Today begins my third week of treatments at MD Anderson. This week I am humbled that Daron Babcock is joining me for the entire week to continue to hold up my arms in this ongoing battle. Daron is our new Director of Community Development for HIS BridgeBuilders. He has recently resigned as Vice President of sales for a 7 billion dollar corporation and now makes 20% of what he used to make. He has sold his beautiful home in the suburbs and is now living in our inner city community. He lives in a small bedroom in a house shared with one of our men whose life has been radically changed, through the power of the Gospel. When I went to pick him up to travel with me, he was doing the laundry for one of the men in the neighborhood, whose life is daily becoming more like Christ, after years of wrong choices. This man said he loves being with Daron and sits on his porch almost every day. We can never minimize the “ministry of our presence” among hurting and broken people. Daron’s faith and faithfulness humbles me daily, like so many of our staff, who have given up so much of this world to follow Jesus.

Our first stop is always the Proton radiation center where we arrive at 6:30 am for my treatments. I had the joy of praying with two new technicians Monday. They were awesome and so thankful for prayer. I then go to breakfast before beginning the long day at the main hospital for labs and chemo. This gives me the opportunity to buy muffins and snacks for the staff at the Proton center, who work very long hours, and need encouragement, as well as for other patients’ families in the waiting room. It is amazing how an 89 cent muffin can be used to open the door for the gospel. Compassion is the hinge of the door to salvation. I have been sharing with one particular staff member about the Lord and today, when I brought her some muffins, I saw a New Testament on her desk. I was thrilled. I asked if it was hers and she said a patient had given it to her today. I had been led to hand out Jon Lineberger’s book “What God did with a Mess like Me,” which he donated to our Chemo Church ministry. When I handed her the book I told her that God had a plan for her life and that it was no accident that another patient had given her the Bible on the same day. She looked at me with a tear in her eye and said she believed this as well. She is reading the Gospel of John and we will be discussing it following my treatments. Praise God!

On the van ride over to the main hospital, I met the most amazing couple. The husband has had a brain aneurism and now has a very rare cancer that eats your skin. His head was swollen and bandaged from the cancer and his treatments. He shared with me, after I asked how I could pray with him, that “Prayer is the greatest medicine of all.” He kept saying “I am a miracle!” He knows that God alone has saved Him and is sustaining him, and he is not complaining, but rejoicing during this very difficult trial. I am Humbled by the amazing faith of couples like this, who are teaching me how to count it all joy. His wife shared, after finding out about our inner city ministry, that she loved feeding the homeless and was very interested in doing this type of ministry when their battle with cancer is over. Several people have given me funds to give away to people I encounter in Chemo Church, and the Lord was clear that I was to bless this couple, who are in a battle for his life, and whose desire to return to their home town and help the least. When I gave them the money, I told them it was from the Lord and was a gift to feed them, so they could know that the Lord loves them and wants to encourage them in their faith, and honor their desire to feed the homeless one day. His wife just beamed with joy.

When we arrived at the Chemo ward for our three hours of treatment, the most amazing thing happened. The front desk, who all know me by now, spread the word around the entire ward that Pastor Mike was in his office in room 9. I long to encourage this amazing staff who cares for so many, so I always ask them if I can pray for them, and often give them a book that will bless them. They too have the amazing “ministry of presence” in one of the most difficult ministries on earth. Please honor these front line servants who love so effectively in our hospitals every day. This time we saw people we have seen before and one of them actually came into my room and started taking my tower of Chemo and walking out of my room with it. Obviously it’s attached to me so I had no choice but to follow. They led me to another patient that was having a very difficult time and opened the door for me to simply talk with her, and encourage her and ask if she wanted me to pray for her. She was very thankful and with tears flowing from her eyes, thanked me for coming to her room. It is amazing how the Lord is leading us daily in this amazing “ministry of presence” among some of the most amazing people of faith I have ever met.

