August 2006 Report

Here's a behind-the-scenes look inside our volunteer
center. Karen Rose, Chris Brooks and Melinda Smith
were getting lunches ready for a Wednesday outreach.

NAME THAT TUNE

We witnessed a celebration of spontaneous praise at our outreach on Aug. 16. Before the preaching began, a man we knew not stepped forward to say that he wanted to sing. We were a little hesitant, but we politely obliged. Jim wound up treating the crowd to a real musical gem. The tune – fittingly enough – was "People Need The Lord."

RODNEY’S RUN-IN

Downtown is being redeveloped, but there’s still a dark side. Over the past month, we’ve seen people drunk, drugged, demonized and asleep on the steps of businesses – all during the day. And then there’s the general hazards of living life out in the elements. Just ask Rodney, a man we’ve served many times who lives in a tent near OSU-Tulsa. He was recently stung by a wasp. On July 26, we saw the result – a severely swollen arm.

WOUNDED BY WAR

Freeman desperately wants to be a free man – free from drugs and free from the torments of what he remembers about his time as a Marine during war. God knows his hurts and wants to heal him. We saw it ourselves on Aug. 9. He came to our outreach high as a kite. He was loud, disruptive and a little too energetic. We called him aside so we could pray over him. Within moments, he began to weep and talk about his burdens. Friends, that’s the presence of God working on one man’s heart.

5,000 & COUNTING

Filling The Void has set another major ministry milestone. After serving 377 sack lunches in July, our tally for 2006 stands at 2,162. More importantly, that makes more than 5,000 sack lunches since the first day we hit the streets in October 2003. More practically, we’ve gone from purchasing a few sacks of groceries to ordering cases of food that fill up an entire palette. Praise the Lord!

BROWN BAGGIN’

The youth group from Tulsa’s Central Church of the Nazarene performs an outreach any time a month has five Sundays. Filling The Void was blessed to be the recipient of their services on July 30. Doug Gunsalus and Mollie Myers led a group of about 15 teens who stuffed almost 500 lunch bags in about 20 minutes. Their feat will have a far-reaching impact on many hungry hearts. See next two related stories.

DOY’S DAY IN COURT

Talk about a divinely-timed lesson that left a lasting impression! After the youth group finished their feat, we ventured out of the volunteer center for a tour of where we pass out sack lunches on Wednesdays. We were greeted outside by Doy, a 66-year-old homeless man who is addicted to alcohol. All of a sudden, the teens got to see first-hand who is helped by their helping hands. Days later, Doy was arrested for public intoxication. He spent the night in jail, pled guilty in court and will pay a $104 fine.

MOLLIE’S MEMO

Mollie Myers helped organize the youth outreach. Here’s what she said about the experience: “The homeless have historically just been a category to me because I didn't know anyone personally. I even serve at the John 3:16 mission, but the people seem to be an individual group rather than a group of individuals. But my heart breaks for Doy. God, please help me see people through the eyes of Jesus.”