Last week, I sat at my desk in the Forbid Them Not office talking on the phone with a single grandmother. She and her four grandchildren lived in the apartment complex where I work part-time. Due to issues out of her control and of no fault of her own, she was facing an unexpected move. In a short 30 days, she had to find a new home, get it approved for Section 8, and uproot her whole family. As if to add injury to insult, during this time she also fell and fractured her knee. As I talked with her that afternoon, not as the leasing agent for the property, but as part of Forbid Them Not, I was able to share with her that we had not only a few volunteers coming to help but also a horse trailer to help move her things.
“This means so much to me,” she said in her quiet, humble voice.
I didn’t realize just how much it meant until we arrived the next day. This dear lady, we’ll call her Grace because it fits her so well, had no one there to help her but us and three of the grandchildren. Grace had no one to carry furniture. She had only a mini-van to make trips back and forth between the two homes, which are about 8 miles apart. Can you imagine how many trips she would have made?
As we sat around the kitchen, devouring the pizza my pastor brought by for lunch, Grace began asking us questions about what church we go to. The conversation seemed to prick her heart.
“I need to get back in church,” she said. “I used to go all the time, but now I’m not as faithful. I need to get back.”
Later, we were able to pray with her and dedicate her new home to the Lord, asking Him to make it a place of peace. Please pray for this fatherless family, that they will truly come to know God as their Father.
Bits and pieces from the last few weeks:
- We have officially been recognized by the State of Montana as a nonprofit! Now we simply await federal approval. (BUT we’re waiting in the busy sense!)
- We held our first Bible Study in the Forbid Them Not Office. It has been going on for several weeks now and has been a huge blessing!
- We had our first impromptu life skills class in the parking lot: “How To Change A Taillight.” (I failed to check for corrosion, so we had to find someone smarter than me to finish the job. 😉 )
- We were able to assist a single mom and a single Grandma and their children in their moves.
- Important news: For a couple of years, we’ve been trying to find a way to attach a good email provider to the FTN website. Thanks to the help of a friend of a friend, that issue has been solved! We now have a new system and will be transitioning to that over the next few weeks. The general account will be: info at forbidthemnot dot com.
Prayer Requests:
- Down the road, I would love to hold a very special Mother’s Day event for the women to whom we are ministering. We’re not there yet, so this year I’d like to just start with a special gift for the three moms we’ve had the opportunity to assist over the last month or so. Please pray that the Lord will lead us to just the right gift to encourage and honor them, while pointing them to the Lord. (Suggestions welcome!)
- For wisdom and direction as we continue through the organizational process.
- For wisdom in balancing a very heavy schedule. I presently am working two jobs in addition to the ministry at FTN. Please pray that I will have mental clarity as all three are very mentally demanding, and that I will have wisdom to see what must be done and what is not as important.
- That God will be glorified in all that we do!
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