Malachi 4:6

When we first knew we were supposed to come to CA we thought we were coming to help a young woman to be set free from demonic strongholds but I think God was partly using that to get us here. Once we got to the SF Bay area God planted us at this church who feed and preach to the homeless. We were immediately plugged into this ministry called "Street Church". If I am not mistaken, it was the very first night we went to street church that we met Charlie, a homeless vietnam veteran. I really felt a strong leading from the Holy Spirit to befriend this person. God was really putting him on our hearts. We began to develop a relationship with him and were going to see him a lot on our free time. We began helping him to his appointments and really encouraging him to get help for his alcoholism. He wanted to but had a lot of excuses. We brought him to church at Peninsula Covenant Church (PCC) on Sunday morning a few times. He really loved the church and the people seemed to really love him.

After about two months of knowing Charlie he checked himself into detox. Praise God!!! While he was there we really began to see some changes in his behavior. He wasn't as angry all the time, and seemed to have a more positive attitude. One day Jeff was looking at PCC's facebook and saw a comment by a Charles H. and he thought that was strange because that is Charlie's name. He clicked on his picture and it looked just like a young version of Charlie. It was Charlie's son! Jeff and I told Charlie about it and he thought it was "cool". A few weeks went by, Charlie got a room at a shelter, and we decided to befriend Charlie's son on facebook. Jeff sent him a message but he got no reply.

On Father's Day, we spotted Charles H. III (the son), and after church I went and introduced myself and told him I knew his Dad. He looked puzzled and said, "I haven't seen my Dad since I was 2 or 3 years old." I had not idea and was in awe of what was happening. He had a wife and 4 children. He said God had been preparing him to meet his Dad for a couple of years now. We told him that we had been helping his Dad and that he was in a shelter. He was speechless! We exchanged numbers and they said they would give us a call later that day. By evening time he had called us and invited us to dinner. We really enjoyed meeting them and feel that God wants to use us in their lives. They are really seeking to grow in the Lord.

The next day we told Charlie that we had met his son and spent the evening with him and his family. He thought that was really neat. Two days later we went to see Charlie and asked him if he wanted to go for a ride. He said yes so as we whisked him away he asked, "where are we going? Jeff told him we were taking him to meet his boy. He immediately said, "what, but I need a haircut, and I look horrible." We assured him that none of that mattered. I prayed for him as we pulled up to the church. Charles III wasn't there yet so we sat at a picnic area and waited. When Charles pulled up my heart just started racing with excitement! I cannot imagine what Charlie was thinking. They were both pretty much speechless for about 10 minutes. The first thing I remember Charlie saying is, "Now I have a purpose", and "when we goin' fishin'?" Jeff and I wanted to give them some time so we went for a walk and saw one of the pastors, Todd, and he came to witness the miracle and pray for Charles and Charlie.

Father and Son are now on their way to developing the relationship they never got a chance to do growing up. They have already been fishing together and Charles took his dad to the thrift store to buy his dad some clothes. It was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever witnessed. I wish I could put it in a bottle and pull it out any time I feel down. This is definitely a miracle from God!! Thank you Jesus for "turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the heart of the children to their fathers" Malachi 4:6.

So now Jeff and I have seen one of the reasons why God brought us here. It is great to see too, because we were really starting to wonder if maybe we didn't hear God correctly. I know now that we did, and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us while we are here in the SF Bay area!!

........Until next time... Grace, Peace, and Love from the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, be with you!

Kristin