Invading and Invaded with Love.
Tuesday morning was our first experience of the Nashville Rescue Mission.
Following God’s command to love our neighbor as ourselves, the Nashville Rescue Mission seeks to help the hurting of Middle Tennessee by offering food, clothing and shelter to the homeless and recovery programs to those enslaved in life degrading problems. Our goal is to help people know the saving grace of Jesus, and through Him, gain wisdom for living, find fulfillment in life and become a positive part of their community.
It’s a mission shelter that is doing amazing things for the Kingdom of God. It provides a temporary shelter for the homeless, as well as a 7-month program that leads people to the path of Christ and the path of life that Christ has chosen for them. It’s a recovery program that does more than help them get back on their feet, it offers a new kind of life.
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After breakfast, we set out to the site. A couple of blocks and a couple of turns, we reach a warehouse-like building branded with a cross encased in an asymmetrical heart. Inside the door, we follow a staircase surrounded by teal walls and pass the familiar painting of Jesus staring into the distance, the same painting found in my home church, as well as many churches.
This place is unlike any other homeless shelter/mission, it’s the Nashville Rescue Mission. It provides a program for homeless seeking to put their lives back on track with God’s love at the core. The program lasts seven months and involves different levels, Bible study, daily schedules and chores, etc.
We pass a hallway lined with countless plaques with different faces. They stretch down the entire hallway and the rows take up half the height of the way. These are the faces of those who found Christ and found life through the mission; they are the faces of transformed lives and freedom. We make our way down to a dimly lit and dusty warehouse with huge wooden crates filled with sheets, blankets, and pillows that we would be sorting. Tons of hotel towels, sheets, fleece blankets and a splinter later, we finished for the day.
After the mission and debriefing, we have a little free time to explore the city and downtown Nashville. Nashville is unlike any city I’ve been to. Instead of the city sounds of the hustle and bustle, the beeps, honks and steam drains, the streets are failed with music. Everywhere you go, you hear guitar strings and see a street musician with an open guitar case. Bars stream bands and colors are vibrant.
After dinner, we debriefed about our day and we did and “Ask the Lord” prayer in which we simply asked God what He wanted us to do and He wanted to use us. After images of neon, orange cones, downtown guitars and many others, we know God had a plan for us that evening. So, we set off fora street corner downtown on Broadway to sing praise music for the city.
Honestly, my first thoughts weren’t exactly inviting. We were tired, it was late, and singing Christian music in the middle of the street would take guts. But I was wrong, absolutely and completely wrong.
It was an unbelievabe experience. I got to take my camera out to capture the celebration. We found our spot, J Shepp pulled out his guitar and we began praising. We had a jar for prayer requests and some of the group approached people as they walked by to see if they need us to pray for something.
The entire scene was exhilarating. Between photos, I couldn’t help but stop and cry out to God in the middle of the street; none of us could stop praising. He was ever-so present and joy overcame us all. We couldn’t help but shout. To add to the beauty, as we sang “Grace Like Rain,” it began to sprinkle. His grace fell upon us.
I’d never done something like it before. It took boldness, it took strength and an urgency to praise; it all came from God. It was exhilarating, freeing, joyful and indescribable, just like our God.
If you’re looking for the photos from Tuesday…below are the links!
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[...] schedule, but rather loose ideas guided by God. You can read all about our trip here,(Post 1,Post 2,Post 3, Post 4, Post 5, Post 6),but I think I can speak for everyone in the group in that it was an [...]
amazing Amy! You’re soo great! Thank you!
Great synopsis, Amy
Awesome – I loved that night on the street corner. It’s where I met James (http://tinyurl.com/yfbrjt5)