Dear Friends of Joy,
The work is relentless and we are exhausted. I write this letter to you at 9 PM, and Kim and I (our administrator) are still in the office working. Another late night. We have a team until Thursday, but we will be down to a few of us to do all of the day's work, normally shared by 15-25 people, by ourselves.
I would like to thank you for the support that you have extended to the relief effort down here in the greater New Orleans area, by supporting Joy Fellowship. If you have visited our website recently, you are aware of the great work that is being done. (www.joyfellowshipchurch.com) Every day, we give out about 150 boxes of groceries and jugs of water. We also give hygiene, cleaning and baby supplies, along with medicines and first aid supplies to eager victims who wait as long as an hour or more in line. They also receive a hot meal each time they visit. The meal is simple, usually a vegetable, a fruit cup and a main dish of beans or ravioli or some other simple casserole type dish. Most people thank the workers through tears and repeat their gratitude at each "station". Finally, they are offered a Bible, Christian reading materials and a devotional along with prayer. We have prayed with over 1800 people for salvation and many hundreds more for healings, and help in recovery. The testimonies are rolling in. People healed of cancer, able to walk again after years of struggling with a walker, healings of sickness, and hope being restored. Revival has broken out in the parking lot of Joy Fellowship Church in Slidell, Louisiana!
I would just like to take a minute to thank you from the bottom of my heart. We could not have done any of this without your help. This has been an outpouring from individuals and churches that has made a huge difference in the quality of life for hundreds and thousands down here...both physical and eternal! Our church nor our city could have made it at all without people like you.
Progress is slow and things are still very hard for most people. Those brave enough or lacking enough to return have huge challenges to face. The government has not provided enough help. Funding from benevolent organizations like Salvation Army has slowed down dramatically or ceased altogether. Now we need your help more than ever.
We cannot stop feeding the hungry, especially children and families.
We cannot stop helping with supplies when the needs are so great.
We cannot stop offering the gospel when the fields are so white unto harvest.
This is a miracle! We are talking about Americans. Americans who live in third world conditions and are opening up to the gospel unto salvation.
Please consider monthly support of this domestic mission. We face huge challenges in the months to come as we finish our soup kitchen and warehouse. We need several hundred thousand dollars just to finish these projects. Then there are the day to day costs of running our relief project...running into aobut 20,000 a month, even with much of the product donated! We are only one small church that has been laboring on this mission field for the past eight months. Please help us.
Thank you for your kind and prayerful consideration.
In His Service,
Leslie B. Roques
Co-pastor
Joy Fellowship Church
