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My Friend who said "Yes Lord"


I  am marveling.....


about My Friend who said "Yes, Lord"


My friend Rose. Wow. God tugged and she responded. He spoke and she listened. He pointed and she went. And oh the way He is working...

She lives in a lovely country home, up a lane with a beautiful view of the flat, Il. landscape, with her husband and 3 sons. Not far from their home is a small, very small town (is it a town?). I looked up it's population on line and found out that it is actually a defunct town that has “voted itself out of existence”. Interesting. Well, there are probably 35 homes, no post office, or church, or much of anything.  

Anyway, she worked there at the elevator. That they do have. And as she would occasionally drive through the “town”, she noticed and she sensed. She sensed sadness and need. She noticed children playing, forlorn homes, run-down yards. And she heard God speak to her heart. She was not sure exactly of what He was saying, but she knew He was speaking.

She shared her heart with a dear friend. A young foster parenting, mission minded mom with a heart for the hurting. Rose shared that maybe she could somehow set up an after school program or something of sorts. Her friend Hope, immediately caught the vision. Yes! But first, she said,...”you need a building”.

So, with continued prayer (her and her husband had been doing a lot of that), she drove through the town. The tiny, “nothing in it” town, to see if there was “a building”. And then, there it was. A new building. Being constructed. A pole building of sorts. She pulled up her car, got out and went inside where she found a neighbor overseeing the construction. "Hi Clayton, whats going on here?" "Well, I got a grant and so decided to put up this building. Not really sure what it will be used for. A polling place. Maybe a..... Why, what do you want to use it for?" He asked.

She told him. “An after school program for the kids here.” “Well, yeah sure” he said.
God provided a building.

She then called Hope back. Now you need some helpers, she said. Try Brian and Kara. Rose reached out to them and was so blessed by Kara's response. Kara shared that her kids had just been praying about finding an opportunity to do ministry close to home and this place is literally right down the road from them.

And so they scheduled a wiener roast for the town. That evening they handed out brochures about the after school program. They started with five kids, one afternoon a week. They played games, helped with homework and provided snacks (from another amazing ministry; the Midwest Food Bank).

Rose shared with me how hard it was for her not to share Jesus from the get-go. She so wanted to go there....to let those kids know of the Gospel truth. But she knew that first they needed to establish rapport and trust...to become their friends. And so they continued.

The ministry has now grown to 15 kids. There are now around 6-7 young couples from a nearby town with a heart to share God's love in this way that have gotten involved. The program continues but recently they have added prayer time. Oh what an opportunity this provides. What is prayer? The kids want to know. So now, she is able to share Jesus, who He is and why we can pray to Him! The Gospel is now going out. Rose was absolutely glowing as she bubbled out this joyful news! They recently had her cousin's husband, a past missionary from Haiti, come and share God's Word. He has such a way with kids...and they seemed to be taking it in! Praise God!

A while back, one of the couples helping with the program mentioned that they were okay with donating supplies etc, but maybe they should have a fund raiser or something. Soon after that Rose received a call. There is a new church plant in another town nearby that had heard of their ministry and was looking to give to a local need. Could they use some funding? Oh, thank you Jesus! She was told that a thousand dollars would be coming and when that runs out to let them know.

As the kids share their prayer needs, those working there are coming to know more and more of the realities of these kid's lives. Heartache, lack, challenges, fighting, broken floors, broken lives. Like all of us, broken and in need of a Savior. And now they are being told! And those broken floors and needed repairs....they are going to be addressed as well as another ministry has decided to so some work projects this summer in that precious little "town".

A place that is home to some beautiful, precious souls. And God saw fit to visit them in a special way, because He loves them like He loves us all!


Oh Jesus...how I love to hear of thy marvelous works. How marvelous are Thy ways!









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