Oh Me!

Ok, first this may be the longest blog that I have ever written, but I feel a lot needs to be said.

On Saturday, June 9, we had an awesome opportunity to sing and serve food at a place in Indianapolis, IN. We arrived and several of the ‘homeless’ of the area were there to help us unload and carry in equipment. They were all really nice and helpful. As everything was being set up, I talked with a couple of guys there just to ‘make conversation’. The food line began to fill up. Ginger, Markale, Wesley, Jeff and I (along with a few friends from OH) began to dip food into plates. Here is where something major began to unfold. WOW! I will have to tell you that we almost could not refrain from just bursting out into tears many times. Here are a few accounts of things that I remember vividly.

Nathan (19 years old) after getting food on his plate, sat and ate half of it. He then asked for a ‘wrap’, saying that he wanted to save the rest so that he would have food for tomorrow.
Josh (21 years old) took the food and never stopped smiling. He reminded me of Christmas at our house when our children were really young. He was extremely excited to be having this home-cooked meal.
Samantha (14 years old) stood off to the side to wait for everyone to get their food. She was afraid there wasn’t going to be enough food for everyone. She said that she would let them eat first and take what was left.
Allen (27 years old) hugged each of us saying, “Thank you for helping us!” (this is just to name a few)

We sat and talked for a little while after food / before the concert. We met some really nice people that had (for some) just made some major bad mistakes, and for others that just wound up ‘out there’ based on mistakes others had made. Really sad.

Ok, time for the concert to begin. We began singing and you would have thought Elvis Presley had come to do a concert. They were just ‘taking in’ everything about the concert so excited about feeling ‘noticed’. On the song, All He’s Done For Me, I began to see the facial changes and then the tears of several of the congregation. We just did what GOD had called us to do and HE began to soften the hearts of several of the people. Nearing the end of the concert, during the invitation, there were some that came to the front. I will tell you that Ginger could hardly play the keyboard, Jeff couldn’t keep the bass guitar strings moving and I was completely unable to sing. Just a small recap for you, Nathan came to the front and knelt and during his time with GOD, he began to cry out to GOD with such a lonesome cry. It was almost more than we could handle seeing. Another guy just stood there before the LORD with his hands up and tears flowing down his face asking for mercy. The presence of GOD had engulfed that place.

After the concert, the man (John) and lady (sorry, I forgot her name) that was part of getting YH there and setting this entire thing up, stood asking if anyone wanted to ‘give to the ministry of Young Harmony’, of course we said NO. They reminded us of the verse where a ‘workman is worthy of his hire’ and also ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’. The offering from those that were homeless totaled $138. I was reminded of the lady that gave 2 cents (in today’s terms). I can promise you that we left there that day differently than when we went in. The $138 didn’t even come close to the expenses for the day, but what we received from being there impacted each of us greatly. (THANK YOU GOD for allowing us to be changed!)

With this being said, I would love to share this with you. We, the Church, need to become the Church! People are dying everyday while we are mainly doing nothing about it. My question to you (as well as to me) is this, when was the last time that we reached out to someone to make a difference in their lives? When have we decided to ‘skip a meal’ and buy someone that is less fortunate groceries? We are so blessed, having more than we deserve thanks to GOD! Have we learned anything by Luke 12: 16-19? This is just something to think about. One other thing, below are the words to a song that I was blessed to write. My prayer for this email is that we, THE CHURCH, can actually take on our FATHERS traits.

Thanks for your time.
Johnathan Bond
Young Harmony

Can The World See JESUS In You

1st Verse
He was walking down the road, carrying a heavy load
Everything he owned was on his back
Many miles traveled hard, though he never went that far
It was easy to see his troubled heart.

2nd Verse
She lived on a dead end road, five children and her alone
Times were really hard, from choices made so wrong
She needed a helping hand, someone who could understand
Would you be willing to be that one?

Chorus:
Can the world see JESUS in you,
Can they hear HIM in the words you speak,
See HIM in the things you do
Can your brother and your sister
Can your neighbor and your friends,
Can the world see JESUS in you?

Johnathan Bond/HIS Choice Music/ BMI

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