Coming Soon....

Melissa, or Mel as we call her, has been an inspiration to me and a reminder that God is in control at all times! Mel has been a domestic violence victim for awhile. She and her boyfriend would be involved in drugs & alcohol, which allows Satan to come in, and then he does what he does best-steal, kill, and destroy. He can steal our joy, kill our self esteem, and destroy our relationships with everyone around us, all in one punch, slap, demeaning word, or push off a 3rd story balcony. That's what I witnessed with Mel- a bruised, broken, and beaten down soul year after year. She's had a broken back and neck when she went over the balcony, she's had black eyes, bruises, and lost her custody and contact with her children whom she loves dearly. But when Satan uses drugs and alcohol to control you, at the time you forget God has the overpowering strength to break that bondage for you.

Mel decided to move away from Knoxville to Louisiana with her boyfriend in hope that everything would be better away from here. That's another one of Satan's tricks-to separate you from people who really care about you, to divide and then conquer. That's what happened. The drugs & alcohol never stopped, and the beatings didn't either. She came to the point the only option she had was to jump off a 90-foot bridge to commit suicide-which was called "The Suicide Bridge" because people usually don't survive the fall. A fireman tried to talk her out of jumping, actually grabbed her hand to pull her off, but it was so hot, and she was so sweaty, she slipped and fell into the water, barely missing the barge coming by underneath. God is greater than the Suicide Bridge-He's greater than Satan's best move to kill, He has the final say. She not only survived the fall, but made it to the side despite the strong current.

Her boyfriend actually called me after the incident to let me know what happened. She was immediately transported to a hospital and then released to a psychiatric hospital in New Orleans, and then to a half-way house. I was able to talk to her about coming up here to get away, and after a couple of months, she was able to leave. We immediately got her into a domestic violence shelter here, and she's been attending bible classes, and working on housing, jobs, and the rest of her life. She's stronger everyday, and realizes that God has saved her for a reason. This past weekend, she got to see one reason. She was there when I brought in another domestic violent victim in to stay who was able to get away from her abuser. She came close to losing her life, and I just smiled when I heard Mel tell her don't even think of going back, it only gets worse. I knew she was growing stronger in every way.

Continue to pray for Mel, and her sobriety which started April, 2008. Pray that God will continue to strengthen her, and draw her closer. Pray she stays in the word, worship, prayer, and service. Pray that she waits for God's best for her, and allows Him to open the door for restoration between her sons and family. Pray that God will continue to use her to help others get through the same trial. God is our protector, provider, and everlasting Prince of Peace. Thank you, God, for sparing her life! Thank you in advance for what you are going to do through her. We love you, Mel, and we are very proud of you!

One evening my daughters had left to spend the night at their grandparents house, and the phone rang about 10:30 PM. It was Julie (or Sunshine-her street name & you can tell why by the picture!). Julie was in tears, and asked me to come to Baptist Hospital. She and her boyfriend, Jimmy, camped outside, and she came back from the mission to find Jimmy unconcious with blood coming out of every hole in his head. She had called 911, and they took him to the hospital. He was obviously suffering from a brain hemmorage. She told me that the doctors told her that there was no hope, and he wouldn't live through the night. I normally don't get out at night-evenings are for family time, but since God arranged for the kids to be gone at that particular moment, I assumed He wanted me to be there.

I got down there and Julie & I immediately went into the chapel to pray. We prayed for God's hand to be on Him, we prayed for a miracle, we prayed for God to get the Glory. We went into ICU, and prayed over him, prayed for healing, prayed that he would live, and walk again. I stayed with Julie until after midnight, and then left.

The next morning, Jimmy was still alive. The doctors were amazed, and told Julie that they were sure he wouldn't live through the week, to just start contacting family & making funeral arrangements. She didn't know of any family, and gave me what information she had to help her find someone. She called me in the morning overjoyed that he made it through the night. I emailed our prayer team to start praying heavily, and I forwarded out to all that I knew.

