Through the Lutheran Social Services, the CCCTO homeless ministry has an opportunity to assist some of our guests with immediate needs, such as eyeglasses, hearing aids, and dental work. If you would like to be part of our team, please contact any of our core team members. Here are some of our stories.

Emily's story

Joyce, Bryan, and I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with our guest at McDonald's. Originally, I had been quite nervous about meeting up with our guest because I had attempted to chat with him several times during the Thursday Nights that CCCTO had Homeless Ministry during the winter, and he had always been very quiet and avoided giving anything more than just one-word responses. I also knew that in the past, he tended to open up more to other men; originally, the only people who were able to meet up with our guest had been Joyce and myself. Given these circumstance, I had been worried on how fruitful our conversation would be.

Thankfully, God showed me that He would always provide in every situation. At the very last minute,Bryan was able to join Joyce and myself, and it was amazing to see how much our guest opened up to Bryan. This was a great reminder to myself that I should not rely on my own abilities but on God to reach out to others, as He always knows who and in what situation would be the best to touch the heart of another.

Our group ended up chatting with our guest for almost two hours, and we were able to hear about his past, his current struggles, and also his relationship with God. When we asked him about how he thought his relationship with God was, it was really heart warming to hear him joyfully answer, "I think I have a really good relationship with God!" and how he always remembers to thank and pray to God. For me, meeting with our guest really reminded me that at the end of the day, the most important thing is that we love God and trust in the Lord above all else, and it is not any of our own works or intellectual reasoning that save us. This reminder especially stood out to me because our guest was a person who perhaps did not really have the opportunity or resources to explore in depth theological debates that others have spent a lifetime studying about, but he loved and trusted the Lord.

We will continue to pray that he would be able to share his love for God with those around him, as well as continue to grow and nourish his spiritual walk.

- Emily

Joyce's story

Bryan, Emily and I met our guest at McDonald's for dinner. For over an hour, he shared a lot of interesting stories from his past. He has lived in Massachusetts, Georgia and other states in the South. At one point, he had moved in with his grandmother to help take care of her needs. However, she was senile at the time, and she called the cops on him a few times. He had to call his uncle about it and eventually moved away from the situation. During Hurricane Katrina in 2006, he lived in one of the states affected by the hurricane. It was a new experience for him.

We asked about his faith background, and he said that he went to the Seventh Day Adventist Church when he was young. His mother encouraged him to pray in any situation he found himself in. One story of when he prayed to God was when his cousin told him about a pretty multi-colored turtle that could be found in a marsh/river near their house. Though he couldn't swim, he wanted the turtle so badly that he went out into the river, felt himself in deep water, and called out to God. He said he somehow shot out of the water, and his pet dog came in the water so that he could grab onto the dog's tail and hold on till he was safely ashore.

More recently, since living in Thousand Oaks, he has had a couple jobs in the area. For now, he volunteers to help at the Lutheran Social Services from time to time. He feels that he's not the only one struggling, and there are many other people he can still help. He has diabetes, and has been given insulin for 3 years now. The first year, he was couldn't get past the queasiness of injecting himself with the insulin, so he wasn't getting the treatment he needed. This led to a worsening condition, which pushed him to muster up what it took to inject the needle for the sake of his health.

Bryan shared a piece of his testimony and made the connection that it's often the case that trials lead us to wake up and look to God. He asked our guest what his relationship with God was like. He answered that he has a good relationship with God, that he likes to help people, and that his mother taught him to pray (which he learned from the experience of nearly drowning.) We mentioned the importance of prayer and also Bible study in relating to God. As our conversation was coming to an end, we invited him to our church and to our lunch. Homeless Ministry will be paying for his new eyeglasses to aid his vision, which has been blurred due to diabetes. Sharing a meal together really gave us a chance to get to know him more.

- Joyce

Meeting with Kevin, Karen & William

Kevin, Karen and I met with a gentleman, who was in need of new eyeglasses to continue driving safely. Several years ago, he started experiencing anxiety attacks, which has affected his health and vision, and also his job. He is currently unemployed, but he is still interviewing for jobs and waiting to hear back.

Our new friend was an active part of a church in this area when he first moved out here, but recently has not had a church that he calls home. In the past, he had experienced the Spirit of God in a very real and intense manner, but he has recently not felt His presence in the same way with his recent hardships. We prayed for our guest, that he may experience God again, and he was thankful for our time of fellowship among believers, and for our ministry's help in providing new eyeglasses. He also wanted our church to know that we stood out to him, because of the personal level of involvement from all our volunteers, and the fact that Sandi remembered him and took time to pray for him individually. I think this is a powerful reminder that our ministry is not just serving food and providing shelter, but reaching out personally to fellow brothers/sisters and welcoming others to our family.

- William

Meeting - Sandi & Joyce

Joyce and I met with a gentleman on April 26. He wears a heavy beard and is a big fellow with a friendly smile. Before his massive heart attack, he worked as a attorney for accountants. He has five grown children, four of them his step children. He is divorced, but remain friendly with all parties. He made some money taking care of horses for one of his ex-in laws.

He said he was a Jew and we found that he knew the old testament stories. So I read to him Isaiah 53. He asked if the passage relate to Jesus or to God. I told him that God Himself became a man to bore our sin on the cross and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. He said his sin was his own and he is responsible for bearing it. I told him that sin is a debt that we could not afford to pay. As an accountant and homeless person, he should know one could get bankrupt. Since none of us are perfect, we need a savior to rescue and redeem us from sin. Joyce and I prayed for him and gave him a booklet on the 4 spiritual laws. He was most friendly and open. We could met him at a fast food restaurant again to see how he is doing. It is a good idea to keep in touch with him. We paid $50 for the extraction of his one tooth. He paid himself for the extraction of the second tooth.

- Sandi