I NEED YOUR HELP!

Whether you're a close friend, a family member, or a bloggy friend I need your help. Actually "they" need your help. Who? Those that have nothing. They have no hope and no home. They live on our streets. They live under bridges, in the woods, wandering the streets. They are ignored and pushed aside. Their hearts are broken. They are the homeless. They have names and faces. They are sons and daughters, mothers and fathers. You can click here for my post "Without a Place to Call Home". In that post are pictures that I took when I went out to see for myself what is going on in our cities. I could not believe my eyes. My heart was broken. It still is. I can no longer sit back and do nothing.

Breakthrough Ministries is a non-profit that is trying to get a grip on ending homelessness. It is a start up organization (one year old) that goes out on the streets seeking and ministering to those that are lost. The goal is to bring these sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers in to a place where they have food and shelter. To love them where they're at and then to get them the help they need when they're ready. Finally, to teach them how to make it on their own in this world. In order to do this, we need your help.

How can you help? Click here or on the picture in the top left sidebar. We need people to raise pledges for our Sleep-A-Thon. You get people to sponsor you to stay overnight in a tent. Or you could just sleep right under the stars as so many homeless people do. The sleep-a-thon (A Night Under the Stars) is Saturday, September 11 - Sunday, September 12, 2010. There will be prizes for the top 3 people that raise the most pledges. We also need volunteers to help on those 2 days. This event will be held in Faribault, MN at Straight River Golf Course. They are our corporate sponsor in cooperation with Keeping It Personal and have donated their golf course for 2 days! In addition to the Sleep-A-Thon this will be a fun family event. There's no cost, but donations will be accepted. Ayiesha Woods will be our featured performer. She is an amazing Christian singer and song writer. There will be golf tournaments, including twighlight golf. There will be lots of fun for kids as well. Click here for more details.

Here are ways you can help:

• Take the pledge to get sponsors
• Register to attend the event
• Volunteer prior to and/or at the event
• Be an event sponsor
• Register for one of the golf tournaments
• Make a donation
• Donate a prize
• Help me get the word out about this event!
• All proceeds from my Blogher Ads from now until this event will go directly to this event. Any purchases made would be a blessing to this organization!

If you're not local, would you consider donating? Breakthrough Ministries is a 501c3 and donations are tax deductible (consult your tax consultant). Would you consider sponsoring my family? Leave me a comment and I will get in touch with you.

Would you repost this information on your blog, in your communities, on twitter, on facebook and any other way you have? Leave me a comment and let me know what you do so that I can thank you!!! I wish I had something cool to give away for an incentive for you, but I don't. All I have is a thank you. But it is a BIG THANK YOU!

On a more personal note...this is my feeling on this matter:
There are many people who feel that most of these people are there because that's what they want. They feel that they're there by choice. Maybe so. But our we called to judge? No. And actually I don't know anyone who's out there because they want to be. Yes, many of them have fallen victim to drug and alcohol addictions. But what got them there in the first place? What keeps them there? Many of them came from bad, broken homes. Many of them were abused. Many of them have mental illnesses and can't see their way out. Many of them are our veterans who have fought for your freedom. What if it was your son or daughter on the street? Or your brother or sister? Would you want someone to judge them or love them? It is not the government's job to continue to take care of these people. It's our job. We need to love them, feed them, cloth them, and give them shelter. We can no longer sit back and expect our government to love these people. We must do it. It is time for the church to rise up and love our neighbors. And who is the church? You and me!

This scripture really speaks to me...

Matthew 25:31-46
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.



34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’


41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’


44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’


45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

I pray that you are moved. I pray that you are not only moved in your heart, but also physically. I pray that this would spread like wild fire. I pray that you would be afflicted as you sit in your warm (or cool) home right now. I pray that your heart would break for what breaks God's heart. And I pray that you would act with abounding love. In Jesus' name.

Christmas for the homeless

This post is a little late since it happened on December 22, 2009.  Better late than never right?