Ask God today the name of one person that you need to go be with, and by your presence be a bright light in a very dark season of their lives. Remember that a little light goes a very long way in the darkest places, for the Glory of God.

This week marked the beginning of our second week of chemo and radiation at MD Anderson.  The Lord blessed me with company of two young Pastors, that I had the joy of discipling early in their ministry, to come with me to Houston and to minister with me in the hospital. Roger Sappington is now the Global Impact Pastor at Pantego Bible Church and Scott Brooks is the Lead Pastor at The Door Church in Coppell.  As we drove to the hospital at 6:00 am, we prayed for eyes to see the needs of those to whom we were to minister.  When we arrived at the proton radiation center I took them back to the massive bunker and machine where I receive radiation.  The two technicians had met my family last week and we have already prayed together several times.  They asked how we were related and Roger and Scott shared that we are brothers in Christ, that we once worked in the same ministry, and that we are family in Christ, and they came to support me in my time of need.  This really impacted my technicians, seeing these young men that drove from Dallas to be with their spiritual mentor.  This trip I came prepared, since I am left alone in this bunker for about twenty minutes every day. It is an amazing time to worship God for in His presence there is fullness of joy.  The first time I did my treatments the CD started playing a song that said “this is where the healing begins”, I almost fell off the table.  I gave them  many more Christian CD’s that would be available for others after me to continue to let this be a place of praise and worship to our great God.

As we were leaving we met a lady at the door of the center who was waiting for the bus to the main hospital. I asked her about her illness and she said she was there for lung cancer as well.  It is amazing how, what the enemy intends for evil, God uses for good, because of how I can identify with others suffering medically, as never before.  I asked her how I could pray for her and she immediately responded that she still battles with an addiction to cigarettes.  I shared with her that nothing is impossible for God and that we could ask God to set her free from this addiction right there in front of the cancer center. She said please pray for me because “I want to live”!  We prayed, believing in the matchless name of God, for her to be set free and to live for the Glory of God.  On the bus over to the main hospital, Roger and Scott continued talking to this same lady and her husband about Salvation and when we arrived at the hospital the bus driver said, “thanks for the revival on the bus, we need more of this”!  When we entered, there were long lines of people waiting to give blood, about 60-70 people in varying stages of Cancer…the mood changes very quickly. There is an unspoken heaviness.  As I was ushered to the back in a line, it felt very impersonal, except that the woman on staff who ushered us was joyful and encouraging.  When I finished giving my blood, I asked if I could take a picture with her and tell her manager what a great job she is doing.  She was thrilled that someone would want a picture with her and couldn’t wait to oblige.  After the picture, I had the joy of praying for this marvelous servant and she said “that prayer touched me, that prayer was better than a preacher’s prayer”.  There you have it.  Finally, after being there since 6:00 am, we are now ready to go for three hours of chemotherapy. There is a strange blessing of being able to identify with the needs of those around you, as you have those tubes coming out of your arms.  It clearly is my cross, I gladly take it up which allows me the opportunity to share the love and light of Christ.

We learned that one of the women on the medical staff is getting married.  When I talked to her about the fact that God loves to give gifts, and we simply need to receive them when He does this, she agreed.   I asked her if she was registered anywhere for her wedding gifts, and she said “not yet.”  I then had the joy of giving her some money that a friend had given me to give to anyone I wanted to in my ministry at Chemo Church.  I told her this was a gift from the Lord to affirm that He loved her and wanted to pray a blessing on her marriage.  She came back two more times to say how the prayer had changed her whole day.

The only negative to the area we were doing chemo was that everyone was in individual rooms and not out in the open.  The room was beautiful and private and a great place for me to visit with Roger and Scott about HIS BridgeBuilders, and all that the Lord was doing in our urban ministry, and the upcoming church we are prayerfully planting in the inner city.  The Lord was clear that we were to get up and get out of that room, go walk the halls and be among the people.  May we always remember that one of the greatest traps of the enemy can be a very comfortable place to worship that keeps us away from being among the lost and the hurting.  With my tower of chemo and some books I purchased written by Jack Graham titled, “God’s Promises for Doubt-Filled Days,” we began to do our ministry to the entire floor of patients.  It was beautiful.  By the end of the day we had prayed for a dozen patients and staff.  The last encounter was truly a blessing.

