Hi everyone!

Well, it's been 3 months since I left my job of 17+ years at Boyd & Boyd, Inc., put all of our belongings in storage and Wendy and I packed up the kids and pets and moved to South Florida with the ultimate goals of starting an outreach to the poor and starting a church for people very far from God.

To say the least it's been an absolute adventure with shocks, surprises, horrors, victories, education and "Ah-Hah moments" behind every twist and turn of the road. We realized going into this that it would be the hardest thing we would ever do and have not been let down. We also knew that it would be the most amazing thing we would ever do and that God would have our back and we have not been disappointed with that either.

So far God has allowed our accomplishments to be as follows:

1. Establishing "ReMerge, Inc., a Florida non-profit corporation", which is the umbrella of our outreach to the poor, by helping South Floridians transition from a hopeless life to a productive, healthy and generous one, breaking the cycle of hopelessness by promoting personal responsibilty, education and activity;

2. Establishing a weekly feeding program for the homeless on Saturday mornings at a local neighborhood park;

3. Establishing a street ministry where we "hunt down" homeless people and feed them pizza where they are. Spending time listening to them, instead of trying to "fix" them and praying with them, asking for God's grace and providence in their lives;

4. Establishing relationships with our neighbors and fellow temporary housing residents at the long term motel we are living at, showing Jesus' love by doing random acts of love and kindness to addicts, drug dealers, prostitutes, strippers, alcoholics and other people that feel very far from God. We served Thanksgiving dinner to them and made huge leaps and bounds in relationship building.

5. Establishing the weekly "Work for Food" program that enlists the help of the homeless to clean up neighborhoods, parks and business districts by picking up trash. All in an effort to win the hearts of the community while providing gift cards, good at local businesses, to the homeless, helping provide for some of their daily needs.

You may have noticed that all of these accomplishments have one word in common: "establishing", they are all active works in progress. We are learning and growing all at the same time and it's been exciting every step of the way.

If you have been reading the blog, you may have seen Wendy's post the other day about helping a battered lady get to a safe place. Her husband had threatened, choked and held a gun to her head the night before and while he was at work the next day, we helped her get to her family. He found out (by intimidating someone) that we helped her and confronted me about it last night. He's a bit bigger than me, but, I knew that I was right and he couldn't deny it. Surprisingly, as he threatened and spat and cussed me, I felt calm and confident that God was in control. Standing firm in the truth had a different meaning last night. Please pray for "Alma's" safety and that her abusive husband will find Jesus. We have learned that sheltering abused women is a powder keg that will take a lot of prayer, sneakiness, confidence and wisdom to make sure nobody else gets hurt.

My lifelong friend, Matt Geil, came for a short visit at the beginning of November and it was a true blessing to see him. He brought his 11 year old son, Dawson, who got along with Samuel, Jacob and Ruth like they had been friends all their lives. Reminded me of how Matt and I used to get along when we were kids. I value that friendship so much and can't imagine what it would be like to not have friends like Matt.

Many people in Miami are so lonely and broken, we hurt when we see them and are glad to meet them. People do not want to be alone and Jesus does not want them to be alone either. Reaching out to people and being their friend is an extension of Jesus' love.

Wendy's work has tapered off to almost nothing and I did a temporary job with Bank of America that ended after 7 work days. We were able to get our large van operable and have started moving people again. This has been a lot of fun, as we are getting into peoples lives when they need help. We have been able to share what we are doing and have even garnered a little support. Our monthly support has been low and we seem to live day by day, trusting that God will provide. This has been very difficult for us and we become discouraged often, however, God always does provide and many of you have been the answer to our prayers. Please pray that God continues to provide for all of our needs.

Our friend Joel Anderson has been here since the beginning and has been an amazing help in all aspects. He is encouraging when we are down, a helping hand when there is work, a friend when we feel alone, a fresh wind of ideas when we run out of them and a true testament of how God can change people. He also needs your prayers for safety, housing, income and health. He has truly forsaken all to follow God and I've yet to hear him complain when times get tough. 

If you have commited to help support us monthly, please do so now, we only had two people give last month. We rely upon every penny that's been commited and when it does not come in, we end up spending more time trying to make ends meet than we do ministering to the poor. We don't mind working, but, every donation helps us to minister to more people.

If you have not commited to help support us as "missionaries to Miami", please pray about it. Taking into consideration that everyone we feed, pray for, put to work, love and care for is someone's son or daughter or brother or sister and someday someone in your life might be in their shoes. Wouldn't you want someone to be there for them? You can be somebody's miracle. I don't expect you to give, but, I do hope you will pray about it. If you do decide to give, we have a convenient PayPal option or if you want to send a check, please send me an email and I will give you some options on how and where to do so.

Thank you all for being there for us, your prayers and support are greatly appreciated. We could not do this without you,

Love Jeff, Wendy and kids