I was talking to my hubby one night.  It was about 2 weeks before Christmas.  He wanted to have a big Christmas Party for the homeless.  One like I helped to plan last year at Midwest Challenge, complete with gifts.  The thing about that party, it was A LOT of work.  Hours and hours of planning.  And there was just not enough time to pull this off.  So, I convinced him thought I convinced him to just have a simple gathering with the few guys at the house.  A small dinner for 6.  I promised we would do something big, next year.  Well, on the Sunday before Christmas (TWO DAYS before the Christmas "dinner") we're talking to some people at church and I hear my husband say, "there'll be about 35 - 40 people there".  WHAT?!  I calmly smile and when we get in the car I ask him "who's making this dinner?" and he smiles back "you?".  Ahhhh....hmmmm....really? 


I tell him how I don't have time for this.  I have Christmas shopping to do, presents to wrap, cookies to bake, dinners to prepare for, etc. and I only have a certain amount of time to do it because I have to work on Christmas Eve.  I'm really a little angry at this point.  Then God "buds" in.  :)  He gently brings to mind what Christmas is really about.  I hear "Really?  You're worried about shopping and wrapping presents?  You're worried about having a nice dinner for your family who wants for nothing?  You're too busy to help the very people that you have a heart for?"  WOW!  I was so ashamed of my attitude.  So, quickly I said I was sorry Lord, for making this all about this stuff, instead of all about YOU! 


On Monday I decided to throw this out on FB.  I said that I was trying to prepare a meal for some homeless people and asked if anyone had a couple of pies laying around and if they wanted to bring a dish.  By the end of the day, I had everything we needed to make this an awesome evening.  Not only that, but we had plenty of help.  It was amazing!  Here's how our night turned out...

My dear friend Lisa who was a huge part in bringing the meal together and my new friend Shelbie who at a moments noticed not only cooked a ham, but came and served along with her family.

The kids had a great time making treat bags for the homeless.
The bags were filled with lots of goodies and were hand decorated and had scriptures and messages from the kids on them.

Kelle (Tim's wife) & Ken Ailes

Cleaning as we go!

I truly have to say that this was without a doubt the best Christmas I've ever had.

Our guests, literally came off the streets.  The guys went and picked them up from under the bridges and in front of the shelters.  As they were being kicked out of the shelters because there was no more room, Dave and Tim picked them up and brought them to the house.

Some new friends!

My son Mitchell's favorite part of the evening was handing these bags out.

It brought several of our guests to tears.

One of our guests who shared her life and her heart with our children.

She told the story of how drugs got her where she is and that she can't find her teenage son. She's been walking the streets looking for him for days.  She was in tears several times talking about him.  She told the kids how bad decisions can bring you to bad places.  The sat and listened to her talk for an hour, asking bold and honest questions to which she answered.

Pete and his family (a board member)

Teri, who lives under a bridge, is in the bottom right corner.

More guests

A couple of guests and some of the kids who were there to serve.

Tim and one of our guests.

It truly is pure love coming from these guys.

Gathering for prayer before dinner.

There was a big snow storm on this evening.

Dave invited everyone to stay at the house in a warm bed or at least couch if they ran out of beds.

One guy got a little panic stricken and was afraid that Dave wouldn't bring him back.

We assured him that we would.

One couple (friends) who live under a bridge didn't want to come at first because they too thought that maybe they wouldn't be brought back.  But they did come and they chose to stay at the house that night.

It's amazing what happens when you build a bridge of trust.

Servant hearts these guys have.

Some of our guests.

They were all in awe of the beautiful homemade, hand decorated Christmas cookies.

That and the bags the kids gave them were definately the highlight of the evening.

I was in awe of the simple things that made them smile.

When I asked him if he had enough to eat, this is what he did. :)

My daughter Mackenzie.  Her life was changed this night.

One of our guests with my husband, Dave.

