ThanksGIVING Outreach @ Geneva

ThanksGIVING Outreach @ Geneva
Tuesday, November 24th

See you there!

Here are directions to Geneva Community Center:

1) Travel I-64 East towards Suffolk.
2) Take the 296A exit and merge onto George Washington Highway
3) Turn left at Camelot Boulevard
4) Turn right onto Deep Creek Blvd
5) At the fork continue right to stay on Deep Creek Blvd
6) Turn right into the Geneva Mobile Home Park. The community center is located towards the back of Geneva Mobile Home Park.

Schedule @ Geneva:

6:00 pm Assemble Turkey Baskets
6:45 pm Pray for Families
7:00 pm Deliver Turkey Baskets to Families

Come out and be a part of this awesome outreach!

Angel Tree Outreach @ Geneva

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. And you know that means our Annual Angel Tree Outreach is just around the corner. Our event is on Saturday, December 13th from 5 PM to 7 PM. This year we will be hosting a party for 130 children from the Geneva and Chesapeake Mobile Home Park right there at the community center.

Starting November 30th, our Angel Tree will be displayed in the foyer (next to our PEACE wall). There are 130 gift tags on the tree with a description of a child along with the gift idea they would like to receive. Each year our Greenbrier families graciously purchase gifts for these incredible children and we pass them out at the outreach on Saturday, December 13th.

Many volunteers are needed to make this outreach a huge success. We need 20 table hosts, 12 food servers and 8 gift givers. Volunteers will receive special instructions on their roles and when to arrive to be ready to receive our guests. Please contact Pastor Curtis if you are interested in serving this Holiday Season.

thanksGIVING outreach tonight!

It is going to be an awesome night at Geneva Mobile Home Park!

Directions to the Mobile Home Park:

1)    Travel I-64 East towards Suffolk.
2)    Take the 296A exit and merge onto George Washington Highway
3)    Turn left at Camelot Boulevard
4)    Turn right onto Deep Creek Blvd
5)    At the fork continue right to stay on Deep Creek Blvd
6)    Turn right into the Geneva Mobile Home Park.  The community center is located in the back of the park.

Schedule of events:

5:30 PM staff and volunteers arrives to assemble the baskets
6:45 PM small groups arrive
6:45 PM prayer for event and dedication of community center
7:00 PM distribution of turkey baskets to families
8:00 PM thanksgiving outreach ends

The Reason We Do What We Do

Many people ask us: Why do you help the homeless? How can you be around those people? We hear statements like: They smell bad. They drink, take drugs and live on the street. They need to solve their own problems. They are ruining the neighborhood. They are in trouble with the law.

I thought I would share why we are working with the homeless and why it does not bother us to be around them. Yes most of them smell bad. Yes some of them are alcoholics, drug addicts, even prostitutes. Yes they have issues in their lives. And some of them are in trouble with the law. The truth is God created all of them in the same image as you and I. He loves them the same as He loves you and me. Jesus hung on the cross for them as much as He did for you and me.

We all have problems in our lives. No one is perfect or has it all together. The poor lifestyle these people are living is a result of bad decisions and unforeseen events. The problems they are dealing with are out in the open and more evident than many other people. But they are still loved by God!

As a Christian it is our responsibility to reach out to whomever God places in our life. For this moment God has given us the street people in Portsmouth. As Pastor Eric’s sermon on Jonah demonstrated that it is not about us, it is about God’s plan for someone else. God wants to involve us in His plan to reach out to people and bring God’s love, peace and mercy to them. I look at them as wounded, broken and in need of repair. I cannot fix all of their problems. I can tell them about God. I can allow God’s love in my life to overflow into their lives. How can I look down at them when God looks at them in the same way he looks at me?

There is no magic formula or credentials required to reach out to people. The only thing required is our willingness to ask God to use us and allow Him to direct us. We must be obedient when God gives us a direction to go, even if we feel uncomfortable or unprepared. God already knows our strengths and weaknesses so when He asks us to do something He will take care of the details. So for this time in our life God has given us the street people in Portsmouth. This is our Nineveh. What is your Nineveh?

(Email excerpt from Living It small group member – Tina Jones)

Men of 24 – Outreach Project

Calling ALL men @ Greenbrier. We have the opportunity to complete the improvements at the community center at Geneva Mobile Home park. You will receive an email in the next few days from the leaders of Men of 24 who are spearheading the completion of this project. We have targeted October 11th and 18th as potential dates to have work teams assembled. It is amazing what we can do when we come together with single focus to do good and glorify God.

Keep your eyes open and check your inbox for more details. Whether you have specialized skills or can just barely swing a hammer, you can join the team.