I love my December Birthday!

If by somehow I missed telling you, this week was my birthday! I am one of those very obnoxious people to be around during my birth WEEK! I don't just want to celebrate my birth on the actual day, but the whole week!
On Tuesday, 10 of my girlfriends took me to dinner and then to see Newsong in concert! I was blessed by 45, yes 45, phone calls on Thursday, the actual date! I love my friends¡¡
Growing up, I always wanted a June birthday. Being born 7 days before Christmas, I always felt robbed of "my" day! Being so close to Christmas, people are busy and money is tight. I got a lot of Birthday and Christmas presents combined. Robbed, I am telling you, I was robbed!
This year, Jesus showed me why I was a December baby! I asked people to give me gloves, hats, scarfs and underwear instead of gifts so we could give each person in the park a Christmas present! Boy did Jesus shine through all of my friends! Every person in the park got a wrapped present, a bag of candy, a hot meal and lots of hugs today! I bought elf hats for everyone to wear today. It was awesome!
After we were done feeding, a handful of us went to the local coffee shot and hung out. It was fun to fellowship with those who serve and those who we serve! Ultimately, we all serve the Almighty One who came to earth to set each of us free. It is because of that little baby we have freedom! Thanks you Jesus!


Donnette reading God's word.





Leon and me..please pray for peace in his heart



Megan and Steve-they are both doing great!

















Rhonda the Reindeer and Ms. Henrietta!







Santa?? I tried all my charm to get him to wear an elf hat! No go!

All caffeined up..and no place to go!




CB and David....standing around looking pretty!


David with his new glasses Jesus gave him via Walmart!






God gave us three amazing Christmas gifts:
The forgiveness for everything we've ever done
A promise and power to live today and
The security of knowing our home in heaven is there for us when we die.



I wish each of you a beautiful day celebrating the birth of the One who made our salvation possible. And that is the ONLY gift we need. Peace.

Walmart-my new favorite place to shop!

Wednesday, my friend David from the park (I blogged previously about him), called me to tell me he broke his glasses the night before. He was quite upset because he cannot see without them, and wanted to know if I had any suggestions as to what he should do. The only answer I could come up with is to call the Lion's Club. No luck with them.
David's work is about to run out and he is very unsure if he is going to end up back on the streets. Needless to say, he was very down.
Later that afternoon, I went to Wally World to return some Christmas ornaments. As I walked by the Optical Department, something told me to go in and just ask if they could help David with his dilemma. Hmmm, wonder where the thought came from?! So I walked up to the counter, introduced myself and told them about David's situation. The girl told me she would talk to her manager and then call me. The next day I got a call from Ben, the manager, and he asked me a bunch of questions about what we do in the park each week and about David. Then get this...he said to have David come in and he would take care of !00% of the cost for a new pair of glasses! What? I was just hoping they could give him a good discount!
Why should I be surprised that Jesus would take care of 100% of David's needs? I was only hoping for a piece, when I should have been expecting the whole?
I JUST LOVE TO WATCH GOD GO!!!

Come rain, His light is still going to shine!

Donette and her fashionable (?) self!


So, there was some "slight" rain in the park today! We know we are sweet and all, but we none of us melted, (well, I kind of did!).

Our ministry was hugely blessed this week by The Richmond Hill United Methodist Church. They donated 50 lbs of chopped ham and more spiced apples than we could serve! The leftover meat and apples were taken to The Old Savannah City Mission, and boy were they glad to have all of it! Pay it forward, baby!



Thanks for bringing the canopy, Jeff and Renee'!






Leroy (on right) is our faithful doughnut hander outer each week!

This pic is funny! Renee' holding an umbrella for the tall men! You go girl!














Leroy, David, (our FAITHFUL supplier of bottled water EVERY week), CB and David's mini-me!

Laura, do we need to talk?


















Our precious, precious Chelsea and Laney! Ok, they could have melted because they truly have a sweet heart for Jesus.



