God's Kingdom

We pray to see God’s Kingdom come and His will be done in our neighborhood, just as it is in heaven.

When we met Joanna*, she was unable to meet our eyes and barely able to walk. After living in the shelter for 5 months, she had returned to her old vice, alcohol. Having lost the ability to parent her sons, her mother had stepped in.

Joanna’s mom, Trisha*, began attending the Ladies’ Breakfast Program and asking for prayer for the family. The ladies responded with concern and love. Trisha found a tiny apartment and, as small as it was, it was home for the family.

Joanna, who often lived on the streets, was arrested in early March and shortly thereafter, the courts began deportation proceedings. We wrote to Joanna while she was in jail, sent her a Bible, and continued to pray for her. After she was released she told us that she read the Bible often and found herself turning to God, asking for His help and guidance.

She also began reading various Bible study books where she learned the truth about God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice for her life.  “I began to experience the Holy Spirit guiding me,” she says. I realized I couldn’t rely on the other women in prison with me for counsel and support.” Joanna found that as she sought God in prayer, she received wisdom and His assurance that He was near and everything would be ok.

She was completely surprised and elated when the judge found in her favor and released her from jail. She was also granted her asylum request and now knows that Maine is her new home.

“I feel like I had died and now I have come back to life,” she said on her first day back home.  Jen Carter, Ladies Breakfast Program volunteer said, “We’re seeing her change right before our eyes.” 

Please pray for Joanna and many others who we serve. We continue to see God’s hand in answer to prayer and God’s kingdom experienced as we grow together in faith and hope.