Happy New Year to all our readers, volunteers, and supporters! We apologize for not making time to regularly post and update you on happenings in the past year. To recap some of our outreach ministry efforts, this year 2017 we again gave away 3 vehicles to needy families. These cars include: a Chevy Lumina for James Wickerson and his wife and children, made possible through the help from Union Gospel of Dallas auto program; a Honda Odyssey minivan to a family referred to us from Source of Hope (SOH); and lastly, a Toyota Sienna minivan purchased from Ted and Mei Ling of Ted’s Auto in Richardson, given to Moe and her children from the River of Life Homes (ROLH).
2017 was noted for the increased number of single parents requesting rental assistance and receiving help from LOTV. The applicants reported rent expenses ranging from $675 to $1500 a month, mostly from Holly Park Apartments in Dallas. The most cited reasons for falling behind on rent were unforeseen car repair, illness, and job transition. As in the past, we try to share the gospel and encourage the downtrodden with God’s words, and a little of ourselves. The saying is still true, as many folks these days are one paycheck from being homeless.
One of the highlights of the year was Sister Ann C., who referred a friend who owns a Thai restaurant and had extra food to donate on an almost daily basis. Therefore, our ladies and children from ROLH shelter benefited from eating Thai food on a regular basis, to the point they asked us to stop because it was getting too much. Lol.
Our DART train and bus ticket program has not seen much increase in the past 2 years, nor has the need for transportation to job interviews and doctor appointments. The request for Bible studies and financial management / budgeting classes has averaged about once a month. We did get a request to sponsor a Chinese senior activity center for 2018 and beyond, with the proposal coming from Sis. Angela C., who highlighted her pastor’s willingness to use the facility in Plano. We will wait and see how the Lord will guide us in that endeavor.
Some pics to share for 2017: We participated as guests in the Source of Hope Retreat at Kirby Landing in AK for their clients, who are mostly single mothers trying to better themselves through SOH programs (including cosmetology). We made new friends and strengthened existing ones. We joined BSF (Bible Study Fellowship International) in 2017 and made more new friends in Christ, and to see these brothers in Christ hungry for the words of God was very encouraging. All praise to God.