Operation Man Up

... drum roll please....

I have officially begun the new Mentor program for homeless men!

We have named it Operation Man Up. We even have a Logo designed and the beginning of the website. I am very excited to see what kind of reaction we'll get from what is down on paper thus far. The stages are simple and direct but getting to the 'front door' of the program is a horse of a different color in that I don't know what lies out in front of us in the way of opposition and or obstacle. I know that several of the people around us have been anxious to start a program like this for a number of years, but will they be willing to accept what we are proposing to do in the fashion we would like to do it? That's the concern. I want to reach the men with a simple 'in your face' approach and yet make evey attempt to do things in love. Does that compute? I certainly hope so. The name itself is a key to the concept. Challenging them is an attention getter, but will it fly7 in the face of reality? These men get so much confrontation on a daily basis it isn't funny. I recall seeing the tremendous stress on their faces when seemingly simple issues were presented. It will take some getting used to again, but I'm up for the challenge as well.

If you have any feedback, please send it along. I'm open to any positive input on what and how, but a real help would be someone's previous attempt at doing just such a program. I have not as yet found any historical references online even though I know there has to be something like this in operation somewhere else in the country. This isn't rocket science. Someone else has had to incorporated something before now; surely.

At any rate, I am pumped about what might be possible on this front. There are way too many 'victims' out there that could certainly use the help.

I've been on the shelf for awhile and the thought of being in the field is both invigorating and intimidating at the same time. What used to be a day to day norm will be an effort on my part to 'settle in' on some kind of routine. Once the funding is in place I'll be able to relax a bit, but there are some real hurdles to jump in the immediate future that will take some doing. The Lord will have to be in this or we will be laboring in vain as the Word so aptly says.

If you get a minute, lift us up in prayer, would ya?