Night time feedings

Last week I led the first team from South City Church to minister to the kids on the streets.  It was such an exciting moment!  For a long time Luis and I have been praying that God will put the burden on the hearts of the people that we go to church with.  Then before we knew it there were four extra people sitting in our living room praying for God's direction and unity.   WOOOO!!!

We have felt God's leading us to a market area known as North Mead.  All of the kids seem the migrate there at night to sleep.  There are stalls and quiet places to hide away from people and the elements.  We also decided to start outreaches at night for several reasons.  One of which is the people who have homes are in them and we can see a bit more clearly who the street kids are.  The environment is a bit more controlled.  If I may be blunt for a moment.....it draws A LOT of attention when the locals see a couple of white people hanging out with street kids.  In the past one of us does crowd control and the other one talks to the kids.  The shouts of MUZUNGU!!!! (white person) and the odd marriage proposal are greatly diminished by making this logistical change.

We found THE PERFECT parking lot where we think it might be ideal for night time feedings.  It is well lit and is nice and big for our purposes.  ALSO, it is deserted at the time we wanna be out.   BONUS!

We have been simply called to reach out a hand of love to the kids.  We see what God has called us to do as step one.  They hang with us.  We target those who are serious about change and walking with God.  After a bit of time we will help them find a place to go....Teen Challenge?  Back Home?  We believe that by consistently and regularly being a part of their lives, showing them love, befriending them and hearing their hearts, God will do wonderful and miraculous things!

We are not the answer...Jesus is!!!  All we have to do is simply obey God's leading and His timing and the rest is up to him!

How can you pray for us?

1.  We NEED a ministry van.  We will be able to pull right into the parking lot.  Two people can sit in the back serving food while the rest of the team works the crowd and hangs out with the kids.

2. Pray that the team God has formed to go with us stays unified and in one mind.

3. Pray for Amira, Hannah and Brooklyn.   They are amazing kids and we are so proud of them!

4. Pray that we don't get ahead of God!!!


If you haven't checked out Luis' testimony video we did, look it up and share it!!!
https://vimeo.com/57156848

WE LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY VERY MUCH!
Myranda, Luis, Amira, Hannah, Brooklyn Rose and Darwin the Guinea Pig

If God is laying it on your heart to donate financially .... go to

 tscnyc.org / give / contribute to a missions trip / morales family zambia

Or you can mail a check or money order to 

Morales Family 

Times Square Church 

Missions department 

1657 Broadway FL 4

NYC, NY 10019

earmarked Morales family / zambia

fissures need to heal

Since we sent Joe to Teen Challenge God has put a halt to going on the streets.  We went  back to the market for a few weeks after Joe left, but sensed that God’s hand had lifted from that particular avenue.  Neither Luis or myself had any peace about going there.  Let me make it clear, WE AREN’T STOPPING OUR WORK WITH THE KIDS!!!  But God isn’t allowing progress to be made.  He simply has us in a holding pattern.  I wish I could say I have accepted it with great peace and obedience, but it has been FRUSTRATING!!!!  We have been actively looking into storefronts to rent, buses to purchase and have gone a couple of times at night to look into branching out into night time out reaches but keep coming up against a brick wall that says “Welcome to Zambia the Real Africa”.  

UUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  "Ok God, I will stop and let you lead the way!! What are you trying to tell us???"

During this waiting time God has been working on Luis and I in personal areas that NEEDED to get dealt with!  Details on that for another blog.  But I will say this, I do know in my heart that is one of the reasons God has had to put the brakes on the Soweto Street Church for a bit.  We have found a freedom like we have never known before and it feels GOOD!  AMAZING!!!  Obedience is truly better than sacrifice!!!  It has taken the quietness of waiting out a mountain fog to truly hear God’s voice in this situation.  

God isn't concerned about the work we are doing.  He is concerned about our heart's condition.  If he has to pull the oars out of the water for a bit and speak to our hearts about stuff we don't wanna hear.....trust me when I tell you....It takes less energy to stop and listen than it does to keep going and try to push forward.  He will lower the oars again!  There is plenty of work to be done, but how effective can we be if there are fractures and broken pieces that need to be put back together?

Please pray for us!  Pray that we don’t get a head of God’s timing.  Pray that we stay still in his presence and listen carefully to His voice!  Pray that the provision comes at the right time!!  Workers, money for feeding, buses, all that fun stuff!  

Street children are precious in the sight of God, but so are we!  

Let me leave you with this thought...

Commit your way to the Lord! Trust in him and he will do this..He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn and the justice of your cause like the noonday sun!.....(BUT)....Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:5-7a

If God is laying it on your heart to donate financially .... go to

 tscnyc.org / give / contribute to a missions trip / morales family zambia

Or you can mail a check or money order to 

Morales Family 

Times Square Church 

Missions department 

1657 Broadway FL 4

NYC, NY 10019

earmarked Morales family / zambia

Bruised souls and writers block

I have been suffering from a severe case of writers block since the beginning of November.  There has been so much that has gone on personally and ministry wise that I won't shove it all into one blog.  As I sort through my own heart and emotions about it all I will keep you in the loop, thats a promise.  

As you all have been on Joe's journey with us, you will be happy to know that he has been in a Teen Challenge since the middle of October and we just got a report yesterday that he is thriving.  He has been promoted to the next level, which brings privileges and responsibilities.  Wafuka, the director, told us that he has never had a student with so much dedication and perseverance.  He is inspiring other students to stay the course and he wants to further his education to go on in ministry.  Please pray for him!!  Pray that we have the wisdom to know how to help him when he is finished with his year.  Pray for the provision to help him.  He needs finances, a house, all that kinda good stuff.  How does God want you to help Joe?  We all are his family!!!

In all transparent honesty, I feel I must share with you that the battle to get Joe into Teen Challenge has lead me into a desert time of my own.  I don't want to give the devil more credit that necessary, but there is a tug in my heart to share with you what happened to me the day after.  It was the day the TSC missions conference started, and I was feeling sorry for myself because I wasn't able to attend. I was depressed and moody and 

needed to just get out of the house.  To make a long story short, a bus driver pulled in front of my car and he and his buddy attempted to pull me out of my car.  No other way to explain it, but it was pure naked demonic aggression.  My neighbor came at the last second and helped me.  Needless to say I was SUPER FREAKED!!  I wasn’t hurt and looking at the details of what happened...God was there!! 

My pastor’s wife talked me through my emotions about the situation and gave me to BEST advice EVER!!!  (let me just say, she knows what she is talking about!)  She said we have to make sure we are resting in the presence of God and not attempt to make sense of it all on our own. (my paraphrase) I couldn’t reason away what happened and try to understand the why and the wherefore’s of it all.  I had to simply stop, actively sit at the feet of Jesus and let him heel my bruised soul.  God gave me a picture he wanted me to paint, so for a week I stopped life, did only what was necessary....picked up kids from school and made sure they were feed and clothed, and I painted.  I put on worship music and listened to TSC sermons.  I didn’t let my mind try to work it all out.  I actively and simply sat at the feet of Jesus and let him make something beautiful out of something terrible.  It was a wonderful time!!  

I guess what I want to say is this....Don’t let what the devil has meant for your destruction define you!  Let Jesus make something beautiful in your life out of something that was meant to harm you and hold you back from all God has intended!