O Come Let Us Adorn Them

Hi friends,

In October, my sister, Karen, let me know about a Christian homeless ministry event that was taking place in Manchester, NH, on December 3rd.  It was called ‘O Come Let us Adorn Them’, and it was being run by a longtime family friend, Henry.  He and his family attended the same church that Karen and I grew up in.  I had not seen or spoken to Henry in over twenty years!  He is involved in full time ministry to the homeless.

At this event, I knew that free items such as winter clothing, scarves, hats, gloves, and hygiene products would be given freely.

 I felt so strongly in my heart that God was calling me to assist in the way of making cards and bookmarks with Scriptures or other Christian sayings on them.  I asked Karen if she would please give my contact information to Henry, and she graciously agreed.

On October 12th, I received an email from Henry.  Karen had told him a little bit about our ministry, and what I would like to do.  Henry was so encouraging from the beginning, and he showed a great deal of enthusiasm about this.

When I told our little team, they showed great excitement about it and wanted to help.  They pitched in and began making things right away.  I am so grateful to each of them because I couldn’t have done it without them.  I am also touched deeply that they caught the burden for people in my neighboring community, and they sought to minister to them as if they were their own neighbors.  Isn’t that what loving as Christ would all about?  God is not boxed in by our locations!

I asked Debbie to speak to why she and her daughter, Feather, felt called to assist me in this project.  This was her response:

“Both Feather and I, when we heard about this event...it just really touched our hearts. The homeless is such a huge problem; we see homeless people around here all the time on street corners with their signs, breaks our hearts. When we have cash we always give it to them”.

Not only were these ladies actively involved in making things, but they prayed fervently for the people to whom we would minister and receive our items.  I would also like to express my thanks to Karen for being willing to assist with our table that day.

God moved beyond our wildest dreams!   At the event, Karen and I both feel God forever changed us through this experience.  We arrived early because we had heard there may be an issue with parking, and we were unsure of the location.  To our utter shock, there was already a long line of homeless people standing in front of the building, waiting to be let in.  It was cold that day, and very windy.  They waited there at least 90 minutes!

Some were improperly dressed for winter, simply because they didn’t own winter clothing.  We saw men, women, children, and even babies who were out there shivering in the cold, waiting for a warm place to come into.

Once inside, a church service was held, and the Gospel message was presented both in a short message and in song.  Afterward, lunches were served to everyone.  Then, it was time to head downstairs to receive the gifts that were there.

There were over 300 less fortunate ‘shoppers’, as well as over 200 volunteers.  The volunteers represented 50+ churches and ministries, from all denominational backgrounds.  It was such a beautiful thing to see the body of Christ working together to love on these precious people, with no thought given to doctrinal differences.  We were simply there to love.

There are SO, SO many testimonies that came as a result of this event that I will be writing more about those in coming days.  I am just presenting a little introduction here, but many God stories will follow!

When God moves, He moves.  The love and joy inside that building that day were absolutely incredible.  People were prayed over, and some people did indeed come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  For those who did not accept Christ that day, I have no doubt in my mind that seeds were planted, and so we pray that God will complete the good work He started in their lives.

We must learn to see everyone as children of God, to treasure all, to see their worth through the eyes of Jesus, and to seek to love them as He does.  When we shine our lights, we are a reflection of the Light of the World, our Lord and Savior.  We continue to pray for those who were ministered to that day, and we are so thankful to Henry, and to God for allowing us to play a small role in this event.

In total, over 800 of our items were given that day.  This is not said to be prideful, but rather to show God’s glory in all things. 

When we are humble before Him, when we listen to His call, His voice, He can work wonders and do great and mighty things!

I am SO looking forward to sharing with you more about this experience.  God used this day not only to bless the people there, but also to bless us beyond measure.

As more testimonies pile in, we are in utter amazement about what our big God has done and will continue to do.  This is not to brag on us, but rather, to brag on Him!  He is worthy of all praise and glory, and we humbly give that to Him!  May He continue to be glorified in all we say and do. 

Blessings,  Kim