Mike was brought up going to church and accepted Christ at 9 years old. He struggled as a teenager trying to live his life the way his parents wanted him to live. He began to hang out with people who he thought he could trust, but ended up doing drugs and alcohol. Once you start it’s never easy to quit, especially when you have a void in your heart like Mike did.

Mike has been married multiple times and when those didn’t work out, his addictions got even deeper and he became an alcoholic. He lost his wives and children because of his bad choices. He felt defeated, lost and lonely. “I wanted to commit suicide. I felt like a failure in so many ways. I was trapped.”

Mike heard about Feed the Need Missions and finally had enough courage to visit the Bastrop South site. It was a day that he was feeling the lowest in his life, and truly contemplating suicide. He was looking for a place to get connected, to have relationships, to build friendships. “When I arrived at the site I thought no one was going to allow me to serve. I thought I was unworthy to do anything. All I could hear in my head was a bunch of people telling me I was worthless and was never going to be accepted.”

When Mike arrived that evening, he walked up to the table where the food was served with his head down.  A volunteer asked him if he was there for a burger, and while he was, he also explained that he would like to serve. Without hesitation the volunteer accepted him with open arms and showed him the ropes on where he could jump in.

“It was that easy, show up and start serving,” Mike said. He served for the hour and then stayed for the bible study. “It was something I needed.”

Mike kept coming back every week. He would eat a meal and serve anywhere he could. Slowly his confidence started building, he was beginning to find his self-worth again.

After a few months, Mike went out of town for a couple of weeks. The second week of not being at our weekly community he received a phone call from a volunteer checking in to make sure he was okay.

“Never had I felt what unconditional love was before until that moment. When I hung up the phone letting them know I would be back the following week I started weeping. Someone truly and genuinely cared about me. I threw my hands up in the air, and I said, ‘thank you Jesus, you are real.’”

Mike found a place where he was accepted for who he was, “I now have a new family. Never in my life have I had true transformation and know what Christ’s love truly is. If it wasn’t for Feed the Need Missions and the people serving, I am not sure where I would be. I found purpose again. And now I can share my story with others, as before I couldn’t.”

For Mike, Feed the Need Missions is much more than a burger, it’s about being part of Christ’s family and seeing it’s life-changing transformation.

“Lives will be changed because of what I went through. Just like your story can impact others too.”

 

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A mentor of mine once told me that it is important to document what you are feeling and to take a journal and write down what God is doing in your heart. And then saturate the experience in prayer as you walk alongside God and those with whom you are serving. Then share it. So I am going to share with you a story that has been penetrating in my heart for exactly one year..

A married couple with 4 children needed help. They searched for help in the community and they received some assistance, but was needing more. They heard about Mission U-Too through friends and my boss, at the time, came to me about their needs. They had lost their house in a fire because of an electrical issue with their dryer, right before Christmas in 2015. My heart was broken as how to help. Fortunately, now for those that fear they may lose their house due to the same factor, keep in mind pages on what to do if your dryer caught on fire are all over the internet in hopes of saving your clothes dryer, and more importantly house.

I journaled February 2016: “I am a servant of Christ, a child of the Most High who is to fulfill a commitment on this earth; to spread the gospel showing Christ love in different ways depending on situations and circumstances. Help was given to this family by providing a week in a hotel, Christmas presents, clothes, and groceries. However, I missed the opportunity to pray with them because I allowed the language barrier to build a wall.”

After help was given I felt my purpose and motive was not pleasing to God. I had the opportunity to pray! I had the opportunity to share the gospel with 6 people. I had the opportunity to be a light in the darkness, and I failed.

Have you ever felt like that?

The Rodriquez family moved in with family after their hotel voucher was over, and started building their house with their own hands. I kept in contact with the family through Facebook and would reach out to them every few months.

Just a few days before Christmas in 2016 I was told by a local Pastor that the Rodriquez’s home was almost finished. I know some of you can relate to losing your home in a fire and the devastation of losing everything and having to rebuild your life again. I then reached out again and asked what I could do to help. Diana, the mother, sent me a list of items that they needed and I started praying through the list.

Within a few days God sent His deliverer. A Bastrop family wanted to bless a family during Christmas, so I mentioned the Rodriquez family and their needs. It was a MATCH! Gifts were given from a local Pastor…pillows, towels and a microwave. Plus money for a washer and dryer, curtains and other household items were given. I gathered all the things and went to visit the family.

I pulled up to their little trailer size home with 3 bedrooms, 1 bath and a kitchen. No living space and they were content, blessed and satisfied with the work that was put into their tiny home. Emotions were expressed by her and I. We cried together, laughed together, and we PRAYED together. I knew just enough Spanglish for her to understand. That was my opportunity friends! I shared the gospel with her and the heart behind Mission U-Too. I spent 3 hours with her unpacking her new gifts and talking, while Jordan, my son, played outside with the children.

God presents opportunities. Sometimes we miss the opportunity and sometimes we don’t. Don’t miss the opportunity that Christ has for you. I almost did, but with His great planning, my journaling, and pursuing the Great Commission, I had another opportunity that God trusted me with. Diana is a believer. Her husband is also a believer, and a few of her children are as well.

2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” I was blessed abundantly and the Rodriquez family, because of OUR commitment to Christ.

You can do the same. Choosing a service opportunity can be daunting, but if you think about it, you have passions that will help drive this decision. God has blessed you with gifts that will lead your decision and will encourage you along the way. Trust in your passions, gifts and, most of all, God. And He will lead you to an experience that will change your life.