How Has God Moved in 2019?

The Salvation Army you're listening to wonderful words of life. Welcome everybody and Merry Christmas. It is my privilege to introduce our producer Mr. Chris Benjamin, I'm really excited that the journey running. I'm excited to be on the show.

It's funny, I'd actually use the prefer to be the behind-the-scenes guy but this this Christmas series is really special to me and just the way it turned out I was really excited this share with your listeners a little bit of the heart behind the series and the concept of this but also to say thank you for listening those you around the world. I love hearing from you and and is just an honor to get to be in this position to do ministry that we know is impacting countless people.

It really is exciting to have Chris on the program because we get to talk about one of the initiatives he's had a particularly for these meals around the table during the holidays and during Christmas, Thanksgiving, I think we tend to think about family more than we normally do the rest of the year. Maybe we can take each other for granted the rest of the time or just too busy. But during the holidays.

As we gather around and you'll especially at Christmas those deep conversations that we have with maybe people that we don't see that often we don't even take the time to just have a meaningful conversation with those conversations I think are worth sharing. And so this series is basically Esther's eavesdropping on some of our friends as they have a Christmas dinner and share their testimonies and get into a little bit of theological conversations and even potentially debates we have two different tables that were going to be visiting and the first table that were to be at is actually our friend Giovanni Smith and to her friends, Kayla Hendren and Charlene Capehart right and hearing these three girls talking and first of all, just hearing the bond that they have is amazing.

These are three powerful women of God that are already doing incredible things for the kingdom and I negatives can be blessed by either their stories and then will move on to our other table which are from Bernie right here was that along with his lovely wife Laura and were also joined by Commissioner Willis Howell, who's the Commissioner for Salvation Army US Southern territory, as well as major jury Friday. He was my boss and as well as mercy works in our department. So if you've ever called sound Castro sends an email or a Facebook comment.

She is who you spoke with so excited to share this and there were also joined by our own Lori Miller yeah and we want to say a special thank you to all of those folks that join us around the table and that were a little bit vulnerable for the evening recorded that, but we want to say thank you to you. We hope this is a blessing to you and and it's our prayer that just someone story is really gonna hit you where you are now and God is using a powerful way. Christmas or not things are 15 and 17 years old me even older than Jordan, but we have. We only had a few questions is where we were off about a karaoke machine. We had all these last baby I mean this is also we had was almost done and we were all one boombox in the following year senior year CD and Mario Mario was likable.

I think for me I remember Christmas will say with 99 my mind that like you to get any of us gives me know that you can't always get in the attic, but my brothers we went to the attic so we knew so and then words like I really like. He rang the doorbell like there was so she is never pressed like that you know is Laura with Christmas. One of the big things presses my dad always making Christmas day will sell eggs and toast.

Make me where 12 kids in the family over.

Chris is on the baby and we always get together Christmas no matter where my brothers where Christmas my count I believe in a small town in Colombia South America and they only TV color TV at the time it was in our house so all of the kids in their neighborhood. Christmas morning they will come to our house for whatever reasons what's TV to play with that.

My dad would sometimes be gone for those days to be gone on, ship, you could be gone for nine months a year to today. They try to tighten that up a bit now so I can remember occasions when he wasn't there for Christmas but I can also remember I can close my eyes and see our now by our today standards a Charlie Brown Christmas tree in just a branch year branch that you but oh what was so special because it was all decorated and so soaked the music of Christmas is always very special as some as I began to play an instrument myself going out so there's a lot of looking and what you looking for 2024 2019 for me was the you know I moved to Atlanta August 2018. I don't think I really got settled here in Atlanta till probably March of so I feel like finally finding community. Finally, feeling like this is home now that I'm settled into place like continuing to build a community that I have no I just moved here around the same time. Yeah like for me, which is all about learning learning, growing financial community around real people, real energy, real lives being able to challenge my close friend to go in deeper and the word in and really living out like the kingdom talk a lot about what is it look like to have a community that's not just like talking the talk, walking the walk to the same playing field to sing. We want things to change or we will do life together. But what is it look like to actually take.

I think not having the relations we can do that 2019 is coming to a close. So don't fall here. I was 2019 for you 20 was an exciting year for me, received a new appointment that I absolutely love wheat we haven't stopped especially with the sound test group there there always coming up with exciting things very excited. What 2020s can hold for me was very spatial in the beginning of the year beginning of 2019.

Not a pressure in my household bills house clean again, all boys. We chase yes to say the least a lot of pressure because everything west me felt like I was just there to work in the money until I prayed to God and say you know what, I can't handle this anymore.

I can have these pressure. I don't think he's the right guy for me because I need somebody to actually help me grow as a person be a father from avoiding those something upright heart and I say got just give me time so these day my car broke down was inhaling Georgia I accidentally lost the key and everything side meaning cell phone. Everything I have anything with me having have any phone numbers I don't call people at the phone number I know by heart is cycle him I said about these happen when the baby and he says where St. Helena may have enjoyed. I would tease hour and 1/2 away from my house and he said okay. Lisa and I have a meeting to go to. So when I get done I will call it USA called me where I myself am calling you from place and he's like going to write back so.named for me is that I don't need somebody tell me is my husband is 70 to go pick me up like say where.

Give me the address.

Give me the name of the place I go to write that he had a meeting with somebody else which I felt more important.

So when I came home.

When I finally my brother Wayne picked me up. I came home and I told him just tell me you instead of meeting.

So he's like well had a meeting not like his feet anymore. I need a father for my child and one has been from I don't want to hear so he left for a week he went to his parents house came back a week later. Totally different.

I mean I cannot cannot express. He is just totally different. He is the man I wish he was before the accident. So I think that for that accident for what happened to me and Helen because it brings back and Neil has both transformation so I am wrestling I was working in my life.

2019 90 I went to Holland ready for 2020. We had a lot of challenges facing the patient for years and just in all honesty, which I thought you were looking at some losses and when looking at some challenges in the future, but in it all learned over the years is that in those places and those will hard wilderness desert places does his best work yet it does stink sometimes also part of Christmas is dark. This is the youngest into the light just that's into where Jesus is born. That's where he comes and that's the whole the Salvation Army's mission doing the most good means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army visit Salvation Army USA.org to offer your support and we would love to hear from you. Email us at radio@uss.salvationarmy.org or call 1-800-229-9965 or write us at PO Box 29972, Atlanta, GA 30359 when you contact us will send you our gift for the series is totally free for listeners like you, one per household, while supplies last.

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