This is an article that I wrote for the Gospel Coalition newsletter about our work with Mynamar.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/io/story/the_myanmar_harvest

"Jesus Loves Me This I Know"

Each Friday Night Outreach has its own special moment when God touches my heart
and those who need to know and be reminded of His love. Tonight as we wind down the
evening, the microphone is still open and these precious girls sang that song most of us
learned in Sunday school.
"Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so; little ones to Him belong, they are
weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so."
The two in the picture are daughters of John Whalen and Trish Zahn-Whalen. John is a
graduate of the Men’s Recovery Program and Trish is a graduate of the Anna Ogden Hall
Women’s Program. They came to help serve the homeless and brought their daughters.

Yes, we served over 140 men, women and young people, plus many more that were
served in the encampment under the I-90 freeway. A flicker of ‘hope’ was lit in the
hearts and minds of several people as they were confronted with the “Giver” of hope. So
once again my heart was encouraged as to why we minister Friday nights to those who
desperately need hope and redemption.

Jesus loves me, this I know! For the Bible tells me so! He also loves each of those who
come for a free meal, some warm clothes and a blanket.

Mending Fences Fellowship

When four men in full motorcycle gear riding their Harley Davidson’s arrive at Friday
Night Outreach, one’s first instinct might just be to call “911’ or head for the nearest exit.
So it was Friday Night when four men of the Missionary Cycle Disciple “Hardcore for
Christ” group arrive asking how they can serve. All are dressed in their riding ‘leathers’,
sporting arms filled with tattoos, but having a heart for Christ as big as the muscles
showing in their biceps. These were the men from Mending Fences Fellowship asking
how they can join in ministering to the homeless.

What follows is a time of fellowship and circles of prayer sharing our mutual love for
Christ and desire to minister to the homeless. I see once again a beautiful ‘mosaic’ of
believers bonding together for a common purpose.
One of the joys of serving at Friday Night Outreach is that no two nights are ever the
same. I come each Friday night with a real sense of expectation knowing that God will
be at work in the heart of someone among the more than 110 we will serve.

As I engage Jeff (not his real name) in conversation at his table, tears well up in his eyes
as he expresses a real desire to change. He shares more than once that “I’m tired of
living this way”. The father of a 4 year old daughter and a man with a checkered past,
Jeff cries out from a heart filled with pain. How does he mend past mistakes? How does
he move on when the woman in his life has no desire for spiritual things? My heart aches
for him. I come away convinced that Jeff knows of the truth of the Gospel and wants
more than anything to experience its power in his life. After a time of prayer, we agree to
meet again next Friday night. Won’t you pray with me for Jeff?

Christ, is in the words of the hymn writer, is in the business of “Rescuing the perishing
and caring for dying. Snatching them in pity from sin and grave”, Weeping over the
erring ones, lifting up the fallen”.

Our city, your city, is filled with men and women whose lives have been crushed under
the weight of past mistakes. They aren’t all homeless some are our neighbors, some
are our co-workers, and they, like Jeff, are “tired of living this way”. Will you consider
being one that points them to the One who is in the rescue business?