My representation of the expression of thanks and gratitude that Robert showed to us when he received his Bible.  

Meet Mike.  (Master Plumber) 

Today I was privaledged to be in Austin while Laura met a friend for lunch.  God led me to talk to Mike who was taking a break from "flying a sign."  I struck up a conversation with him and through the kindness of giving him some snacks and a drink, he opened up to me.  I shared with him the Good News of the Bible and gave him his very own Bible to read and learn from.  Good news was what Mike needed to hear as he shared with me later his struggles with wanting to end his life every day.  He told me with a sad la

ugh that if he wasn't such a chicken, he would have done it long ago.  I assured him I was glad he was such a chicken and there are actually wonderful things to live for.  God's love for him in sending His own Son to die on the cross for our sins, was not the least.  I told him about Malakai and how I would never have willingly given my son's life for anyone on this earth.  I don't have that kind of love.  But God, while we were still sinning, sacrificed His beloved Son on the cross.  I tried to give Mike hope that is eternal as well as hope of earthly progress.  These people honestly don't know how to get out of their situation.  The local homeless shelter doesn't let anyone shower after 3:00 pm, so anyone wanting to work a full day and then get a shower and bed is out of luck.  Not too convenient for people looking for help.  I told him about a ministry in SA where he could seek help as well as the nation's largest, most comprehensive homeless assistance facility which is under construction right now in SA.  I 

offered him a ride this afternoon if he would like to go, but he wasn't quite ready for that yet.  I left him my cell phone number so when he (and his girlfriend JoJo, and her brother Blake) were ready, I would take as many as would want to go.  The greatest thing these people need is answers.  They don't know what's out there beyond the "woods" as they call the streets in Austin.  They don't have anyone to turn to, and so they help the people who have become their family, in the street world that has become their home.  They survive, as they tell me, but would love it to be different.  Bad decisions brought them here, but now, to many of them, there's no way out.  Bottom is Jeff, a musician who is waiting for the Federal Government to complete a "case" he's been involved in.  He's sure that any day he will hear from someone and he'll get "out."   ;)

Lamentations 4 paints an accurate picture of these souls.....

    

5 Those who once ate delicacies
are destitute in the streets.
Those nurtured in purple
now lie on ash heaps.
8 But now they are blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as a stick.
15 "Go away! You are unclean!" men cry to them.
"Away! Away! Don't touch us!"
When they flee and wander about,
people among the nations say,
"They can stay here no longer."

Yesterday, Laura, Josh and Courtney Roberts, and I had a wonderful experience with more hurting people who live on the streets of San Antonio.  Mary, "Preacher", Edward the Drifter, and Robert (below) along with Doug, Steven, Jon (Mary's husband of 18 years) and a couple of Katrina victims who now live in San Antonio, helped us again to broaden our viewport through which we perceive people in our world.  God called us to preach and teach all nations baptizing and making disciples.  So often we are certain that God is not talking about the grungy people who are smoking a homemade cigarette and drinking their second or third beer of the day.  

Edward's father was stabbed to death when he was 2 and his mother then left him to be raised by his grandmother.  She died when he was 12 and he was forced to work to keep his sisters fed. Drugs was the most available source of income and that carried him for a lot of years.  He married and had kids but when the drugs and money took priority in his life, as they always do, his wife left him with the kids and took every dollar he had.  He began walking the streets, finding himself in and out of jail for various violations, not the least of which was man slaughter, when in a drunken rage he strangled another man for stealing all his possessions.  He found his way to a homeless mission in Memphis where he was introduced to a light that shines brighter than all the pleasures of sin.  He came to understand the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross for our sins and his need for repentance.  He continues to live on the streets, but as he shared with me, he knows he has to take the steps to get out of the mess he's in.  Tears ran down his cheeks as he share with us his story, recounting all he'd squandered for the love of money and dependence on drugs.  He made sure that before we left we all held hands and had a word of prayer for each of us.   Jon and Mary are homeless but every Sunday they help organize "Church Under the Bridge" for other homeless people, and every second Sunday of the month, they make a lunch for the people there.  We just have no idea who God is using to serve the "least of his brethren."  That verse probably isn't talking about the poorest family in your church.  Next time you see a person on the street, stop, take time to care and listen to their hurting hearts.  Give them a little food or a cold drink and they'll open their heart to you.  Your impact may not be immediately evident in their lives, but don't count out God's power in the equation of ministering and evangelizing.  Robert clutched his Bible when I passed one to him and kissed it weeping quietly to himself.  Seeing a reaction like that will motivate you to step out of the boat and enter the zone of discomfort and the unknown.  Only then will you see God begin to work!

"Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men...."

Christ's description to the disciples is exactly what he wants you and I to be as well.  I was blessed to have run into a young man named Brandon today at the lake.  He had 3 poles in the water hoping for a bite, even after all his minnows fell in the lake.  I took a short relaxing swim and then struck up a conversation with him.  As God is always faithful, Brandon welcomed a spiritual conversation as he had just lost his grandpa in the past few years.  This was an opportunity for me to share with him that I understood his sorrow.  I shared Malakai with him and through the tenderness of that story helped Brandon see clearly his personal need for repentance and faith in Jesus for his salvation.  After walking Brandon through the law and our pitiful state before a Holy and Just God, he asked the perfect question....."So what's the answer, what can we do about it? "  That's about the time the chills go up my spine as I get to share with another person while reminding myself of the ultimate love of our God through His Son.  Once the groundwork of the Law and sin was laid, the Saviour was made special and important for Brandon.  He thanked me as I left and I encouraged him to "get right with God, tonight."  Brandon smiled and nodded, "I will!"  Pray for Brandon!

Thank you God for Malakai.  

Do you ever lose heart and feel like you can't take another step. That's where I am right about now. Laura and I have had to watch helpless as another child along with a huge part of our heart passed from this life into eternity. Although there is comfort in knowing Malakai is at rest waiting for the return of the Lord, as we are, the pain of touching tiny hands and feet that will never walk beside you or hold your hand is the hardest thing I've ever done. We appreciate so much all the prayers and cards and phone calls to encourage us during our loss. There's no prouder moment in a man's life than when his first son is born. There is no harder moment, than when that son lays lifeless in your hands. The moments that we had holding and marveling at our Malakai were moments that I'll burn into my heart and mind for all my life. The only time I'll forget that morning is the glorious morning when we meet him in the air, when our little boy runs to meet us in his glorified body and white robe.  What a day that will be.  

I'm trying to find strength through this experience to help me share the Gospel of Jesus with more compassion and boldness.  Life is so out of our hands and the only thing we can know for sure is whether or not we are clinging to our Saviour.  Laura has said that many times in the past weeks that she feels she can only fling herself at the feet of Jesus and cling to the hem of His garment.  When you are so low you have two options.....lose yourself in the fire of sorrows, or you can find yourself in the sorrows through the strength of our Lord.  Laura and I have experienced different emotions throughout this time, but we both have to "find ourselves in our sorrows."  Oswald Chambers said, "someone who has found themselves in the fire of their sorrows always has time for another soul who is suffering."  Perhaps this is the key to using our experience of having and letting Malakai go, to further the Gospel.  The verse on our announcement will be engraved on his tombstone.