As 2018 has ended and a new year begun, it has me in reflection mode. I initially felt, for the first time I think, happy to see a year go and a new one come. But, as I reflected further, I realized it wasn't true.
There were some genuinely hard challenges, though. Real fears. Grief. Stress. Loneliness. Anxiety. Bracing. And, in it were incredible joys and that makes me smile even now. I have never been more in love with the Lord as I am this morning. That is the truth. I'm overwhelmed time and again by His love. By the way He shows Himself to me, even this morning in the dark before dawn, as I watched a battery operated ornament on my tree turn round and round. I felt hugged because these quiet mornings are my favorite and I have NO doubt the Lord is in on making them special. He is like that.
I have walked alone as I grappled with the truth about myself, as I made decisions, faced giants, and closed inward during times of grief. But, the thing is, it was good. Very good for me. Because, the Lord gave my weak self power and strength (Isaiah 40) to the point where I could feel it in my spine; an assurance that His Spirit was coursing through my insides. A conviction that I could survive being in an alone season just fine. I was brought to the One who sustains.
Only I really grasp the significance of that which stems back to when I was young. We all have those "treasured knowings" we share with just our Father. Who is this God of ours? He is far too much to limit into words but I will say, HE IS REAL!
And so this brings me to the last year of Empower Ministry turned Rapha Chicago Ministry, one of the greatest joys in my life. I'm no longer that big on statistics, but I will share with you all the many blessings of God's faithfulness because that kind of reflection is vital!
THE LORD ALLOWED US TO:
- serve approximately 1,200 hot, homemade meals to the community
- hand out well over 3,000 articles of clothing, coats and shoes; as well as hygiene items, soup kits, care packages, blankets, and children's books and games
- welcome new volunteers at just about every outreach including our neighbor, friends from Emotional Resilience class, Calvary's GEMS, Ebenezer CRC members, friends of volunteers, Downers Grove Community Church members, Calvary Church of Orland Park members, Legacy Vineyard Church members, high school friends, and others
- welcome a new supporting church, Downers Grove Community, who began 2018 with a coat and clothing drive for us
- pray OVER and WITH hundreds of community members
- see a young girl from the community taken in by a volunteer and her family where they now have legal guardianship...this is miraculous and God is working in not only this young girl's life and that of her "new" family, but also in the life of her biological mom and sister, all who love the Lord
- celebrate this young girl's 15th birthday at a special gathering on December 13
- bond and connect with each other as volunteers and church families including attend the very special and celebratory funerals of Pastor Arthur Taylor and his wife, Sister Mattie Taylor who went to be with Jesus this past summer
- share in the losses of other loved ones who went to be with the Lord in 2018
- see community members begin showing up early to help us serve in the sanctuary and lunchroom - people like Daryll, Marilyn, Linda, Ruby's granddaughters, Morcella, Nyoka and so many more
- minister to many at the Red Line station
- see several accept the Lord as their Savior, receive physical healing, emotional healing, encouragement, hugs, recognition and Jesus love
- have Steve Porter and Ben Tameling help with pick-ups and drops offs of NUMEROUS bags of clothing from Calvary Church and Downers Grove
- receive a crazy amount of QUALITY food donations from Rodney McDaniel, Downers Grove and Calvary Church
- feed 100 people at Thanksgiving with 100 pounds of turkey
- feed 200 people for Christmas with 100 pounds of turkey and around 36 pounds of ham, Vanessa's homemade mac and cheese, mashed potatoes to feed an army, and Happy Birthday Jesus sheet cakes
- when all was said and done, distribute over 360 toys and gift cards to the community (FOUR times the amount we did in 2017!)
- have a beautiful praise and worship fundraiser for Rapha hosted by Downers Grove where five churches and multiple cultures and races participated in worship together (piece of heaven on earth)
- change our name from Empower Ministry in a Holy Spirit led move to Rapha Chicago Ministry (Jehovah Rapha is the God who heals and that is what He has been doing in these last four years of ministry and in my own life)
- see the ministry move into another Holy Spirit led place of not belonging to any one specific church, but being supported by a greater body of believers who catch the vision and are providing us with greater manpower and resources
- get a new ministry banner
- provide for special needs of various community families and individuals throughout the year, including a teenage girl, single moms, a family of five, someone seeking help for addiction, and an elderly couple.