Last week I spent a lot of time in prayer with James Smith. He is one of the most gentle man I have ever met. He has been coming to the park for the past three months. Last month he brought me some strawberries because he said we bless him each week and he wanted to bless us. Well last week I noticed him standing by himself so I went over and gave him a hug. He told me that I had no idea how much he needed that. He was broken, and I could see it in his eyes. James went on to explain to me that there is no work to be found and his bed at the mission would be given to someone in two days. I asked him where he would go, and he said that he would take a sheet and a shower curtain and sleep in the ditch. Ok, I became a blubbering idiot with tears flowing down my cheeks. We prayed that God would open a door for him. What that door might look like, we did not know. James has been prayed for all week by my family in Ohio, my dear friend in Florida and lots of her friends, also by a lot of you.
Today James was a different man. If he does not have a job by Wednesday, he is going to take that as confirmation from God that he is to move on to a mission in Dalton, Ga. There he will have a roof over his head and employment. It is already set up for him. God has provided transportation for him to get there!
He humbly said his goodbyes and could not thank me enough for what takes place in the park each Sunday. Please keep him in his prayers as he continues to listen to God for direction.

This is another man I met last week. His name is Keith and is struggling with addiction. Today he was so excited to tell me that he went to another addiction meeting last night, and church today! Praise Jesus, you rock! He is living in his car and has a good job, but is blowing his money on something that is keeping him in a pit. Please lift him up to our Lord for strength.

This is EXACTLY why I go to the park each week!

Lots to say!

Seems like life has been going way too fast lately. I can see the whirlwind somewhat slowing down! Now I get to put a couple of weeks into one blog! Lucky you..not!

Seventeen weeks ago, I started a college class called, "Perspectives". Basically it is a class on how Jesus called us the salt of the earth and how we can be used to to fulfill the purpose He has for us. It really focused on how God is a God of missions. The homework was INTENSIVE, to say the least. It was a great class! However, my feet did a happy dance in my kitchen when I finished the final! This now frees up many, many hours in my week!

My Sundays in the park are still amazing! I simply adore the people that I serve The Lord with each week. God continues to grow His faithful servants to donate their time and money to prepare food each week. I love each and everyone of you (-:

Three weeks ago, a man in the park told me that he would not be coming to the park anymore and that he was sad to tell me goodbye. He went on to tell me that he had found a place to live and now had a job, so he did not need for us to feed him anymore. The most amazing part of this story is that he was smiling! When I met David at the beginning of the summer, the streets had beat him down, bad. He was the most negative person I think I have ever met. Probably the most stoic person I have ever talked to. He was like that all summer. We prayed each week for God to provide a way for him to get off the streets, and He did! After David told me about not coming down to the park anymore, I suggested he continue to come down and help. His eyes lit up! He could not believe that we would let him help us. What? We are all in this together! So the next Sunday, David showed up and before the message was given he stepped up and gave his testimony to all the people standing in line to be fed. It was a tear jerker to listen to him share what God has done in his life and to encourage others to put their trust in The Lord! Very cool stuff!

Bill Wilson, who I blogged about previously is still continuing to give me his tithe each week!
His story would be a great sermon from the pulpit.

Wednesday, Pam and I headed downtown to spend the day with M. Since she now has her birth certificate we went to the Social Security Office and got that situation staightened out and then we went to the D.M.V. to get her I.D. She was ecstatic! Imagine not having anything with your name on it for years. Something we all take for granted.




Later on in the afternoon in one of the parks, I saw a man named Mike. I used to drink coffee with him at Starbucks a couple of years ago. I have been in search of him for quite sometime since he quit going to our coffee shop. He was a homeless man who lived in his truck that was modified for him since both of his legs were amputated. Mike always has cotton stuck in his ears to help drown out the voices that he hears. Very sad not to have a sound mind. I always enjoyed our conversations. One time his truck broke down in the K-Mart shopping center, so he got under the truck to work on it and I sat on the ground in the parking lot drinking coffee and chatting with him! Yea, I bet you wish you could have seen me! Good times! Mike now has an apartment...Praise Jesus!



