God's Provisions

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One of our patrons contacted me this week to thank us for the food that we provide to her family. Because God provided to her through RCC, she was able to use the money she would have spent on food to provide much needed items to two children in her community. Her comment made me stop and think. I have always understood that God provides through the volunteers that serve at RCC and through the generosity of our donors in that we are able to purchase and distribute food. I never thought about what could happen next. Through God’s provision to this family, God continued to provide to these two children. Your generosity flowed into their ability to be generous, and the cycle continues. God’s provision can have a ripple effect if we let it. We just need to have our heart pointed towards Him.

I would like to share with you about how our pantry continues to grow; so much so that our patron base has actually doubled in just the last two years. We now regularly handle 80+ families each time we are open and are continuing to add more. Our wish and our prayer is that our services would not be needed and that this pantry could close, but that is not the case. The need is greater than ever. Because of this we are at a point where we need to add more space. To do so, we are proposing to build a 600 square foot building on the South side of the pantry. This building will provide us more room in the existing pantry by moving most of our refrigeration and storage needs to the new building. This will enable us to serve and interact with our patrons and volunteers in new and more God centric ways. We have pulled together construction estimates and will need to raise a little over $40,000 for this project. We don’t ask very often, but right now we need your help. First, please start this process with us in prayer. We need God on this journey too, so we need everyone to help us welcome Him in. From there, I am asking that you prayerfully consider partnering with us in the building of this new space. Then if you feel led to participate with us financially, please look for the "Donate Tab" on our website. From there you just need to designate your donation to the building campaign. We would love to raise the money by the end of the year so construction can begin. We are also ready to create that entry in our "God's provision section" outlining how the money was provided!

This is a story about homelessness and hopelessness and God's Provision. Exactly two weeks ago today my husband was driving home from serving at RCC. It was very hot, and he saw a family of five walking down the road. Mom was holding a baby; Dad was holding a gas can and a little boy and girl were walking beside them. He stopped and asked if they needed help. At first, they told him that they were fine but after some insistence from him, they all got in the truck and he took them to the nearest gas station (which was several miles away). Mom later told me that as she walked, she prayed that God would provide help for their family. On the way he found out that they were staying in a local campground and had run out of gas. When he took them back to their car, he saw that they were living out of their van. They had a small puptent but were sleeping in their van each night, leaving it running because of the extreme heat. The next day he felt led to go and check on them before church. He found the mother and the kids at the campsite. Dad had left for the day to work. He knew that they did not have food. He called me and said we had to help. He took them all to Walmart – and the journey began. He bought them a tent, air mattresses, a cooler, a fan, drinks, school shoes and supplies for the kids and then took them to RCC to get food. He dropped them back off with a promise to check on them the next day. I went and met the family and heard their story. It was not one of drugs or abuse. It was the story of a family that is living from day to day. The mother is disabled and the father works at day jobs. They had been living in a small camper in an RV park in Mayflower when a storm destroyed the camper. They had no place to go but their van. One storm and they were homeless. They spent the next month seeking help from various agencies around central Arkansas with no results. Dad would work for a day and then use that money for a hotel for that night. When we met them, they had just enough money for a gallon of gas for Dad to get to work the next day. We felt compelled to try to help this couple, so we started spreading the word about their situation. It had been a week of extreme heat, so we let them spend the nights inside the pantry. We knew that their situation had to change – how they were living was not sustainable. We took them to Church and introduced them to some friends. Friends started spreading the word to other friends and through one of those connections God Provided. We found someone who owned rental property. He had an apartment that was empty and was willing to work with them on the rent. He didn’t ask for a deposit. He didn’t ask for the first and last month’s rent in advance. When he found out the skillset of Dad, he gave him a job. When he found out they didn’t have furniture, he told them he would loan them whatever they needed. On the last day that they were able to stay at the campground, God provided them with a home. They moved into that apartment yesterday. And the help continued. My daughter put out the word and got donated clothes for all the kids and raised money for their first month’s rent. A local agency provided a baby bed and diapers. Another agency provided mattresses for the kids and kitchen supplies. D-Groups started providing all the items you would need to set up a household. Another couple offered to pay the utilities for the first month. The outpouring was overwhelming and it is still going on. When we purchased this family a tent, we were pretty proud of our solution. No more sleeping in the van. God looked at our plan and laughed. He said I will provide a home. I will provide a job. I will provide clothing. I will provide. How often we try to fix a problem ourselves when God’s solutions are always so much better. This family is no longer homeless. This family is no longer hopeless. And it was all God's Provision.

In addition to donations from churches and individuals, one of the ways that RCC is able to operate is through grants from generous donors like the Arkansas Hunger Relief organization. This agency has been very supportive of our ministry and has provided funds for us to build our hunger gardens, to purchase new shelving and new freezers. Today we were blessed to receive a grant which is to be used exclusively on fruits, vegetables and meat for our patrons. This money will allow us to provide a better selection and higher quality of healthy foods. RCC could not exist without the generosity of organizations like Arkansas Hunger Relief and we are so thankful for their support.

Not too long after we moved into the new pantry, we were unloading the truck and the forklift hit the garage door and dented it. We called the company who had installed it to come out and fix it. They sent a young man who looked it over and started working on the door. Once he finished, we asked what we owed him. He said nothing. He told us that years ago when he was a child, this ministry fed him and his family. They did not go hungry because of us. Not charging us for the door was his way of returning the favor. He didn’t realize that he gave us a gift that day that was much bigger than not charging for the repair. A lot of work goes into being able to feed the families that come to us. It is much larger than just being open two hours on a Saturday to hand out food. Sometimes we wonder if we are really making a difference – are we having an impact. This young man showed us that we are. Our ministry had an impact on him as a child and he remembered. Come join us in making a difference in people’s lives.

During the past few years there have been so many people who have stopped by to tour our facility and seemed to have been very impressed with what we are able to provide. For a moment they are excited – they say that they would love to support us and plan to volunteer, but we never hear from them again. I am sure that many do not feel their support is necessary. They think that we are doing just fine – in fact very well – without them. This is not correct. We do need them. This ministry is supported each month by five churches and a handful of individuals. Our recurring monthly donations are only half of what we need to pay our bills. We live by faith that larger donations during the year will carry us through. At some point we may have to make some difficult choices. We will either have to decrease our service area and turn people away or we will have to give less food to the ones that come. We do not want to do either of those things. Please consider partnering with us in this ministry by joining our giving team. We can feed people with your monthly gift. I am inviting you to be a part of something that will make you feel good about yourself. I am inviting you to be a part of something that will make see how richly God has blessed you. Come and serve with us on a Saturday and you will see the hands and feet of Jesus at work. You can be the hands and feet of Jesus, either by serving with us or by supporting us monetarily. I am so grateful for the supporters that God has provided and I have faith that He will continue to do so. Come join us. .