The next day, Jimmy was still alive, and still in a coma, which he had been since he was brought in. I visited Jimmy in the hospital that afternoon, but Julie had stepped out to lunch. Jimmy was laying there in bed, and I began to pray over him again that God would just open his eyes, and let him see. After the prayer, I noticed some blood that looked like was coming from his mouth on the other side of his face. I leaned over Jimmy to see, but noticed it was just dried blood. I looked back at his eyes, and noticed his eyes were starting to slowly open. I'm still leaning over him, and I'm watching the eyelids slowly open until his eyes met mine! I'm so excited at this point, just calling out his name over and over again, and then his eyes got very big-opened as wide as they could when he saw me like he was shocked! "It's ok, Jimmy" is all I could get out, and then he let out a big snore--with his eyes still wide open! And then they shut! I had to smile that God answered my prayer, and about gave me a heart attack at the same time!

The next morning, the prayer team decided to meet in Jimmy's room to pray after they heard about the snoring incident! The nurse commented while we were in there, they still didn't give him much hope. Even though he was alive after 3 days, they said it would be awhile before they could transport him to a nursing home because of his condition, if he did survive. But he would need to greatly improve before that was even an option- she estimated a minimum of 6 months.

After she left, we held hands and surrounded Jimmy. We started praying one by one, and you could feel the Spirit in that room. We prayed for healing, we prayed for restoration, we prayed for Jimmy to not only open his eyes but to move. We prayed that everyone would know that God was still in the miracle business-that He is the One who has the final say! We prayed that God would show His glory to the doctors and nurses that may not know Him. We were in tears by the time it ended, I think everyone prayed as hard & sincere as they could. We finished, and continued to stand around Jimmy to talk to Julie about what was going on, and to update her on all the prayer lists we had him on. A few minutes later, Jimmy picked up his hand and rubbed his nose, and put it down again. We looked at each other in amazement, and I asked Julie, "has he done that before...I've never seen him move." She replied no that he hasn't moved at all. We didn't say a word but our eyes were fixated on Jimmy, and then he lifted up his hand again, and started rubbing his forehead. A few minutes later, his foot came up and he bent his knee, and rested his foot back on the bed, with his knee up. Everyone just had their mouths & eyes wide open. Then, he took his hand to the bed railing and tried to pull himself up to a sitting position!!!! We were all screaming at this point, and trying to keep him from getting out of the bed! I ran out and got the nurse, and she came in to see his persistence in getting up! You could tell she was just as amazed as we were! By the end of the day, they had to keep him restrained to the bed, because he kept trying to come up.

By the end of the week, they moved him into a nursing home!!! It was amazing to see God at work. The nursing home had to put pads on the walls because Jimmy kept walking around the room, and into walls, before they finally restrained him. We continued to visit him and pray with him, but he never spoke. He would open up his eyes, and would respond to music. He would squeeze our hands if we asked him too. I kept hoping that God would keep him alive until we were able to find his family, but never did. Jimmy died 6 months later at the nursing home in Maryville. It was an amazing experience that taught us all the importance of prayer. I was so glad that Julie got to see and experience that for herself. Continue to pray for Julie and her walk with God. Pray for deliverance, obedience, and for her to fully surrender to Jesus Christ. Pray that his brother & mother could be found.

Michael was one that I met when we first started. I could tell that he wanted a relationship with God, and wanted to serve Him, but I could also tell by his actions that he was entrapped by the Devil through bondage from the drug addiction. You cannot serve two masters, you must decide which one you are going to follow. We want it both ways sometimes, we want to live our way in our terms, but we want that relationship with Christ as well. But Jesus said, "if you love me, you'll obey my commandments." I heard one man say that insanity is when you keep trying to do the same thing, and expect a different result. Michael was trapped in insanity for awhile! At times, I felt like I wanted it for Michael more than he did. But I learned with Michael that I can't do this for him. I can stand from the sidelines, and remind him that it is all about "obedience", but that is all I can do! In fact, I said it so much, that he says that when he hears that word, he thinks about me! But obedience is what it boils down to...that determines our victory here on Earth, that gives us peace, blessings, and a deep relationship with Christ, which is our obedience to God's word, and obedience to the Holy Spirit in our lives.

