Life on the Streets - From the Heart of David Van Fleet

Living LIFE on the streets is never easy.  Instead, it can be so brutally painful. Most of us have never been homeless, nor ever would want to. But it’s not always as simple as that. Many we serve do not want to be there.  As we know, life’s many-sided issues and choices (not always our own) can come in droves and completely blind-side us. Before you know it, there you are, living moment by moment, day-to-day on the streets, in need of everything you formerly had taken for granted: food, clothing, bathroom, where to sleep, weather conditions, who to trust, and how to get any money. These are just a few of the daily dilemmas and challenges the poor and homeless face.  

I (David) chose to live that way in the early ’70s for 3 weeks on the Jersey shore which was one of my many times of running away from home, starting at 6 years old. I was sleeping under the boardwalk, panhandling, stealing all I could, and then drinking and drugging even more. 

I have never forgotten that we ALL have run from God, and yet He came to seek us out and save us from ourselves and all our sins. Because of the incredible LOVE of God, we now serve Him from the new heart He has given us, and seek to GO after ALL we can with the same LOVE that He gave us. We seek to #B12Reach1 just as Christ did and still does today! 

For people like Billy, life on the streets has been hard.  He had been coming faithfully to the Step Van at Tompkins Square Park for months now and was receiving much love and grace along with all that we bring practically. We bring clothing, food/drink, hygiene kits, prayers, Bibles and Gospels of John. He was so excited about starting a Bible study for the people living on the streets.  

This summer, he was assaulted several times, had all his belongings stolen twice, and was removed from the place he had been sleeping (as many others had during Covid19).  He then found another place on the streets with a different crowd. I saw him during our end of summer break and brought a lot of much needed practical items for him.

BUT NOW, he is NOWHERE to be found and no one has seen or heard from him in weeks. I even asked the local Police to make inquiries. So we are asking for prayer for BILLY as well as the many others we serve. Please pray with grace and true empathy.  Imagine if this was you or a loved one. God will help and reveal His heart of love to you for the ones known as the “least of these” in Matthew 25.  God is faithful and He will hear and answer us when we call!

UPDATE:  Thanks to all who have prayed for Billy the past few weeks. He is back and doing better. Even today was a small miracle as his boots were completely shot and I told him I am going to get you a pair somehow, someway.  Wouldn't you know it, somebody right then dropped off a pair of brand new perfectly fitted boots for Billy. I never take God for granted or the simplicity of prayer, nor does Billy.

From Minnesota to NYC Missionary

Never did I imagine what would happen in my first eight months in Flushing, NY. God had brought me to a place of complete trust in Him. Before I arrived in New York I went through some very difficult heartaches, through which I came out on the other side purified and refined. 

At 56 years old the jump into full-time missions was a 

long time in coming and a huge leap of faith. 

In the past five years, I’ve been on five mission trips with Street LIFE Ministries to Brazil where God gave me a burning passion for the lost through street evangelism. The cost has been high, and the enemy stole much from me as he began to see how God wanted to use me. Through it all God was there and truly trustworthy and faithful, and I realized He will NEVER leave me or forsake me! 

When Covid-19 hit, it became one of my first tests of my new found COMPLETE trust in God. Amazingly I’ve never become fearful of the virus. Psalm 139:5 became a reality for me “You hem me in behind and before, and you la
y your hand upon me”. God had my back allowing me to hit the streets without fear. It has been an amazing very busy few months here. All the norms went out the window and we got busy! Because of the great need, we in a greater way were feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, loving the unloved, and preaching the gospel. In a way, Covid-19 has opened up more opportunities for us to be salt and light and to tell many more of His great love.

All the Way from Alabama

Maggie has been with us now for more than a month and this is how she shared her story.....

Hello! My name is Maggie Jones, and I am from Jasper, Alabama. The summer before my senior year, my youth group went to Phoenix, Arizona for a Nazarene Youth Conference 2019. I experienced God speaking to me in the middle of this massive arena. It was there that I promised Him that wherever He wanted me, I would go. 

Then, God spoke again early on in my senior year, same feeling, same emotion, same everything. In that moment, I knew it was time to put some action behind my words. This is when I began searching, and my searching lasted for several weeks, until I found “Street LIFE Ministries in NYC”. I emailed and got a response that same day. I spoke with David and he shared with me that the SLM team had been praying that God would lead high school seniors to them for an internship. 

This conversation reassured my heart, and it led me to have some serious conversations with several important people in my life. The journey to finally arriving to serve with Street LIFE wasn’t easy. I could have never expected that we would be in the middle of a global pandemic. When I would share with others about my internship, and what I’d be doing, some would look at me like I was crazy. I would then share that this season of uncertainty has not been a deterrent for me, instead, this has encouraged me more that there is a greater reason that God has called me to go. After being here only one week, my heart remains the same. I have already seen in multiple ways, and in so many people, why God called me here. I am so thrilled to be serving with Street LIFE Ministries for the next two months!