I have come across a ministry that draws it's name from this passage and it's changing my life and the lives of my family members.
The Thankful Leper draws it's mission from Matthew 25: 34-40. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you , or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'
Bobby Depper is the man behind this mission you can find his blog at www.thethankfulleper.squarspace.com where he gives his full testimony. I'm going to share just a bit here so you know why he has a heart for this. Bobby was homeless, living in a dumpster in Texas, when a bad storm hit and destroyed his campsite. During the night he had horrible pain in his eyes and body and he offered up a prayer to God, begging to be saved. God heard his cries and Bobby was taken to the hospital the next morning and was able to get on disability almost overnight. He KNOWS that God arranged all of this for him, he knew it then, so he went back to the dumpster, he went back to the camp. He started helping his friends there because he knew God wanted him to. When he was no longer able to do so in Texas he moved to Des Moines. Now he is out on the streets every single day, building relationships with the homeless community here, and helping in whatever way he is able.
This is where the Henson family comes into play, a friend found Bobby on the Life 107 Community Events page, she sent me the link and told me it seemed like it was up my alley and I should check it out. I found Bobby's blog and was blown away. I immediately knew that God had just shown me the path he wanted me to follow, so I sent all of the info to Jonathon. He was just as amazed as I was, from there we met Bobby and we got involved.
Which leads me to the roundups. Every two weeks on Sunday at 2pm The Thankful Leper hosts a roundup at the sculpture park in Des Moines. At the roundup Bobby shares his testimony and we have a prayer circle, it's beautiful. All of these people gathering together to pray.
We pray for the Locker Room that Bobby would like to build. It's a place where there are literally lockers for people to store their belongings in. He has a vision to also have a resource room, chapel, cafeteria, shelter, and gathering rooms there. It's highly needed, there are so many more homeless than one would think. We also pray for provision and protection for those there and those that couldn't make it.
After the prayer circle we distribute supplies and food to people. Yesterday my kids handed out batteries. I have to be honest, I was nervous to take them, thinking they might say something tactless or shy away, they didn't, they were great. The looks on the faces of people coming through the line made it all worth it. People were just happy to see children there helping out, children who weren't afraid of them, that looked them in the eye and said "hello," that treated them just like anyone else, not an outcast.
My favorite part comes after this, when all of the supplies are gone (sadly we ran out of supplies before people), I get to sit down with people and talk to them, pray with them, just be. At the first round up I met PJ who just started school at DMACC, she wants to be a teacher. I met Tycene whose husband was having open heart surgery later that week and I met Amanda and Thomas who had decided to move to Missouri in search of something better. I also met 5 year old Marvon and his mom, who are Bears fans, like us.
I haven't had an update on Tycene's husband but I keep praying anyway, I didn't see Amanda and Thomas so I'm guessing they went to Missouri. I did see PJ again though and she loves school, she says she is learning a lot and she can't wait to achieve her dream. Adam and Gloria got to spend some time playing with Marvon, they laughed and ran around, it was good.
This time I also sat down with Jim, Darrel, Rex, and Tammy. These 4 are all campers, Darrel and his girlfriend just found out they are pregnant, she is due next summer. Jim, Rex, and Tammy need prayers to get through the winter. Tammy said it's so cold already, she was very thankful she was able to get a sleeping bag at the roundup.
This is destroying me, my heart is broken into millions of pieces for these people. I spent all day today wanting to leave work and go find them and just be with them.
God calls us to serve, so why aren't we doing it more? I want to go on a mission trip, I have always longed to go to Africa, but God is showing me that I have a mission field right outside my front door. We don't have to go overseas to be in his service, we just have to open our eyes and see the need.
I'm asking everyone who reads this to pray. Pray for the homeless community, pray for the locker room, pray for Bobby who's health is not good, pray for the supplies needed for the next roundup and for gift cards for Bobby's daily beat.
If you would like to donate to The Locker Room fund this is the link http://www.gofundme.com/the-thankful-leper
If you would like to donate supplies you can do so here http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3MIA3FKCCOHLC/ref=cm_sw_su_w
If you have supplies you'd like to get to the next roundup, let me know, I'd be happy to have you tag along.
It's time to do more than talk, it's time to act. As Pastor Glen would say "We can't sit around on our blessed assurance"
