In the Apartments
Our apartment ministry continues to grow, albeit slowly and not in all the ways we expected. We have come to know many of our immediate neighbors in a close way, and we will often just spend time outside together, chatting, playing soccer with the kids, helping with groceries...
Our office management underwent a change several months ago. We ran into difficulties with the former office staff. Our visions for what this LIV ministry program should be were obviously different, and no one seemed to be happy with how things were going. However, the new staff are so encouraging to work with! We are freer now to pursue this program in the way that seems best to us, which is just so much more enjoyable. We have already noticed an improvement in our personal attitudes and the response of our neighbors.
We have had rough times, however. Many of you might know that Keith was the victim of an armed carjacking in the apartment parking lot last Thanksgiving. Praise God, the car was recovered the very next morning, the criminal was caught, and Keith had no lasting harm done to him. We strongly felt that this was a spiritual attack more than a simple crime, and our hearts were very discouraged in this ministry for a while. There was a very real possibility of us leaving then with no hard feelings from the LIV ministry, or the management, and we thought about seeking something safer; something easier.
But the Lord encouraged our hearts. Through the support of God's people, especially in our local church, we were strengthened to endure and continue our ministry. We were reminded of Acts 14:22, "that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." By God's grace, we endured, and the carjacking even opened up new doors for us to get closer with families and the management.
In the Church
In my role as pastoral apprentice of outreach/evangelism there have also been highs and lows. This role has afforded me plenty of new opportunities to meet people. The local restaurant outreach in particular has been very fun, even just on the strategic and social levels. It has been a thrill to walk into an establishment with a secret mission, not just to care for the souls of the wait staff and managers, but to maybe meet another patron, or secretly buy a mom and kids' meals and have the cashier tell them the angels covered their costs today. What a treat for me!
There have also been opportunities to merge our ministries together. And so we held our church's Christmas Eve service outside, in the middle of our apartment community. Several church members have made the effort to get involved in our apartment events. Our church has been particularly encouraging to me in these ministries and we have been encouraged to see this attitude rub off on church members.
Future Hopes
In spite of the effort and the prayer, the ground has proven hard. We have yet to witness a conversion through these efforts and that has been discouraging. People have been led to Christ through our words and actions, but we have yet to see someone embrace Him as their Savior.
I am reminded, though, that there was a drought of rain for more than 3 years in Elijah's time. It did not rain in Israel for years, but Elijah was bold when he told the wicked king Ahab, "Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain." (c.f. 1 Kings 18) Following his prophetic declaration, he went and prayed. But even then, he had to pray seven times to the Lord before God sent a little cloud to rise out of the sea.
Though the first year of our ministry looks like a drought, we have seen little clouds popping up all around: increasing relationship with our neighbors; increasing interest in evangelism; increasing concern for their souls among the people we meet. Our field of labor is marked by dry, hard ground, and we've yet to see the Spirit pour out rain, but I believe we hear the sound of an abundant rain coming. The Lord keep us faithful until we see it.
Thank you for your support, friends. We love y'all!
+ Blessings in Christ +
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