Today I got invited to have lunch at a women's shelter that is having their grand opening in a few weeks. It is very sad that in a big city there is not one women's shelter that will take you in no matter what. The Salvations Army will take you in, only after you pass a drug screen. So if you are using and you are a woman, you get to freeze on the streets, under the overpasses or in the bushes while the men have their choice of shelters to sleep in. It was an honor to eat lunch with some of the women that will be welcome to come in out of the weather, have a place to shower and have a bed to sleep in. I don't think today's visit will be my last! I am definintly feeling a pull to that mission!

Ok, so if by some chance you are still reading this and have not fallen asleep, let me wish you a blessed Thanksgiving. We have more things to be thankful for that what we deserve.

Mustard Seed Faith

From the 17th chapter of Mathew;

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Last Sunday I blogged about a man named Bill Wilson. He is a homeless man who prayed to God without ceasing for a job and a pair of shoes. He got both!

Today Bill showed up in the park for two reasons. One was to find me, and the other was to eat some of our good cooking! Today's menu was homemade chicken noodle soup, peaches, oranges, green beans, applesauce, bread, donuts and water! Not bad!
So on to the good part....Bill came to give me something. He said that he was not able to go to church this morning because he was working (Yea, you go Jesus!) and came to the park on his lunch break. He asked if he could give me his tithe to either give to my church or to put towards our ministry in the park. What? A homeless man wants to tithe? How stinkin' cool is that??

Before last weekend, Bill had no job and a pair of shoes that had seen their last mile. He put his faith in The Lord to provide for his every need.
Because of that faith and trust, Bill is a walking testimony of how God can move mountains out of our way.

Each Sunday I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams! I go to the park expecting for Jesus to show up in mighty ways, and He always does!
I love to hear the success stories from the same people that I have listened and prayed with about their bad situations. God does move mountains, we just need to have Mustard Seed Faith!

When I got home, I took the money Bill gave me out of my pocket. I was expecting to see a few dollars. Imagine my surprise to pull a lot more than that. Today Bill Wilson gave $55.00 to his Lord!

Happy Oct. 31st!

Riley at 4 months young! Boy has he grown! He is still trying to master those long legs!
If you are new to my blog, scroll down to the first entry to see his picture at 8 weeks old.









ARRRRRR, matey!



















Abby, THE Alpha Dog! Riley fears her, but she is his hero! She knows all the cool things to do, like getting the end of a toilet paper roll and running! Nothing like having your house T.P'd by two dogs! They adore each other (-:

Presidential Election

This came from last weeks sermon at Amazing Grace Christian Church in Grove City, Ohio

Do you realize that regardless who wins - God always has 51%? By acting like we as people can actually “control” the elections is acting like God doesn’t have anything to do with it. God used a Donkey in the Bible to talk (often worded another way). So if God Can use a Donkey - he can use any candidate that would actually win our elections! If God wanted to take either of them out - with a snap of His fingers - it would be done!

So take a deep breath - remember who we are - remember who He is - and do your part and vote! Remember God always wins Majority! He is always 51%.

My crazy prayer was answered in the park today!

A couple of months ago, someone gave me a brand new pair of LL Bean Men's Tennis Shoes to take to the park. I decided instead of putting them out with all the other clothes items, I was going to pray over the shoes and ask God to bring the right person for the shoes to me. I was afraid if I put them out, someone was going to take them and sell them on the streets for alcohol or drugs. The shoes were still in the original packaging so it was obvious they were brand new. Those shoes have gone to the park with me each week but have not left the back of my Explorer...until today!
As we were about to start serving the food, a man walked up to me and asked me if I had any shoes. I asked him what size shoe he wore, and he told me a size 9,which is not a common size for a man's shoe. Guess what size tennis shoes were in the back of my car? I told him that I did and that if he was not in a hurry, I would get them for him as soon as we got done serving the food. He waited patiently on me as I continued to talk to everyone around me after the food was done.
When I brought the shoes to him, I told him the story about praying over the shoes and how I was waiting on God to give the shoes to someone. He started weeping. He shared with me how he had prayed earnestly this morning that God would supply him with some shoes! He just got a job 3 days ago as a painter. The shoes he had on his feet were very old and the soles on the bottom had totally split. He explained how he was scared to death that he was going to fall off the ladder while painting since the sole and shoe were in two pieces.
I love to watch GOD GO!


