Hometown Missions..........

I know so many people are called out to be missionaries, but we cannot overlook the fact that we have so many people in need all around us, so many people in our own neighborhood that doesn't know Jesus. Today I learned a lot about the needs in my hometown. A few years ago, God had placed something on my husbands heart. He wanted to give school supplies away to kids, and he wanted to set it up like a store, so kids can get their school supply list and pick out their own items and choose which backpack they like. So we let that year pass us by, not because God didn't supply, but somehow we were convinced that maybe we weren't really hearing God.
A few months after school started last year, my store ran backpacks on clearance for $2 a peice. God was really tugging on my heart, and I told Matt, I don't know why, but I think we are suppose to buy 100 of those backpacks. We weren't really sure how, because we really didn't have the money, but I just knew that God was going to supply. So we bought them and began asking friends and family if they wanted to donate money to help pay for the 100 backpacks that we had bought. We raised almost the full amount of what we spent.
Within a month or so, once again, our store had scissors, and folders in abundance. Some people in my store knew that we had bought the backpacks, and the store had 800 folders and 200 pairs of scissors they donated to our project. All we had to do was make a small donation to CMN. At this point, we kind of thought God must be telling us something. We were going to have to take on this project, and he was going to help us do it.
In the months to come, God connected us with so many people. People donated supplies, made cash donations, and clothing donations. God united the churches in our community to come together to make a difference in our hometown. One church worked hard to stock up their new clothes closet and open it up today to help the kids in need. One church supplied more backpacks for us, and we had cash donations from churches and area businesses. It was so great to break some religous boundaries, to show people the same Jesus that we ALL serve.
I'm sure that there are stories that I will never know, but I have at least 2 that I can share with you. One of the teachers said that during open house a father of one of her students said it would be 2 weeks before he could afford to buy school supplies. She began to tell him about today, and how he could come and get school supplies for free, and she he nearly broke down and cried.
My second story, is the person of the day. A girl that once was a very good friend of mine in my younger years. I had seen her a few weeks ago. Her grandma had passed away, and she had been more like a mom to her than a grandma. My family had gone to the funeral home to visit with the family and friends, all in which I had known for most my entire life. She began to tell me how much she appreciated the school supplies. Her hours had been cut on her job, and she just didn't have much money. She got her supplies and began to walk out the door, and I could here God telling me, "Don't let her walk away." I turned around and called out her name, and met her at the front door. I began to talk to her about our bible study on Sunday Nights. She wanted to know more. So we talked a few minutes, I could tell she seemed like a person who had really been beat down by life. I invited her to come to my home group, and she seemed excited. I'm praying that she will come tomorrow night.
Thanks to everyone who thanked Matt and I, but to think that this is because of anything we did would be crazy. God gave us so many hands to do his glorious work, and we couldn't have done it without Christ. We had just enough supplies, we had just enough extra money to cover the cost of every pre-k and kindergarten student who needed their $25 fee covered (this is something we had not planned on being able to do). All I ask is that when God is telling you to do something, quit looking for an excuse not to. No, it won't be easy. It may take days, weeks, and even months of work to make it happen, but the end result is the most amazing thing you will ever experience. When you sit back and finally see all the lives that were touched, every minute of every day you spent working on it will seem like nothing. Thing is, God knows the needs before we do, we just need to listen along the way.