flesh eaters

You've probably heard that there's been a run on purchases of zombie ammo due to the 3 separate cannibalistic attacks in South Florida. The common links have been homeless people snorting bath salts. Bath salts are readily available, legal and cheap and according to news reports make you feel like chewing someone else's flesh off.

When we went out yesterday to find non-cannibal hungry people, we had a hard time locating any in the normal places. When we did catch up with a group we know, they said that everyone (the homeless) is afraid of the police right now. The police have cracked down on the homeless and have been arresting them in droves using the crazy zombie attacks as the new found excuse for harassing them.

There are 10,000 people sleeping on the streets every night in South Florida and because 3 have gone on a crazy people eating spree, the powers that be want to harass the other 9,997 non-cannibals . I find it really hard to sit by idle and watch as the authorities persecute those who don't have the ability to defend themselves. Then I read something like what I found in Proverbs -

"Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." - Proverbs 31:8-9

The streets are a dangerous place, please pray for the people we are serving that God will keep them safe. Many seeds have been planted, please pray God will change many lives.

vagabond

Dream big or go home!

We have a huge God and he answers huge prayers. We have a dream of an outreach center in Miami that is a shelter for the homeless, a kitchen for the hungry, a pantry for the poor, a closet for the naked, a community for the lonely. 

That's why when we saw the Vegabond Motel on Biscayne Boulevard, we knew we found the perfect place for the center we dream about.

Please pray that God will make a way for us to own this motel and that he will provide all the funds necessary to renovate it. 

eye of the storm

The past couple of days in South Florida have been stormy. I was downtown Miami picking up a table at a condo that sits next to Biscayne Bay, there was no rain at the time, but, the wind was fierce. It turned what is normally a very beautiful and calm body of water into a tumultuous and ravaging scene. The blueness of the water was replaced with murkiness as the sand and sediment churning up to the surface. Later on in the day it started down pouring and has continued all night and all day so far today.

Whenever it gets stormy like this the homeless search for shelter and it's really hard to locate them. In such dark and dismal conditions, they are all alone, wet, cold, hungry and depressed. All they want to do is be dry, eat something and feel secure.

When life in general gets stormy, all WE want to do is have shelter from the storm and feel secure. It's very comforting to have people come beside us in the hard times and just be there to share the moment. How much more if God is the one that comes to comfort us?

In Ezekiel 34:11-12 it says-

"For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness."

Many times, as we've been given the opportunity to reach out to the homeless and hungry, we have been told that we were an answer to prayer, which seems weird. However, they say they had reached the end of their proverbial rope and cried out to God and we showed up with hot food, drinks, dry clothes or just a listening  and compassionate ear.

Who, in your life, is going though a storm? Do you think God is telling you to do anything about it? How can you reach out to them, letting them know God loves them and has not left them? 

What does Hope look like?

Blog Post by Wendy Kauffman

I read an article in the news last night before I went to bed. It was about an 11 year old Syrian boy who watched his entire family killed while he played dead on the floor to keep them from shooting him. Some say the story is propaganda. I don't know what the truth is. I woke up this morning praying for those who were affected by this attack. I felt such grief for them. I could not imagine what it would feel like to witness something like that. My heart was broken.

As I was praying I felt a sense a peace. I just kept hearing these words over and over in my head, "What does Hope look like"?  I started to get pictures in my head about what it looks like.  I know there are so many who don't have hope. There are so many who just need someone to tell them there is hope.

Today I realized for the first time that to have hope you must first believe that there is hope. I have heard so many people say these last few months, "Why bother, there is no hope". Why do we say that? Why is it so easy for us to let others trick us into believing that? Today I am grateful that I know there is hope. Today I am grateful that I know where Hope comes from. Today I am grateful that I have a voice to share that hope with others.

When we moved to Miami 10 months ago one of the things that we really wanted to do was show people that there is hope. As we have had to go through the ups and downs of getting settled into a new community it has been difficult at times to remember this ourselves. Please pray that we will always know there is hope and that we can share that with everyone we meet.