Blessed!

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Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

I pray that you had a blessed Thanksgiving.  We certainly did. Below this normal post, you'll find a couple of stories from our ministry from last week that I pray will bless you.  They're examples of how the Lord is using us (and you!) in the day to day lives of real people.  The stories might take a few minutes to read, but I assure you they're worth it!

Mrs. Earlene with the new woodstove!

This week we're getting the Storehouse ready for winter.  We had a wood stove donated (praise the Lord!) and installed last week, and this week we'll be trying to get everything in working order.  We're expecting our first snow Tuesday night into Wednesday!  We're also gearing up for the Christmas Store at FBC Greeneville, which will be December 10.  Please be praying for this as we continue to collect the necessary items, but also be praying that the Lord would open the hearts of the families who are coming to be receptive of the Gospel, and that many would enter into a relationship with him on that day!

In our home, we've been talking a lot about how we keep Christ at the center of this Christmas season amidst all the hustle and bustle of the secular holiday.  This year, we'll be observing 25 days of Advent following a guide suggested by our good friends Adam and Heather Richardson, which you can find here.  http://www.aholyexperience.com/free-advent-devotionals-jesse-tree-book/ Our prayer is that you'll find a way to keep Christ in the center of your Christmas as well!

Thank you for your prayers!

Stories from last week!

Desperate for Diapers
On Tuesday, I was supposed to be delivering a Thanksgiving meal to a family we know has a significant need.  The young man is a roofer who got laid off about a month ago.  The wife is a stay-at-home mom with 2 small children.  There's no government assistance, and there was almost no food in the house.  I got tied up and was running a little behind, and the young lady called to make sure I was still coming that day.  I assured her I was, and that I'd be there within the hour.  Right as I was saying goodbye, she hesitantly asks for one more thing.  She asked if I could spare a diaper or two.  She knew Lily was about the same size as her little boy, and he was out of diapers.  I went and talked to Meredith, and we had two packs in the closet that she had acquired via her couponing efforts, so I was able to take diapers to this young family in need.  After delivering the turkey dinner and the diapers, the young lady thanked me profusely for our help.  You see, they'd been out of diapers for two days.   There are so many families like that here, it's heartbreaking.  Next week through the Christmas Store we'll be serving between 80 and 100 families, this one included, providing basic necessities as well as new toys and a Bible for the children.  If you'd like to help out with the Christmas Store, just reply to this email.

One more, since the Lord was so good to us last week!

How the Lord Uses the Generous

This has been a wonderful week in our ministry.  We're so thankful just to have an opportunity to serve the Lord Jesus and to bless others in his name!  On Monday and Tuesday, through our partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast TN, we were able to provide turkey dinners as part of Project Thanksgiving to families in our community desperately in need of help.  Though there are many stories from this week, one of them is perhaps sweeter than the others.

On Monday we were working with the apartment manager of some low income apartments to provide dinners to families she knew to have genuine needs.  About half way through the complex, as we approached the next home on our list, the young man we were going to meet came out and met us on the sidewalk.  His question surprised us.  He asked if he could give away the dinner we were bringing him.  He explained that today, he had food in his fridge, but his friend down the street didn't.  His friend and his son were out of food, and he wanted them to have the turkey dinner we were bringing.  Quite frankly, we were shocked by the young man's generosity, and of course, we gave his friend the turkey dinner. It get's better.

The apartment manager asked us if we had 2 more turkey dinners, since she had learned of two more families in significant need.  So Tuesday we went back with the other 2 dinners and were met with a surprise.  One of the new families was the young man from the previous day whose friend had given him his dinner.  Well, here we sat with an extra Turkey dinner, and Charlie asked the young man if he knew anyone that really needed it.  The man said he thought so and dashed off to check with a neighbor.  A few minutes later he returned and directed us around the corner to another family.  The lady met us on the curb literally weeping.  Her husband is a roofer who got laid off because the work has dried up.  There's no government assistance yet, and there was no food in the house.  She'd been calling churches and praying that somehow the Lord would provide them with something to eat, and here we came with a turkey and all the fixin's.  She said she knew the Lord would hear her prayers and provide for her family somehow.  It was our privilege to be his provision.  And it all started because the young man the day before had been generous enough to be willing to give up the meal we were bringing him.

This year we are thankful for a Lord who cares about the poor and needy, who meets us where we are are provides for all our needs.  We are thankful for the opportunity to serve the Lord and be his hands and feet today.  And we are thankful to all of you who make this ministry possible.  Your gifts and prayers are enabling us to meet real needs!

Charlie praying with some men who we've just given a Thanksgiving meal to.

Charlie praying for these families we're helping who have significant needs.

Charlie chatting with pastor Luis, who pastors a local hispanic church and is becoming a friend of the ministry.

Lily helping daddy get the tree up.

She always wants to wear daddy's hats.

This weekend after putting away some laundry, I returned to find a new passenger in the laundry basket.

"Mommy, don't you think daddy's hat will complete my outfit?"

Playing in the decorations.

Our Christmas tree is up!

After Lily disappeared from the living room, I grabbed my camera and went to see what she was getting into.   She had grabbed a washcloth and was "dusting" the table at the foot of mommy and daddy's bed.  Just like her mommy :)