2008 Kick-Off/2007 Recap

2007 was our biggest year yet.

PASSION AND PROVISION

Some things just seem to snowball. Please pardon the cliché, but Filling The Void is quite possibly the perfect example.

Sensing a call to help the homeless, we set out to hit the streets for the very first time in October 2003. We served four people that day.

Four years later, God has done something extraordinary. He has matched our passion with your provision. He’s provided Filling The Void with more than 300 volunteers and more than 100 donors.

And trust us, every dime, dollar and donation makes a huge difference. We received nearly $22,000* to help the homeless and needy in 2007. We used every penny, plus a couple more from the prior year.

Those donations ranged all the way from a lady who gave us 75 cents after she received a sack lunch to grants we receive from Fortune 500 companies.

However, the vast majority – approximately 75% – of our support for charitable operations comes from faithful individuals who give frequently and generously.

We put your blessings into 7,695 brown paper bags – the most sack lunches we’ve ever served in a single year. That’s a 71% increase over 2006. Some of our dollars also go toward other essentials, such as socks, clothing, soap, Bibles and boarding at local shelters.

But what we do isn’t about numbers. It’s about the names behind those numbers who have somehow lost their way in life, even their will to live – people like Lee who we met Dec. 12.

He told us that he wanted to take his life. It’s not hard to sense the severity of that situation, so we prayed with Lee and spent a half hour talking to him about God’s plan for his life. Lee left encouraged, and we’re still lifting him up in prayer, too.

Those are the kinds of seeds that you’re helping us plant in countless lives who need a meal, and most importantly, to be ministered to. Thanks for making it happen!

* Denotes donations for charitable purposes only. Separately, we received an additional $2,900 to fund our administrative expenses.

A DIVINE DELIVERY

A group of our volunteers from the The Church at Battle Creek stuffed and wrapped nearly 40 Christmas presents for men who are going through the life-change program at the local John 3:16 Mission. Each gift contained several goodies: socks, a warm shirt, candy and a devotional book. We accompanied the goodwill with a monetary gift of our own to the Mission to help pay for about 50 meals and a week's worth of lodging for someone in need.

REACHING THE ROCKIES

We're continuing to take steps and make strides toward expanding our street outreach into our second city: Denver. On Jan. 21, we trained eight people in the Mile High city how to comb the streets looking for people in need. To put that number in perspective, that's 5 more people than we started with in Tulsa. April, Andy, Andrew, Barbara, Gary, Janet, Phillip and Sharon are eager to get started, so be praying for them. They're scheduld to put their feet to the pavement early this Spring.

WOW, WHAT AN HONOR!

The Tulsa chapter of the Oilfield Christian Fellowship recently chose us as their "charity of choice" for 2008. They plan to raise funds for Filling The Void through a golf tournament. Fore!

NOT SCARY AT ALL

Some of our newest volunteers are from the Adams Family. But hey, we're not talking about the cast and crew of television fame. We're just talking about Chad, Jennifer and their two kiddos, Jacob and Lauren. We're pretty positive there's no Pugsley in any of their family photos.

AN ENCOURAGING WORD

A verse from the book of Exodus in the Bible describes what can happen to the people we serve when they see the love of God personally expressed to them through something as simple as a sack lunch. Verse 31 from chapter 4 says, "and when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped..." Afterall, a total life change starts in the heart.