This Haven of Rest Anniversary Year
Our Bibles record a great miracle where over 5000 people were fed. As great as it was, possibly more important was how many people heard and personally experienced Jesus that day while they ate.
On that day the meal count tends to get all the press and possibly causes us to forget why the meal was served. At the Haven of Rest during the last 60 years, we have lost count of how many meals have been served day in and day out to our residential population. The way we see it, each day a physical need is met can buy valuable time to serve the greater need of all humanity. The message can be shared with men and women about how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.
Dear Friends of Haven of Rest,
Our Bibles record a great miracle where over 5000 people were fed. As great as it was, possibly more important was how many people heard and personally experienced Jesus that day while they ate.
On that day the meal count tends to get all the press and possibly causes us to forget why the meal was served. At the Haven of Rest during the last 60 years, we have lost count of how many meals have been served day in and day out to our residential population. The way we see it, each day a physical need is met can buy valuable time to serve the greater need of all humanity. The message can be shared with men and women about how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.
A small often overlooked detail is recorded at the end of this miracle recorded in our Bibles. Each disciple took up a full basket of food. It seems an interesting detail is left out. It does not tell us what the disciples did with their baskets. Jesus told them immediately to get into a boat and put out to the other side. Sometime later the same evening, Jesus comes to his disciples on the water and they almost didn’t recognize Him for who He was. The Bible shines an interesting light on those disciples who had just been “hands on” with the great feeding of the 5000 miracle. Jesus finds his disciples according to scripture straining at the oars, and don’t miss the next phrase, “for they had missed the message of the loaves and the fishes”.
The Haven of Rest at full capacity feeds, houses and provides daily essentials for 85+ men and women for up to 1 year (365 days) at no charge. Any one individual who stays the full year would be served over 1000 meals while in the Haven’s various facilities. Please don’t miss the real reason we do this. We do this in order to share about the greatest need of humanity, a missing relationship with God through the bridge of the cross of Jesus Christ.
At this time of the Haven’s 60th Anniversary, the real number we would like to think about is all the hands that have given, prepared and passed out food, provisions and funding to give not only physical food, but life giving spiritual food, teaching and direction.
For the past 60 years what if those hands had not been open to give or clasped in prayer? What if those, hearts had not been softened to share? A great question still remains. What will we as a community do next with our full baskets? Would you consider a special gift to the Haven of Rest this Anniversary year from your basket of God’s abundance? When you do, know that we in turn will hand it to many others, meeting their physical needs and through that open up countless opportunities to pass unto them spiritual food, “the living bread” and “living water” by which they will never thirst again.