William Update

I put William and his son on a bus back to Chicago. Chenal and the other kids left about a week earlier. Pray for the family.

William Update

Pray for William and his family. They are not doing well. As is typical, when the parents screw up, the kids take the brunt of it. We haven't met with William in a couple weeks. He has not been home for the past week. No one seems to know where he is.

William and his Family

Please keep William in your prayers. We have been meeting with him for mentoring. His primary need right now is work. His family situation remains tenuous. Pray that he will be able to work through the obstacles to working and getting a job and meeting his families spiritual and emotional needs. Pray for grace.

Crystal and Family

We talked with Crystal last week and she is working and doing well. When asked, she reported that she had no needs at this time.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever!

WIlliam's Family Needs

William and his family could really use:

A table for eating and 7 chairs

A lawn mower

Pray for William

We meet with William for our 3rd formal mentoring time. Pray with us that William will gain insight into the kingdom and what direction he needs to take to provide for the basic needs of his family, to provide for the emotional and spiritual needs of his family, and to begin the process of his own transformation.

Table Fellowship

We have been meeting with William weekly for some mentoring and life-walking. We have been talking about his priority of meeting the basic needs of his family. That is the bottom tier of the Maslow hierarchy.

After that comes meeting the emotional and spiritual needs of his family. One of the best times for being able to talk as a family is during meal times.

William's home has no table to eat at. Wouldn't it be great if they had a dining room table with 8 chairs around it where they could have sit down meals together each night?

5 Children, 3 substandard beds

We are making progress on beds for William's five children. The recent Sam's Club grant will cover most of the expenses to complete these beds. This will raise the dignity of these children.

We had our first mentoring meeting with William on Friday. Words of life and light were spoken to William. Some of the words of encouragement we gave him, he told us no one has ever said those kinds of word to him in his life. Pray for William's heart. Ask God to grant him mercy and grace. Pray that we will be attentive and obediant to the Spirit's leading as we meet with him.

Baby Shannon is in His New Home

Shannon Russell is now at home with his parents, William and Chenel, and 5 siblings. They passed their social work inspection. William worked all night and clean his place up nicely. He and his family were in great spirits over the weekend.

William has agreed to meet with Keith and I on a regular basis for some mentoring. Pray for William and his family. Pray for us as we learn to show exceptional love and mercy and speak words of life and light to William and his family. Pray for wisdom and discernment.

We started on beds for the kids. Pray that we would get helpers and have enough money to finish them.

Going Home?

Social work is now invovled with William and his family. It is considered neglect to not obtain prenatal care. They are doing an inspection of their home today. If they did the inspection yesterday, I doubt they would have passed. There are minimum standards. For one, every person must have their own bed.

They also will not release the baby until they obtain a car seat.

William has been stressed. He has been going from one crisis to the next.

What would it mean to life-walk with this family?

It's a Boy!

Chenel had her baby last night...on her couch!

The EMTs delivered a baby boy about 11:00 last night. Chenel has had little health care throughout the pregnancy. William said he looked healthy.

They have nothing, so if anybody has some baby items they would like to donate it would be appreciated.

William Update

In the past week, people have donated two couches, a love seat, two dressers, and a washing machine that were delivered to William's family. William commented that their two bedroom duplex is starting to look like a home. The parents and 5 kids now have a place to sit.

The washing machine will make their life much easier. Imagine how difficult it is to wash clothes for 7 when you have little money, no washer and dryer, and no transportation. The do not have a dryer, but have a clothesline.

Chenel is due to give birth in one week. She has had little health care throughout the pregnancy. She looks small for being nine months pregnant. The family is in a difficult spot for a variety of reaons. Pray with us for this family.

Crystal Update

Crystal and her four kids are all moved in. We just finished bunking the final bed and got the mattresses in. People have been very generous to this family. Their new home is nearly furnished and the kitchen is equiped and stocked with food. They do not have a washer and dryer. For the past 5 months, they had moved to a new church each week as they saved and worked the Interfaith Hospitality Network program. Their new home is small but it is theirs. God's love has been shown to them by many. Grace and peace to Crystal and her family.

Help Us Build More Beds

UC has applied for a small grant through Home Town Helper (Hamburger Helper community grants program). You can help us compete for this grant through posting a comment of support on our online application page. Click here for the link.

The more community support we can show through these comments, the better our chances of getting the grant.

Thanks for your support. We value it!

Mark's New Bed

Mark has been helping us build beds the past few months. He has a terminal illness. He had no bed and was sleeping on the couch. Tonight, he will sleep in his new bed. He didn't know it at the time, but he helped build his own bed. Pray for Mark that he would living in the kingdom now.

William and His Family

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,

and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill,

to set them among princes,

and to make them inherit the throne of glory:

for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's,

and he hath set the world upon them.

Chenel is due in three weeks.
One child sleeps on couch pillows.
One child sleeps with the parents
because there are not enough beds.

Crystal Move In

Crystal Update

I just got off the phone with Crystal - she was at work. Move in is scheduled for early next week - more than likely Wednesday. She is moving into the house she mentioned to me last week. All utilities are already on. She is going to call me early next week with directions.

Pantry Pound on Sunday.
Help moving on Wednesday.

Pantry Pound for Crystal This Sunday

What to bless a needy family without breaking a sweat? Bring some non-perishable food items on Sunday to fill the pantry in their new home.

What to break a sweat? Help us move her. Not sure when, but stay tuned.

William Update

The poor have little power. William and his family paid rent for 6 months on a place that had no heater through the winter. This is against the housing regulations. The landlord continue to put them off. When they reported it, he evicted them. To top off the injustice, 80% of the William's worldly possessions were ruined from the mold, including a dresser that we had provided them, the already substandard mattresses they had, and their couch.

Grateful Reverance to God: On Friday, William, his pregnant wife and their five kids moved from their dark, cold, mold-infested duplex to another duplex two houses down the street. Plan A worked out for them, which was fortunate because Plan B was back to a shelter. He was able to borrow some money from a relative and muster up enough for a deposit and first month rent.

The place is very nice, relative to where they came from. For starters, this place has no mold, has heat, and is bright. This is huge for this family. They used all their money to get into this place. The food stamps do not come in until the 8th. Some people were generous and merciful and provided them some food to get them through until then, one of them a neighbor, who is also living in poverty.

We were able to give them a donated microwave!

Things to Keep in Prayer:
William is angry about it all. We are wanting to learn to speak words of life and light to William. Jesus is calling him to a different way of living. One that does not include anger. Pray for William and his family. Pray for us as we try to lifewalk with them. We need discernment about how to best help this family. We are wanting to be compassionate while not enabling them.

I asked William for a list of things that they need. Here is the list:
Cleaning supplies
Kitchen supplies
Bathroom supplies (accessories)
Baby supplies (due in April - Boy)
Bedding
Curtains
Dressers
Bunk beds (they are next on our build list!)
Socks for the kids
Summer clothing for family
Soap, towles
Shoes
Fan

and I would add: couch, chairs, kitchen table and chairs.

Think of a house with nothing but an old king size mattress on the floor, a small tv, some cooking ware, and, now, a microwave. Just about any other household item would be needed.