The man who volunteers by handing out magazines saw me walking in the halls, and remembered me and our talk about the Lord from last week.  He let me give him one of the books and I asked if I could pray for him, as he, like Jesus, serves the needs of others.  He was happy to let me pray for him and then he said these amazing words, “you look so good I don’t know why you are here”.  My heart is to pray that at the end of seven weeks he will know why I am here.  Bring salvation Lord to this precious man and many others for the Glory of God.  Blessed greatly by this new ministry the Lord is birthing in my heart.

For more information about H.I.S. BridgeBuilders, visit our website: www.hisbridgebuilders.org

Today marked my first day of chemo in combination with proton radiation treatments. We will be taking chemo once each week and proton radiation treatments each weekday at 6:30am. Amazingly, the longest and hardest day at the hospital was our best day of ministry. The light always shines the brightest in the darkest places. I would have never chosen this ministry, but am humbled that God has called me to pray for and witness to those battling cancer and the medical staff of these hospitals.

Today we had the joy of witnessing to a hospital volunteer that distributes magazines for those on Chemo. He said he received such joy in giving to others and got somewhat emotional about it. I shared with him, this was the love of Christ he was experiencing and God sent His son to show His great love for us and to save each one of us from our sin. I had the joy of sharing the Gospel with him and praying for him to know why he feels such joy in serving others. He was moved and blessed and prayerfully we will see him again in the coming weeks.

It was our joy to pray for several nurses, sing ‘this little light of mine’ with one of the other nurses and talk to many patients. While walking the halls, looking for people in greater need than me, I saw a staff member who looked very sad and was leaning against the wall. She is probably an aid, and is from Nigeria. I asked if I could pray for her and she said thank you because she was “just hanging on”. After I prayed the Lord led me to give her all the cash I had in my pocket. She was overwhelmed and kept saying rather loudly in the chemo ward, “God bless you”, to which I replied, “He already has.” I shared with her that someone else had given me the money for our expenses and that it was truly from the Lord, in direct answer to her prayers. After I passed her my nurse, who is from India, came back and asked me why bad things happen to good people. I had just preached this message this past Sunday and I shared with her that we can always trust our loving God, who is accomplishing His plan in ways we can’t always understand, to advance His Kingdom and Glory for our Good. She was comforted about the sudden death of a friend of hers, in India, who was killed in a car accident, after having just finished Bible College in preparation to be a Pastor. Shortly after she left, another nurse came in who is very strong in the Lord, and just wanted to visit. We eventually asked where she lived and what areas of the city were in greatest need. She was quick to tell me the third ward and that she lives near this area. She then offered to go with me any time I wanted to go and gave me her number so I could meet her in the community. We look forward to walking the streets of the city to pray and share the gospel with the least.

Lastly, while leaving, I had the opportunity to meet another patient from Oklahoma who is on chemo. His wife had seen Laura in the hall and was clearly looking for a friend. This led me to stop and pray for them. They are going to call us today, as this is all new for them. I told them that nothing is impossible with God and to keep their eyes on Jesus and not on the cancer.

I was overwhelmed with the opportunity to worship, teach the Word, pray, give an offering, and share the Gospel! May we never forget that we are the church! You may be the only church someone ever attends. Live ready, your day is coming when it will be your turn to Have Church! Thank you for your fervent prayers that are enabling us to be used by God. We give God all the Glory!!

This morning the Dallas Morning News ran an article on the miraculous impact of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to transform Souls and Society for the Glory of God in our city.  Every miracle you read in this story is only because of Jesus.  When the Lord is present He changes everything.  Crime has decreased, homes are being built, Velma’s Kitchen is coming, and Restoration Community Church is being established in the Bonton community where we have served for twenty years.  Thank you all for joining us in this movement of God called H.I.S. BridgeBuilders!

