. Our first trip just brought supplies, but five people from the Frisco Reach Out family arrived bright and early on Tuesday morning to help a couple of families continue the clean up process.

Photos are at the top of the Photo page if you’d like to see the affects and efforts first hand. We were honored to serve with other volunteers that gave of their time and efforts for days on end so that people could experience compassion and feel like someone still cared. I thought we were going to clean up a house or two, but I know that we cared for these families and ministered to their pain in a unique way. Such a privilege to be the hands of God to a hurting world. I never pray for destruction or devastation, but I pray that I am able to minister hope when bad things find those whom God loves.

We left Dallas on Friday, the 17th and drove all the way in Atlanta. We knew it would be an interesting 16 hour drive, but it went easily and we spent most of those hours talking about what God had in store.

At 9am Saturday morning, we were supposed to meet a group called Church on the Street for their weekly Saturday outing. Even though we had served in homeless ministry before, the evident need in Downtown Atlanta was overwhelming. Working with the church’s usual crew, we packed up board games, coffee and goodies and went down to Renaissance Park. After cleaning up trash and debris, we settled in to have fellowship with our vulnerable neighbors. It was incredibly touching that they loved on us more than we loved on them… even when we didn’t have food, clothes or shelter to share.

For three hours that day, we made friends and served the downtrodden as if we were communing with Christ. Yeah, that sounds absurd or exaggerated, but the Spirit of God that graced us that morning was unlike anything I’ve found sitting in a church pew.

Sunday morning, we decided to get up very early and make a 4 hour trek to Savannah, trying to get there and attend a random church service before doing a little sightseeing. I know I say this every time I go to a new place, but Savannah was one of the most beautiful places I’ve been. Picnic in a park and an afternoon on Tybee Island was enough to make us feel loved. Funny note was that we found ourselves thanking God for ALL things, both large and small. When we found a parking place or the weather worked out, or not getting lost and being treated to random conversations with strangers… it was all by the hand of God.

Monday found us back with Church on the Street. We had originally thought we would have to just hang out that day since it was a national holiday and many charities were not accepting volunteers. But while we were with them on Saturday, Gary and Andy (the leaders) invited us back to Retreat from the Streets. Each weekday, the little loft at an old church is open and the homeless people are invited to partake in community, fellowship and Bible study. Diving right in to some very difficult passages, I realized quickly that the knowledge of these vulnerable ones would rival my own and might even teach me a thing or two.

Abruptly, Gary stopped the sharing in Bible study to have everyone participate in group prayer. For 45 minutes, we listened to these beautiful people pray for their most basic needs. Each was thankful for a night’s sleep and safety and the sun that they saw shining that morning and the breath that consumed their lungs. While I was contemplating my own problems and my own “needs,” the Lord’s Spirit was showing me just how much I still have to learn.

After that prayer time and fellowship with them, I was transformed. I’m finally able to define priorities. I am able to clearly see the plan and purpose of God, even in the most remote or strange places. Applying what I’ve learned and experienced in my walk with Christ is now an integral part to the growth I expect to see in others. I was bombarded by God’s grace in the most unlikely of places.

After a bit more sightseeing  and a little too much comfort food, we were able to volunteer at a pro-life pregnancy center in the suburbs. A childhood friend of Sonja’s has established a small clinic and counseling/resource center to help women in Kennesaw, Georgia. We were asked to sort clothes for infants and toddlers… a job we are quite seasoned at and that we love! I was also able to talk to the founder about the benefits of establishing a charity and by-laws and the step-by-step process I’ve been contemplating for Frisco Reach Out. She was an immense blessing, help and encouragement. Lifelong friends and partners to be sure.

Our last night in Georgia was spent working with the Lazarus Ministries. Each Tuesday night, a group of people from a local church meet up at a hospital/shelter and provide a meal for the women and children who could not fit anywhere else. I came to see exactly how strong these people are. A mother that can still have her children in a shelter and still show them love… she has more determination and heart than I can fathom.

After our experiences, the drive home was filled with sadness and hope. We were so sad that our trip was over, but so hopeful at what the Lord had birthed in our hearts and minds. I’m quite sure that the steps we take forward with what we do in Frisco will forever be impacted by the simple action of serving in Atlanta for 5 days one winter.