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NOTE:
The
Federal
Gov't
has made moves to drive the homeless out of the
National Forests and many of them are hiding way deep in the woods, or
have been forced to move to the cities. This saddens our hearts,
as we feel it is more safe for them in the forest. Please
continue to pray for these wonderful people. _________________________________________________________________________________________
The face of homelessness has drastically changed throughout the years. In the 1980s, thousands of individuals from the nation's public psychiatric hospitals were discharged, leaving many of the country's mentally ill without homes. This gave rise to a popular misconception, however, that led many to think all homeless people were mentally ill or suffered from drug or alcohol abuse problems. Oftentimes, homeless people were portrayed as lazy and unclean. But today, more working and middle class families face the prospect of living on the streets - and in our case, the Forest. Before we can reach them spiritually, we try to meet some of their physical needs - food and clothing. Most of these folks are able to work day labor jobs and do manage to earn a few dollars a day for some of their needs. However, it is never enough. |
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We
used to bring out food and clothing
using our little Ford
Ranger or the Logos
'Jesus Kicks Down Phat' trailer. The hippies painted
it for us. The definition of "Kicks Down Phat" is "Jesus
Provides Abundantly!" in hippie
language. Sadly, this trailer was stolen, and we hit a bear with
the Ranger! (Bear ok... Ranger, totaled.) Now we use either
a Dodge Pickup truck, or a retired u-haul truck that Logos purchased.
Jesus Kicks Down
Phat
Trailer |
  Getting
a load ready
to take out to the forest homeless.
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We
receive little to no
financial assistance. We will not let this stop us. Jesus tells
us to go, and He provides.
  I
can do ALL THINGS
through Christ... Phil 4:13
  Tyler helping to get a load of food ready.     Some of our
Homeless
Friends
   Moses,
Mark & Ralph. These men used to live in the Ocala National
Forest. We have not seen these three in a while, but have
heard reports that they are doing well and living in the wooded areas
near a nearby city. The government has been making it really hard
for the indigent to live on forest land, so some of them have decided
to just leave the forest rather than move from place to place and hide
from the 'Rangers' all the time.
Some of
the housing
in the forest.
  The
trailers below may not
seem like much, but to a homeless person living in the forest,
these are a luxury. Costing only a couple of hundred dollars,
the individuals who own them feel very lucky to have something
more than a tent or a tarp to call home. They have no electricity,
but its a roof over their heads and shelter from the storms. Many
of the people who own these trailers have no means to move them.
We have on occasion moved them from one site to another for them
when the forest service enforced the 14 day rule for campsites.
Technically, they cannot stay in one campsite for longer than
14 days. Most do, but occasionally to prevent squatting, the Forest
Service will make them move.
   After,
the "Forest
Folk" got to know us, we started to have Bible study and
times of worship around the campfire on occasion. One homeless
couple made the statement that the services made them want to
curl up with God and live for him unconditionally. We could not
have asked for a better compliment. We pray the Holy Spirit will
be there with us, and it is only by the Holy Spirit that these
people will come to know the Savior. Several have started to attend our
church on a regular basis. If you would like to attend... Currently, we have Sunday School at 10:00 AM morning services at 11:00 AM. with a pre-service coffee, donut and prayer time at 9:30 AM. We have Sunday night Bible Study at 6:30 P.M. We have communion the first Sunday of every month. On the first Friday of every month, we have a Gospel Sing and Open Mic fellowship night at 7:00 P.M. rain or shine. This Gospel Sing ministry has out-grown the church building, so we are meeting at the American Legion Hall just to the south of us - about 3 miles - on the east side of the road. The
Lord tells us to feed
the poor and reach out to the outcasts of the world. By doing
so, we show them the love of Christ. Bringing a worship service
and Bible study to them allows us the opportunity to confront
them with the condition of their souls and their need for Christ,
as well as disciple them after they accept the Lord.   Some pictures taken
from a dark video shot during our first campfire worship service.
 The Holy Spirit touching a heart. Thanks
to those of you who
have taken the time to pray for this ministry. We could not possibly
do the work that we do without the prayers and support of our
ministry friends. As long as there are the homeless, the
hungry or the outcast in an area we can reach, we are going to try and
reach them.
If you would
like to help
us financially, there is always a need in this area. You can do
so by clicking on this button and using a credit or debit card. |