- have 16 Saturday outreaches, attend two miracle healing services at Christ Temple, a Revival, see Eldridge Taylor and Dianne Burke installed as Pastor and Co-Pastor, and attend the always wonderful Candlelight New Year's worship service
- form a special board for Rapha Chicago
- create a new logo
- have approximately 18 ministry meetings and trainings with volunteers including three prayer meetings
- obtain another freezer for the ministry, acquired just yesterday
- celebrate four years this past November of being in ministry with Christ Temple
What a road it has been! I feel like there have been more changes in this past year than any other year.
What has the Lord been teaching me? What has the Lord been teaching us?
I've always felt that this wasn't your typical ministry. It's about people. It's slow and steady. It's about commitment. It's about laying aside agendas and turning our ears and eyes to the Holy Spirit. It's not about projects. It's not about doing good for the needy, impoverished, less fortunate, or the poor (all terms that make my hair stand up). It's about being aware of and being honest about our own need. This isn't a leveling ministry, where we puff ourselves up for a bit and go serve the downtrodden for a few hours. This is about what we have learned during our own time in the pit - about ourselves and about our God. It's about letting God heal us so we can be used BY HIM to heal others and then in turn get a little more healing. It's about how at the core, we all have the same longings - love, security, understanding, purpose, significance and belonging. You open up each of us no matter our color, background, faith, or culture and inside you will find a heart beating out these longings.
This ministry is not about doing things the "right" way. It's about doing things GOD'S way.
We have come to treasure those seemingly small things, such as Daryll from the community setting me up with a butcher at a little grocery store in Chicago. His name was Larry and I bought enough legs and thighs from him to feed an army. Daryll gave me the list of ingredients I needed for his fried chicken recipe and he, Jason and others cooked it outside one Saturday. Daryll is from the community and is finding BELONGING.
A volunteer named Rodney has a real gift for evangelism. He's out in the street just about every Saturday ministering to people, praying for them, inviting them to Christ Temple, and giving them encouragement from the experiences he's had in his own life. He is identifying with others as they are identifying with him. People are receiving UNDERSTANDING.
I showed up one night to Christ Temple for a volunteer meeting. I was by myself and it was pouring rain. When I got out of the car my friend Frank from Christ Temple was waiting there with an umbrella he held over me until we got inside. I experienced SECURITY and it was in more ways than just protection from the rain.
Pastor Eldridge and Pastor Dianne lost both of their dear parents within a couple weeks of each other this past summer. It was a mom and dad lost and suddenly their world as they had know it their whole life, had changed. They were able to stand at the pulpit and see a large row of our volunteers there for them, some of whom knew what it felt like to lose a parent. We came because they mattered to us. We came out of our great affection for them. They experienced LOVE.
Carol, a new volunteer who started with us just under a year ago, came to Christ Temple not knowing what to expect. She had been going through a rough time, grieving the loss of her husband and not knowing what her purpose was anymore. I remember seeing her embrace a woman from the community as this woman cried. Carol was also crying. Tears intermingling. One healing the other and vice-versa. Carol found PURPOSE.
Just last month we celebrated the 15th birthday of a girl from the community named Nyoka (affectionately called "little Nyoka.") She's had a rough life and never had a birthday party before. We surprised her at a pizza place where about 26 of us gathered. She got balloons, pizza, birthday cake and presents. But way, WAY more than that, little Nyoka received the crown of SIGNIFICANCE.
How do you price that out? You just can't. Not, really. We just show up time and again and serve humbly knowing full well we have more to learn from each other and more to learn from the 95th street community than the other way around. How do we begin the new year? By allowing the Lord Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, be our Teacher and Guide. Heads bowed. Hands up. Show us what you want, Lord.
What a humbling joy and privilege it is to be a part of something so REFRESHINGLY honest and real with you. To God Be ALL the Glory.
AMEN!
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