July 19th Prayer Update
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Blessed is the one who fears the Lord, always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
During our end-of-July outreach, our teams distributed:
Five Cross-Talking Books on Addiction
Two Spanish Language Bibles
Seven English Bibles
Pray with us for God to continue to give us hearts faithful to pray for the specific homeless individuals we meet each week. It's our fervent hope those we speak with develop a desire to repent of their sin and have a relationship with God. We recognize this is God's work and cannot be accomplished by us alone. We are simply God's servants and ambassadors to the lost, wanting to be available to God in our weakness, knowing He is strong. This week, one of our prayers is that God would be pleased for those who received Bibles to read them, that several would be willing to come to church, and that we would see at least one of these individuals profess faith in Christ.
Our RV Bible study participant for this outreach was Maria. Maria told our team she was recently in the hospital and shared a room with a woman from NorthCreek church. God placed that sweet ambassador in Maria's room to watch a live stream Sunday service with her and answer questions she had about God and the Bible. The church member connected Maria with our ministry, and we met Maria at the facility where she was staying while she was awaiting a place in rehab.
Maria has some Christian background. She said she ended up homeless in the aftermath of a divorce from a 20-year marriage. She was happy to receive a Bible, and the team spent time carefully laying the foundation of our sin nature and separation from God. It seems in her previous church more time was spent teaching about the grace of God and less about sin and repentance. The concept of God's holiness and justice towards sin were new concepts to Maria. The team carefully explained to Maria that God wants to give her more than a second chance, but a new heart enabling her to love and enjoy Him forever. They prayed that God would become more desirable to her than the drugs she has been using. We are confident that it was no accident that she was in the same room with our church friend. When the team prayed with Maria, she was crying. Pray for her as she enters rehab that she would look to the God of the Bible for answers and not to the empty answers of this world.
Maria was able to attend church the following day. We pray that God will also use the sermon to speak truth into Maria's heart.
Our team had the opportunity to speak with John while he was sitting on a bench. He was happy to receive hot coffee, a blessing bag, and a lunch. He seemed a little out of it and shared some strange views about the Bible with our team. When they asked John if he had ever read the Bible, he responded that "it's the worst book in the world." Our team responded that "it's the best book in the world because even though we are sinful, God made a way for us." The team offered him a gospel of John, pointing out that he shares his name with this book and that he should give it a read. He was willing to accept it. Please pray that he reads it and that his heart will be softened by the words of God.
Our Central Concord team spoke with Salvador and Maria under the 242 overpass off of Franquette. They seemed interested in attending the NorthCreek Church Spanish ministry. We provided them with hot coffee, lunches, water bottles, and materials in Spanish. Pray that they would follow through on their interest in church.
Our team had the opportunity to speak with Marissa, age 34, for a good 15-20 minutes. She shared her battle with addiction and her desire for medical intervention. Although medicine can be a valuable tool, we encouraged her that her ultimate help needs to be from the God who created her. She shared she has five children whom she desires to have a better relationship with. We prayed for her and offered her an addiction book. Please pray that she would read it and look to God for help.
Our team was impacted by their conversation with Steven near the Imhoff Bridge. He is a father to two girls. He and his wife, Jennifer, are both homeless, and their children are being cared for elsewhere. He had a genuine and heartfelt conversation with our team where he told us he struggles with addiction. He asked for prayer for that battle. He also asked for prayer for his marriage, which has been under some strain. They are seeking approval from local services to spend time with their daughters. Our team was able to have an extended conversation with Steven and discussed the Bible, engaging in Bible study, as well as sharing more about the purpose of Hope 680 and how we do pray for requests we gather. Steven seemed to carefully consider the things that were discussed. We were thankful for the opportunity to connect. Please keep Steven and his family along with the requests mentioned above in prayer.
Our team found our recent Bible study participant, Sarah, in her PT Cruiser. They had a very limited conversation with Sarah. She was completely different from the last time we saw her. Our team did their best to connect with her through her tarp, but she wasn't wanting to have a conversation at this time. We left food near her car. We were praying for her upcoming court case and wondered if things weren't going well. As of the writing of this report, Sarah actually attended the church service this morning. Please pray with us for Sarah. Pray that the Lord would draw her to Himself and encourage her heart with His word.
Please pray these individuals read the Bibles they received.
Elisio
Maria
Salvador
Steven
John - took the Gospel of John
Ashley
Maria
Pray for those who were friendly but declined Bibles.
Anaia
Seng
Nacho
Bonnie
Michael
Kareem
Roger - promising Bible study candidate
Matt - willing to participate if Roger attends
Sharon
Michael
Roy
Keith
Cyprus
Granville
Billy - took an addiction book
Heather - previous Bible Study participant
Zack
Casey
Cassandra
Sarah - closed today
Steve - received prayer
Jackie
Randy
JaSun
Marquette
Denise
Kevin
Miko - accepted an addiction book
Laura - a practicing Muslim
Matthew - a verse tattooed to his calf
Junior
Pray for those who were closed to conversation, that God would soften their hearts before our next outreach.
Michael
Cassandra
Bo
JOIN US!
Our Next Outreach is August 2nd 2025
Please consider serving during a Saturday Outreach in one of the following ways:
1) Prepare Lunches
2) Evangelism at the Homeless Camps
3) Volunteer Breakfast
4) Cookies for Volunteers
Our ministry is a labor of love with the main purpose of providing gospel hope through practical means to the homeless. Thank you for serving alongside of us!
We continue to pray for those who might be able to contribute a small additional monthly gift of $25 or $50 a month to help with ongoing Hope680 expenses, including our ministry supplies, offices, and RV maintenance. We are trusting God to continue to provide through you!
FYI Our Executive Staff and Leaders (including Toby and all team leaders) are unpaid volunteers - all donations go 100% towards the running of Hope680, including administrative contractors, our facilities, and RV maintenance costs, as well as ministry supplies.