September 2006 Report

This is Ray. He's been coming to our weekly outreach. On Sept. 6, we helped him beat the heat, thanks in part to Bluebell Ice Cream. Two weeks later, he began to share his life like an open book. Related stories are found below.




POPSICLES IN THE PARK

Chris Campbell is a local music minister and a distribution manager at the Bluebell ice cream plant in Broken Arrow. He came to our outreach on Sept. 6 bearing gifts – grape, lime and cherry popsicles. The treats were a tasty crowd pleaser. Then, Chris struck another chord with the crowd when he picked and played his guitar. If you know other worship leaders who can help sometime, too, please let us know.

FAMILY PHOTOS

We’re working very hard to build relationships with the people we serve. Earning their respect is a big part of being able to speak to their hearts. On Sept. 20, we were so blessed by Ray’s excitement to see us. He broke through the crowd to show us a homemade calendar with pictures of his kids, grandkids, and even of himself 20 years ago. We looked at all 12 months, seeing just how much he wanted to share his life.

EXPECTANT MOTHER

Brandy is 21, unwed and expecting again. Her second boy is due in November. We’ve prayed for her and the baby many times. On Sept. 20, she specifically asked us to pray about a pain in her leg. Two of our volunteers – John and Roxanne – laid their hands on her and prayed. The result? She turned to our two and said, “I don’t know how it works, but the pain is gone.” It’s all God, Brandy. And we give Him the glory.

TOMMY’S TIME

We’ve known Tommy for well over a year. For the most part, his head and heart have been pretty cloudy from drugs and paint. But on Sept. 20, the clouds parted. We’re praying it was for more than an instant. After we prayed for him, Tommy lifted up his head, clutched the hands of two volunteers, and took the initiative to pray himself. We hadn’t prompted him it all. He asked God to forgive him, to help him and to bless us. It was the biggest spiritual breakthrough we’ve seen in his life.

REACHING ROMANIA

Did you know that your gifts to Filling The Void are making a global impact? On Sept. 19, we sent 50 stocking hats and 25 pairs of gloves to a couple of men at Victory Christian Center in Tulsa who are taking a mission trip to Romania. And our next batch of winter clothes is heading to a Williams employee in Denver who wants to follow our lead and fill the void there, too. God bless you, Andrew!

THE CENTURY MARK

Filling The Void celebrates its third birthday on Oct. 13. We’d love for you to pray for us that day. And for the first time in our three-year history, we are now serving an average of more than 100 sack lunches every single week. To be exact, our volunteers served 555 lunches over five Wednesdays in August. That comes out to 111 lunches per week. So far in September, the average has jumped to 126 per week.

CAN-DO ATTITUDE

If you’ve been to the downtown Arby’s before, you’ve probably seen Vaylor. He’s a tall, slender, 60-something fellow who used to stand outside holding a paper cup hoping for spare change. We lost track of him for about 6 months until we spotted him again on Aug. 21 and Sept. 13 picking up pop cans. He said he makes about $4-$5 for each bag he collects and is staying at the Day Center for the Homeless.