Observations on a Lifestyle Apart from God's Will

In recent days, my heart and mind have been drawn repeatedly to homes being torn apart, families in crisis because of decisions made with ramifications that resonate to all members of the family. I know that this is nothing new, and I have no claim to righteousness of my own, for sure – cleansing because of Christ’s blood is our only Hope! But increasingly, the attitude of going about life in ways that honor only personal satisfaction seems to be the norm. I was struck in the face with this very thing during a recent home visit to a new mom.
“Lora”, an attractive and seemingly mature 30 year old, had just given birth to a new baby. The mother of a grade-school-aged child already, Lora was explaining to me that she was not certain of her wisdom in having another child “at her age”. (Already, my mind’s wheels are turning – I think 30 is still very young!) Never in her conversation was there a sign of regret for not having a father in the home for her children. In fact, she told me that this child was really for her mom who wanted another grandchild to help raise. Furthermore, the family seemed grounded in their church and extended family, so family values did appear to be important to them in many regards. Needless to say, I was confused by the dichotomy of views and values that this young woman lived by.
I visit single moms often. Many times, there are fathers who are in the picture, but not married to the mother of their children; sometimes there are fathers who have been unhealthy or dangerous influences, so they are no longer in the picture. Often, women are just not concerned about the need to be married to the father of their children. So why are so many young women purposely choosing to have families with no father in the home for their children? I turned to mentors who have worked with people in poverty for many years for some insight, and learned several things:
1. When a woman has children in her teens, she is generally not mature enough to raise them on her own. That is where grandmothers step in to help raise the children. By the time the mother herself is more mature and responsible, her own children are becoming mothers themselves, and the cycle continues – grandmothers raising grandchildren. I remember stories of my own grandmothers marrying in their teens and beginning their families early in life, but there is a different element – the planning of a family in God’s way, with a mother and father committed to one another in marriage prior to having children. This demonstrates a responsible maturity that we are not seeing among many of today’s families.
2. Girls today are being encouraged to pursue education. One statistic shows that for every one minority male in college, there are five females. It does not appear that education is being stressed as diligently for males, perhaps because the emphasis is placed upon working as soon as possible. This often means that males will pursue jobs that require physical labor suitable more for the young than for older men – jobs that do not have long term promise for income suitable to support families. Young educated women want committed relationships with young men who have their same goals and values.
3. Therefore, many homes in today’s society are matriarchal. In many cases, the young men growing up in such homes have never had a male role model at all in their home. They are learning by example that the norm is for the woman to be the leader in the home – negating the need for a strong father leader.
4. Finally, our current system of governmental assistance perpetuates this issue. I don’t need to get into a tirade over social justice issues or politics, but it is a fact that a man and a woman living together unmarried will draw more income and benefits individually that can be pooled together than will be the case should they marry. That is why we sometimes find couples who do want to marry, but feel that they cannot because their benefits will be cut.

Would you join me to commit to pray for these families and for our own families, that we will be faithful to apply God’s principles to our homes? Would you join me in praying for God to open our eyes to discover His way to reach people in this day and time, to promote Godly principles, to raise men and women of Godly integrity? Would you pray for us at Forest Park Ministry Center as we seek to reach out to people in need, meeting physical needs in order to earn the right to talk to them about these deep spiritual needs?
In February, we saw a slightly smaller number of families due to the shorter month and also due to tax credits and instant refunds that provided resources not available in other months. Nearly one ton of food was distributed to the families that were seen, and among the 72 families that we worked with, there was a middle aged mother who, with the generous assistance of a sponsoring church, was reunited with her adult children who could help her both with medical needs and reestablishing her life after a tumultuous relationship. Another older woman is battling cancer and having a very difficult time making ends meet, so the members of a supporting church and its Ladies’ Prayer group assisted her to catch up on her utility payments. One family is frightened and worried because the father is not able to be with them or to work for many weeks, leaving a mom who has no job and several children wondering what the future holds, so volunteers have reached out to assist this mom and her children. Please continue to lift all of the guests of our center who struggle with daily life and who desperately need the Hope of Jesus.
A huge shout out to the men of Thorington Road Baptist Church! Thanks for cleaning the grounds this week – what a blessing to have all of the debris removed, making way for a safe environment for Backyard Bible Clubs this spring and summer! Also, welcome to our newest volunteers at the center – Carol Sorrells and Sherry White, who are teaching Conversational English to a Mixtecan mom and tutoring her children, respectively, each Thursday; and to Martha Dempsey, who is our newest intake volunteer on Wednesday afternoons. Each of these women is a valuable asset to the ministry, along with all of the other volunteer missionaries who give of their time and talents to God’s kingdom work. We look forward to other individuals and groups who will be joining us in ministry and missions projects in the coming weeks and months.
I am praying that each of you experiences the beauty of God’s creation, His blessings, and His power in your lives.
Joyfully serving,
Donna McCullough, Director
Forest Park Ministry Center