The kids eating dinner. 

I truly believe that their hearts are forever changed.

Cleaning up!

Amy, Kelle, Lisa, Me, Shelbie and Jen

Thanks ladies!  We couldn't have done this without you!

I must say that this was the most humbling experience I've ever had.  My life was forever changed and I will never think of Christmas in the same self-centered way that I did before that night.  Well, at least I will try not to.  Next year, we're going to serve even more people. If even for just one night, we will show them the love of Christ.

Psalm 108:6 Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered.

Forever changed I am,

Chris

Breakthrough Ministries Gala Event

We are having the very first Gala Fundraising Event for Breakthrough Ministries.  It will be on Saturday, February 27 at 6:00 pm.  It will be held at Cedar Valley Church in Bloomington, MN.  I'm really excited about this event.  Great things are happening literally EVERY day!  I will be coordinating this event so I will be a little busy over the next few weeks.  Thankfully, I have an amazing group of people that are on the planning committee.  It's going to be a great evening...I just know it. 

I can't pass up this opportunity to give you the chance to bless the homeless.  If you would like to help in any of the following ways, just post or email me. 

• Attend the Gala Event
• Be a corporate sponsor
• Be a table captain - commit to filling a table of 8
• Donate items (or help get donations) for the silent auction and raffle
• Donate a large item for the raffle.  (TV, trip, computer/digital stuff, etc)
• Make a tax deductible financial contribution

My mind is constantly at work.  It never stops.  I have run over so many different scenarios for this evening in my head.  I know it's going to be amazing!!!  Will you join us?

I've been bad...

at blogging! Wow! The time just flies by. I'm trying to spend more time with God, more time with my husband and more time with my children. Which means less time for blogging. Plus, I'm so tired at nighttime lately. I used to be a night owl and now I'm exhausted and can barely stay up for the news. I'll be working on a pictures post this weekend. My oldest daughter, Amanda, is spending the weekend with us so she is going to show me how to use Photoshop. I was blessed with a laptop from work that has the really good fully loaded Photoshop on it and I have not had the time to learn how to use it.

There are so many amazing things happening in our lives right now and I can't wait to share some of them. But I do want to share the latest. Many of you already know that my husband has started a ministry. It's called Breakthrough Ministries. It's a ministry that's aimed at ending homelessness in the Twin Cities. There's so much more to it than that. Anyways...a few months ago we did a walk about to find some of the homeless tent areas. After hours of walking and climbing and crawling, quite literally, we found Nick. He was living in a tent under a bridge in St. Paul. Well, last Monday, Dave and Tim moved Nick out from under the bridge and into their first house. How fitting that the first homeless person we came in contact with is the first one to move into one of their houses. God is doing amazing things! Check out their new website. They also have a blog that has lots of pictures and a video of Nick. They even made a documentary and it's on You Tube.



I'm so proud of my husband. He has stepped out in faith. It's amazing to see what a couple of guys can do when God breaks their hearts for what breaks his.

I just love Nick. He's such a special man. When I went on the first walk about to seek out the homeless, I had such a hard time walking away from Nick. I couldn't believe that I had to leave him there. Under that bridge. I said to myself, I can't do this again. Not until we have homes to bring these people to. I can't go out there and meet them and not be able to help them. Once your eyes have seen it's unbearable to think of the people sleeping outside. The conditions they sleep in. Some of them are sleeping with just an old blanket and nothing more. Especially once it really starts to get cold. My heart literally aches thinking about it. I hope you will watch the documentary and that God will indeed break your heart as well. The men, women and children living without a place to call home is devastating. Right here in our own city.

The task seems insurmountable, but I know we can win!

Ending with this scripture:
Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.

