BY SHEMEKA BRUTON
We were sitting together one evening after the young adults Friday night vespers at Pastor Q's house. We had been reading through Steps to Christ. After the study had ended, we were just gathered together in little clusters here and there, chatting and fellowshipping together. There were about 19 people in attendance that night. Mrs. Q had made some very yummy chili that went well with the chilly evening.
As we were talking and enjoying each other’s company, someone mentioned that a body had been recently found down at City Hall. It had been reported on KFBK that a homeless person had quite literally frozen to death on the streets of Sacramento. It was a very sobering contrast to the warmth and comfort that we were at that very moment enjoying. The more we talked about it, the more we felt like we had to try and do something to help. Right there, by God's leading, a plan was hatched.
We would get a huge box and put it in the foyer at church and urge church members to fill it with sleeping bags, coats, and jackets. Then we would personally go out onto the streets of Sacramento, particularly near the Capitol, and hand-deliver the collected items to those in need. After a month of announcements in the bulletin and up front, the box was filled! The GB church members stepped up to the bat with tremendous generosity! We were ready for phase two of our plan!
On February 25th, 2017, 23 'Urban Missionaries' from the Granite Bay and Loomis churches headed to downtown Sacramento loaded with 82 bags of much needed supplies for the homeless. The bags contained either a jacket, a coat, or a sleeping bag along with a pop-top can of soup or beans or soft, chewy granola bars, a new pair of socks, wet wipes, a spoon (for the soup), and a Bible promise book stuffed with GLOW tracts. All of these items were placed in a large clear plastic bag, which they like to have because they can carry their things in it, and personally handed to people on the streets.
We targeted 'K' street near the Capitol, and we were divided into 6 different teams. So even though we were all in the same vicinity we were able to cover more ground by spreading out on different blocks. By God's grace, we were able to distribute everything and the people were soooooooo grateful. There's so much need, it’s almost overwhelming, but it was awesome to be able to do something to lighten someone else's burden even if just a little.
This outreach was so successful that we will likely be doing it again sometime in the future. Please pray for our brothers and sisters who have no home to go to at night. Also if you have extra coats, jackets, or sleeping bags that you were thinking of getting rid of please hold on to them! Set them off to the side somewhere in your house until we start collecting again and then bring them to church so that they can be used to bless someone.
Again thank you all for your generosity! Also if you'd like to come to our Friday night vespers (Bible study) please just send an email to gbya@use.startmail.com to be added to the email list. Vespers is at a different person's house every week so an email is sent out with the address information beforehand. And no worries, you don't have to be a young adult to come. All are welcome!