That was in 1979-1981. In 1994, I lost my five bedroom home when I was a single mother of four young children. The youngest was nine months old and the oldest was in the seventh grade. Thankfully, that same sister who's children I cared for while she and her ex husband needed me to she took my oldest two children in for a while until my two oldest children went to live with my ex husband.
The same sort of deal happened much later after me and the children attended church for five years at a church in Madison, MS. and I cleaned the church as a type of offering for the Lord, I worked in the church nursery and I sang in the choir on and off through out that five years. I was faithful to tithe and to clean that church every month. I was also faithful to bring new visitors to church with me every month for five years from 1990-1994. Years later when i needed help in 2005 after just returning from Texas, that same church took me in and let me sleep on the 2nd floor of the Sunday school room for one year because they knew me, they had a relationship with me, they knew my heart was to give to the Lord and that I could be trusted not to steal or do harm.
I began cleaning the church again as a volunteer while I was there, I made coffee for hundreds of attendees each Sunday morning, I watched over the church at night to make sure that all the doors remained locked and things were kept safe. I also watched the 3 year old children each Sunday night upstairs with the pastors wife in the same Sunday school room where I slept each night. It is always good to be good to others no matter if you see a return on your investment or not.
The Lord also opened up a big youth ministry for me between 2000 and 2010 where I ministered to over a hundred children mostly in Tarpon Springs, Florida but later in Laredo, Texas and rural Missouri too. It all began when a friend of mine Kevin Rosendahl started holding services at the park and at a local church in my neighborhood.
After that, the kids began streaming to my door every day. They would bring more and more and introduce them to me and want to come inside and play my piano. Dozens were saved right at my front door. Later, I would take some of them to the beach and baptize them. It was a work of God that HE ordained and HE established.
I never sought it, I never approached any of the children, I never invited any of them to my home, they just came on their own and they began flocking to my home in droves.
I would take them to three local churches in the Clearwater, Florida area. I would also take them to the YMCA, to the beach and fishing (See more pics here ). It was wonderful and never once did any child ever get hurt while in my care. That in and of itself was a miracle for as many children as I had with me all the time and doing so many different things near the water!
Remember, you are working unto the Lord not unto man."Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free." Ephesians 6:8
