Doing just a little something . . . Impact Houston

Sometimes, you just have the perfect opportunity. Sometimes, you can do the right thing and it is so easy. Sometimes, well, sometimes it is so easy to serve and worship God by following His call to care for those in need. We had one of those chances last night, and it was a great time. But these opportunities don't usually occur without having a helping hand, that third party that makes things so easy. For Positive Post Tuesday, I want to talk about what we got to to, and who made it so easy.

Last night our church took in 300 kids - elementary and Junior High age - from inner city Houston. We took them in ones and two and threes, we fed them (CiCi's pizza is quite popular with these kids), and we took them to Wal-Mart for school supplies. We bought them the pens, pencils, and paper they need in class, a backpack to carry them in, and some clothes to start off the school year in a few weeks. The picture on the right is of Mrs. E with the girls we were able to help out - one going into 9^th grade and one into the 7^th grade. I talked about when we did this last year and I'm glad we were able to participate again this year.

The people who helped make this all possible, who bussed 300 kids from downtown to our neck of the woods, who interact with this kids every day, are the people at Impact Church of Christ. I've been down to help them out, seen the neighborhood they are in the middle of - one that most people try to avoid for their "safety" and seen the people they help firsthand. A couple of years ago I helped paint a kids classroom in their building, and saw the kids and teachers go crazy for just having something that wasn't a plain, empty wall. I've seen their food distribution, the hungry people waiting for help, and the huge lunches they have every Sunday after worship for anyone who would come. In college, the group I was active with worked with them to bring new underwear to the homeless in the area. Underwear, which we hardly think about; but I also heard the stories of people crying to have new, clean underwear - something they had not had in years.

Impact does some awesome work, and they touch more lives everyday than I may touch in my lifetime. A good friend of mine works as a youth minister their, but feels that he has a different call in his life right now. Mrs. E passed on to me that the older girl in the picture up there is very sad to know he will be leaving. She told Mrs. E that he is the only person she trusts! Please join with me in applauding some people who can make such a difference in the lives of people. I thank God for the people of Impact.

Tags: Impact Houston, Back to School, Inner City, Children