Praises to Our Jehovah-jireh; God Is Our Provision

God never fails to amaze me; frankly, I pray that I never become so blasé that I am not amazed and overwhelmed at His grace and goodness. It’s times of panic and uncertainty that He reminds me of His provision. Just recently, I was about to release an “all points bulletin” to everyone concerning our layette ministry. During the latter part of 2010 and in early 2011, we were depleting our layette supplies. We were running out of many basics! In the process of making an assessment of the specific needs, I received a phone call from one of our supporting churches; the women in the church had hosted a baby shower the previous Sunday after church, and the gifts were bountiful! They did not know of our dire need – I had not yet communicated it to anyone, but God did. Now the shelves are well-stocked, and new moms and their babies will be blessed by these gifts.
“Tiara”, one of the most recent new moms, invited me to her home recently to visit. Armed with a beautiful layette, I arrived to meet her, her precious two week old infant, her foster mom and foster sister who she considered her only close family. We had a lovely visit, took pictures, talked about the future and about her plans; it was encouraging to hear of her desire to make a better life and provide a better example for her children, and especially that she was planning to reconnect with the church and strengthen her relationship with Christ. When she and I were alone, we were praying together, and as we completed our prayer, she began weeping. Through her tears, she asked if I could give her some advice.
In the month previous to the birth of her child, she had not been able to work very many hours because of complications with the pregnancy, and now her power bill payments had fallen behind. With a two week old baby and in the midst of brutally cold weather, she was in danger of losing electrical service. Her family had just paid some on the bill for her, but it was not enough to keep the service on. I felt so helpless; we had already depleted the utility assistance funds through the center for that month.
So we called the power company, and I talked with the customer service representative. We learned that the payment made by the family member had not gone through and what would be further necessary to maintain service. Then we prayed again like never before, claiming God’s promise that He already knows the needs and He has an answer. I left Tiara with hope but no concrete answer as to how this was to be reconciled.
The next day, an unexpected benevolence resource surfaced, so with Tiara’s plight still on my heart, I called the power company again to see if we could settle enough to maintain service. To my delight, the family’s payment had not only finally gone through, but it was a much larger amount than we had previously thought; no longer was there a danger of discontinuing electrical service for Tiara and her baby. Praise the Lord! Later that day, we discovered a phenomenal buy on corn flour needed for our Mixtecan families to make tortillas, and the new resource was put to great use. God already new exactly how that would happen!
Over the course of just a few weeks, layette needs, financial needs, food needs specific to other cultures and diets, and spiritual needs – all are being met in God’s timing and in His ways. I ask especially for your prayers for all of our volunteer missionaries at the center. Many are stepping out of their comfort zones to invest themselves in the lives of those they meet at the center. Invitations to church, offering transportation, witnessing and answering questions, and praying with people are all ways that they show Christ’s love to these new friends. Watching God reveal Himself through their words and actions touches my heart and humbles me to follow such examples, too! Many of our missionary volunteers are older and wiser and have followed Christ’s leading for their entire lives; I am humbled to work alongside such godly examples. “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13:7). Thank you, friends, for your partnership in Kingdom work.

2010 Ends With Praises for What God Has Done!

In the process of preparation for this blog post, I found and reviewed the goals set in January 2010 for Forest Park Ministry Center. The following goals were met and accomplished. To God be the glory! These include:
• Enrichment for Volunteer Missionaries:
• Sharing Christ – encountering people at various stages in their spiritual walk.
• Working with guests with mental illness – rep from NAMI to speak at an in-service. This was realized this December – a true blessing to all who attended!
• More volunteer missionaries for specific areas:
• Substitutes for when others are out
• Younger ones to step in when necessary
 Begin to mentor / coach using KALEO tool
• Readers for schools
• Southlawn Commons - cooking classes during the summer.
• Funds raised for the renovation, and then the completion of it.
• Finish work in the food pantry
• Carport enclosure
 Set up classroom setting for classes and support groups; room is complete and in use!
• Summer Stories from the Porch
• ESL Classes for Mixtecan parents (concurrently with SSFTP)
• Backyard Bible Clubs
• Both ESL and Backyard Bible Clubs were conducted with the help of supporting churches and with the assistance of team members from Reye de Reyes Baptist Church.
It is nothing short of God’s intervention and grace that, in these tough economic times, His people have seen fit to contribute toward these ministries and enable us to achieve so many of our goals. As we look forward to 2011 and establishing more Kingdom goals, please pray with us to be not only open to whatever God desires, but to be resourceful and creative with the gifts that He provides for missions and ministry. Thank you for your participation in the ministry!

Recently, “Angela” walked in with a somber expression and head hanging low. She was in need of food assistance, but something much heavier weighed on her heart. Just ten days prior, her youngest daughter, once a vibrant 28 year old, had succumbed to a severe illness that took her life, and the family had no financial means to memorialize her or bury her. Prayer, kind words, and a promise to at least ask if anyone could help, lifted her spirits somewhat, and when a few days later, friends and family and two FPMC donors contributed enough for a modest funeral, this family was able to bury their loved one. Thanks to the kindness of God’s people, one monumental burden was relieved from this family.

Time and time again, we see God’s hand move in such incredible ways. In December, the 2nd Annual Ministry Centers Toy Sale hosted nearly 200 parents who were able to select and “purchase” toys for 1,000 children who would not have had gifts from their parents otherwise. What a God-thing!

2010 Statistics That You May Want To Know:
>1,374 guest visits to Forest Park Ministry Center, representing 3,198 family members;
>9 professions of faith and one rededication of his life to Christ;
>MANY new moms reached in home visits through the layette ministry;
>Character reading to K, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd graders in two MPS schools;
>32,042 pounds of food distributed to families in need;
>75+ families helped with utility assistance;
>1200+ Goodwill gift certificates distributed so that guests may shop for needed clothing;
>70 full turkey dinners distributed to families during the holidays.