I am proud to say after a long fight with the Devil, Michael has finally realized that he has the victory through obedience! His drug addiction started when he was 11 years old, and it led him down a rocky road & life of destruction. He is now 58, and the lesson I've learned with Michael is that it is never too late to learn that lesson, because God will bless you when the blinders finally come off, and you fully surrender. Michael went through many treatment programs, marriages, jail sentences, and other roller coaster rides before those blinders came off. He has now been a year clean, and has moved back to Ohio with family. He is rebuilding a relationship with his children, grandchildren, siblings, and father. Restoring relationships is sometimes hard because of the broken trust from the past, but through obedience they will begin to see the change in us. (here I go again!). God is the master at restoring relationships, and Michael is well on his way.

Look for him soon! He has a calling to preach in his life. God will use him in a mighty way to help others in the same bondage. God is still "refining" Michael, carving out the impurities and putting the finishing touches on him. But we'll see him again, I know! He doesn't seem so far away, because we still get our two hour conversations in every once in awhile! They are always about God, and what He is doing in his life, except for the few political disagreements! But I have faith that he will come around there as well!!

Pray for Michael & his family. Pray that God will continue the transformation process, and will finish the work that he has started. Pray that Michael follows the Holy Spirit and has the courage to walk through the door that God opens in ministry. Pray that He uses him in a mighty way that many will see heaven because of him. Pray that his mistakes & victory in his life may give God all the glory & hope to those who feel hopeless.

We love you Michael, and we are very proud of you!

I learn something from each person that I work with closely. I learn something great about God-how faithful He is. I'm so thankful for that, I've learned so much about Him through the homeless. I've learned it doesn't matter how far off of God's path we go, He always has His hand on us. He never leaves us, never forsakes us, and doesn't have a "one-strike" rule like KCDC, thank goodness! He is a God of second, third, and fourth (and more) chances.

Through Tommy, I also learned that when you turn back to God, He truly restores everything Satan steals. Tommy was a crack addict, living out of his car or at the mission. He mentioned that he tried rehab, but it didn't work. His wife kicked him out, and he had nothing but his car. Kim brought him down one day to the ministry. Tommy never left-literally! He would come over everyday to help out. We would always work while jamming to Christian music. He participated in the daily classes, and he kept saying that he really felt The Holy Spirit in this place. He felt peace there, and God's presence. I would explain to them, that it wasn't the place, but it was the fact that each day we would spend time in the word through studies, in worship through music, and in service through work that needed to be done. If you do that each and every day wherever you are, God's presence will be felt & a relationship will grow & flourish. The transformation process starts to begin!

I decided to let Tommy stay there full time until God opened something up. Tommy was a great worker around the ministry, and did a wonderful job maintaining the building. After a few months of being clean, God started working on his heart about contacting his wife. He finally did, and found out that she never divorced him. She started coming down and seeing him, and eventually invited him back once she realized the change in him.

Now, Tommy still comes back each week to help out with the ministry. He has been working with KUB for the past couple of years now, and has all of his grandchildren back in his life. One of the sweetest things he told me was his small grandchild asked him why he didnt tell them of his problem, that they would have helped him. He might have been a small child, but wise beyond his years!

Pray for Tommy and his wife Gale, who both have a special place in my heart, as well as all of their children & grandchildren. They have become like family & I'm so thankful God brought them into my life! Tommy pictured above with some CCS volunteers.

I think God just likes to show off sometimes!!!! He has sure done that with Kim. Kim was one of the worst alcholics that I had seen downtown. She would come in sometimes very drunk, and very mean. She would threaten to kill someone or everyone, would cuss everyone, and this was all during our church service! When she was sober, she was the sweetest person you had ever met. I always had a special bond with Kim. Kim was going bad to worse, she was dating men that would beat her up, she ended up sleeping outside, and it got to a point I rarely saw her sober anymore. I really thought she was either going to be killed or kill someone.

