01-Jan-2010

Greetings Friends and Prayer Warriors!

We hope this finds you having enjoyed God’s blessings as we have all commemorated His birth and are celebrating His grace in allowing us another year in His service.

On December 19th, Pure Mercy returned to the Julia Tuttle Causeway. The highlight for Bobbi and David, as always, was the opportunity for fellowship with the residents. We had made some friends the first trip and were blessed to be able to spend time with these men and strengthen the relationships. Unlike the November trip, upon arrival we were greeted with hugs and help unloading. This time, the residents helped us setup. One of the most touching things was their willingness to share out of what little they have. For instance, napkins, hot cups leftover from the last trip reappeared “just in case”, a double gas burner to cook on, and tools were offered. A few of the residents that came, ate, and left in November chose to stick around this time and we were able to begin developing relationships with them.

A first for this trip was that friends of ours asked if they could join us. They have begun working with some of the homeless community in Pinellas County and were anxious to help. This turned out to be a huge blessing as they drove their pickup truck allowing us to carry everything God had provided for us to take.

Speaking of the things God provided…two days before we left to for Miami, God moved in the hearts of several of our friends to provide the following new items: a 6250 watt generator, a 5 gallon gas can, a 40 ft extension cord and a 3-way splitter! God even provided for small needs like over 300 trash can liners for us to use in our cleanup project! Not only were these a huge blessing as they were items we desired to take but were unable to purchase personally or through the ministry, but God’s provision also served as further confirmation that we were doing exactly what He wants us to do!

We were convinced that God provided the generator to display His existence and heart for these men. In particular, one of our closest friends, “S”, at the Causeway called the Thursday before we left and informed David that he had been telling others down there not to worry about broken cords and generators that didn’t work because he knew we were bringing a new generator with us. However, we had never promised a generator and at the time of the call, we did not have possession of it. When we got to the bridge Bobbi told “S” that God had to make good on “S” running his mouth! :) We find it interesting that God saw fit to answer the faith of someone who refers to God as “the Almighty” but does not seem to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

On Saturday afternoon, the residents that were there at the time grabbed gloves and bags and helped us to pickup around 20 bags of trash, broken tents, old mattresses and other miscellaneous items. However, this hardly put a dent in what needs to be done. We left extra bags with them after receiving a promise that they would continue the work.

After dinner Saturday evening, we had a Christmas drawing for the residents using items that we and our friends had brought along. There were many looks of surprise, joy, and thankfulness as the winners realized that they were able to choose from several different items (Blankets, cook sets, shoe boxes of toiletry items, etc.). One resident gave Bobbi and our female friend a bracelet and necklace each in appreciation for the love he felt from us.

To date, God has provided additional cash and bedding donations. We look expectantly for what He will provide next!

We thank each of you for your continued prayer support and would covet your prayers as we continue to seek His will. We have heard news from the bridge that some government officials are attempting to restrict vehicular access to the area. We also still have on our hearts a desire to provide a more permanent place of residence for these men and others like them in Florida and continue to seek His leading in this area.

23-Nov-2009

This past weekend my wife and I traveled to Miami to visit the RSOs (Registered Sex Offenders) that are currently living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in a small community which the residents have named, Bookville. We first arrived at the Causeway a little after 1 PM. We dropped off the grill, the dry food, and our camping gear, talked with one of the residents, set up our tent, then left to purchase the rest of the food. The trip to purchase the food was an event in itself. The traffic was awful and who knew a Save-a-Lot could need a security guard? We returned to the bridge around 5:30, met the documentary crew and began setting up for dinner. Some members of the crew helped my wife unload the car while I finished setting up the grill and lighting it. While it was getting hot, I assisted one of the residents in lighting his lantern. When the grill was hot, we began cooking. A handful of the residents came over to chat and see what was going on. When enough food was ready, we told them to help themselves. Dinner was hotdogs, hamburgers, with buns and all the fixings (lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, mustard, mayo, relish), potato salad, chips, cookies, and lemonade. One gentleman was very happy to learn that there would be enough for his girlfriend, who was visiting . We kept serving until about 11, and made sure that the documentary crew was fed as well. We made arrangements to run a long extension cord to borrow electricity for coffee in the morning. We took his largest gas can and filled it for him in “payment”. We went to bed around 11:30, but since our tent was right next to the cooking area, Bobbi jumped up a couple of times to make sure that latecomers received whatever they wanted. One group came back down around midnight for more cookies and lemonade!