April 2008 Newsletter
“I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who honor Him and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the person who takes refuge in Him”.
Psalms 34:1-8
Dear Friends,
When reading the accounts of Jesus’ life in the gospels, it is apparent that He put great importance on sitting down and eating together with His friends and followers. That’s why we, at Place of Promise, all sit and have dinner together every evening at 6pm. There are a lot of us and it’s anything but quiet and calm when we’re all around the tables eating, but it’s still good. For many, it’s a brand new experience or at best, a long forgotten one. This past Sunday, we were all invited to attend the Lowell Assembly of God Church. The pastor had offered me the opportunity to speak for 10 minutes about Place of Promise and our upcoming event on April 27th. He also asked that a couple of residents share their testimonies with the congregation. Excitement, gratitude and a bit of nervousness were the order of the day. We all had a desire for everyone to be able to taste and see how good the Lord is and has been to each of us individually and to all of us collectively at Place of Promise.
While we were at church, my Sunday dinner was slowly cooking in one gigantic pot on top of the stove at Place of Promise. On Sundays, I cook and serve the “family” dinner soon after church in the early afternoon. This particular Sunday, I was cooking a family favorite, “pork chop stew”. Claire Gagnon, a member of our Board of Directors and mother of one of our residents, always supplies the food for Sunday dinner. Darlene picked up all the food from her mother and had it in the kitchen ready for me to cook Sunday morning. Preparation time was very short, so I divided up the tasks. One ingredient was missing, so Darlene ran up to the grocery store as quickly as only she can go, and purchased the needed diced tomatoes. Rob ransacked the kitchen in the men’s house to retrieve my needed spices and garlic. Lynn and Sherri scrubbed and chopped 10 pounds of potatoes. Yet another opened cans of string beans and one more found and washed our giant pot while I browned the pork chops. With everyone’s help, dinner for 25 was prepared and on the stove cooking in 20 minutes!
Church was a blessing for us all that day! We were all there, praying for and supporting the ones that were speaking. The new 7 week old baby was there, proudly looking on while her daddy, John Lawrence, spoke of the dynamic transformation that God had brought about in his life. The toddler and two young children sat on the front pew, their faces beaming, as their mommy stood in front of the whole church and praised God for the changes in her own life and for the amazing grace and blessings He had poured out onto herself and her children through Place of Promise. The littlest one got so excited; she had to come up to the pulpit too! Everyone was there, everyone together, and it was good!
When we got home, the pot was cooking and the aroma filled the air. I lifted the huge lid and began to stir, already thinking how good this was going to taste. All the separate ingredients by themselves, uncooked, had not smelled so good, looked so delicious or tasted so great. If we had sat down at the table to eat the raw ingredients, we would all have gotten sick. What an amazing transformation! While we were at church, the ingredients had all cooked together to become one grand pot of pork chop stew! Each part was still visible, but was only important as it blended in to make the whole. Each ingredient contributed to the final fantastic flavor.
Oh how much Place of Promise, the Body of Christ, is like that pot of stew. Each of us adds to the flavor; each of us is a vital part of the whole. It is my prayer that many of you will join us on April 27th, 2008 and taste and see that the Lord is good! Join us for dinner if you can. Stay for the service; a celebration of new life; no one alone and lost anymore, but a part of the people of God! There will be gospel music, a violin solo, testimonials from the past and the present, a few words from me and a time for questions and answers. If you can’t attend, invite us to come to you. We would love to come and share with you how very good the Lord has been and is to us, in us and through us these 14 years. Let’s come together and celebrate the goodness of our God!
One ingredient among many,
Beth Kidd, Director