Without a place to call home

Tuesday, August 18

We held our very first prayer meeting in our home to officially launch the start of BreakThrough Ministries. Although we are in the process of incorporating and filing for 510c3 status, this was the prayer launch. It was an amazing time. God was speaking to everyone, including 10 year old Ellie. It was during this meeting that God told me to "GO" with Dave, Tim and Hector to find the homeless encampments in St. Paul. If any of you know me, you might be saying the same thing I did, "WHAT?!?!". I'm not a very venturous person, especially when it comes to danger. And I've always thought of that as a little dangerous for many reasons. But I couldn't get God's voice out of my head. Even on Wednesday when I went to work, I didn't really know if I was going to do. But then after talking with some of my friends and people I trust, not one of them said don't go. So, I think I heard my husband fall off his chair when I called him Wednesday afternoon and asked him if I could go!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

When we got in the car, it was pouring rain, ominous skies and tornado sirens blaring.

I had complete peace!

This is St. Paul.

We actually had already been walking for an hour at this point,

had turned in a loaded pistol to the St. Paul police department,

and now switched locations.

Not that I thought we were going to pull up to the curb and walk a few feet to the homeless encampments, but I guess I wasn't planning on this! We actually had to crawl under this fence at the bottom of this hill.
We came upon our first "bed" under that tunnel on the right.


This was the first "bed" we came upon.
I won't even call it a home, because it's not!
YES, that's rock and gravel under that thin, worn blanket.



A homeless man.
We tried to talk to him, but he really wasn't interested.
So, we moved on and prayed for him.


Another bed!



This place is in the middle of these huge boulders.


Some of their personal hygene items.


Can you imagine sleeping in this bed?

This is Hector. I'm certain that God knew he was going with us and he is the reason I felt so safe and at peace. Hector has great street knowledge. He is also a decorated Commando Army Ranger Veteran. He was the only one out of the 4 of us who was dressed for this mission and was the only one with dry feet at the end of the night as well!

This is Tim who has spent much time with Dave trying to get this ministry off the ground.

Me, waiting for my hubby to help me down!

I'm still afraid of heights!

Dave, yes in shorts, putting some chocolates in the cubby.

A homeless man walking just beyond the fence.

Abandoned building.

Yet another bed under this piece of old carpet.

Someone lives here.

Do you call this a home?

See them way up there?

Ya, I was lagging behind with many blisters at this point!

What a lonely place.

At this point we'd been walking about 4 hours.

We were all a little discouraged by now.

We really had not met anyone that would talk to us.

Dave.

But we press on.

Another encampment.

Many people sleep under tarps.

Finally, at the end of the night, another homeless man told us how we could find Nick.

At this point I had my flip flops on. I didn't know where we were going to have to walk to find him. Oh my! Down a very steep sandy hill and then up another one. Nick laughs about that now.

This is the bridge he lives under.

James 1:27 (The Message)
26-27Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

Matthew 25:35-38 (New Living Translation)
35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?

This is now our ministry. God has been bringing us down this path for a while. It's been a dream of mine for almost 20 years and now it's coming true. God truly knows the desires of our hearts. I've known this for a long time. I've even given a couple of teachings talking about this. And then Beth Moore talked about this during her simulcast on Friday and Saturday. How funny God is. What great lengths He will go to in order to allow for us to hear Him and to know that He is right here. I'm humbled. I'm honored to do as His Word says.

I'll be posting more about Nick soon. He's such a sweet man.

Dave has been picking him up and bringing him to church the past two weeks. I can't tell you how it warms my heart to stand next to him in church as we worship and hear the Word of God. It is our desire that this ministry gets off the ground SOON! I do not want for us to have to continue to bring Nick back to his tent underneath that bridge. We need everything to come together so that we can bring him to his new home...soon!

Lord, it is my hearts desire that by the end of September Nick would lay his head down on a soft pillow, in a soft, warm bed with a roof over his head. Lord I desire for Nick to know that he is loved by many and especially by YOU!

Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

I do delight in you Lord!

If you would like more information or feel moved to help us get this ministries started, please feel free to leave a comment. You can also visit the BreakThrough Ministries Blog.