Praise the Lord!
Wow, it is such a blessing to see our heavenly Father pour out such a rich blessing in abundance. Jeff and I have each been working with a ministry within IHOP-KC called Manna_4U. As the name implies, this is a ministry to help provide food for individuals within our community who are physically hungry and currently without monetary means to buy food. Typically the food comes from local grocery stores who donate items that are near the 'sell by' date, fruit/vegetables that are less than perfect, or items which have damaged packaging such as a crushed box, peeling label or dented can. (Yes, I have read the reports. You do not need to email me about dented cans.) The recipients can come to Manna_4U three days per week for a couple of hours in the afternoon and 'shop' from the items available that day. The selection is always changing, based on whatever is provided for that day-hence the name Manna. I have the privilege of working while people come and shop on Mondays. It is great to be able to pray with and encourage people who have such a humble spirit. Singles, mothers, fathers, families, people of all ages from all walks of life come. One thing that blesses me is the gratitude of the recipients, not just for the material provision of food but to the Lord for His faithfulness. Because these folks are 'forced' to live by faith, they do not take having food to eat for granted. Most of the people in America that I know do not rely on the Lord for food. That don't have to. Food is a given. No faith required. Not really any need there pressing them to pursue the Lord. Sadly the truth is that our needs are actually God's gift to us, to direct our attention and affections toward Him. Oh that we would love Him with such pureness of devotion that this would not be the case.
Also working with Manna_4U, Jeff has been able to assist Skip in picking up food, as well as off loading 'the quail'. Specifically the Lord opened a door in July/August for the ministry to receive a donation 8000 pounds of frozen meat each month. In fact, this last load was 11,000 lbs! That is a LOT of bacon, bologna, chicken, ham, etc....Jeff helps to put the pallets in the freezer for storage before distribution. The humorous thing was that there were actually some quail in one of the deliveries!
Pray not only for continued supply but also increase. There are many hungry people in this current economy. Pray that the Lord will abundantly bless the businesses of the grocery stores and distributors who so generously donate. Pray also that our weak hearts will pursue Him in abundance and in lack.Blessed to be a blessing,
Kristian
4 comments:
Don't worry about eating food from "dented cans". You have a natural, built-in immunity from anything that dented cans might cause, since all of you grew up on "dented cans" in the Gabriel/Williams household! How else could we have raised six HUNGRY kids? Kinda like when you catch the chicken pox, you have immunity from future infections!
[This is also funny: the "word verification" that I had to enter into Google in order to post this was "eater"!]
Forgot to ad: quail are VERY expensive. You might be able to "exchange" them for 10 loaves of bread!
I think the dented cans we ate from made us the way we are. Insert your own comment.
So how does that affect me????
Mallory
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