One day, I could tell she was at the lowest I had seen her. I asked her to finally surrender to the Lord and rely on Him to deliver her. She finally agreed she was so tired of the life that she had to do something. I had called Peninsula about getting her into detox, but they wouldn't take her for another 3 days. I really didn't think she would survive 3 days outside on her own, so I decided to let her stay at the church, and detox there. I read up on foods to eat to help the process. I had two girls that agreed to stay with her 24 hours a day.

She made it through the weekend, and then on that Monday, we got her into Peninsula for two weeks. After she was released, she moved in with her sister, until we were able to rent a house next door to the church. Kim has been there every since which has been 17 months ago! She has been sober despite many temptations from the devil! I've been so proud to see how God took that desire away from her, and how she has in turn been such a witness to others! Everyone knew Kim---the old Kim, and they all see the new creation in Kim!

God also blessed us because after her sister, Kathy, saw how the ministry stood by Kim to encourage her, and she wanted to become involved herself. Kim & Kathy are both vital to this ministry, and have been my Godsends to help me! As the Bible says, the workers are few, and how true! But they have both been so willing to do anything & everything that is needed.

Please continue to pray for Kim that she remains faithful & obedient to God's will in her life. Pray for her children, Cuben & Asia, that God continues to strengthen their relationship, that they truly forgive the missed days with her while she was an addict. Pray that He draws them closer into a deeper relationship with Him, and they learn to surrender their will for His. Pray that God will multiply the time they now can spend together. Also, pray for Kathy, that God provides all of her needs, continues to mold & shape her, and strengthens her physically and spiritually.

Our spiritual walk is often compared to gardening in the Bible. Jesus mentioned that we should plant the seed (pray to receive Christ), feed & water it (read the Bible & pray), weed it (pluck the sin out of our lives), and we will grow & bear fruit. I recognize that in my own life, and how I grew faster when I fed & watered myself daily, and made the conscious decision to sacrifice each sin God brought to mind.

Amy is one that has done just that! In fact, I think she took Miracle Grow along the way!!! Amy was once married with children, and then let sin in her life & Satan came in to steal, kill, and destroy. She lost her family, and ended up homeless, addicted, and even turned to prostitution to get by. She came to the ministry clearly in depression, distraught at times, and came forward during the service and mentioned she was thinking of suicide. We lose so many to suicide, Satan loves to bring you down as low as you can go, and then convinces you that's your only way out. But he's a liar!

We prayed with her, and I gave her a Children's Bible. She said that she didn't think that she could understand another Bible. I loved seeing Amy transform right in front of me. It's been a year since that day, and she has been clean, living at the YWCA, and working a "normal" job. She still carries that Children's Bible around with her, and quotes more scripture than anyone I know. I had the honor and pleasure of baptizing her up in the mountains in the Little River one cold, March day, but it was a beautiful moment that I'll never forget.

We are very proud of Amy, and excited seeing how God is restoring her & her relationship with her family. God has bridged that gap between her sisters, and now He's allowed her to reestablish contact with her children. She's often mentioned about the love relationship she now has with Jesus. It's been awesome to see that sincere relationship with Him develop and flourish! She has been also a personal encourager in my life, and for that I will always be thankful.

This ministry is hard, because you have to witness some people fall and there is nothing that you can do to stop them. We cannot control anyone, because Jesus doesn't "control" us. He has given us free will to live our lives our way, and He wants us to love Him enough that we choose to live a holy life. Our jobs in this ministry is to just encourage their walk with the Lord, telling them the good news that Christ is waiting on them to turn to Him, that He is our provider, our deliverer, and our healer.

Blake was one of those gifts God gave us to keep us going. Every once in awhile, we see one sincerely humble themselves and pray and seek His face. God is faithful and then restores, which gives us hope to keep going.

