Good Friday Recap 2010
What a day!!! For the last four years we have been blessed to have the opportunity to outreach in Camden on Good Friday. Good Friday 2010 was awesome. We had two teams on the street. One team of ladies was on "The Bus" reaching out to the girls on Broadway and the other team was on the sidewalk Martin Luther King Blvd. between the CVS and the Transportation Center. We were stocked up with sandwiches, snacks toiletries, drinks, tracts, Bibles and the love of Christ. Everyone met in the Antioch Baptist Church parking lot at 12 noon. We met there for fellowship and, more importantly, prayer before we headed out to the streets. Eight different churches were represented by the people on the teams. Our plan was to hit the street at 12:30pm and be out there until 3pm. Obviously, as He always does, the Lord had other plans. We made it to the street by 12:30pm but didn't leave Camden until 4:45pm. It was CRAZY!!!
First stop for the bus: the corner of Broadway and Ferry. Tiemah (28), Nieven (36), Carema (41) were the first ladies on the bus. Tiemah and Nieven seemed to be very close-it was clear that they look out for each other...
Nieven is pregnant with twins and is a very high risk. She cannot carry her baby's full term because she has pretty bad seizures. Nieven has a 24 year old daughter, a 22 year old daughter, a 19 year old daughter, a 27 year old son, and a 10 year old son--with twins on the way. She asked if we would pray for her babies and for her--she does get checkups pretty regularly because of her seizures. She asked that we pray that the Lord would help her get free from her bondage to drugs, especially now while being pregnant.
We received a call from one of the volunteers up at the Prayer Station to be on the lookout for a very young (14) red headed girl who apparently was in Camden doing things she shouldn't have been. She was from Burlington County. We kept an eye out that afternoon...more about that later.
Tiemah asked if we could pray for her for help in getting out of Camden. She has lived here for awhile but she really would like to get out and begin a new life.
Carema has been out on the street for a few years but has been out more and more lately. Please pray that she would want to change. She is presently content with her lifestyle. We talked about how her next bag of heroin could be her last bag, but her heart is hard. Please pray that her heart softens, and she allows the Lord to come in and do his great work.
Cynthia was a very cute younger girl, we asked her if she needed anything and she said no...Brenda let her know that Jesus loves her and Cynthia lost it. She started crying and walked away...she didn't want to talk to her anymore. Brittany just told her that it doesn't have to be like this anymore, and that she can have a normal life, free from the bondage of drugs...She said I know, but I don't have time to talk right now... and walked off to an apartment right on the corner. Pray for her heart specifically, that she listens to the tug of the Holy Spirit... She must know the love of Christ and must have heard him calling her back to him, but she couldn't handle it. Pray for that brokenness, and that next time if we see her we will be able to show her Christ's Love again.
Pat has been 3 weeks clean and doing the Methadone program, looked very good and was very bright spirited--she was so grateful and thankful that she is off heroin, pray that she can now realize she doesn't need to be on methadone too long either.
Nicole (29) she lives in tent city, just briefly stopped on the bus, but had to leave.
Angelina (33) seemed to be at the end of her road--she explained to us how she was getting out of Camden and going to stay in a hotel. Her friend was putting her up until she could go somewhere on Monday. She has 3 children who she hasn't been able to see for awhile. They are all still together--living with the grandmother of her oldest son Garret. Garret is 15, Miguel is 13, and Christian is 12. Pray that the Lord would help her to change. She was clean for awhile and fell back into it, which without the Lord is most likely the result.
We finally saw Helena (29)--we haven't seen her out in a few weeks, but we know she has been out; she's been hiding from us. Brenda and Brittany got out of the bus and went up the street to meet her; she didn't really want to talk to them when they first got out there... She kept telling us that she didn't have time and she didn't really feel like talking to us about it, but to know that she has been talking to the Lord. She said she wants to get out of Camden but it's so hard. Finally after about 15 minutes she said she would come on the bus to get some food, and maybe some clothes.
She broke down and started crying. Telling us how sorry she is and how she doesn't want to use drugs anymore. We told her how much we loved her and how we would always love her--the Lord isn't through with her and hasn't let go of her. She said she knows that and that she talks to Him daily. She said she would call us on Sunday and come to church with us and hang out at the house (it was her birthday) she never called... Continue to pray for her, she knows the truth.
Kim B we saw again, she isn't looking well at all. She says she is ok--living in tent city. We gave her some food and clothes and reminded her how much we are there for her and love her...and so does the Lord--way more than us. We have been praying for her and trying to see her get free for years. Please pray that something in her life forces her to her knees...and reach out for the only one that can change us from the inside out.
Ashley (23) is from Washington Township. She actually went to Blessed Hope in Maine (a ladies residential discipleship ministry run by Calvary Chapel). She said that she left there after 2 months, and that she is clean. She is taking suboxone, she told us that she is a diehard and loves Camden... Please pray for her & her family.
Patty was hanging out with Ashley--they had just met. Patty started to tell us about her daughter who is 16 and how she is starting to mess up. Pray for that whole family, that they would realize that the enemy is working so hard to keep them all divided.
They all said that there were 16 and they just came down to hang out--they don't use drugs--and they just wanted to get a hair piece and earrings. They came on the bus and got some water and some food, and then they got honest. They didn't look over 15, one of them was the 14 year old Redhead that we ask been asked to keep an eye out for-Breanna. Her two friends were Alexa who is 15 and Dolly who is 16. They live in Burlington City and said that Camden isn't bad--it's like where they are from--and they aren't afraid. Alexas dad used to bring her to Camden when she was younger because he used to buy drugs there and that's why she isn't afraid. Breanna is staying with Alexa and said her parents know.
As they were sitting on the bus, a girl we had never met before--Terry (32)--came on the bus. She had just gotten beat up on a drug set. She did not look good and said she had been kicked in the ribs. She had cuts all over her.
The Lord allowed us to take care of her and have her share her story with the young girls. They said it would never happen to them. Terry told them she never thought that either-that she had been an athlete, great student and has been clean on and off for years. We all prayed, and told the girls to go home. Brittany got their phone numbers and one of them texted her and said they were going home--that they realized that Camden was no place for young girls. Terry got cleaned up on the bus and she said she was going to get her things and get out of Camden as well; She was in a program in Marlton (where she is from) but left it... She asked if we would call her Dad so we did. She told him what had happened and he said that he is glad that she is alive, and wanted to know where she was. He said she does this all the time and she really tries to get clean but then something happens. Isn't that just like us, there is something that gets a grip on us and we feel like we can't overcome it. Britt has talked to her Dad since that day, and they have still not heard from her and the Camden Police have not either. Pray for her safety and for her mind to get cleared and that she can make good decisions.
The Lord allowed us to be out there for 4 1/2 hours, spreading His message. Each girl has a name and is someone's daughter, sister and, in many case, mother. Please pray for the safety of all of the women who have found themselves in the city--it is not getting any better down there but only worse. Please also pray regarding a building we have our eye on in South Camden. It's right on Broadway. We would use it-among other things-as a drop-in center/safe house for the girls on the street. We know that the Lord will make it happen if it is His will. Thank you for allowing us to share some of what happened on Good Friday.
