Change of Plans

So we decided on two weeks from Sunday, the 3rd. I knew that People's Park was not going to be an option, so my next endeavor was to find a place. I kept praying and knew that God would provide. That Monday, on my way to class, Paula from parks and rec gave me a call. She told me that there would be no way that they could grant us permission to use the park. She emphasized the fact that they had made an effort to "clean it up", hoping to bring more families to that area as opposed to the usual bums. She gave me two options: the Library and Trinity Episcopal Church. Immediately, I started making phone calls.

I first called Trinity to see if they would be able to provide a place. They had this beautiful courtyard which would be perfect for the "picnic" atmosphere we were trying to create. Father Don was unavailable at the time, but I left a message. Between classes and the next few days, we kept missing each other. By the time Thursday rolled around, Father Don had left for St. Louis, and wouldn't be back until that Monday. So in my mind, I closed the door, knowing God had ordained this vision and went for the Library.

That weekend, following a small group leadership training meeting, I went and got a membership to the library. I filled out the forms, requesting an area outside of the library and prayed that God would provide. That Sunday at Connexion, we made the announcement, with sign ups in the back. We left that day with 20 more people on our list for volunteers. We didn't have a place to serve the lunch, but we had the hearts. Sunday, we had a C-group lunch. Andrew came up to me in the middle of it all telling me about this man, Hal, which one of the guys had told him about. Apparently 4 years ago, Hal had talked to this guy and given him his number. Rob had been carrying it in his wallet for that length of time and now he knew why. Hal was extremely involved with the homeless culture downtown. I smiled as another door seemed to be opening.

Tuesday morning welcomed a call from Father Don. He initially expressed concern of conflicting with a church that served breakfast on Sunday mornings. I told him our main aim was lunch, looking to add to, not detract from the mission. Once understood, he not only welcomed us to use the facility, but offered to provide me with a key to the iron gates, so that we could not only do it this coming week, but as often as we so desired. My heart lept for joy! I made quick call to Andrew on my way to class and prepared myself for a blessing of the day.

I was scheduled on Tuesday to meet with Leslie for lunch. For some reason, God had put her on my heart to talk to about becoming involved in the ministry leadership. Andrew and I knew we needed to form some sort of core group to do the "behind the scenes" work. So far, we had the two of us, Paul, Jonathan, Ali, and most recently Ben. I met with her and I just knew that God wanted her on that team. I had a class at 2:30, we were done with lunch at 1, so I asked her to come with me to find Carl. We hadn't seen him much, so I figured I would try the usual places.

As expected, he was nowhere to be found, but along the way, we told people about the upcoming lunch. On our way back towards campus, we saw a man tucked away in the doorway of Trinity. I asked if she wanted to speak with him. We went together to talk to this man, hiding in the door from the wet weather. Everything he had on him was soaked. He was upset, but began talking with us. Clearly intoxicated, his speech was slurred. He told us stories of being the best dancer in high school, how his wife had left him with nothing, and how his $2000 social security check was coming that night and he would soon make his way to Florida to chase a love. We asked him if he could come to the lunch to help. "I'm not going to make it that long," he replied. He told us of how for the past 20 years, he tried to drink himself to death. "I just want to die. There's not point in this any more," he would say. Brent knew a lot of trivial facts, he told us about music and Elvis-especially a dinner he had had with him in Las Vegas. He recited the helping verbs without flaw, and above all of this expressed a lack of desire to know or even talk about God. Leslie and I explained the hope found at the cross, but he was blinded by the Jack Daniels, Beer, and years of apathy which plagued his life.

The rest of the week, Andrew and I posted flyers, letting everyone know about our meal. I was excited to see what He would do in the midst of everything. He had provided the people to serve, the place, now all that was needed were those who needed a warm meal on Sunday, and a taste of His mercy. We stopped by the church on Wednesday to pick up the key and talked with Father Don. I asked Don about Hal. Hal had been an Episcopal priest and I figured Don would at least know about him. Not only did he know about him, he was friends with him. Hal was still alive and kickin at age 88.

We had a meeting set for Thursday night following the Campus Crusade meeting. Nathanael happened to be there that week and I invited him over to hang out. I had no idea why I felt the need, but God made it clear as time went on. Paul presented us with a menu of Chicken soup, caesar salad, fruit salad and iced tea. Leslie, Jon, Ali, Andrew, Ben, Paul, and soon Nathanael showed up at the meeting. I looked around as we prayed, marvelling at the beauty of what God was doing. God had placed certain areas of the ministry on our hearts-for Leslie it was prayer, for Andrew it was leadership, for Ben it was volunteers, and for Paul it was food.

Friday night, we went grocery shopping. Saturday, we all got together to make the food for 25 people. It was a blessed time of fellowship. Andrew and I got together later and prayed for the coming day-for weather and everything. We were ready for what He had for us.

Sunday came and Paul was prepping the food in the church kitchen. We thought to purchase coolers instead of always borrowing the church's. So we filled up the soup cooler, filled up the iced tea, packed up the car, and made our way downtown. As we were setting up, an old man hobbled over to the courtyard. He was dressed in a blue suit and tie, equipped with a cane. It was Hal. I was elated! I went to Andrew, pulling him away from a conversation and he began talking with Hal. We prayed, opened the gates and began our lunch. We served about 50 people that day with the food we had made. People had the chance to sit, eat and talk with one another. God had blessed it.

Its funny to look back nearly three months later to see how far God has brought us. And I will continue to write the stories, because I do know it is important to remember the intricacies of God's hand. As of now, we have had four events, about to have our fifth lunch. Our volunteer base has grown from 9 to 85. Our leadership team has grown from 5 to 11 and at least 3 of the 11 feel a call to take this to a global level.

God's showing us His plan, providing clarity. Renovo is more than just us getting together to make food, but rather this amazing opportunity for our generation to rise up and proclaim His gospel. To know Him and make Him known by loving His people. Not to us, but to His name be all glory, honor and praise. Jehovah Jireh, God our Provider, has begun to pave a way of radical ministry...something to which a handful of us feel called for the remainder of our time on this Earth.

And all God's people sing out "Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! He reigns!" He reigns!

~Amy