We were at Miracle Lake one day watching a baptism of one of our homeless guys. Miracle Lake is a great Christian training center in Etowah, Tn. While we were there, the owner, Jack, came out and told us that a mom from Kingston just called and was inquiring about the program for her son. She told Jack she believed he was in downtown Knoxville and on crack. She was very concerned about him and had not seen him in almost two years. He asked us if we knew him, his name is Blake Henry.

We said no, but we agreed to pray right then so we asked God to send him to us if he is there, to give us the words to say to encourage him, and to give peace to his mom. The very next day was our Sunday service. One young man asked if he could sing a song for us that he just wrote. He introduced himself as Blake, and sang with a powerful voice! While he was singing, Kevin asked me if that could be the Blake we prayed for at Miracle Lake. I said no, I assumed he was with the church that came to serve that day. After all, I thought, God is good, but He isn't that good! He amazes me everyday! After Blake finished singing, I asked him what his last name was and he said Henry. Still not convinced, I asked him if he was from Kingston, and he said yes! I just started crying! I asked if it was his first time coming, and he said yes, he had never heard of us before, and 3 people came up to him and asked if he was coming today. The last one said that we had great pastries, and that is what convinced him to come! The Holy Spirit knows just how to lead us to where we need to be!

After the service, he called his mom and was able to talk to her for awhile. I talked to Blake about entering into Miracle Lake and he was in denial about his addiction. He thought if he just got a job, he'd be ok. Shortly after that he got two jobs. That normally is the worst thing for an addict. Once you get a job & get the first check in your hands, Satan comes to tempt him back to the addiction & that first check is the last.

We immediately put him on our prayer list & began praying seriously for Blake. Within a few weeks though, he lost both jobs, and decided he was going to move to Ohio. I couldn't figure out why God would bring him into our lives as He did for him to just move. He mentioned one Sunday that he was going to move that following Friday. We again put him on the prayer list again that God's will be done.

Two days later, Julie, the leader of our prayer team, came downtown to give me this sealed letter for Blake. She said that God woke her up in the middle of the night to write this. I told her that I would make sure he got this before he left. I searched everywhere, and left messages to call me. Friday came and went, and no word from Blake. I saw Julie on Saturday and mentioned that I guess I missed Blake. I never heard from him and failed to give him the letter. She replied to me so confidently, that she knew it was God, she knew it was His words and not her own, and she knew that I was supposed to give him the letter. She said, "don't worry, he's just not ready to hear the words yet. He'll call you when he's ready." What faith!

The next morning at 5 AM, the phone rang. I answered it and it was Blake in tears wanting to commit suicide. He said he was so tired of failing, and he was ready to give up. I tried to encourage him, but then I remembered the letter! I ran downstairs and opened it up and it read "Stop, and stop now! This is not the life I chose for you." It went on for pages, compared him to Jonah, and encouraged him to quit running from his mission. When I finished, we both were in tears, and all I could get out was "what do you think of that?" He replied, "Tell me about Miracle Lake."

Blake went to Miracle Lake & graduated. God moved in his heart & renewed his mind. The blinders really came off, and he had so many revelations about himself that God brought to his mind that he was ready to turn over to God. Because of this, God moved in a mighty way, like I have never seen before. By the time he graduated, God had provided an apartment ready for him to move in with all the furniture donated, a used donated car, and a job! It's amazing what He restores when you turn back to Him!

It's been 5 years since that day, and Blake & his mom are still much a part of my life. There hasn't been a Thanksgiving where we haven't had Blake over, and he still comes down to the Water Angels to sing periodically & share his testimony. He's been 5 years clean, married now(to KC-both pictured above), and has an adorable little boy, Benji.

God is not finished with him yet, he's still a work in progress, but we all are!! But through God's grace and mercy, he sure has come a long way, and has a great future in front of him. Please keep him in your prayers that he continues to die to self daily, and allow God to guide his footsteps.