Sunday, July 19, 2009
The Bags of Hope Project
Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
It was released in the news this week that Los Angeles has been rated the meanest city in America for homeless people. There are thousands living on the streets and their existence is miserable.The lucky ones have tents that line the sidewalks at the end of each day. The not so lucky are forced to find shelter under bridges or bushes. Not all of these people are crazy drug addicts and hopeless alcoholics – there are many families with children with nowhere to call home.
We’ve already started this, and what we do is get a backpack sized bag and fill it with things these people may find useful. In the bags done so far, we’ve included inflatable pillows, hand sanitizer, shampoo, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, hand lotion, chap stick, water, snacks, and a pair of socks. But the most important thing we include in each bag is a brand new Bible! So the bags are really cool and cost about $10 each.
This project was originally something for us to do as a family. I would have never even mentioned it here on The Effective Spirit because I feel very strongly that we should give in secret as Jesus commanded. However, after much prayer and consideration – and after hearing the news of the homeless this week, it became clear that we can help many more people by using The Effective Spirit as a platform to turn this into a larger and more effective project.
What I’m offering is very simple. If you’re interested in providing funds to help purchase more Bags of Hope, all you need to do is click on the donate button on the main page of The Effective Spirit. PLEASE NOTE “BAGS OF HOPE” WHEN MAKING THE DONATION. You can offer as little or as much as you like and 100% will go toward making Bags of Hope. My family and I will deliver them on our trips to downtown Los Angeles – we’ll also try to get some photos of the people you’re helping and post them here at The Effective Spirit with regular updates.
Luk 14:13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
Remember this: while many sit in palatial Churches each Sunday and then go out to eat with friends – there are many more whom live as Jesus lived – with nowhere to lay their head.Mat 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
This is a chance to build treasure in heaven. The day may one day come in which someone you never met, but had profound affect on, may come to you in another place offering thanks because their life was changed from the simple gift of a bag with a Bible in it.Luk 18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Bags of Hope Project Update - August 18, 2009
Yesterday we made another trip to skid row in Los Angeles to deliver Bags of Hope. If you missed the earlier post, you can read about the project here - The Bags of Hope Project.
Thanks to a donation from Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy Texas we were able to buy everything needed to put together some great bags for the homeless on skid row. Omar C. Garcia is the missions Pastor at Kingsland Baptist, and also publishes a blog I read nearly everyday called Go Beyond – Live Adventurously for God. I wish to thank them for their generosity in helping us with this new missions venture.
Along with the necessities that are included in every Bag of Hope, we were able to get a great deal on tee shirts and also back packs which we used instead of cloth bags. And most importantly, each bag contained a new Bible.
We arrived in the skid row area around 4:30 yesterday afternoon, which is a bit earlier than usual. Most of the businesses were still opened, and the sidewalks were crowded which makes it a bit more difficult to spot the people who seem like they’ll get the most benefit from the Bags of Hope. But as we drove through the area we began to see the ones that needed the bags.
As we came through an intersection, we saw a middle aged man sitting on a bus bench with a shopping cart parked next to him full of plastic bags and other things he’d gathered. In spite of the temperature being in the mid eighty’s, the man had layers of thick clothes on.
I drove through the intersection, pulled up to the curb, and my wife Laurie grabbed one of the bags and a bottle of water, hopped out of the truck and approached the man. I couldn’t hear them speaking, but Laurie said he was very grateful, and she noticed that he was severely jaundiced. She said he had the most yellowed eyes she’d ever seen.
Another man we encountered was younger, but confined to a wheelchair. As we drove along, he was wheeling slowly down the sidewalk in our direction. It was clearly a struggle for him to keep his wheelchair moving. So I pulled over, grabbed a bag and a bottle of water, got out, and walked up to the man. He also had layers of clothes on, and it looked like his right leg was completely crippled. It was propped up on the leg stand that wheel chairs have on both sides to support casts. I asked him if he’d like some water – he said yes, very much. So I handed him the bottle of water, and then the back pack and told him it contained some items he hopefully would find useful. Then Christ gave me a gift here, because the man’s eyes gave a quick sparkle of surprised gratitude. I believe when in a place of such suffering and struggle, Christ gives us a wink through the people’s eyes he’s helping us learn from.
