And so, as we have prayed into this, He has given us a new perspective and a refreshing challenge to meditate on and teach our children.

Every Tuesday we have an unusual opportunity to teach our children the gift of Hospitality.  Our kids often struggle as other children, that they do not know well, come in and make a mess of our home.  Just a couple weeks ago our family decided to keep bedroom doors closed on Tuesdays because of the frustrations that came during and after food pantry hours.  The kids’ bedrooms were hit by a tornado of toys and made for cleaning up long, arduous and complainy.  After many kind attempts of asking the guests to help clean up, we decided that keeping the mess to one area was necessary for our family.

This was a good decision, however, here is the struggle; there is still a mess to clean up.

And the beautiful and challenging Opportunity reveals itself.  What is hospitality?  Why do we invite strangers into our home?  Who do we keep letting them mess up our home?  How are we going to continue this path every Tuesday and not become bitter, disillusioned, and ultimately invite a religious spirit to lead the ministry?

As parents, we are in the limelight.  In the heat of the moment, our children are watching.  When I clean the bathroom after Tuesday night and I am grumbling about the trails of stickyness that have gooped up the walls and doors of our home, my children will understand that attitude is okay.  They imitate.  When I look at the carpets and flop down all frumpy and grouchy while I scrub stains out, my children see my example and imitate.  So, what do I expect when their rooms are destroyed every Tuesday?  Hmmm…

We have an incredible Opportunity to take joy in cleaning the messes up.  The kids and I have been memorizing this verse:

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.  2 Peter 1:3

Applying this to our family, God has given us everything we need for inviting the stranger into our home, serving and loving them.  Our children have been taught that everything means His Holy Spirit, or in Eva’s words, “all of God”.  Everything means power, love, joy, and the perspective to thank Him for the messes that we continually clean up.  Forgiveness.  In a sense we are forgiving over and over again, imitating Jesus.  He served and he loved over and over again until death on the cross.  And then, by His divine power, He gave us all of Him to do the same.

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.  Romans 12:13

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.  Hebrews 13:2

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  1 Peter 4:9

We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.  3 John 1:8

Teaching ideals can be taught by anyone, but teaching by example is the most faith sharpening and Gospel revealing parts of Christianity.  We do not know what hospitality truly is until we get to a place where we wonder why we are doing it.  Suddenly it becomes an opportunity rather than a constant mess to clean up.  I realize that by inviting the mess and acknowledging the exhaustion of cleaning up, I can then acknowledge and receive the only Power that can clean without growing tired.  He then, heals and cleans up me a bit more on the inside.

So, our family has decided to verbally speak out the Truth in these opportunities by saying, “Thank you, Jesus, for another chance to clean up someone’s mess.  You have given me everything I need to have joy while I clean.  Thank you for cleaning up my mess.”

Please pray for our family as we work out our faith.

It may be a little too late to order these via Amazon, but if you live in the Portland area, Powell’s Books currently has 25 of the storybook and more than enough of the NIV bible at their local warehouse.

If you do choose to purchase one or more of these for the families who come to the JFP, please notify us and let us know how many you plan to donate (serenity@sterling.net).  Please plan to get them to us by Monday, December 19th.

• Turkeys!!!  We would love to hand out a turkey to each family who comes to pantry during the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  HOWEVER, we do not have freezer space, so please be ready to deliver them on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And please let me know, by e-mail or facebook, if you have a turkey to give.
• The Jesus Storybook Bible (Spanish/English version)
• NIV Bible (Spanish/English version)
• Diapers!  We would also love to hand out a big package of diapers to each family who has children on Christmas.  The most popular sizes are 3, 4, 5 but we will take any size.

As always, we want to extend an invite to all of you to pay us a visit.  We have families come every Tuesday, all year long, who would love to meet you, know your name, and be known themselves.  And this invitation is not just to the Jubilee Food Pantry; there are families, elderly, homeless, orphans, EVERYWHERE.  Jesus came into the world as a helpless baby of a poor family to remind us that every nobody is a SOMEBODY.  Jesus came to be with the nobody’s and asked us to imitate Him.  He then gave us the power to do it, through His Holy Spirit.  So, before you quickly give to the nearest charity (which is not bad), stop and ask Him what He wants of you.  “With God, all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

Thank you and may you be blessed by His amazing Grace this holiday season.

We wanted to share some experiences we have had with some individuals that might give you a better understanding of what happens here, who our guests are, and more specifics on how you can pray for us.

Margarita, or Margo, has been coming to the food pantry since June of last year.  She has become a friend of mine, not because we have a lot in common, but because God wants us to be friends.  I have grown to love her and think of her as family.  She is a single mom of 5 kids, lives in a tiny apartment around the corner from us with 4 of her children, husband/partner (not sure which) left her for another woman last summer, speaks little English, struggles daily with depression, anxiety, and voices in her head, and now works long hours sewing mattresses in Wilsonville.  Margo is caught in a life of strife.  She is poor, with little language skills, on lots of meds and young kids at home.  I see Margarita often (her family was one that took part in the community garden) on Tuesdays and then during the week.  She has grown to trust me and my family- this is big.  Her extended family trusts me- this is also big.  Please pray with us for her and her family, that they would find His Peace, His Love/Power, and His Faithfulness.

