Christmas Eve was spent with the DTS teams from Sacramento and Chico California who are here in Antigua on their outreach phase. We went to a homeless shelter that is run by God's Child project in Antigua. Each night the shelter provides a hot meal to 80-90 people and gives them a mattress and blanket so they can sleep in a warm and secure place. They also have showers and bathrooms that are available for their use. Christmas Eve is special to everyone in one way or another. I am sure many of them had memories of years past when they had a home or were with their family to celebrate with tamales and ponche. Our group was prepared with several Christmas songs that many of the people knew and joined in with us. It brought a smile to their faces as they sang the familiar tunes. The group also did a couple of dramas and a short message on the love of God for each one of them. We also prayed with people to receive Christ as Savior and also prayed for any who had special requests. A couple of the men asked for prayer to help them overcome their drug addiction problems. Many of the men present deal with sniffing glue as it is a cheaper way to get high. It was a wonderful night for all of us and for me it reminded me of Jesus being born in a shelter not made for humans but for animals. As hard as it is for people to accept help from a homeless shelter I think of how hard it was for Mary and Joseph to accept a lowly manger filled with smells of animals as the birth place of the Savior. Christ came in humility, lived in humility and died in humility a model for each of us to follow as we live in such a hostile pride filled world that rejects Christ as Savior. I pray that each day we will walk out our faith among people in need who truly desire to see Christ bring changes to their lives that only he can do.
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