A few blocks over, we came across a man and woman, sitting on the sidewalk - leaning against a concrete wall. They both were seated on cardboard covered with dirty blankets. As Laurie got out of the truck, it was obvious the woman was unstable, but the man seemed calm. As Laurie asked them if they would like some water, the woman brusquely said she wanted a backpack. As Laurie gave them both a bottle of water and a backpack they thanked her and dove in to see what was in the backpacks. With people like these, who seem sort of off, and maybe a bit selfish - I pray that they’ll open the Bible at the right time. And if not, maybe they’ll pass it along to someone it will have great affect on.
Just down the street from the couple, sat the man who made our day. He also sat on the sidewalk, and as we pulled up, we could see his face was one of kindness. He had a peaceful demeanor about him. He was grateful for a bottle of water, and happily surprised to receive a brand new backpack heavy with new things. He gave us all three (our son Wyatt was with us also), that sparkle in the eye. But it was the love in his face that I remember the most. As we drove away, we looked back at him and he held his new Bible up high, and gave us a smile that made our day!
2Co 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
More Bags of Hope!
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." - Matthew 5:16
You see them everywhere in Southern California. Usually at the end of a freeway off ramp by the stop light intersection - people with leathery weathered faces, dusty worn out clothes, and a cardboard sign that says something like "HUNGRY NEED HELP", or "OUT OF WORK AND HUNGRY", or "DISABLED HOMELESS VETERAN PLEASE HELP." They sit or stand by the off ramp stoplights because that's where people in cars have to stop and wait for the light to turn green. If your the first or second car in line the filthy guy with the cardboard sign will probably be right outside your window.
Something you'll notice if you watch closely enough is that the guy with the cardboard sign rarely makes eye contact with the people in the cars. And the people in the cars - especially the ones right next to the guy with the sign almost always start fiddling with their radios, or their navigation systems or their cell phones. They can't acknowledge the guy with the sign because they have so much to do - what with so many radio stations to choose from while dealing with the possibility of getting lost due to improper navigation system programming and the ever important mobile phone text message needing to be sent.
Now the word "HUNGRY" on the dusty guy's sign says much more than "I really need something to eat." If you take the time to actually acknowledge these people (that's right, they're people just like you and me and Jesus), by handing them a few dollars and giving them a smile or even ask what their name is - most of them get a little sparkle in their otherwise jaded and distant eyes. The hunger so many of these people need to feed requires something more than bread alone. They need human compassion, love and caring. They need to know they matter to the rest of humanity. Why is it so many people will smile at and pet a cute little dog as it walks down the street with it's owner and ignore the homeless man sitting on the sidewalk twenty yards away?
So last year my family and I decided to start something called The Bags of Hope Project. What we do is get a backpack or large nylon bag and fill it with things these people may find useful. In the bags done so far, we’ve included inflatable pillows, hand sanitizer, shampoo, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, hand lotion, chap stick, water, snacks, and a pair of socks. But the most important thing we include in each bag is a brand new Bible! So the bags are really cool and cost about $10 each. Giving these Bags of Hope to the homeless in the skid row area of Los Angeles has been a tremendous blessing for my family and I. In doing something like this you learn quickly the value of people that society seems to just push aside and not want to notice.
Over the last few months we have not been able to make it to Downtown LA as much as we used to and I've been bothered about not handing out as many Bags of Hope. But the other day we gave a few dollars to and spoke with a guy standing by the freeway and I had the idea that we can give Bags of Hope out everywhere - they just need to be something that we always have in the car with us. And then I thought that if lots of Christians all over Southern California started carrying a few Bags of Hope in their cars and giving them out to the people in need they see throughout their day - what an amazing affect this would have on the lives of those in need, and what a blessing of daily purpose for all the Christians giving out the Bags of Hope. This is an awesome way to share Christs love with those who need to know about it so very much!
So what I would love to have happen is all the Christians who read this blog to please take just a few dollars, buy some backpacks, necessities and Bibles and start handing out Bags of Hope to those who suffer in our midst. And then please make comments to this post about the people you meet, their reactions, and how it makes you feel to go to bed each night knowing that you made someones life a little better by sharing the Love of Christ with them.
Below is a link to Dollar Tree's website. You can buy everything you need including the Bibles and the backpacks for only $1.00 each. I believe they'll ship all you need to the store closest to you and you don't have to pay shipping. For $10.00 you can put together a great Bag of Hope!
DollarTree.com
For some more info on the Bags of Hope project please read:
The Bags of Hope Project
The Bags of Hope Project Update - August 18, 2009
If you have any questions or suggestions, please email me at Chad@theeffectivespirit.net or just comment on this post.
God Bless!