His name is Bill Wilson. Please keep him in your prayers. He has been blessed with a job this week, a new pair of shoes and a new hope in God!

Home From a Trip of a Lifetime

We made it home from Haiti late Saturday night after 18 hours of travel! Our travel going and coming from Haiti could not have gone smoother! Uneventful flying is always a good thing!


We stayed in Miami the night before we flew to Haiti. On the way walking to dinner, some in our group saw a homeless man sitting under the overpass. John and I collected 3 boxes of food from the Cuban Restaurant and took them to "E." While we were under the overpass sitting and talking to him, a police car showed up. Basically they stopped to move E's shopping cart full of his belongings out of view of traffic. When I asked why the cart had to be moved, they said that the president was about to come down the street. Ya, we would not want President Bush to see a homeless man in the U.S.A., right? E was a sweet man who had been on the streets for a long time. We made sure he knew Jesus, prayed for him, and then said our goodbyes.


Me and "E"

John and "E"


Driving from the small airport to the mission is always a culture shock. The poverty is indescribable. Pictures cannot make the Haitian's life real enough.

Our first full day in Haiti began with church! Going to church in Haiti is an all morning event! It was a morning full of singing... loud singing! The Haitian's put us Americans to shame when it comes to making a joyful noise unto The Lord! It does not matter if you can't carry a tune, just sing...loud! We were all blessed to worship the same God, even if we don't speak the same language! We broke bread with our Haitian brothers and sisters.

We spent the rest of Sunday sorting through all the donations a lot of you sent with our team. We had a ton of medical supplies and more than enough food for our team!

On Monday the mission was buzzing with excitement to start our week! I got to do devotions for all the people who work at the mission! What a cool way to start my day! After I got done with that, I headed to the minor surgery room. That was my assignment for the week. I got the awesome job of sharing Jesus with each patient and praying with them before their surgery! So after the first person accepted Christ, I explained baptism and asked the lady if she would like to be baptized. She said "Yes!" So I set off to find a pastor, only to find out there was not one at the mission at the moment. I did the only thing I knew to do. I grabbed my dear friend Jody, and asked her to help me baptize! It was one of the coolest moments of my life! That goes to prove that God can use the biggest of wretches! That was the beginning of a week full of decisions for Christ and baptisms!








On Thursday the generator went out for several hours so we took full advantage of leaving the mission and not feeling guilty! A bunch of us went to visit Sonel. He is a teenager we met last year. He fell out of a mango tree last summer and broke his back. He is now a paraplegic with a smile that will steal your heart! My good friend Pam, went to Haiti with me last year and fell in love with Sonel. She sent a suitcase full of Depends for him. Also donated for him was a DVD/CD player, movies, clothing and batteries for his blow up mattress. To sum up our visit with Sonel, he was on cloud nine for all the love shown to him!

How could you not fall in love with that smile?

From Sonel's, we went to the jail. We saw a man that had shown up to the mission earlier in the week to have a cut (and I use that word loosely, because it was HUGE and down to the bone), sewn up. He apparently got cut with a machete while trying to rob someone. There was another man in the cell with him and a lady in the cell next to them. We had a great time of testimony and prayer for all of them. The man with the cut, rededicated his life to Jesus! Afterward we gave them all a bunch of food we brought for them. However, the jailer would not allow us to feed them unless we fed him first! So, we fed him! It's all good!

