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His Name Was Troy
His name was Troy. He was one of thousands that had made their way to the Astrodome from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast area. He was left with nothing. He was all alone. All he wanted was to find his mother who he had not been able to locate.
I had an opportunity to go out and speak with some of the people at the Astrodome last night. After watching the news and hearing of all the devastation, I had been wanting do something. I couldn’t stand back and do nothing. There’s thousands of hurting people there, people that lost everything. They have no home to go back to. They have no job to go back to. Many have lost family members.
I don’t have much to offer. I don’t have a lot of money to give. I don’t have shelter or food or clothing or any of that. In fact, most of that was already being provided by the generosity that people across Houston have shown. I find it amazing how in times of trouble it brings out the good in most people. God always provides in the midst of the storm.
One thing I did see, though, was that these people weren’t so much worried about a handout. They were just grateful to be alive. Most everybody just wanted to get their lives back together. They wanted to get out of the shelter and find homes and jobs. But most importantly, I believe most of them were seeking that peace that only comes from Jesus Christ. They might not have known it, but I’m glad we were able to share Jesus with many of them last night.
This young man, Troy, from the moment we said, we’re from Victory Outreach, he wanted to know about the church. He was hurting. He was searching. We started telling him about the church and he started opening up to me and my brother Ray Hernandez. He confessed that he was a drug addict and that he had already found some stuff. He was saying that he felt so lost and confused and all he wanted was to find that high, so that he could forget about all his problems for a few moments. He didn’t want to live anymore. But I’m glad we were there. We didn’t have money or food to give him, but we gave him what he needed most, HOPE. Hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Ray led him to salvation and we prayed for him. He’s planning on coming to church. He said, “I really could be a part of something like this.”
That’s just one story out of the many people that are in need. I believe that in the most tragic of times, God works the greatest. I’ve seen it first hand. I’m planning on going back as much as I can to spread the word of God to these people that are crying out for help. Some of them just need a hug. Others just need someone to tell them Jesus loves them.
I’m excited to be a part of a ministry that cares. Our church, Victory Outreach Houston, has taken the initiative to provide for these people. We’re getting together clothes and food and we’ve opened up our church to shelter people that need help. United We Can has sent us a donation to help with the aid. I know God is about to do something great. There are many souls that are ready to be harvested.
I want to ask you all to continue praying for all these people. If you can help in anyway, it is greatly appreciated. We are accepting donations of any kind. Also, if you know of anyone from that area that needs help, we have help available at our church. The address, phone number and email address is below or you can always reach me or Gabe here at puthimfirst.com
Victory Outreach Katrina Relief Fund.
18 1/2 Veenstra St.
Houston, TX 77022
713-742-9000
church@victoryoutreachhouston.org
Thank you all for your prayers and help. May God bless you throughout the week and remember to always “Put Him First.”
w/muchluv,
geno
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