Peace and Perseverance

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:14

Overcoming the Cold
We have had a wonderful holiday season at Strong Life. Below are some updates and prayer requests during the holiday season.

It has been incredible to see such a vast outpouring of coats, backpacks, food, and clothing for those in need.  We have finished the construction in our multipurpose building to provide more office space and educational classrooms! We will certainly be sharing more about this in the year ahead.

We are available to be open this winter on Saturdays to keep folks out of the cold. We try to do this from December to April of every year to help the homeless community. It is costly and difficult for our staff but very worth it for those in need. We would like to thank The Service League of Hickory for providing the funding for us to be open on Saturdays all December and January. We are incredibly grateful for their generosity, and it encourages us on cold, challenging mornings.

Peace in Uncertainty
Unfortunately, we have had our share of challenges as well. The transmission in our van needs to be replaced. To say that the roads haven’t been smooth would be an understatement. Our homeless friends encouraged us greatly after a trip from the Salvation Army one morning. They all got out of the van without being asked and said we would like to pray for God to provide whatever is needed for this to be fixed. We were in tears at the certainty of their faith and so blessed to witness the picture above.

Since taking the van to the shop it has needed a new shifter and transmission. That will total just over 6 thousand dollars. We would like to ask that you pray about helping with this bill if you are able. We have faith that the finances will be there to fix this issue. We have a plan in place to provide extra public transit tickets to get people around while our van is in the shop getting this work done. We also know God can do more than we even expect in situations like this. In this time, we remember that Jesus came in the manger to give us peace amidst all our circumstances whether they be good or difficult. We pray God’s peace be with you this Christmas.

Would you please help us continue to serve those in need?  We ask the friends of this ministry to get the word out to others who might be interested in helping with Strong Life so that we can expand our availability to the homeless community.  Would you please take the time to forward this newsletter to those who might help?