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An intake call came in recently concerning a retired teacher. She is receiving a pension due to early retirement. After doing an assessment of her situation it was apparent that her medications were costing too much, leaving her without money for food. ACCD was able to get her assistance with food through one of our food pantry agencies in her area. We talked with the utility companies on her behalf to get her bill reduced. To her delight we also found her a volunteer opportunity with a church in desperate need of volunteer teachers for its daycare.
On March 22, 2002 an intake call came in concerning housing for "Judy", a on time Administrative Assistant, and her dog. She has been searching for another job for a while with no success. Desperate and afraid of not being able to pay her rent, utilities, etc. Judy went to a nearby church for assistance. She was directed by the church to Love, Inc clearing house. Our in-take assessment revealed that without immediate intervention her situation would go worse. We contacted one of our ministry partners about to establish a new community outreach ministry. As the Lord would have it the church was in the process of hiring an Administrative Assistant with the kind of Judy's experience. The connection was made. On our follow-up call a sigh of relief came through the phone lines. She said her prayers for something has been answered through Love, Inc.
This was a complex situation. A sister and her mentally challenged
brother were being evicted by another sibling from the family home. The only thing she
consistently wanted was pray. She believed that with prayers her situation would get
better. She was prayed for and ACCD found a care facility for her brother and volunteers
to assist with moving her belongings into storage. Two months later ACCD received a call
from her to give thanks and to inform us of her new job position as a job placement
officer. With gratitude she asked us to direct people looking for employment to her for
placement assistance. ACCD spread the word through our
ministry partners and other agencies. She received about 55 calls for job placement
assistance on the first day.
Dr. Jolly - When I started my first ministry at Nickerson Gardens -- I took
Ryder Trucks filled with food and clothing. Then I started the homeless
ministries weekly, at parks and men's homes at Victory Outreach were next.
I thought I could take the food and clothing to the needy, tell them Jesus
loved them, and when they accepted him into their hearts, I thought it was
all resolved! Until each week, the same single-mother, gang-kid,
unemployed man, or homeless person came back -- sometimes with a dying
hope, sometimes in complete despair -- They would tell me all they had
done -- prayed, confessed their sins, asked Him to be Lord of their lives
-- but still their families and situations were still in shambles! I
would pray, I would cry, I would come home and ask the Lord "What next,
Lord, what next".
(1) Lord, does the Church who "has" they don't always work in "time". I know in "eternity" they will. Lorraine and I are having a 'bout' of "unity and communications' in some of the prayer ministries. So -- it relates to 'survival' at the deepest level -- the church! My big question is: (a) Lord can the churches in America unify? Or, take it down to my reflection area -- can the churches in Los Angeles unify? I pray, Dr. Jolly, they can -- but we seem so very, very far apart! America has had so much for so long, will we be able to leave the aquarium and survive in the pond? Inlovingkindess Sue Sabas
WHAT TRAINING GRADUATES ARE SAYING “This training has equipped us tremendously with tools needed to go out and empower our community. We were taught Strategic planning, Finance and Budgeting, Proposal writing, Volunteer evaluation and many more. We can now go out and network with other ministries and prepare proposals for funding. We are very grateful to Dr. Jolly for making our ministry what it is today.” Carolyn Hall, Lighthouse Christian Fellowship “I have found that it is very easy to serve people, but it requires more extensive tools to empower people. Much of this training information is being implemented in my home church, in the organizing of a new service plan and the revamping of our 70 year old mission statement.” Debra Larry, Testimonial Community Love Center “MTR has provided great resources and a beginning database of network ministries. I have now been given a hands on approach of how to plan and strategize for a viable future.” Rev. Harrie Trotman, Exposition Park Church of the Nazarene “MTR has helped me to be more effective in my ministry. I have been given the tools to be able to do a greater work. When I first heard of the training, I was very intimidated. I thought that I was not going to be able to keep up, and the other students were a lot smarter and better prepared than I was. But I found out that we were all basically the same. We all had a heart for God and His people. We have all been called to do his work in different fields and ministries. Our common bound was not who was smarter, but that we wanted to be the best we can for God. Thanks a lot, I really appreciate being a part of this training.” Rev. Alex Bernard, Teen Challenge “This training has been a true blessing and an answer to prayer for me. I am sure that this course will be yielding benefits and blessings far into the future. I would like to think that having had such instruction and teaching during seminary would have equipped me to be a better pastor. The reality is that much of this course’s effectiveness is that it uses the raw material of personal experience and passion that grows out of recognized need to teach us how to move from Mission to Reality. I thank God for Dr. Jolly Beyioku and his staff.” Rev. Albert Starr Jr., Ascension Lutheran Church “We have truly been blessed with a wealth of information that, without a doubt, will be the catalyst to bring the Vision we have for our ministry into fruition this year. The lessons we have learned will continue to be beneficial to us, the friends we have made and bonded with, will certainly be lasting. Praised the Lord for this training. Elder Arthur and Darrell White, Testimonial Cathedral Outreach
FUENTE DE
VIDA NUEVA
Dear Dr. Jolly and A. C. C. D.
