Aldo's First Prayer Station

Our good friend Aldo Alvarez joined us for his first ever prayer station outreach this month! When we met Aldo at the Flushing Prayer Station last fall, he was not walking with God but he was inquiring of us about spiritual matters. Since that time he has come to know the Lord and now he's passionate about studying his Bible and sharing the Gospel. Though nervous, Aldo was zealous on the street as he approached the people walking by. He said, "This is amazing! I feel like one of the first Apostles... This must have been what it was like for the early church going out and sharing the Gospel with the people in Athens and Ephesus." This experience only  fueled Aldo's fire and passion for Jesus and he intends to join us for more outreaches in the future. We have been so blessed to watch Aldo grow in the Lord. He met us on the streets, got right with God,  and now he's going back out on the streets sharing God with others!

Our First International Intern

My name is Gabriella and I’m from Brazil. I have been in full time missions with YWAM in Brazil for three years. About two years ago, God spoke to me about coming to Street LIFE Ministries.  However, it was only at the end of last year that He told me that it was now time to serve in New York City, to learn a new culture, a new language, and to do it with this ministry.

It has been an incredible time here so far. Serving people in the streets is helping me to understand more about the grace and the love the Father has for everyone. It is a very different experience for me and is very challenging. I am growing in my relationship with God and in my trust in Him. I am so thankful and happy to be here. No matter how difficult it will be to learn a new language, to obey and walk out what God told me to do strengthens and helps me to keep moving forward until all hear the Good News.

Praying For Deliverance

As we drove into Tompkins, we were praying for people to reach a point of saying, “Enough is enough”  - especially for those we see each week. One of our regulars, a Spanish man named Rene, hobbled up on  crutches to the Mobile Resource Center for some soup. When Carol asked what had happened, he told us that he had surgery on his leg because of an old injury from when he was young. After talking for a while and receiving prayer he asked us where our church was. When we told him about King’s Fellowship, he said, “I want to go there. I need to change my life. I’ve read the Bible but it’s been hard lately because I’ve read other things.” It turns out he had read books about black magic. Carol counseled him saying, “Jesus wants to set you free from that oppression. He can take it completely away if you ask for His forgiveness for reading those things.” Rene looked burdened and said, “I need that. I need to change my life. I only have the New Testament but I want to read the Old Testament too.” Carol found a bilingual Bible which he could read in Spanish and English! Rene was so happy to receive it. God answered our prayer that day and we are believing for complete transformation as we continue to share Christ with him.

The Need for Love

Under the awning of the truck on a cold, wintry day at Tompkins Square Park, I huddled with a woman we serve as the snow poured down around us. The weather seemed to echo the hurt she was feeling. With sorrow she explained how she had been quite sick recently yet her husband forced her out of bed to cook for their family. She went on to describe how he often forces her to have sex, cook, and clean, no matter how she is feeling. He never thanks or encourages her for doing any of these things, but instead criticizes any of her efforts that fall below his standards. Sometimes when she desires his affection, she’ll sit down beside him and tell him how much she loves him. He ignores her when she does so.

She is a Muslim who has expressed occasional interest in Jesus, yet she knows her husband would kill her if she ever converts. She is not just in a loveless marriage; she comes from a culture that considers women to be second class citizens. She is one of many who live in oppressive home situations that feel more like a prison than a family. At one point she looked at me and said, “I just wish he would hug me and tell me he loves me sometimes. I just want to feel appreciated sometimes.” In that moment, God whispered to my heart, saying, “Tell her how much you and I love and appreciate her.” I wrapped my arms around her, looked into her eyes, and told her just that. In that moment I saw the anger and hurt begin to fade as she smiled and received the affection of heaven, something she has never truly known. We see her nearly every week at Tompkins Square Park, and I have not heard her speak such clear English as she did that day. I believe God enabled her to share her heart with me so He could share His heart with her. It is encouraging to know that His love never fails. It will not fail her. Please pray with us for her entire family to receive revelation of that!

Grace and Provision: An Update on John

We are seeing God transform a life right before our very eyes! Back in January the Lord brought a man named John Cappola to the prayer station. After getting laid off at the beginning of the year, he ran into multiple issues with his family that caused him to enter the New York City Shelter System. In the shelter, John was confronted with much pain and suffering. He temporarily lost his job, his family, and his security, but this actually served to lead him to Christ. He said that with everything taken away from him, the only thing he had left to cling to was Jesus. That's exactly what he did. John explained how, prior to this experience, he had seldom attended church but now Jesus has become a reality to him.