As in my title to this blog, it truly was a trip of a lifetime! I did not want to leave on Saturday. God handpicked an amazing team to serve Him together. I am counting the days until I get to go back and love on the Haitians! They inspire me to rely more on God. That is all they have, and that is ALL they need!

We made it to Miami with no problems! After getting all our duffels (42) to our hotel we went out for Cuban food, Ready for our adventure!

Haiti Bound

I am headed back to Haiti on Friday and I can't wait to get there! From the time I signed up to go on this trip, I felt God was telling me that this time was going to be different. I was right. Haiti got hammered by Gustav, Hanna and Ike. It is pure devastation over there. The well at the mission got damaged in the storms and is not working properly. As of now, there are no showers allowed and no flushing of the toilets. Yet I am super excited! A different kind of breed, I am! You are probably thinking that I am insane, and you are probably somewhat correct!
Each day pictures will be posted on the mission website. If you would like to see what we are doing, here is the site;
http://nwhcm.smugmug.com/Trip%20Photos
Please keep our entire team in your prayers.

Unexpected Visit

I had a great friend call Thursday night and tell me she was headed to see me on Friday! Yippeee,!
As soon as she got to "The Hill" we went to the hospital to see her close friend. We had a nice visit and a great time of prayer for healing over Gene. After we left the hospital we headed to good ol' Target to hunt for "cute" boots for Jody to wear while in Haiti. No such luck. She will have to buy the "shrimpers" white boots! Poor Jody will not be able to compete with the, way fashionable boots, I have!
Saturday started early at Kristin's parent's house for breakfast! Man, this was my lucky weekend to see Jody and Kristin! I must be living right!
We then headed to church for our "Haiti Packing Party". Boy was there a ton of stuff donated for us to take on our trip! None of it will go to waste. Jody's medical knowledge was priceless as she prioritized the medical supplies.
Our short weekend (sad) together ended in a POWERFUL worship together at church. The music was off the chain! There was a pool set up for baptism at the end of the service. It was so cool to see so many take the plunge...no pun intended! I think there was around 190 people over the weekend baptized!
I had to say good-bye to my dear friend. But only, until this Friday..cuz we are headed to Haiti together!! Whoooo-Hoooo!

A day orchestated by God

I woke up this morning only to find that M. had tried to call me 4 times before the clock struck 9:00 a.m.! I was afraid that her phone card would have ran out and that I would not hear back from her. Nope, she called again! She told me she was trying to make good decisions today and that she was glad we were getting together. So, I called Pam, a.k.a. Louise, and we headed downtown to pick Megan up. So the adventure began.......

We went to lunch at a health food store and had one of their amazing sandwiches! Poor M., she was probably thinking, "Great, I get a free meal and we have to eat health food!" It was really nice sitting outside and just chatting. She shared a lot about her past. She showed us her scars from all the surgeries after she jumped off a 64 foot bridge. All I could think is about the plan God has for her life.

After lunch we went to the boarding house she wanted to move into. Ok, that was an experience, to say the least! Let me paint a picture for you. Can you imagine how it would look if 2 soccer moms were out looking to buy drugs? That is exactly what Pam and I looked like! We were in the back alleys trying to find the landlord to the boarding house. Interesting how many people just hang out in those alleys. But I do have to say, they were all very friendly! We finally got the guy's phone number and M. set up a meeting time for later in the afternoon. Wow, it kind of sounds like a drug deal!

Then we were off to where she and her ex-boyfriend lived to pick up her disability check . I was a little worried about going over there because he trashed the place before he got hauled off. I was so happy to see her reach into the mailbox and pull out the check! Thank you Jesus, because I did not have a back up plan if her money had not arrived today.

From there we headed to the liquor store to cash the check. Yet another shady experience, but went like clockwork!