Once again this year we want to thank you for your support of our work here
in Mexico. With your help, we have been able to offer assistance to several
people, men and women wanting to leave the trap of drugs and alcohol. We
have also been able to give assistance to many of our church families.
One particular special that you enabled us to do, was on Mother's Day, we
gave each of the ladies in the congregation a new blanket, and several
pieces of new silverware. We were able to do the same thing for the men on
Father's Day.
The large roll of paper was put into use in the children's Sunday School
rooms. The older children were able to draw a mural, and the preschoolers
had their hands painted, then they put their hand prints all around the
paper. The parents were quite pleased!
The clothing is always useful! We have been in one of the poorest
Colonies in the area. Many of the children are what are called "Dump
Children," they go to the dump daily, rummaging for anything they might be
able to use, eat or sell for a few cents.
This New Year will be one of promise and changes. We will be opening a new
rehab house and will be accepting the pastorate of a new congregation.
Please keep us in your prayers as we serve The Lord here in Baja California.
Once again, Thank You for all your help.
Thurston Family Foundation I would like to thank you for your generous donation to Love INC Los Angeles in 2003 and for enhancing our attempt to restore precious hope to the people in need in our community. Your support has been extremely vital and is making tremendous difference in our program and in the lives of many that the Lord has privileged us to serve. Let me share one recent experience with you about the work of God through Love INC Los Angeles. “Suzie” is a single mother with six children (one disabled) who had been homeless for several years. She and her children lived in her car until the car broke down after which they went from one shelter to the other. When Suzie heard about and called Love INC Los Angeles in December last year, she had just secured a section-8 housing after a very long waiting period. Thank God! The apartment was partially furnished only with refrigerator and stove. Therefore, she has had to spend every dime she had to get some very basic necessities for her new home. This left her with no money to provide a simple Christmas dinner for her family and her six children could not have decent Christmas presents like other kids. The needs were announced to our networks. The way the Lord would have it, through a generous donation we were able to secure the family a Ralph’s Supermarket gift certificate enough for her to shop for a decent Christmas dinner. But the need for Christmas presents was still unmet. Through Love INC connection, a group of Azusa Pacific students heard about Suzie’s family and decided to meet this need. These students raised enough money among themselves to purchase Christmas presents for Suzie and her six children. They also requested to deliver the presents in person and to spend some time in fellowship with the family as they share the Joy of Christmas. As a result of her connecting with Love INC Los Angeles, Suzie’s needs were met to the glory of God. The picture (pictures not shown to protect privacy) at the top left shows Suzie and one of the Azusa students, and the picture on the right side shows three of Suzie’s children along with two other students. This is how it has been at Love INC Los Angeles. God provides and brings people together through this ministry to restore hope and express love in the name of Christ. You are a part of God’s instrument that is making this ministry possible and we thank you.
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