Happy New Year!!!!!!!! May your new year bring Joy, Peace, Love and Health. Thank you all for your compassionate hearts to our homeless friends and for joining us on this journey to show the love of Christ.

Please, please get your receipts in for 2010, for Meet Me Under The Bridge. Please mail to: MMUTB P.O. Box 42159 Indianapolis, IN 46242

I’m sharing a chapter a week for 5 weeks out of a wonderful book “Give it all to Him” by Max Lucado. I told our friends that they had to come back every week to see how the story went and ended. I pray that they do, I know this lil book changed my life.

The first chapter is: “Carrying the Weight”. The woman flops down on the bench and drops her trash bag between her feet. With elbows on knees and cheeks in hands, she stares at the sidewalk. Everything aches. Back. Legs. Neck. Her shoulder is stiff and her hands raw. All because of the sack. A car drives by and splashes muddy water on her jeans and her garbage bag. “Oh, to be rid of this garbage.” It’s about garbage/junk that we carry around with us everyday and the weight of it. It talks about a tanker ship the “Pelicano” that no one wants, why??? Because it’s full of Philadelphia’s trash from 1986, fifteen thousand tons of trash. That’s when the municipal workers went on strike. Georgia didn’t want it, New Jersey didn’t want it. No one wanted Philly’s trash. The trash was burned and ashes dumped into belly of the Pelicano til full. The plight of the ship is also a parable. Trash filled hearts don’t fare any better. Are you unwanted at the dock? Drifting farther away from family and friends? Load after load of anger, guilt, pessimism, bitterness, bigotry, anxiety, deceit, impatience… it all piles up. Today’s thoughts are tomorrows actions. Let trash on board and people are going to smell it. The trouble with the Pelicano began with the first shovelful. The crew should have turned it away at the gate. Life would have been easier for everyone on board if they had never allowed the trash to pile up. Life will be better for you if you do the same. You can stick with your stinky cargo, and drift from port to port. But why would you? Let the Pelican have the high seas. Your captain has better for you!

Next week is called “What’s inside the bags”?

After reading the first chapter today, Gerome wanted to share with our group. He has been homeless before and has been at his daughters house for a month. The reason he still comes to lunch is to encourage the them and to lift their spirits and to tell them to never give up, keep trying and to keep the faith.

Then James (I’ve never seen him before) wanted to share with the group. He said that he’s been homeless for 10 years (he looks like he’s in his early 30’s). He has addictions. He got emotional and said last night he was under a bridge and was hearing voices and he had great fear in his heart. His family doesn’t want anything to do with him because of what he’s done to them. He said that he knows that God is with him and protecting him. After the luncheon, I pulled him to the side and asked him if we could pray for him, he said yes. Brother Paul had some anointed oil and there were several volunteers that laid hands on him and prayed for protection, provision and a sound mind. God is GOOD!!

Nick from Anderson told me that he laid his garbage bag down at the alter about a year ago!! Hallelujah!!!

David, he’s been to have lunch with us several times, he’s a ray of light, you can see his spirit in his eyes. Always respectful and kind. He doesn’t strike me as being homeless and I try not to ask. He asked if he could show me something today, so I went outside with him and he showed me his pickup truck and it was overloaded with stuff. I mean they had to tie it down there was so much on there. You see David told me last week he’s a scrapper of metal. He knows scripture and would quote it to me. He told me “Sanford and Son doesn’t have nothing on me.” You’ve got to be up in years to understand who Sanford and Son was. They were scrappers on a TV show years ago.

Brian got an apartment! Thank you Jesus!

We are in need of men’s and women’s blue jeans, boots, and tennis shoes.

Please pray for Jeff N. he wasn’t feeling good today. Jeff is helping Don at 918 E. Michigan, where we feed lunch every week. He’s one heck of a carpenter and made the manger for baby Jesus out front. He has a sweet spirit about him, and he LOVES Jesus!!!

Some people see homeless folks as dirty, lazy and good for nothings. But we see amazing people that are very talented and gifted. Like all of us… we just want someone to care. For six years I’ve learned a lot about the human element, why people say and do what they say and do. I’m still learning and God is still teaching. Thank You Jesus for working on my heart, thank You for helping me leave the garbage with You.

Blessings, Kathy