Cece (that is not her real name) has been coming to the food pantry for 2 months.  The second time I saw her on a Tuesday, I walked to her car with her and she shared with me that her husband had just left her and her two daughters (1 month old and 3 yrs old).  She was a wreck.  She speaks almost no English and my Spanish is very beginner with that kind of conversation.  I prayed with her and asked her how we could help more, she said “diapers”.  We supplied.  And she continues to come every week, for diapers, relationship, prayer and someone to listen.  As far as I can understand, she just found out that her husband is in Florida with another woman and has asked her to sign divorce papers.  Her heart is broken, angry, confused and so sad for her daughters who are confused as well.  Please pray that she would know our Father more and more each time we meet no matter what language is spoken.  Pray that Andy and I would not take these burdens on ourselves, rather, we would hand them to Jesus each time.

Al has been regularly coming to food pantry since last summer.  We have grown to love him.  He is a white, English speaking man (minority in our parts ) and lives in a very old house in the middle of town.  He is quiet, soft-spoken, and down-trodden.  His marriage has suffered many ups and downs.  He heats his house with scrap wood- whatever he can find, and struggles to make ends meet.  He is constantly thanking Andy and I for our generosity and always wants to make sure we know he doesn’t want to take advantage of us.  Him and I had a sweet moment one day in the middle of him grabbing food off the shelves.  He started crying big crocodile tears as I prayed for him. Ever since, he always says how much that meant to him, as well as how much God is good to him.  Pray for Al that He would know that he is KNOWN and free.

Bernadina has been coming since last winter.  She is a spicy character that has kept us on our toes.  Her grabby hands and intense fear and/or entitlement requires of us loving and consistent reminders that we will have more than enough if we each take what is offered.  She, as well as a few others, fear scarcity.  And this keeps me in check with myself as I speak these reminders to her.  We have more than enough, do not fear.  Pray for her, that her heart would be put at ease and the Holy Spirit would be able to speak Truth to her and that she would be able to see in a new way.

There are so many people….I could go on for a long time.  If you have read this whole thing, bless you!  Thank you for taking a few minutes to read about some of our friends and neighbors.  This relationship thing Jesus called us to can get messy, confusing, and just plain hard sometimes, but it is also a GREAT joy when you can push through with Him to see the beauty He brings with it.

As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.  Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to speak to you.”

Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”  Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

Hmmmm….

I’m not exactly sure what Jesus would say exactly about busy schedules, lots of activities, sports, etc.  But I do know He lived his life fully available to those around Him.  He was ready and willing.  That is what we want to be and we ask for your prayer and partnership in this way of life.  The Kingdom of God cannot increase if we can only see or spend time on our busy schedules, sports, activities, and entertainment.  We are here to be Jesus to those who don’t know Him.  And if we are to be Him, we must act as He acted.

The summer has been a wonderful time for more than enough fresh produce to share on Tuesdays.  We have enjoyed saying, “todos los que quieres”, meaning, “take all that you want”.  Almost every week we have multiple boxes left over to then freeze for later and share with our next door neighbors.

We continue to pray for the sharing Spirit to be stirred up in our friends so that the spirit of fear would be cast away.  The spirit of fear is desperate to get a hold of hearts and minds.  Just last week, we had a lady sneak through pantry early and hide 2 of the 4 laundry soap containers that were available.  These can be discouraging moments when we have to confront in love without knowing the language completely.  We hope and pray they can see Jesus through us as we attempt to share like He does, openly and freely, no hiding or favoritism.  God’s Love inspires courageous actions, such as sharing, and expects nothing in return.  Our family has personally experienced this as guests have reached out to us and invited us to family parties, brought us yummy dinners, and joined in the work of food pantry.  This is a BIG deal and something to seriously praise His name for!

Above all, we believe, at this point, our consistency to show up, be available, to love, and do what we say we will do has and will continue to be the most powerful.  Consistency is hard; it is inconvenient and stretching.  Actually, to be more accurate, consistency with joy is not only hard, but impossible without His Holy Spirit filling us.

We are seeing our community with new eyes and suddenly we are being seen with more eyes.  As followers of Jesus, we are being watched, not necessarily in the big things, but in the little inconsistencies that don’t line up with what we say.  The Coulombes are just a regular family living out the life Jesus has for them in Hubbard, OR.  We have our own issues, inconsistencies, and struggles.  But more than that, we have Jesus living in us, freeing us more and more each day as we pursue Him.  This is what we hope to share with our friends, neighbors, and community.  All is His grace and all of Him is available to each one of us.

The bountiful summer harvest is just a picture of His bountiful Grace for His children.  And He says, “Todos los que quieres!”

www.ampleharvest.org

It has officially been 1 year since the Jubilee Food Pantry has been opened to the public!  We had an amazing time celebrating last Tuesday with many guests, neighbors, volunteers, pastors and friends from Grace Chapel. Over 150 folks came!  Everyone was blessed with tacos carnitas, rice and beans from the San Fransisco Tienda Mexicana, in Wilsonville.  It was so, so good!

There were many times when we paused for a moment to think about all the relationships that have started because of the Jubilee Food Pantry.  It is truly amazing.

Thank you all for your continued support, encouragement, and fellowship as we journey together on this wild Path!