sad and nasty

[one love]

this is trajic and sad , here is just a qoute you can read the article if you have not seen this on the news already, Lord help children

Florida Toddler Taken from Filthy Home Described as a "Biohazard"

Fort Pierce Police Detective David Cuti showed us evidence from inside. Dirty diapers on the floor, mold growing in the sink, the home with no running water and human feces smeared into flooring in every room. In the middle of it all, a crib of her 1-year-old son.

http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=8251964

[PastorDaniel]

That is sad! But it's so true. We have kids come to us from terrible situations.

One girl had lice so bad that we nearly had to shave her head. We went as far as washing it in kerosene. Her head looked like an Ant farm of Lice...it was awlful. It took an entire day of coming out bugs and nits. Hundreds of the bugs were good sized too...they had been there a while.

[dbserv]

This is absolutely sad but true.


Our church is called upon to minister to a situation like this at least once a month.


We go in, clean up the house, remove & replace flooring, furniture, etc. as needed, take the family to temp. housing while doing it, get replacement clothes for all of them, and attempt to connect them with mentors for on-going assistance/training so they don't revert to the same situation. We are blessed with General Contractors, Specialty Contractors (floor installers, painters, etc.), Material Sales Company owners or employees, etc. This allows us to receive discounted goods and services.

God has brought the owners of a construction company to our church who also operate a ministry called Building It God's Way. They have been building churches, parsonages, and Christian schools around the world for several years in an affordable way that saves the local churches lots of $$. This is a ministry that they started (here in Yuba City) long before they became Nazarenes. It is totally non-denominational and blesses Christian churches of all denominations or independants around the world.

They first came in contact with our "church" when we used their program to allow us to build our new facility at a cost of about 60% of what the lowest bid was from the general contractors who bid on the project. What an awesome blessing for us. It was that relationship, and the way our people jumped in and did the work, and blessed the hired workers (free breakfast and lunch every day they worked, etc.) that caused 2 of the owners to attend a couple of our services and make the decision to join our church.





The couple who started this neighborhood ministry have made such a HUGE impact in their neighborhood since moving there 12 years ago. They have an old church that serves as a chapel and neighborhood center for the children. There is an elementary school across the street and 100% of the children there are on FREE lunches from the govt. The average income for the neighborhood is less than $10,000.00 per year - and that is in CA!!!


Mike and Mary have purchased 20 of the houses on their street. We are in the process of renovating them into homes that are liveable - without holes in the walls and floors that you can actually throw the cat outside through, with plumbing that actually works, with insulation so can actually heat the place, etc. We have 5 done and more to go. When these are done, they will purchase more. Families are allowed to live in the homes free for one year while they get on their feet. All they have to do is pay the utilities and take care of the place.

A local group, called Craftsmen For Christ, has been a HUGE help with the project. The Salvation Army has now purchased 10 homes on the same street and are doing the same thing with them.


During the summer, they receive govt. funding to provide free lunches to over 350 children 5 days a week. With over 50 Christian adults there to serve the children, play with them, and talk with them, it has become an awesome way to reach the community for Christ.


It's amazing how many of the families are now attending church in the neighborhood now. At least 25% of them have accepted the Lord. Since we are about 6 miles away and since most of them don't have cars and since we don't have a bus ministry, I think there are only 2 families who come to our church. WE DON'T CARE!!! They are coming to Christ and attending churches that teach the Word and minister to their spiritual needs. That is ALL that matters!!!


In fact, because we tend to be a middle-upper class church, many of them might feel out of place and be intimidated just driving into our parking lot. Shoot, I am intimidated when I drive in with my 1991 convertible (see the MLC thread ). But, there are several churches who are populated with lower-middle class people where they (and me) can feel comfortable and at home. If it wasn't that God had specifically told us to be in this church, we would not attend there. We are in the lowest 10% of the church - income level wise. At times, that is uncomfortable. When we can't afford to go the places and do the things that others around us can, the devil likes to use it to try and make us feel uncomfortable. We rebuke him and sit tall in our Wal-Mart clothes.


Because God has blessed the people in our church, we are able to fund ministries that other churches can't. Our budget is $225,000.00 per month with only about 10% of that going to the salaries of our pastoral staff. Several of our 11 pastors are "retired" and will only allow us to "pay" them for 20 hours work even though they work over 40 hours per week. Our Senior Pastor receives his salary from the denomination because he serves as the District Supt. for Spain, Portugal, the Azores, etc.


I am so thankful that God has different churches and people with different ministries in His Body. Some are the knees, some are the elbows, some are the fingers, and some are even the heels . BUT, we are ALL part of the Body and we are ALL important to HIS ministry and purposes in this world.