Dear SoupFriends,
Greetings from the SoupMan!
Writer and author Betty Eadie once said “Faith is not complacent; faith is action. You don’t have faith and wait. When you have faith you move.”
It’s not always easy to step out in faith but we know that God is faithful. In truth the entire history of the SoupMobile has been one of stepping out in faith and then trusting God to show us the way. Our faith walk started back when we were founded in 2003. We had no money, no donors, no deep pocket supporters, no sources of food, no mobile van, no umbrella church or organization to support us, and a mailing list that consisted of 5 people. Nonetheless we stepped out in faith to ‘Feed HIS Sheep.’ In that first year we served 5,000 meals and at the time we thought that was a lot. Now we serve more than 200,000 meals per year. We moved and stepped out in faith and God rewarded that faith.
In 2005 we expanded our mission to start our Annual Christmas event called Celebrate Jesus. Each year at Christmas the SoupMobile takes 500 men, women, and children right off the streets, puts them up at a fancy hotel, gives them fabulous gifts and holds a huge banquet in their honor. Most important is that when they wake up on Christmas morning it’s in a warm safe bed at the Hotel, not in a cardboard box under some bridge. When we started the Christmas event in 2005 we did not have the money for it or a hotel to take our 500 homeless, and we certainly did not have the expertise to pull off such a huge endeavor. The first year of the event (2005) we took 100 people to the hotel for Christmas. Now we take 500 every year. We moved and stepped out in faith and God rewarded that faith.
In 2009 we again expanded our mission to include sheltering the homeless with a venture called SoupMobile Village. The Village is a series of group homes specifically designed to take a homeless man, woman, or family right off the streets, put a roof over their heads, help get them a job, and return them as working productive members of the community. When we started the Village we did not have the upfront financial funding or the experience and knowledge to do it. In less than 3 years we now have 7 fully operational homes in SoupMobile Village. We moved and stepped out in faith and God rewarded that faith.
Well folks, it's 2012 and here we go again. Once again the SoupMobile is getting ready to step out and move in faith. Once again we are going to do it without all the normal things that conventional wisdom says you need to start a new venture. We don’t have the financial resources, the infrastructure, the backing, or the experience for this new venture. What is this new venture you ask? We are opening up the SoupMobile Thrift Store. The Grand Opening is set for September 1, 2012. How will this story come out in the end? Well if history is any indicator the punch line will one day be that ‘We moved and stepped out in faith and God rewarded that faith.’
It’s important that you understand that we aren’t loose cannons here at the SoupMobile. We do vet our new projects, we do all the needed research, and we do give our new ventures the utmost serious and careful consideration. Nonetheless we always end up stepping out in faith. I love the quote by Samuel Johnson who said “Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.” And remember everything we do, every project we start, and every move we make is all with one goal in mind---‘Serving Christ by serving the ones HE called the ‘least of these.’
Once again the SoupMobile is stepping out in faith. As usual we will be looking to the Lord to part the Red Seas for us and lead us to the Promised Land. Once again we will be crawling out on a limb knowing without any doubt that Jesus is already out there waiting for us. We invite you to come out on that limb with us. More details can be found at www.soupmobile.org.
May the Lord Bless and Keep You and Yours,
Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan
Greetings from the SoupMan!
Writer and author Betty Eadie once said “Faith is not complacent; faith is action. You don’t have faith and wait. When you have faith you move.”
It’s not always easy to step out in faith but we know that God is faithful. In truth the entire history of the SoupMobile has been one of stepping out in faith and then trusting God to show us the way. Our faith walk started back when we were founded in 2003. We had no money, no donors, no deep pocket supporters, no sources of food, no mobile van, no umbrella church or organization to support us, and a mailing list that consisted of 5 people. Nonetheless we stepped out in faith to ‘Feed HIS Sheep.’ In that first year we served 5,000 meals and at the time we thought that was a lot. Now we serve more than 200,000 meals per year. We moved and stepped out in faith and God rewarded that faith.
In 2005 we expanded our mission to start our Annual Christmas event called Celebrate Jesus. Each year at Christmas the SoupMobile takes 500 men, women, and children right off the streets, puts them up at a fancy hotel, gives them fabulous gifts and holds a huge banquet in their honor. Most important is that when they wake up on Christmas morning it’s in a warm safe bed at the Hotel, not in a cardboard box under some bridge. When we started the Christmas event in 2005 we did not have the money for it or a hotel to take our 500 homeless, and we certainly did not have the expertise to pull off such a huge endeavor. The first year of the event (2005) we took 100 people to the hotel for Christmas. Now we take 500 every year. We moved and stepped out in faith and God rewarded that faith.
In 2009 we again expanded our mission to include sheltering the homeless with a venture called SoupMobile Village. The Village is a series of group homes specifically designed to take a homeless man, woman, or family right off the streets, put a roof over their heads, help get them a job, and return them as working productive members of the community. When we started the Village we did not have the upfront financial funding or the experience and knowledge to do it. In less than 3 years we now have 7 fully operational homes in SoupMobile Village. We moved and stepped out in faith and God rewarded that faith.
Well folks, it's 2012 and here we go again. Once again the SoupMobile is getting ready to step out and move in faith. Once again we are going to do it without all the normal things that conventional wisdom says you need to start a new venture. We don’t have the financial resources, the infrastructure, the backing, or the experience for this new venture. What is this new venture you ask? We are opening up the SoupMobile Thrift Store. The Grand Opening is set for September 1, 2012. How will this story come out in the end? Well if history is any indicator the punch line will one day be that ‘We moved and stepped out in faith and God rewarded that faith.’ It’s important that you understand that we aren’t loose cannons here at the SoupMobile. We do vet our new projects, we do all the needed research, and we do give our new ventures the utmost serious and careful consideration. Nonetheless we always end up stepping out in faith. I love the quote by Samuel Johnson who said “Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.” And remember everything we do, every project we start, and every move we make is all with one goal in mind---‘Serving Christ by serving the ones HE called the ‘least of these.’
Once again the SoupMobile is stepping out in faith. As usual we will be looking to the Lord to part the Red Seas for us and lead us to the Promised Land. Once again we will be crawling out on a limb knowing without any doubt that Jesus is already out there waiting for us. We invite you to come out on that limb with us. More details can be found at www.soupmobile.org.
May the Lord Bless and Keep You and Yours,
Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan
