November Newsletter - Nacogdoches/Livingston

The main goal of our lives and in the ministry of GODTEL is to please God by being “doers of the Word, not hearers only” James 1:22. Admittedly, our humanity (the old nature) seeks to hinder us at every opportunity it sees. Just as God has laws in place for man to live by, GODTEL has rules in place for our residents, including two daily Bible studies. (We also have a 9:00 p.m. curfew, a modesty dress code, and a prohibition of the use of alcohol and narcotics, etc.)

Last month, our Nacogdoches mission received a call from a woman in need of help. We explained what we had to offer and what our limitations were. Because we were unable to give her exactly what she wanted or needed she angrily hung up on my office assistant, Stephanie (a very kind, compassionate young lady). Before long we received another telephone call from a woman identifying herself as a representative of a well known non-profit organization. When Stephanie tried to explain the reason we could not meet the demands of the first woman and the compromises we had tried to offer, she became angry and would not hear Stephanie out but kept talking over her and cutting her off. She even questioned our Christianity and said she was glad she did not serve the same God we do. She also said we should not be “pushing” God/Jesus off on people.

Since we are affiliated with the Nacogdoches Area United Way, I called Gary Lee Ashcraft, the Executive Director, to let him know we had displeased a couple of people. Just in case they contacted him, I wanted him to be aware of what had transpired. He understood and was very kind.

We sincerely hope the woman’s needs were met in this situation, but more than that, we pray for the eternal souls of these two women. There is coming a day when earthly comforts will disappear. All who have rejected the offer Jesus makes to give us His life in exchange for our lives, will bitterly regret their failure to avail themselves of opportunities to “connect” with their Creator.

I am reminded of the song with lyrics that indicate, trouble is God’s servant that brings us to Him. Too many people fail to turn to God when troubles come and find temporary “fixes” to cope. We frequently remind our residents that God loves them enough to put roadblocks in front of them on their road to hell and that is why they are at GODTEL: to hear about God’s love and His plan for their lives.
 
Nacogdoches Cook Resigns
 
What a time for our cook, Dan  Cox, to resign—right before Thanksgiving! He had sudden family business to take care of and left giving only one day’s notice. Shortly after that our alternate cook, Jim, gave three-weeks notice that he would also be leaving GODTEL.

No panic. God is still in control and will provide all we need to continue to house and feed those who come our way. With some volunteer help, and the greatly appreciated guests cooks, Richard and Stephanie are preparing and seeing that meals are provided. One meal turned out to be peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when a guest cook failed to show up. It was most likely a mix-up in communications caused by the sudden departure of Dan who was the contact for our guest cooks. Now Stephanie has taken over that responsibility and I am confident this problem will not be repeated.
 
Speaking of Thanksgiving
 
You are invited! We will have a Thanksgiving Feast at each of our three missions to which the public is welcome. (Our phone numbers and addresses for each mission are listed on the back page of this report at the very bottom of the page.)
 
Meal times are:

• Nacogdoches — Noon
• Lufkin — 2:00 p.m.
• Livingston — 4:00 p.m.

 
Prior to each meal, for which we will be very thankful, Bro. June will give a brief devotion.

Livingston Rescue
 
The Livingston mission sits catty-cornered from a lovely, large cemetery which is surrounded by a picturesque wrought-iron fence. As Bro. June and I were walking there one morning, some of the men from the mission got our attention and pointed to a deer which had failed to clear the fence he had no doubt sailed over many times before. This time, however, his right hind leg got caught in the fence and was impaled by the spike on the top of the fence. (They are not very sharp so he must have hit it with great force.)

The deer fought against those trying to free it (humans do that to God) but was already exhausted by his attempts to free himself. One man got in front of the deer and grabbed his antlers (10 points) and lifted him up high enough to get the angle right so the other men could pick up the leg and extricate it from the fence. Once freed, the deer quickly ran off (limping severely) — without even a thank you.

I think the men all agreed that seeing the deer run free was thanks enough.

Are you tangled up in the affairs of this world? Are you broken, wounded,  and bleeding? Jesus can set you free and He wants to. Please don’t fight Him.

​~Nancy Gentry