Spring 2011

Friends remember Sherry Scott at a May 4 memorial service.
Photo courtesy and copyright of the Tulsa World newspaper.

URGENCY, ALWAYS

On May 5, one of our friends was on the front page of the Tulsa paper. It was not the kind of news anyone wants to read.

Sherry Scott, a homeless woman, was dead at the age of 40. Her body was found on a boulevard just west of downtown. Cause of death? Unknown.

We knew Sherry. We had fed and prayed with her many times. She liked to be hugged. And by our account, she had a really hard life on the streets.

Of course, we wonder what her life could have become. How many more years would she have walked on earth if she had not been so afflicted?

Sherry does have a daughter named Andrea who’s 18. She’s been in the state’s care most of her life. Now she’s on her own. Please, pray for her.

Ministry, like life, is filled with emotion. Some times are sweet. Others are bittersweet. In Ecclesiastes 3:4, God prepares us for both. It says:

"There’s a time to cry and a time to laugh, a time to grieve and a time to dance."

April 1 was one of those sweeter moments. It was the day we distributed our 35,000th sack lunch. We’re always eager to see who gets the special bag.

This time it went to a young man named Kyle who’s the same age as Sherry’s daughter. He’s been coming to our Tulsa outreaches for several months.

In every single city, you can find a Sherry, a Kyle and multitudes like them – people wanting to be loved and needing to know their purpose.

God mentions the poor and needy at least 200 times in scripture. As we’ve seen with Sherry and others, we need to reach them now.

Kyle, left, received our 35,000th lunch bag, as well as a big chocolate bar and a Bible.