Update Tues - Street Corner

It may seem like  small things, but I think small things are worth celebrating.  If you ask me, however, I am not sure that they were as small as they might seem at first.  As I have mentioned here before, I invest every Monday morning on the same street corner serving coffee and sandwiches to the same small group of underprivileged men.  There have been times that I have really appreciated each moment I spend on the corner, even in the midst of sub-zero mid winter mornings.  There have been other times that I have wondered what the heck I am doing week in and week out and why the heck I bother.    This week, however, I had two experiences that make me think that maybe the investment of time is beginning to pay off.
I was away two weekends ago and missed my regular Monday morning appointment.  The next day I got a call from one of the guys I meet, to whom I had given my business card months ago.  He called just to check in and to say that he missed meeting.  I was able to invite him out to lunch the following day, where we had an opportunity to spend some time together and where I got to learn a bit more about his life.  We even had the beginnings of some spiritual conversations.  I am praying this is the net step in a deepening relationship  that gets beyond just Monday morning.
This past Monday, as I returned home from the street corner, Ray was at my back gate waiting for me.  I have a slightly deeper relationship with Ray, and although he does not come to the street corner on Monday mornings any more (that is a whole other story!) he does stop by every once and a while.  He has hung out with me in the neighbourhood, as we chat in the backyard, and he has even had coffee on the front porch.  He has never been willing, however, to come inside.  It is as if that is one step to close or something, and he has always shied away.  This past Monday, a cold November morning, he accepted an invitation to come in for a coffee!  Not only did he come in for a coffee, but he stayed around and had lunch with our family.   Although this may seem like a small step, I think that it was a huge hurdle that we have crossed.  I am now praying that he might jump the next hurdle and join us for a Fellowship meeting in the next few weeks.  Although I am being very realistic, I am also very hopeful.
As you continue to pray, I would ask you to pray for these guys, and for the relationship that we are developing.  Please also pray for our Fellowship as we consider how it is we want to invest ourselves this holiday season.  My hope for us is that we consider the biblical principle that it is truly more blessed to give that to receive and ask how it is that we might be giving ourselves away.  We have a number of ideas beginning to form and hopefully I will have some specifics to share next week.