Street Ministry 6-24-10

What a pleasant evening it was last night. The recent storms have washed the air of the stifling humidity. I was surprised at how quiet the evening was. Not many people were out on their porches. It was not an evening of burning bushes, miracles and fiery chariots, but last night was more a peaceful walk with the Lord in the cool of the day. . .

A couple of observations. . .

I do not remember seeing clover so filled with bees as I did last night, since my childhood. Between Middlebury Street and the tracks at the street's headwaters, is a large patch of clover and it was noticeably filled with busy honeybees. Other spots of clover along the street were likewise being heavily worked by bees. Even in my own yard, with a bee hive only yards away, the clover is not so full of bees as what I saw last night. That gladdened my heart. Maybe feral bee colonies are making a comeback. . . I know my bees are laying down honey at a rate that I've not seen before. They are really filling the hives with honey. . .

Something else I noticed, the economic recovery must be indeed coming to Elkhart. Numbers of houses, recently unoccupied on Middlebury Street, now have families living in them. Many of these families are Hispanic. They seem to take great pride in their houses. Yards were being worked on, things being scrubbed, weeds whacked, etc. There was a hum of activity that has been missing for some time. This is a quite dramatic contrast to the past year or so, and this change has newly occurred in the last week or two.

Prayed for the third time with a gentleman. Norman is his name. I saw him at the grocery store as I bought my water and again later in the apartments. This time he requested prayer of me. I was just going to pray for him as I walked, but noticing his downcast eyes as I began to walk away, I realized he wanted to be anointed. I poured the oil on his hands and in my mine. I took his hands in mine as we sent a prayer up to God for a blessing on Norman's life. No longer shy of being prayed for, Norman in these last several weeks has gone from being skeptical of prayer to seeking it. . .Thank you Lord.

Chatted with a fellow on the street, working on his car. Offered him a third hand to assist in replacing his alternator. We had a nice talk.

Talked again with Freddie, the fellow I gave the anointing oil to last time I was out. He still hears unidentified voices in his apartment, but they no longer give him fear. He did pray for God's protection over his home and he did anoint some of the walls since we last met. He was alone at the picnic table in the apartments. Usually it is filled with people, many drinking beer. He and I also had a nice talk. He was grateful to be alone for a change in the peaceful evening.

Life Line is having their VBS this week, which probably explains why the apartments were noticeably quieter than normal. There were only a few children out.

One lady motioned to me through the window to come to the back door. Something was on her mind. . . She did not open up. She is greatly pregnant. Her eyes were dark wells of need. . .She took my flier and profusely. . .emotionally thanked me for my prayers. . . I do not know. . .There is some great need in her. . .fear. . .hopelessness. . .I don't know. . .I pray for her. . .

I met the Muslim lady and her children at the store who used to be over at the little store on Marion Street. It was very nice to see the children. We caught up on happenings of the neighborhood, both Middlebury and Marion. . .It was very nice to see her and to say hey to her sweet children.

Like I said, a quiet evening. A different evening. . . An evening of planting seeds. . .

Thank you Lord. . .

Thank you my God. . .

Dave Stokely

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