Act of Random Kindness

Ronn Patterson
Date: September 7, 2016 at 5:53:22 PM CDT

I have been praying about how to use the Acts of Random Kindness dollars Scatter Christ gave the BOD. I had a couple of situations come up and the Lord just did not give me the freedom/opportunity to do something. I had an appointment in one case and later went to try to find the guy. He wanted $ for his daughter - could hardly understand him. He was carrying two stuffed animals with him. I thought that was probably his normal story to try and get money. I could not find him. I wondered what the Lord was teaching me.

Today I learned of a single mom in my community. She has 4 girls by 3 different men. Her name is April. She had a wreck and hurt her back and is out of work. The girls had so many needs with the start of school. I gave the whole $100 to her. I have found out that her girls are coming to some special events at my church but I am pretty certain her greatest need is Jesus. I'm praying that this ministry and other things the Lord will do will open up opportunities to share Christ with her.

DEllis

I met this homeless lady in the green jacket in 2005 during The Church at Brookhills Extreme Graceover. She had been sober and at a shelter 55 days. During this weekend, she ate at Pizza Hut and Fish Market, got new PJs, received a new haircut and new clothes. She was very funny and quick witted. I posted about DEllis.

Tonight as I had dinner with another one of the homeless women almost 10 years later, we discussed DEllis and her whereabouts. WB asked me if I still had the necklace for her. I DO, let's find her. I pulled out my smart phone and googled for a phone number, knowing she left Birmingham for Pensacola, Florida to live with her father. My heart sank when what appeared was her obituary! She passed away several years ago.

The above picture also appeared in an advertisement for Help for the Homeless! Christ, family, church and friends are such a blessing that so many of us take for granted each day!

Fire at auto mall

Investigation continues into fire at Jefferson County auto sales business

My sweet child drove past this fire when flames were just beginning to show. He stopped and went into the building to see if anyone was there. Two workers were working feverishly to get some items out of this building. Thank you Wesley for your compassion and care for others.

public eavesdropping

You never know who is listening to you talk in public. Today we were shocked as we got up from our table to leave Niki's West after having vegetables for lupper (lunch and supper combined). An older gentlemen, with his wide brim straw hat still on his bald head, sitting alone at the table behind ours began to call out "wait a minute, I have something". Bullen politely stooped to hear his small voice, "I'm sorry?". "I have something" the sweet little man repeated. Bullen responded to him "No, this is my leftovers that I am taking with me". The little man repeated again as he was reaching into his pocket, "I have something for you that might help just a little." He pulled out a $20 bill and held it out for Bullen. This little "baba" had heard our conversation and the Sudanese accent as we talked during our meal.

Bullen, Andrew and myself had been talking about Sudan. We talked about a truck business, school books, supplies, crops, vegetables, rain, buses, roads, water wells, tukuls, raising money, bank accounts and so many other necessities they will need when they return to their home country. Our conversation led him to want to give to these young men (Bullen and Andrew) from South Sudan. Thank you Jesus for everything You do for us and help us to Glorify YOU every minute, everyday!

Darlene

EMAIL Sent: Sun, Jul 5, 2009 10:30 pm

Subject: BRAXTON TAYLOR F

J and Lisa, Hey. It's me Darlene. I wanted to get in contact with you and let you see how fast Braxton is growing. He is making sentences now and he is adorable. He has his final surgery scheduled for September, just a few months away. I also want to say that I am sorry for everything in the past. I am attaching some pictures of Braxton and I would love to meet you and have lunch or something. I really would like to talk to you and your sister if possible. When I look at things right now, I see how childish I was in the past. I am ashamed of my ways in the past and I would like you to know that I am a different person now. Larry and I have married and I am finishing up my degree in Criminal Justice. My dad past away in March of this year, and My little boy July 9th of last year.

Sincerely, Larry, Darlene, and Braxton

Sent: Mon, Jul 6, 2009 12:25 pm

RETURN RESPONSE

Darlene, 

Oh my gosh! What an answer to prayer. I have been thinking about you so much and wondering how ya’ll have been. I wondered how the baby was doing (I thought it was a girl)? I am SO sorry to hear that the baby went to be with Jesus. I am also so sorry to hear about your dad.? WOW.? rough year.? We too have had a rough year. Little Lee had brain surgery last September and the GM business is terrible, but all happens for a reason. I just read a weekly wisdom before I opened your email that said "Do you believe GOD even when you can't believe what happened"? We also had a setback with my brother who had to go to rehab for a couple of months and we are trying to help him get his life back in order. His wife has divorced him and not really sure about his kids. He has 2 kids that he adores and he is trying to make amends with them.

I Love the pictures of Braxton. You will have to fill me in on his progress, if he had to have any more surgeries. What is his surgery for in September? And do ya’ll go to Nashville to have it? He is sooo big. I can't believe it. He certainly hasn't missed a meal... He is adorable and his smile is contagious.

I would love to catch up--go to lunch or whatever.? Lisa and I both have not stopped thinking of you and often ask each other what is Darlene, Larry and Braxton up to!! I want to hear what happened to your baby. Would love to hear about Martha. Where you are living, working, etc.