We headed back to the boarding house to meet the landlord and get M's room. As she was getting out of the car, she informed us that it would be in our best interest not to sit in the car with our windows down. Up went the windows! The curiosity got the best of us because we wanted to see M's new home, so we took a deep breath, and ventured out! The room is supposed to be fully furnished but only had a mattress inside. The landlord promised that it would be furnished before he left for the day. I hope so.

Our last stop was dropping M. off at a friend's house. Her friend's brother was going to take M. to her "camp" site later on to get all her stuff. I don't think she wanted to take us to where she has been sleeping.

God was soo good today! There was not a hitch in our afternoon with M! He protected us in all the "iffy" places we visited today!

Please pray for a good roommate for M. Her room gets rented out with 2 people in each side.

7 year itch!

M's ex-boyfriend has 7 years to sit in jail and scratch the itch he has to beat on someone! Praise Jesus he is out of her life! I was ecstatic when I got to the park today and saw her with a beautiful smile!
She said that on Tuesday (the day she was to go to court) she was hanging around a certain street and a policeman told her she had to leave. She told him that was fine because she was suppose to be in court in 15 minutes. So guess what....HE GAVE HER A RIDE TO THE COURTHOUSE! Are you seeing Jesus in any of this yet? Peace was oozing out of M. today!
Wednesday she gets her check. So this week she will get off the street and into a boarding house! She promised me that I could spend the day with her. We are going to get her set up in her new room!
The last thing she said to me today is that she was heading to the canal to take a bath.
My thoughts on her comment?
"Please God, don't let me take my comfy life for granted."

No birthday girl in sight...

So, most of you know that I have been helping out with a feeding program each Sunday afternoon. It really is not an organization, just a bunch of people, helping people. That is our, "unofficial, official" name! Most of the people we feed are homeless or live in the very run down housing in the downtown area.
A lady that comes nearly every Sunday had a HORRIBLE black eye over the summer. Not only was it black, it was swollen shut. When I asked her what happened, she told me that she had been in a car accident. Ok, so that explains the cuts on her forehead also.
Two weeks ago, she showed up with another black eye. When I inquired about it, she said not to worry that "he" was in jail and would not be hurting her anymore. UGH, why did this not occur to me that the guy she is always with is beating her? Last week she allowed me to talk to her and more important, she let me pray for her. She asked for prayer of strength. She wanted God's strength to show up to court on Tuesday to press charges against her boyfriend of 4 years. She was afraid that if she did press charges that when he got out he would kill her. On the other hand, she knows she is only safe if he is locked up. She also apologized for not talking to me in the past. Comes to find out, she was was not "allowed" to talk to me because I ask too many questions. She promised me she would call me this week to let me know how things went in court. I never heard from her and my heart is very burdened.
Her name is M., and today is her birthday. I went downtown to try and find her today. No luck. I really wanted to take her to lunch. She needs to know that someone still finds her beautiful and loves her, a love that never hurts. She needs to meet Jesus.
My prayer is that she will show up for the feeding tomorrow. And, I hope that she does not have a boyfriend with her.

Teaching an old dog a new trick!

So, I am diving into the world of blogging! Maybe I am not too old to learn something new! Time will tell (-;

A question I hear all the time is, "What have you been up to?" Hmmm, what do I do to occupy my time? Well one word could sum up most of it right now. PUPPY! We added another four-legged member to our family a little over one month ago! Riley, is his name and boy has he required a lot of attention! Our other dog Abby, loves him to death! I just have to know where he is at all times as he is still not being responsible with his bladder!

Most of you know that I am headed back to Haiti! Yippeeee! Two weeks from today I leave! This will be my third trip over there. I am going with a team that totals 72 people. We will be staying at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. I encourage you to check out their website @ NWHCM.org. Catastrophic flooding from tropical storms Gustav, Hanna and Ike have displaced thousands and escalated the food crisis in Haiti. Find out what the mission is doing and how you can help now.

I wish each of you a blessed Friday! Enjoy your weekend (-;
Heidi