Taking Back Bonton means making it home

By DIANE JENNINGS
Staff Writer Dallas Morning News

In the South Dallas neighborhood of Bonton, trash piles up along fences, stray dogs roam the streets and clumps of men loiter outside the liquor store.

Then there are the bright spots: the pristine Turner Courts Recreation Center, dozens of nicely kept Habitat for Humanity homes — and the determination of residents like Clifton Reese and Velma Mitchell.

Reese and Mitchell are founding members of the fledgling Bonton Neighborhood Association and unlikely allies in the battle against the neglect and indifference that pervade the community. He’s a reformed drug dealer, and she’s the mother of a son killed in a drive-by shooting. But both share a passion for Bonton.

They could have moved up and out, but they chose to stay and fight, to take back their neighborhood, just south of “Dead Man’s Curve” on U.S. Highway 175.

“We’re getting there,” said Mitchell, president of the association.

The effort to reclaim Bonton began decades ago, which shows just how hard it is to do.

“It’s a work in progress,” Mitchell said.

She and Reese are joined by a handful of residents, including Regina Suttle, secretary of the neighborhood association. Suttle is a college graduate from Richardson and one of the few white residents living in Bonton.

“I want to live here,” said Mitchell, who manages the recreation center and ministers to residents through H.I.S. BridgeBuilders, a Christian nonprofit she co-founded with a member of Prestonwood Baptist Church.

Living in Bonton gives her “a great voice,” she said. “I can say … this is my ‘hood.’”

Leaving suburbia

Mitchell, 64, used to live in Lancaster, where she could listen to crickets and gaze at the stars from her backyard.

She spent her days in Bonton working with local residents. But at night, she left for suburban peace and quiet.

Mitchell often got late-night calls from those who lost had loved ones to violence. They knew her only child was the victim of a freeway shooting in 1992 at age 17.

She always answered because she knew what they felt: “I know what you’re going through. I know the questions you want to ask. I don’t have answers — but I’m here.”

Losing a child is “like a thief coming in the middle of the night and taking part of your heart away,” she said.

Finally, after a string of such calls, “The Lord let me know, ‘You need to be there. You need to be where your heart is,’” she said.

In 2006, Mitchell did what she once vowed never to do: She moved to Bonton. The first night there, she recalled saying to herself, “I’m home.”

Fighting crime

Bonton was home to Clifton Reese off and on when he was growing up. Now 29, he remembers “a lot of drugs and a lot of criminal acts,” he said.

Dallas police Sgt. Shelia Zimmerman, who oversees the neighborhood policing unit in the southeast patrol division, remembers, too.

Many South Dallas neighborhoods “have really gone through a war,” she said. “A war on drugs, a war on alcohol, a war on burglaries.”

Bonton “used to be the Wild West,” with drug dealers and police battling for control, she said. But “there’s been great progress,” she said.

In 1991, 184 major violent crimes and 204 major nonviolent offenses occurred in the reporting area south of Highway 175. Last year, only 12 major violent crimes and 22 major nonviolent offenses were reported. Drug dealing and minor crimes are down, too, but remain a problem, police say.

Two changes helped: Police adjusted their approach, Zimmerman said, and two massive housing developments, Turner Courts and Rhoads Terrace, closed.

Police began working with the community to fight crime, Zimmerman said, and some residents formed a crime-watch group. When people called with tips, police protected their identity to avoid retaliation.

In 1996, Habitat for Humanity began building homes in Bonton. Since then, the Dallas-area chapter has built about 80 homes there. After an absence of several years, the group is now building 25 more.

“The job wasn’t done,” said Habitat chief executive Bill Hall.

In recent years, the group has shifted its focus. In addition to building houses, Habitat now helps residents repair existing homes through a program called Brush with Kindness.

