And just like that, it is October! So much has happened in the last month in the life of our Lubbock Impact family that I don’t know where to start. The Lord has been incredibly generous to our ministry with great volunteers that have come alongside our staff and have held us up as we work to get some major projects to the finish line. There were also many quiet moments when I saw the Lord using His people to minister in ways that made my heart excited to keep serving. I don’t know how to weave it all together, but my prayer is that as you read you will be encouraged to know that “the Father sees our condition and has a plan from the beginning.”
An older gentleman came in to shop in the food/hygiene pantry on a Thursday in September, and it quickly became obvious that he needed a wheelchair to get around. Of course, someone had donated one that we keep on hand for these moments. As I helped him in, a fellow participant said, “please let me help him.” She pushed him to the line and stayed with him while other participants helped get him coffee and made sure that he had what he needed while he waited. When he made it back to the front door, he had a huge smile, and it was because he was well cared for by those who knew his condition and wanted to meet his needs the best they could (just like they had experienced themselves before at Lubbock Impact).
The grand opening for the clinic renovation was on September 18th and was an opportunity to see the Lord take His vision and make it a reality. I loved hearing everyone’s astonishment. We kept hearing “it really looks like a clinic,” and many expressing how it will serve so many more people. The best part though, is seeing the reaction of the patients. Many are coming to receive healthcare for the first time in many years because they haven’t been able to afford care. This week alone, there are five clinics scheduled at Lubbock Impact, which means that more than 50 uninsured patients will be able to receive the healthcare they need. The worries and fears of symptoms they don’t understand will hopefully be explained and treatment will follow. My favorite part of each of the Foundations of Healing clinics is that there is a volunteer who is assigned to walk the halls, offering prayer to each patient that is seeking care here. God’s timing to make all of this happen still astonishes me. This is the right season for new medical volunteers and for donors to invest in something that is tangible that brings hope and healing to people.
This year our staff decided that we would host our Fall Festival early because we wanted it to hit on the Friday of the fair. Most of our participants can’t afford to go to the fair so it made sense to host an event they could enjoy and build community. This was by far our best Fall Festival that Haley, Lubbock Impact’s Program Director, has ever organized. Haley has been with Lubbock Impact for 5 years, having started as an intern and soon after became a full-time staff member. She loves to create opportunities that will be lasting memories and just pure fun. There were over 200 participants and over 50 volunteers that invested in making it a special evening. I had two encounters that evening that had an impact on me. The first was with a young dad that I met the week before at Community Meal. He shared that he came because he saw the sign for a free meal; since he was new to the neighborhood, he came to check it out. He came back for the Fall Festival and brought his son, and I was able to catch a few glimpses of dad and son enjoying games and treats together. Lubbock Impact is here to provide those empowering moments where the worry of cost is removed, and a dad is allowed to enjoy a special moment of connection with his son. Secondly, as the evening was ending, I saw a man leaning against a trash can, his head swaying to the worship music being sung by the Melonie Park worship team, and as the song was finishing, I slowly walked up to him and introduced myself. He was new to Lubbock Impact, and a friend who he had met on the streets invited him. He looked me in the eyes and said that song is powerful. He began repeating the lyrics in his own words, saying, “all I can do is run to the Father, I’ve run out of other options.” We discussed the song, and he thanked me for the opportunity to come to the Fall Festival. The song is by Cody Carnes and is called “Run to the Father” and if you are interested in listening here is the song.
May we be reminded this week that the Father knows our condition and is planning to meet us where we are. I pray you will run to the Father with what burdens you.