Harrison Square Fire

Meeting the families for breakfast and supplies and fellowship the morning after the fire.

Joan, my new friend

A New Home for our New Friends

As the year end approaches, I am convicted to share with you all three videos over the course of the next three days about the work I am blessed to be a part of at Mission Southside. Whether you are near or far, I invite you in to join Greg and I in making a monthly donation, or a one time tax-deductible donation or volunteering to help. We all have our time, our treasure and our talent we can offer. Mission Southside honors what you bring.
This video is near and dear to my heart. One evening at 10:28, one of the 15 year old kiddos in our Leaders in Training Program, reached out to me just as i was getting into bed. He lives right down the street from this apartment and was worried about the residents. He had helped at a free garage sale just that day at the apartment and met several people. Greg and I reached out to the management and headed there. My husband was amazing. He left to get milk and chicken nuggets for a family of 3 kids who hadn't eaten yet when the fire broke out. He got water and tons of snacks from Quik Trip for all the residents who were outside. He ran to our ministry center, just one block away, to see if we happened to have shoes in 5 sizes for a family who ran out with out shoes, and to God be the Glory we had all of their sizes. Because of Mission Southside we were able to put these families up in a motel at 3:30 am and come along side them to help them navigate this tragedy for the months to come.
The thing about being a part of Mission Southside is that is allows us to LIVE OUT our faith. Jesus commands us to love God and love our neighbors.....Several of the families I met that night have become near and dear to my heart. I just met one of the ladies for coffee last week. As the volunteer in this video says, it's not just about going to church, its about BEING the church.
Please consider donating to this Mission of loving people right where they are. No donation is too small. www.missionsouthside.org

Be Part of Something Bigger

BE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER One evening in August, at 10:30 p.m., we were made aware that one of the apartments we had just hosted a lunch and free garage sale at that day, was on fire! A 15 year old,  who is involved in the Leaders In Training Program, called me concerned about his neighbors. Feeling God’s prompting, and the encouragement of the 15 year old boy who lives down the street, my husband and I loaded up to go see if we could find some of our friends from the apartment. When we arrived we were met by the fire chief, who said residents had been asking for Mission Southside. We came alongside families, found shoes for the barefoot, purchased chicken nuggets and water and milk and fruit for those who hadn’t yet eaten, when the fire broke out, and were famished because it was a long night. At about 3:30 am we were able to help not only pay for rooms, but to encourage, console and escort the displaced families to their motel room for the next several days. The next morning we met them with breakfast and coffee at Mission Southside, where they were able to find clothing and shoes, food, and even gift cards to meet physical needs. Our friends from one of our church partners, met us there to help their friends they had recently met in the last couple months. When I asked one of my friends if she was going to church this morning, trying to figure out when she could meet the families, she said, “ THIS is Church today!” There were many emotions. There were questions about why Mission Southside would go out of our way to help these families with more than just "stuff". There were hugs, lots of hugs. There were tears.  In this vulnerable situation, we became good friends. Everything we do is about relationship. 5 months later these relationships have grown to a whole new level. Because we loved you so much.....we were delighted to share not only the Gospel of God, but our lives as well.  1 Thessalonians 2:8 Recently, my friend, Rocio, a former resident at one of our 15 under resourced apartment communities we serve, reached out to me about helping a friend who experienced a bad fire a month ago early in the morning. How could I say no? Rocio and her husband, Jose, delivered food every Friday to one of the communities faithfully for two years, and even continued for 5 months after they moved into a duplex with more room than their tiny little apartment. While they lived at this apartment community, they also became volunteers of Mission Southside, wanting to give back and be a part of something bigger. Rocio asked if we could help this family, a mom and 5 kids, with clothing, blankets and shoes today. You see, Rocio and Jose had generously taken in this family of 6, until they could find another home....which could be weeks. They told her not to worry about food or rent, they will take care of it, and they could stay as long as they needed. After Mission Southside helped this family with clothes, bedding and some gift cards, Jose reached out to me. He wanted to thank us for taking care of their friends. He was grateful and kept repeating gracias a Dios por la Mision.  (Thanks to God for the Mission) After chatting for a bit he revealed that he lost his job on Tuesday, just two days before they took in this family. Yet, they graciously offered to share what they have, with their friend who lost EVERYTHING the next day.  We were able to help move this family into their new house last week. A few weeks ago, I got to sit in on an amazing offer of tuition paid to a kiddo who would definitely have struggled to pay it.  This 18 year old from Olathe North works, has to help with rent, and doesn't have a vehicle. The offer didn't come from someone with an affluent business, but someone who drives a 2007 van, and she admitted she could have used the money to by a new van with less than 250,000 miles on it. But sitting at a table, listening to the reasons that prompted this generous donor to give such a gift, and how she felt God leading her to do this, I was overcome! God's evaluation is different than man's. This season where we are dependent on the grand gestures of giving, I am reminded that God LOVES a cheerful giver big and small. He is faithful to take care of His own. Whether it is the deceased woman's family who looked out for a cancer patient by bringing what she had, (her couponing extras) or the woman who could have updated her car, or the guy who lost his job, but took in a family, or your donation to Mission Southside of $5-$5000. God will honor what is brought to the table, the widow's mite. God is faithful to our mission and to, and through, the people we serve and serve with. Would you consider joining Greg and I in making a monthly donation, or a one time tax-deductible end of the year donation to help Mission Southside be prepared for future crisis and to keep our programs like Leader's In Training, ESL, Homework Huddles, Discovery Studies and other ministry going?  If you already do or have, we are humbly grateful.   Thanks for your generosity and your ongoing prayer for this ministry of putting God's love into action by extending help through hope.