Rehabbing an entire block creates good will, Hall said, and “pride starts leaking into other streets.”

“There are amazing people who care about these neighborhoods,” he said. “They just don’t have the resources. … All we do is empower people.”

Neighborhood associations are key, Hall said, because they enable residents to create the community they want.

So far, only about a dozen residents have joined the neighborhood association, Mitchell said. Most are employed by BridgeBuilders, but the group is actively recruiting others.

“Some of them don’t know what a neighborhood association is,” Reese said. When told, “they want to be part of it, because they want a better community, not just for themselves but for the sake of their children.”

Children — his four in particular — are the reason Reese decided to buy a house in Bonton after turning away from drugs and, with the help of BridgeBuilders, getting his high school-equivalency degree and job training.

His wife was not thrilled about buying a house in Bonton, Reese said.

But the opportunity “to get a house in the same community where I sold drugs and ran the streets was an opportunity for me to give back to my community,” he said.

“I’m glad I’m there.”

No longer forgotten

Regina Suttle is also glad to be in Bonton — though she’d never been to South Dallas before volunteering with Habitat seven years ago. She grew up in the suburbs and graduated from Texas Tech.

“I wasn’t naive to the fact that these places existed,” she said, but it bothered her that Bonton seemed “so forgotten.”

Though the community is predominantly black and Hispanic, Suttle said she never feels out of place. She volunteered in the area for several years before being hired to run the children’s ministry for BridgeBuilders.

When the group offered her housing in Bonton, she jumped at it, though residency was not required.

“I’m here by choice,” said Suttle, 33.

Instead of being overwhelmed by the challenges, she is encouraged by the progress. For instance, the house next door is boarded up, but “there’s nobody running drugs out of it,” she said. “That is true transformation.”

Suttle, like others in the neighborhood, knows big change is coming as the city builds Buckeye Trail Commons, a low-income housing development.

The development promises to be less institutional than previous housing, and Reese and Mitchell are excited by the prospect of more neighborhood recruits.

When they drive through Bonton, they don’t see debris and despair. They see an empty lot being cleared for a community garden, a rundown building making way for a training kitchen and restaurant.

“It won’t be Lancaster,” Mitchell said with a chuckle. “It’s going to be better.”

By DIANE JENNINGS

Staff Writer

djennings@dallasnews.com

Published: 09 March 2012 11:13 PM

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Photos courtesy of Steve Pfost
Staff Photographer for the Dallas Morning News

Today marks the last day that my son, Michael, will be on the staff of H.I.S. BridgeBuilders.  When I was diagnosed with cancer 32 months ago, the ministry was in a very precarious position, needing strong leadership.  We were on the verge of some amazing spiritual breakthroughs and needed someone to help us clearly determine the next steps that we should take.  The Lord brought Michael, my oldest son for “such a time as this.” He put his personal desires on hold in order to obediently follow the Lord and His calling.  From the beginning of his time in the ministry he has been a great gift, through the example of his love for God and others.  He and Clifton Reese’s relationship is a beautiful example of the same relationship that I have enjoyed with Velma for these many years.  It is marvelous to see the many ways that God has used Michael to establish one of the most significant components of our ministry, our mentoring ministry.  As Michael has lived this in his own life with Clifton, he has seen the change that has happened in his own heart as they have learned from each other.  Out of his obedience, the Lord has birthed a great ministry of reconciliation that is bearing much fruit.  Michael challenges me every day by his servant heart and his obedience to God. He has sharpened me and confronted me on my own pride in some of the decisions I was making in the ministry.  He has become, in Christ, my brother and friend.  What a joy to learn from my own son in this season of my life.  Please join me in giving honor to whom honor is due. Michael brought new life to our ministry in our time of great need.  Please pray for Michael as he begins his career in business and seeks to fulfill his desire to serve our nation as a public servant in the future.  Thank you Son for your love and a job well done.  You are gift from God to me and the ministry.