March 27, 2021 Prayer Update
Praising God for so many new volunteers, partnering with Hope 680 to share the gospel with the homeless
Toby, this last Saturday we were blessed with 21 outreach participants, as well as 5 sandwich lunch makers, enabling us to share the gospel with over 50 homeless over a wider area than ever before. Please find stories and prayer requests below. Thank you so much for partnering with us.
Martinez Team
Our first stop was an organized encampment within the Martinez Marina Park. About thirty people live within the camp. We provided lunches and blessing bags to many of the residents there and had some great opportunities to share the Gospel and pray with them. They especially appreciated the hot coffee that we brought along. Many of those we spoke with were familiar with Jesus and our conversations were aimed at reinforcing their knowledge. Others we relatively new to the Bible and we were able to plant seeds. We hope that we can nurture the relationships we are beginning to develop with the residents in this camp.
After we left this camp, we stopped by a small plaza in the downtown area where we met three men. We gave each of the men a lunch and a blessing bag and shared the Gospel with them. We encouraged them to recognize the true meaning of the upcoming Easter Sunday. On our way out of town, we saw a man and a woman in a parking lot with obvious car problems. As we drove through the lot, it was apparent that they were living in their car. They really lit up as we offered them some lunches and blessing bags and we ended up having a fruitful conversation with them.
Concord Team
Civic Park: Christian met with a man named Chris. He has had multiple conversations with him and remains diligent to keep their discussion focused on the Lord. We also met Robert. Openly received our care packages, but did not accept prayer. Pray that the Lord would soften his heart to Christ.
Baldwin Park: Christian had a thorough conversation with Sean and boldly shared the gospel. Sadly, Sean remained tentative to give his heart to Christ and wrestles with the theory of evolution. Pray that his heart softens to receive the gospel in faith.We also met Brandon. He was camping out due to some difficulties during Covid. He’d read the Bible before and was from Antioch. We prayed for him to find a job and for safety.
In-N-Out interchange by 680-N on ramp: We met Amy and Melissa. Pray that their location gets tidied up and that their hearts would also be softened to the good news. Lots of chaos in that area.
Arnold industrial bridge location:Met with Betsy and Lisa. Very welcoming and received the care packages with joy. We also had the wonderful opportunity to pray for them and it seemed as their hearts were more tender to receive the gospel. We explained the depth of John chapter 1 and went into detail about Christ’s Lordship, His coming in the flesh, and His revealing in the Bible. Pray that they truly internalized the depth of the good news. Also, that both of them would begin to memorize John 3:16, as we challenged them to remember it. Pray for Lisa and her relationship with a man that appears to be impacting her day to day life. Pray for Betsy regarding her own health issues. She wrestles with respiration issues. Also, for her boyfriend, Donny, who had a motor smash onto his foot. Pray for his health and rest.
Exploratory Team
Our ‘Exploratory team’ was tasked with covering new ground to find new encampments to visit. In Walnut Creek we did not find many homeless in previously occupied locations, but we were able to share and pray with one man under a bridge. He had not seen his children for 5 years and teared up as we prayed for him.
On our way back we found an encampment next the the freeway in Pleasant Hill. Two of the residents remembered Toby from many years ago - from the early days of homeless ministry and were thankful to see him again. We were able to have extended conversations, give them bibles and food + hot coffee, and pray.
We also had an extended conversation with a couple outside Staples on Contra Costa Blvd who were happy to receive prayer, food and coffee. Finally we found a large new encampment off Willow Pass. We spoke with several people, including a recent migrant from Afghanistan who was new to Christianity.
Overall prayer requests
For the many names mentioned above, for God to save these folks and break the power of addictions in their lives
For God to continue to provide strategic wisdom as our teams grow, in terms of how to divide and conquer efficiently between all the encampments new and old
For continued provision for our ministry, such as for new quality bibles, as well as ongoing financial needs
Longer-term that the Lord would enable us to start a biblical counseling rehab/transformation ministry to meet the needs of the many addicts we meet
To find ways to get involved please visit our website
Thank you all for reading, praying, serving and for your partnership in the gospel. It is truly a privilege and joy to lead this ministry and to see all that God is doing. Ultimately we just show up, and watch Him work through us!
With thankfulness,
Toby Weiss, Executive Director, Hope 680