Rachel Buttig
Executive Director
East St. Louis Dream Center | |
| November Blog Posts |
Nov 10: Praying for Wisdom
Nov 17: All in a Rap Song
Nov 24: Mentoring the Girls |
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Precious People,
Do you have people in your life that just don't seem to be changing? If so, I encourage you to not give up on them. If you believe that God has put you in their life, stick with them. They will eventually turn around.
There will be a day that you turn around and look back at where they came from and you will see dramatic change. You may not see it over night, but as you continue to be faithful, God will use you to bring change to their life. And when this happens, you're going to say, "I am SO glad I didn't give up on them!"
I pray that the stories below encourage and inspire you in the relationships that you are faithfully pouring into.
In Christ,
Rachel Buttig
Executive Director
East St. Louis Dream Center |
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Relationships |
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I have rarely been one to minister to large groups of people, but usually to one or two at a time. I don't always see the changes along the way, but when I take time to stop and look back at where they came from, I see the change... and it's BIG. So often in these newsletters, I write about one specific story, but this time I wanted to share with you the various relationship opportunities God has given me recently. Each one is precious. All of these names have been changed for their privacy.
Tasha~ She was in the hospital for a few days, but her daughter brought the phone over to me two days in a row so I could talk to her. I was able to pray for her and encourage her. These conversations brought a stronger bond between us.
Dante~ As I prayer walk in the morning, this older man greets me warmly. He has had pain in his chest from a surgery from several years ago. As the weeks have passed, I have been able to pray for him for healing. The pain has gone and come back a few times, but is better since the first time we prayed. God has given me opportunities to share with him about the healing power of JESUS. I gave him some verses and he looked them up in a Bible I gave him.
Kenyata~ This young lady has become more open as opposed to her hardness over the years. She is now coming early to help with Teen Ministry. Through this relationship, God has softened her heart. Now, when I correct her she receives it and smiles instead of giving me a major attitude and rolling her eyes. She has become more loving and tender. I am seeing her smile a lot more often.
Ben and Marquan~ These two guys re-affirmed to me that they wouldn't let anything happen to me. One day they brought this up on their own as I was walking into my apartment. They said, "Rachel, if we ever see anyone on your porch, we'll tell them to get off. And when you're out of town, if we ever see anyone trying to break into your apartment, we'll call the police right away." Marquan said, "Hey, you're my neighbor and I'm here all the time if you need anything. Just let me know."
Shavon~ One day when serving lunch to the guys, this young man sat on my porch and rapped songs for me that he had written. He let his guard down, because these songs were about his life and the pain he had gone through growing up. I found out that the apartment he grew up in as a kid was the one right next door to mine.
Shawn~ He's a teenager, but I saw him hanging out in the neighborhood several days in a row and not in school. I was able to talk to him about this as well as another lady in the neighborhood. She got in his face about all of the things she has seen him do lately like smoking weed, drinking and hanging out all hours of the night. I had no idea he was doing these things, but I was glad that she exposed it in front of me. Knowing what these kids are going through and doing helps so much when it comes to talking to them and ministering to them.
Lawrence and Karl~ I've been taking these two teens to school on Mondays. Lawrence has had major walls up to me over the years. But through these small trips to school, I have seen these walls slowly start to come down. Usually when I see him in the neighborhood or at his afterschool center, he would usually ignore me. But now he says Hi and I get an occasional smile, which makes my day! The other day, he called me his Mom.
Tania ~This young lady used to live in John DeShields, but was evicted because of drugs found in her apartment. Recently we were texting back and forth. She wrote, "I have a job now and I'm going to school. I can say that my blessings came in. Thanks for praying for me. Thank you for everything you did for me and the kids." God is slowly changing her life from someone who sold drugs out of her apartment to someone who is working, going to school and trying to avoid getting back into trouble.
Earnest~ This bubbly teenager stops by my apartment every other day just to say hi. He is so full of joy and life. He is an encourager and God uses him to make my days better. He shows interest in my life and asks me questions about how I'm doing. I never tire of seeing him.
Marlon~ This young man used to come for lunch every Wednesday but doesn't come anymore. This is a good thing. The reason why he doesn't come anymore is because he tries to stay away from this side of the neighborhood. It's where all of the trouble is and he said he's trying to stay out of it. This was a guy who was in drug rehab a year ago. And now, he seems to be doing better overall. Praise God!
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Sowing Seed |
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How precious your support has been! Each time I write this part of the newsletter, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness and excitement. I'm so thankful for your generosity and excited to see and hear the testimonies of God blessing your finances. I am believing along with you for Him to increase and prosper you!
If you would like to sow into this ministry, you can do this by making checks payable to " ESL DC " and mailing them to the address below. Or you can give by clicking the Pay Pal button below. You can also sow into this ministry by checking out the NEEDS LIST on the web site and contacting me about what you would like to give.
THANK YOU so much for your valuable prayers and support!
Sincerely,
Rachel
Contact Information
East St. Louis Dream Center
1235 McCasland Ave., Apt. 9B
East St. Louis, IL 62201
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