so friends,

How did loving someone yesterday change you? Transform your heart? Did you hang out with Jesus on the streets?
Were you bold enough to try it?

First, we (me and Paula) went here to Oceano, where we have done a few outreaches here before and hung out with our friends on the streets. It's literally a 3 minute drive from our house. This place is called La Tapatia (and has incredible tacos) and if you want some good ole' Mexican food, come here. We met our friend Larry, who was incredibly excited to see us! I love that feeling. I had made homemade spaghetti with chicken (I even got crazy and put sautéed apples in there. what?), garlic toast, and of course you have to finish a meal like that with dessert. So we sat on the sidewalk here and just caught up on life. He was so honest with where he was at with Jesus, and just life. We got to enjoy some great company for our Sunday lunch, and prayer for his relationships in the neighborhood. This man knows his Bible, which was fun for me and Paula. He reminded us that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Then he followed that with, "and wanna know where the enemy is? That man over there. He definitely came to steal, kill, and destroy."

Our next stop was The Mission in SLO (San Luis Obispo) about 15 minutes from our house. We LOVE this place! It has the downtown feel, with lots of shops, and local coffee shops, book stores, farmers market, protestors, and fun art. We also do some outreach here to our friends on the streets. It's always an interesting bunch. They bring us lots of laughter, really hard questions, vulnerable hearts, and sometimes we just get yelled at. Makes for a fun day. We definitely didn't leave without some fun stories. We met people that have walked over 4 days in a row, can juggle with homemade sticks, need liver transplants, wanna try sledding in fresh snow, and just needed to not feel ignored, to feel human. It's amazing the stories that we heard when we just stopped and asked. When you look them in the eye and see them and talk to them the same that you would a friend. Because they are friends. They are brothers and sisters. Things change, you stir conversations around you. You look weird, you get people always staring, but it opens Heaven, oh man does it open Heaven. To see the love of Jesus poured out over these people was worth the dirty looks, the loud yelling, and weird smells. To hear stories of the adventures these people have been on, who they have met, and what they need to be prayed for is so sweet. They have stories worth telling, good and bad. They need Jesus' grace each day, just as I do. 

I love that my eyes have been opened so that I can see my "home" now, no different than when I was here on my DTS. To look for opportunities all around. Cause there is always a need to be met. Thank you Holy Spirit for that revelation. That reminder.

  “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

   “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
   “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” -Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus, You make all things new!

We give You praise and ALL of the honor, ALL the glory, God! Oh, for how we are so richly blessed. We are RICH. Pull us out of the poverty mindset.