We got to
Bakersfield and we met Jamie, the volunteer coordinator at the Mission of Kern
County. The guy, Tim, we’d been calling
was on vacation so we were thankful we got in touch with Jamie. This, too, was a short visit, but I think we
found out the reason why we were here.
The Mission at Kern County was formerly known as Bakersfield Rescue
Mission. This is the largest Mission in
Kern County.
They serve 3 meals a day to
the homeless and needy. In 2012, they
served over 200,000 meals and provided over 94,500 nights of shelter for men
and women. They also have a Disciple
program for men and women. They provide
life management classes, spiritual encouragement and have clinics they partner
with that donate their time and expertise to the guests needing medical and
mental health care and dentistry. It’s
the largest mission in Bakersfield, and they provide individual counseling by
trained professionals. It was so nice to
see all the care and love given to all the people that come in there.
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| Joe, Case Coordinator for Men |
Jamie
introduced us to Joe who is the H.I.S. Case Coordinator for the men. They put us in the gymnasium and rolled us
out some new cots for us to sleep on.
They signed us up for volunteering in the kitchen that evening so we got
settled in and reported to duty. We were
introduced to the man in charge of the kitchen and to the head chef, a really
nice lady who spoke to us every time she saw us and promised to pray for us on
our journey.
That evening, we worked in the serving line and got to talk with the girls in the kitchen. We got a cute picture of all of us afterward. They were all in the Women’s Program there. It was so nice to hear all their stories. They all have a story and are so grateful for the program. It was sweet seeing them have their hearts set on pleasing God.
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| Kathy and "the Kitchen Girls" |
We served two different meal times that
evening, one for the men in the program and then the people from the streets,
mostly men. The ladies invited us to
join them at chapel the next morning where the men and women go together but
sit on separate sides of the auditorium.
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| Kathy and I can rock a plastic apron! |
The
Chaplain, Steve, had come to Bakersfield with the Billy Graham advance team,
and had stayed on at the Mission when offered a job. His sermon that day was about “defining
moments in our lives” and how we need to stay in God’s will. He used 1 Peter 1:15-16 “But just as He who called you is Holy, so be
Holy in all you do; for it is written; Be Holy because I am Holy.” These verses are saying we have to be that
Holy person. God does not make
junk. God only makes great
workmanship. Masterpieces, a cut above,
prime cut, Holy.
He also
related that all things are spiritually originated and when we get into
alignment with that, God will give us defining moments. It was really inspirational to me and something
I really needed to hear that day. The
devil’s always on my heels so this just reconfirmed I needed to pray and stay
in God’s will.
After
chapel, we went on the streets to find the homeless that aren’t in the program.
We had bought peanut butter crackers and water in Ventura, and had stopped at
an orchard on the side of the road on the way to Bakersfield and bought a case
of oranges to give out. We hit the streets.
The first
group of guys I stopped to talk to, I approached them and asked “Hey would you like
a snack?” They always say “yes” and it gives me an open door to talk to
them. I ask some casual questions,
things I likely already know the answers to, because it lets me warm up to
them. After I speak to them for a few
minutes and tell them what I’m doing, most of them want to listen. Then, of course, I ask them if they need a
Bible and if they have any prayer requests.
Most do want prayers.
I know that
even a minute encounter with someone can change their life so I’m looking for
all the minutes I can spend with someone because those few minutes may help
them get to Heaven for eternity.
Most of them
are thankful for anything you do for them.
Again, this is another important
thing I hope America gets out of our trip this year, be gracious to a stranger
in need. It takes so little to show the
love of Jesus to someone.
As we were
walking back to the mission for the
three o’clock men’s meeting, we passed a bench.
There was a pair of tennis shoes there.
Sitting there so nice and perfect, I wondered why they were there. Did somebody leave in a hurry and leave
them? Or did they leave them for
somebody else that didn’t have shoes?
Wouldn’t it be nice to give a pair of shoes
to a stranger just because….?
I had a
chance to go to the men’s class and speak before dinner. I shared my testimony to
the 50+ men who were at the meeting and talked about the reason I wanted to
share hope with everyone there. At the end, I told them that if they wanted to
have prayer and talk to me afterward, they were welcome. Several came by and talked and said “Thank
You,” but, this one guy named Terry came over and talked
awhile with me. Homeless for ten years, Terry
was hopeful to find a job and hopeful to stay sober. Ten years ago, when he got
sober, he became a Christian and gave his heart to the Lord. Since that time, he’s
fallen off a couple of times but has been clean this time for about a
year. He was thankful that God
forgives. He said “It’s been a hard
road, “ but he is thankful to be at the mission and be in their program. We
prayed with him for his health, his continued sobriety, his loss of hearing and
for a job.
All I care
about is if just one person, just one, can hear the message of hope and that
God loves them no matter where they are or what they’ve done, I have fulfilled
God’s mission for that day. All glory to
God for this mission and what He’s done in my life and the lives of those we’ve
met.
I wonder, have you ever done anything like leave a pair of shoes on a bench? I'd love to hear from you.
I wonder, have you ever done anything like leave a pair of shoes on a bench? I'd love to hear from you.
Sammie
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