After meeting us at the prayer station, John has been regularly attending our gatherings and working through the material at our weekly men's Bible Study. Learning about his Savior has helped him find strength and perseverance to endure his current trials. One of his great motivations for growing in the Lord is to be the father he needs to be for his sixteen year old son. Though there are still tensions in the household, God has recently answered John's prayers in giving him more time with his son. We continue to contend in prayer for full restoration in his family.

The most recent miracle in John's life occurred just this past week. Ever since we met him, we’ve been praying for his job situation. Since then he’s had frequent interviews, but nothing was panning out. This week he was offered three full-time jobs! God took John from having no work to having too much work! Now, instead of looking for a job, John is deciding which one to take. God is so good! Please join us in praying for John, his family, his job, and for continued growth in his relationship with the Lord.

2015 New Year's Eve Outreach

Ministering to a man on New Year's Eve

We began 2015 with our annual New Year’s Eve Outreach. This year we hosted two teams from Ohio who helped us bring the gospel and about 125 gallons of hot cocoa to the people in Times Square. One of great stories from this outreach came through an interaction with a young Muslim girl. She came up to the Prayer Station and said, "Can you pray for me? I hear that things happen when you guys pray for people." We prayed for her need and we're continuing to pray that she will be brought into a close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. How awesome it is to know God is answering prayers; even people from other religions are being drawn to the living God!

This outreach also had a big impact on the individuals that served with us. Many of them mentioned that the outreach was very new and challenging to them. But they also said that God met them in a very personal way and encouraged them to keep pressing on for His glory. This trip changed the way they viewed people and they saw how easy it can be to witness to someone, even if they just met them. One young man said, “It didn't really matter how much time you spend with them, but just sitting there, talking to them and listening to them, is what mattered the most.”

The teams listen attentively
during the final night debrief 

Pastor Gary, who has come to serve with us in the past, shared the following story with us. He said that during the outreach he actually saw a man that he had met on one of his previous trips. He said, “I refuse to believe in coincidences. I was supposed to see him again to remind me that it’s worth coming here, investing in people, and building relationships.” These are the kind of impacts that we love to see in the people who come serve with us. Some of the young people are even considering doing an internship with us. Praise the Lord!

Clinging to Jesus

After getting laid off on New Year’s Day, John ran into multiple issues with his family that resulted in him living on the streets. The brutally cold weather conditions caused him to enter the New York City Shelter System. In the shelter John was confronted with much pain and suffering, but this actually served to bring him to Christ. He said, with everything taken away from him, the only thing he could do was cling to Jesus. That’s exactly what he did. Prior to this experience, John had spent time in and out of churches, but now Jesus has become a reality to him.

Ryan talking to John at the Prayer Station

We met John at our Saturday morning prayer station and invited him to The King’s Fellowship after hearing some of his story. He enthusiastically accepted the invitation and has been coming ever since. God graciously touched his heart his first time at King’s Fellowship. He said it felt like God was loving him through the entire service; during the meal, the music, the message, the fellowship, and the prayer. John often tells us that he feels very welcome in our community and he wants to continue coming. One of his main motivations to learn more about God is so that he can be the father that he needs to be in order to set an a good example for his son.

On the night of one of our prayer meetings, the enemy kept telling John, "Don't go, don't go!" But he couldn't refuse his need and determined not to let anything get in his way or keep him from coming. As he approached our building, he heard David Van Fleet singing prophetically about fathers coming home and being restored to families, wives, sons, and daughters. When he came in, the song continued and the sense of God's mercy and love only intensified. A few minutes later, John's received a text from his son saying, "Come home, dad." He shared all of this with us after the prayer meeting and shared how real the presence of God was. He had never experienced anything like that before, but he knew that was the reason the enemy did not want him there.

Even though we've only known John for a few weeks, we have already seen so many prayers answered in his life. The Lord has even given him several promising job interviews! Please pray with us for our new friend, that he would keep walking the straight and narrow, experience God’s provision, and that his family would be completely reconciled and restored through the gospel of Jesus Christ.