Worth It All!

A street-dependent client ran up to me recently on the street. He's made himself unwelcome pretty much everywhere, but SYM continues to serve him because he's reaching that special age between 24 and 28 where he might turn his life around. He ran up to me with a gleam in his eye I've never seen in the three years of working with him. He said, "Terry, last night I reached the end. I gave all the bad stuff in my life over to Jesus." He's been difficult and hard to handle, but it's all been worth it!

"To know, love and serve street dependent youth."
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I'm a notary for benefit of clients and supporters. Ph: (512) 553-3796
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Arrange a meeting with me: tungle.me/terrycole

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The Parables of the Sower and the Growing Seed

We recently studied the parables found in the first half of Mark 4. The first is very famous about the sower and four types of soil. A second one is connected but less well known: the parable of the growing seed. After looking at these a couple of weeks in our weekly Bible study, I asked the street youth to explain to me some examples of things from the street that relate to these parables. Please keep in mind this comes from a group of about a dozen street youth who on this particular day were almost all were under age 24, most living and sleep on the streets or in tents in greenbelts, about three quarters abusing drugs and alcohol, and almost having grown up churched at one point or another. We wrote theirs ideas onto the white board during class:

What makes me a hard path when it comes to letting faith take hold in my life?
o Feeling stuck
o Trying and failing every time
o Drug addiction
o Legal barriers (ID, tickets, warrants, felonies)

 

What makes me shallow ground so that my faith withers?
o Drugs
o Pushy Christians
o People (including myself) who believe once homeless--always worthless
o Love of money and materialism

 

What makes me a briar patch so that my faith cannot be shared with others?
o Ridicule
o Peer pressure
o Stereotypes
o Being judged

 

What does the parable of the sower tell us about how to be good ground where faith grows and is shared?
o You need to find the right light to grow
o Do our part
o Let God do his part
o Don't resist... if something make you feel wrong, do something about it.
o Be present and respond to growing pains

This lesson was possible because someone sacrificially provided sandwiches over which these important discussions take place. Won't you consider making a difference by checking out volunteer.StreetYouthMinistry.org?

"To know, love and serve street dependent youth."
Who We Serve   What We Do   Get Involved  Support Us   News  Publications  Ministry Needs   Speaking   Service Projects   Sign-up

Become a fan on Facebook!
Mobile? No problem: m.StreetYouthMinistry.org.
I'm a notary for benefit of clients and supporters. Ph: (512) 553-3796
Volunteer or donate (tax deductible) online
Arrange a meeting with me: tungle.me/terrycole

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A Poem By a Street Youth Client

This poem was shared with me to share with readers. It's from a 22 year old girl who lives and sleeps on the street.

The world is a kaleidoscope of color,
Moving,
Shrinking,
In and of itself.
Words follow a line.
A line in that world.
They fall,
Like water.
Moving from stone to stone.
They land on someone’s shoulder.
A gentle smile.
They turn and see you.
Maybe they love you.
Maybe they have loved you.
But they will always turn away.

I was recently asked by a street youth what my ministry needs most right now to help out. I replied without hesitation that we need more food volunteers to make sandwiches for our Monday, Tuesday and Friday events. Volunteers have dried up for reasons unknown since Christmas. Help us fill our calendar again at volunteer.StreetYouthMinistry.org.

"To know, love and serve street dependent youth."
Who We Serve   What We Do   Get Involved  Support Us   News  Publications  Ministry Needs   Speaking   Service Projects   Sign-up

Become a fan on Facebook!Mobile? No problem: m.StreetYouthMinistry.org.
I'm a notary for benefit of clients and supporters. Ph: (512) 553-3796
Volunteer or donate (tax deductible) online
Arrange a meeting with me: tungle.me/terrycole

Follow SYM: