An incredible week

Wow, I can't believe the amazing miracles God has performed this week. First of all, many of you know we've been helping out a homeless family, Patrick and Zena Thomas and their seven kids. Many of you have stepped up to provide clothes, diapers and money for this family. Andy Phelps and Ben and Irene Delong have gone above and beyond the call for serving this family. They've been contacting food pantries, driving Patrick to job interviews and transporting the family (no small task for such a large family) to the various places they've stayed. Patrick has already been offered one job and had an interview today for an even better paying job!

In my post below, I talked about the power of a group of Christians committed to living out our 5 disciplines. Andy, Ben and Irene are great examples of people committed to serving others. I've also just witnessed the power of sacrificial giving. A family in our church has just donated $5,000 to help this family! Yes, I meant to type those three zeroes, $5,000. $5,000, $5,000. I just like typing that figure. Wow, we're going to be able to pay rent and buy groceries for the Thomas family while they get back on their fee. Thank you!

But the good news keeps on coming. This week, two guys who are connected with TFC, two (another great number) have made commitments to follow Christ! I'm not going to give many details, I want them to be able to share their story (or at least let me share it when I have permission) but believe me, the details are miraculous! After talking about what it means to turn from sin and to be reconciled to God, one guy told me "I'd never had it explained to me why Jesus died on the cross." And when I read 1 John 1:9, he was almost in awe of God's forgiveness.

I've been praying for the other guy for months. We've even been reading John's gospel together. He kept telling me "I'm getting closer, I've come so far the past year but I'm not sure if I'm quite ready yet." On Tuesday, we were discussing John 6 and he made the awesome connection between Jesus feeding the 5,000 and our need for the real food that only Jesus can give. We even talked about the virgin birth, it's so amazing to see those new to the faith grasp the miracles of the faith. But at the end of our conversation, he said "I'm still taking small steps, but I can certainly be considered a Christ-follower now." I was so excited I wanted to jump in the air and start pumping my fists, but I restrained myself. But with tears in both of our eyes, we prayed to God, thanking him for his miracles and asking for some more.

Wow! Wow! Wow!