Tim & Lisa JonesMerry Christmas, Heroes!

No overstatement. We’re trying to make a difference here in the hood, and we would absolutely have to shut down if not for your generosity. Between Lisa at Weightless Anchor (prostitute and addict outreach) her Drug Prevention training, and my after-school program with underprivileged high schoolers, (and for both of us, scores of counseling calls for poor families trying to pull themselves up–rides to the doctor, parental advise, trips to jail and court) we could not afford to continue if the Lord didn’t lay on your hearts to give. So, YAY God! And YAY You, for hearing Him and supporting us in our work with BLOC Ministries. Here are some of our bright spots this year:

  • Cherie has quit smoking (a chain smoker in terrible health)
  • David, (who gave our church a mini-sermon back in the spring) is going to AA every week
  • *Charity is doing fantastic, eagerly reading her Bible, coming to Sunday School and church, taking leadership roles and trying to raise her 3 kids and 3 grandkids with grace.
  • Sam is going to college, He truly wants to get out of the ghetto (they all say they want to, but few take action)
  • *Anthony and *Kassandra, Our neighbors, are really becoming good friends, and Lisa’s been called over to smooth out domestic disturbances. They trust us now.
  • *Faith got baptized in the bathtub at Weightless Anchor….attached video

Things move much slower in people’s lives here in this work, but the bright spots are amazing! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And now it’s my turn (Lisa here:), I, of course want to go into the amazing details of every story Tim has eluded to, as well as all of their heartbreaking backstories. Oh to sit down with you and share these “God stories” in person! I will just say that God is showing us that He is the one Who changes hearts. If we thought that was our job, we would be completely overwhelmed. Loving the people God brings to us and living out Christ in front of them has left room for the Spirit to work in ways that are blowing us away. Ok, just one story:

Charity, who I wrote about in our One Year Update, has grown from loving me and Tim, to loving Jesus wholeheartedly. It all started with a phone call…

“Hello?” I said, expecting a crisis of some sort.

Last time I’d gotten a call from Charity, it was to meet her at the hospital. One of her little ones had broken her collar bone. This call was different. This call, I wish I had recorded.

“Miss Lisa, my mom doesn’t understand my religion. She’s always telling me what I need to do and how I need to act like she thinks I should act.”

Now trust me, there are many things I had wanted to tell Charity to do differently, but God had lead me to be silent, to just love her and share Christ through example. And while she came to our church every Thursday night for a meal, she did not come on Sunday, and I had never even asked her. I felt like God was basically saying, She knows where the church is, and she knows you’d like her to come. You don’t need to state the obvious.

She continued, “But I told my mom, I have this friend, Miss Lisa, and she never tells me to stop doing anything. She doesn’t say I need to cover up my tattoos, and she doesn’t say I have to go to church…” (uh oh…is this about to backfire?), “but Miss Lisa would come to my house to study the Bible with me, if I asked her to.”

“Yes I would”, I was quick to affirm. Charity went on to say how she had seen something in me that she had never seen in anyone before.

Because of this she said, “I know you love me, and I know you care.” And then something magical happened, she said, “But you know, I feel like God is telling me to go to church. The only reason I don’t go is that Sundays are the only days I can see my boyfriend.” (As you can well imagine, it took great restraint of the Holy Spirit for me NOT to advise her on her boyfriend over the previous months)….”

But you know” she went on, “God has been showing me that I’m putting *Ron before Him…so I think I’m gonna see Ron on Saturdays for less time, and I’m gonna start coming to church on Sundays. Can you give me a ride to church?”

Umm…”Yes I can!”

But God didn’t stop there. Over the last three months I have gotten other calls. There was the call to say she broke up with her boyfriend because she felt like God was telling her to, calls to discuss how, while she was reading Job (yes, Job!), she found a verse that seemed to be talking about Jesus!! (Wow! Beautiful). And then there was the call over Thanksgiving about how God was challenging her to tithe. She said, “I don’t like tithing. And I don’t want to tithe, but my study Bible says that’s what God wants, and that most people don’t do it…and I don’t want to be like most people.” By then I was breaking into my happy dance 😉

Oh, and there have been texts too! Like the one I got a few days ago saying she wants to be baptized. Talk about God bringing the increase! (1 Cor. 3:9)

This is just one story of many that YOU are helping to plant and water with your generosity and sensitivity to God’s leading. As Tim said, we could not do this without you, and we are called to do this. So, thank you!!!

Love,

Tim and Lisa

http://timandlisajones.com