Lightning was streaking the early morning sky as we drove toward Linn Park this morning. Never have we served in an electrical storm, so I prayed that God would hold back the severe weather. He is faithful! Once we arrived downtown, the lightning and thunder stopped. It did rain, but thanks to the gazebo in the middle of the park, our volunteers and those we serve stayed reasonably dry.

I like rainy Thursdays every now and then. The main reason is that because we are confined to a small area and because our friends come to eat a few at a time, it seems as if we are able to speak to more people. There were a lot of new guests today and we didn’t see a good number of our regulars. This is one of the hard things about the transient population we serve! There was a particular young man whom I met last week that did not come today. This made me sad because I wanted to check up on him. He is really struggling with making God-honoring choices in his life, and I wanted to see how his week had been. However, God reminded me that He is in control of this man’s life just as He is of my own—I must trust Him.

Seeing so many new faces allowed us to experience how God continues to give us more opportunities to share His grace and mercy. Our prayer is that the love of God will permeate their hearts and effect true transformation in their lives. Soli Deo Gloria!