Extra! Extra! Read All About It---Acts Two Church in Long Beach!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it—Acts Two Church in Long Beach!

Our discussion was wrapping up, and our prayer time about to begin at the Sanctuary yesterday, when the couple came through the door. They had the look of ‘Phew--we made it…we made it to a port in the storm.’ They indeed had made it, and I watched as our little community scooped them up and embraced them. Ignacio and Cindy live on the street, have battled addictions, and in so doing, lost custody of their children. Their combined pain was palpable. Ignacio prayed aloud, thanking God for restoring a beloved niece from leukemia, but broke down as he said, ‘the same disease that took my dad at 35…’ Being the self-appointed mama in the group, I held him after, and reassuringly said, ‘Just keep going. Trust God. One day at a time, brother.’ He wiped his tears, choked back a sob, and nodded.

Perhaps we were entertaining angels unaware—if so, I think we passed the test. We fed Ignacio and Cindy; we prayed for them, hugged them, gave them groceries to take with them, and I even had two pairs of jeans in my car
to give to Cindy.

The Lord is stirring something up in me again, and so far, I just know it has to do with serving and compassion, which of course really took root
on the streets of Long Beach last November. (Before
that, most of my compassion was poured out in safe places—at home, the
kids’ schools, and various worthy causes several times a year.) But in Long Beach, I began leading street people in weekly prayer meetings, and bringing clothes to them. Then,
I got connected with the mental health facility, the Village…and was
graciously invited to use their “Sanctuary” (a separate building about a
mile from the large building that houses the Village) for prayer and
study.

All the while, my love for the poor, the mentally disabled, and the disenfranchised of this Los Angeles city grows. People shake their heads in wonder that I would be called in such a way; truly, it is clear that only God could have dreamt of such a thing! I
may go back to the church one day to lead the other kind of prayer
meeting, but for now, I know that God has me building a unique community
of souls. Although I have been a Christian since I was a young child, I never could have imagined being a part of the sweet ministry that he has birthed. My
friends are beginning to trust and care for each other, and they are
learning to extend grace as well, though sometimes a reminder is needed.

For instance this week—one ‘Steve’ was addressing a sentence from our book*: “Repentance, confession, forgiveness then lead to healing,
deliverance and spiritual relationships with God and his people . . .” commenting
that it takes these things every day—repentance, confession, and God’s
forgiveness, for there to be healing, when he was abruptly

interrupted and confronted by another Steve---‘How can you say that, doing what you do—what you do on a regular basis!’ His words were less biting than his critical, aggressive tone; he somehow thought he had a right to ‘call Steve out’ for his habitual drinking. I
was sitting right between the two men, and I’m guessing they both saw
the hair raise on my neck as I said, “Now, wait a minute here. First, Steve never said he has arrived. He did not say, nor did he imply that he is without sin! None of us are without sin. And in this place, we do not attack and condemn one another. This is a place where grace is to be extended.” Yes, you could hear a pin drop! And I trust the point was made, but I do not think the hair on my neck has returned to normal yet!

But then just last week, Chad shared his story, and he found a room full of grace. He and his wife, Amy, make the weekly trip from Orange County up to Long Beach. Secretly, I had prayed in earnest that Chad would develop a love for some of the men he sat next to—a desire to ‘come alongside’ them—and serve them. Most of the guys at the Sanctuary have sad tales of home life—not Chad. He grew up in an upper middle-class Christian home in So. Cal., but somehow got lured from high school football to partying. which started with alcohol, and slid to hard drugs, and many wasted years. He
commented that his maturity level had been arrested at the point of his
drug usage, and that only now, (about age 40), is he learning life
skills like responsibly maintaining a job, budgeting, and other things
he should have done 20+ years ago. Even though he tried
rehab several times, it wasn’t until he surrendered himself back to
Christ, and really gave God the reins of his life, that he succeeded. Soon, he will be clean and sober for one year, and we all applauded him for that.

As for loving his new friends—what do you think? One week Amy and Chad had asked what kind of clothes our friends needed the most. ‘Men’s clothes—especially socks.’ So, they brought several bunches of socks, and after sharing some at the Sanctuary, we delivered them to the Village. When Chad and Amy saw the gratitude and appreciation for those socks, an idea occurred to Chad, and he said, “We are going to “sock” the
Village.” So, the next week, they brought bags of socks! Now,
why do you think he arranged his work schedule, makes the hour-long
drive, and takes his cash and buys socks for Long Beach street people? Because God has birthed in him a love for them! It is a beautiful thing.

Besides all the clothes I gather, we have begun to bring bags of groceries to share with our Sanctuary friends. It makes me think of the Acts Two church where the believers shared with those who were poor. I go shopping the day before and happily cart all my treasure up there on Tuesday mornings. HEY, WANNA GET INVOLVED? I’d love your donations of food, clothes or funds to further what God is doing. Or e-mail and let me know you're coming to visit!

If you would like to make a contribution, please send your tax-deductible check to PastorWoman Corp., P.O. Box 1195, San Clemente, CA 92674. God bless you, my dear ones!

Christine