Friendship Family Ties.............

Have you ever felt that nudge from God to actually care about someone you don't know?
 This is my friend, Miranda, whom I have been meeting with every week since June.  I have known her for four years.  Our relationship started out as knowing her son, junior.  He would come to Homework Huddle and Fun Friday at the apartment she lived at.  Then she started coming out more.  I still remember that moment our relationship went beyond a wave and a simple hello.  It was Christmas time, 2014.  We, "the church people", had shown up with some gifts to surprise several families who had become dear to us through our ministry at this apartment community.  The families had no idea.  We invited parents to come to the laundry room at the local apartment where they lived. They were given bags of toys and allowed to gift wrap them and take them home.  It's not about Mission Southside getting credit for anything.  It's about possibly meeting a need, and allowing the parents to bless their kids. 

 When Miranda showed up she was so surprised.  We had time to chat while wrapping gifts.  This sweet woman had a story.  These unexpected gifts came at a very much needed time.  While her husband had a VISA, he needed to go back to Guatamala for about 4 months to clear some things up, before he could return to the US.  She was going to be alone for a while.  A single mom.  She had several health issues, as well.  I asked if I could pray for her, and we had a sweet time of just praying through a list of things that were on her heart. 

A few months later she found herself pregnant, and with a husband who was in Guatamala, straightening out his Visa.  Through this time of uncertainty, Miranda and I connected more.  I would stop by and see her, she would start coming outside more when we were at the apartments.  Sometimes we would just chat, sometimes something was weighing on her heart and we would pray.

Miranda's pregnancy ended up being high-risk.  She had many health complications.  She was trying to continue working, being a single mom to Junior, and keep this unborn baby healthy.  She ended up on bed rest towards the end of her pregnancy.  She was beginning to get anxious about having her baby without the help of her husband.  One day we were talking about what was the most stressful thing and she said she didn't know where Junior would go when she went into the hospital.   Here was a woman I knew, and probably shared more time with than many of my friends, and I felt God nudging me.  I went home and had dinner with my husband and kids that night and told them about Miranda's stress.  Truthfully I knew what I wanted to ask them, but was a little hesitant about how they would react.  Well, I didn't have to even ask.  My kids said, "well, mom.  You told her he could stay with us, didn't you? 

Several weeks later, she ended up in the hospital.  Junior came to stay with us for 3 days, and then his mom returned home.  Miranda had some health problems and went back to the hospital, and Junior returned to our home, and baby Amalya went to another friend.


 Three years later after our relationship went from a "hi" and a "hello", she passed away unexpectedly the week of Christmas, 2017.

 Every week since June, we would meet and we would share what we were thankful for, what was challenging and continue our study of creation to the cross. She died a believer, but what I came to realize was that the time, the relationship we have had for... four years and the significantly deeper relationship these last six months was just as important to me and there is a giant hole in my heart. Time is short. If you feel that nudge to grow deeper in relationship with someone and to discover God’s plan for their life or just that nudge to spend time caring and sharing your life and the gospel as well (1Thess. 2:8) do it! You won’t regret it.