I totally appreciate your apology. I forgive you and know that I still really care about you and your family. I am sorry for abandoning you. I felt like I got too involved and was trying to hard to control the situation. For that I am sorry. I am so glad you got back in touch. I am not sure if I will be at church on Sunday because we go to the lake on the weekends but I would love to get together with you sometime this week. I will pray for you as I know this will be a hard week for you.

Thanks again for sending the precious pictures.

Sent: Mon, Jul 6, 2009 1:25 pm

We have been doing okay. Larry finally got his disability. His child support was reduced. I had a little boy his name was Bridger Ty. He was truly God sent. He only weighed 3lbs. I delivered the umbilical cord first and it cut the blood flow off to him. His kidneys were bad and his chest did not grow big enough to house his lungs. God knew what he was doing. I tell myself that Bridger was just for God and me. He was a pleasure to carry. Yeah, it's been a rough year. Why did Lil Lee have to have surgery, not related to TEF was it? I hate to hear about Lee's business to. On a different note,,,,,,,I got a GMC Yukon. It is not a brand new one, but it makes me feel good as a person when I am bumping those BOSE...lol. Braxton has had a total of 28 surgeries. His last surgery in April was to remove a penny from his neck.We all laughed and thought that was humor from God...You know on a penny it says "in God we trust". Braxton wasn't hurt or anything but he had a problem putting change in his mouth. He had his esophagus removed last year and they made an opening in his neck for saliva to drain, which is caught by a washcloth. The daily Mountain Eagle did a big write up on him just this year...It was awesome. The surgery in September will be to take six inches of his small intestines and rebuild his esophagus. We are praying this is his last surgery. I know that Braxton is chunky but he is not able to eat anything by mouth and it touch his stomach. He eats from a Mic-key button in his stomach. You thought he was something back then....o' boy he is saying things, that I know I did not teach him. He loves to talk on the phone so if you ever want to call you can. He will talk your ears off...

oh. Almost forgot, I am a full time student and I don't work right now. I almost thought about working at one of those Bingo Halls down the road...Looks fun. I don't know...

Car Wash James

James is a homeless man who lives in downtown Birmingham. He is the kindest street person I have ever met with a great personality. James' favorite question is, "how is your pocketbook today". James has been homeless for years and years. He says he has a college education from up north and he ended up in Birmingham with the circus. What? Yes, he worked as an animal trainer/cleaner for Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus. James cleans cars during the warmer months for money. He carries his buckets, soap, tire shine, and rags with him all day, hoping that someone will let him wash their car.

Today, James stopped me and wanted to know if I could get him some tire shine and car wash stuff. Sure, I left downtown and traveled south looking for a Dollar Tree or Dollar General for some cleaning supplies. I exited the 21st street exit, came to a complete stop, nothing coming, turned right on red and the car behind me did the same thing. All of a sudden a policeman is speeding up beside me on a two way street. I slowed but didn't pull over. Of course, your mind is running through a list of things like; tag expired, speeding, light out, red light, etc.

Yes, I got a ticket for turning right on red at an intersection where this was prohibited. I waited months before it was entered into the Birmingham system (i was hoping maybe he torn up the ticket). Six weeks later there is not record of my ticket. I went to court - no ticket recorded. Courts told me to come back in another month. This is crazy. Yep, my ticket was 153.00 and because I didn't pay it within 10 days from the day it was posted, I was fined a penalty of 26.00. I had cash money to pay 153.o0, but not 189.00. I left courthouse and went back the next day after getting additional cash from the bank. Another penalty had been added in the amount of 10.00. 199.00 for turning right on red...... and James did NOT get his car wash supplies. I am pretty upset that I let this upset me enough that I didn't follow through with helping this homeless man.

WB Milestone

Today was a milestone in WB's life. She paid off her car that she had pawned to pay for her sister to be buried. Faye died unexpectedly and there was not enough money to pay for burial. She has worked so hard to pay off her debt. As a celebration, we all ate at Zaxby's!

WB met Marc Phillips, the singer, at Zaxby's today - WB loves his song - "Through the Fire". We sang it probably 50 plus times on our way to Monroeville almost a year ago.

Braxton F

‘He has a desire to live’
Jennifer Williams Eagle Reporter

Daily Mountain Eagle Newspaper - Jasper, Alabama
Januray 29, 2009

Two-year-old Braxton F is so active that the washcloth tied around his neck is the only sign of how sick he is. Braxton was born with tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). "His esophagus grew so far down and then it grew into his windpipe, his trachea," said his mother, Darlene Foy. Doctors had to put Braxton on life support as soon as he was born because he could not breath on his own without choking. As an infant, he gagged each time he swallowed because the fluids were entering his airways instead of his stomach. Braxton has had many surgeries in his short life to fix the problem.

In the first surgery, doctors unhooked his esophagus from his trachea. However, the two organs were so close together in Braxton's small body that a fistula, or abnormal connection, formed. Food continued to leak into Braxton's airway through the tube. After two more surgeries, doctors tried to wrap the esophagus in glue. They did multiple surgeries using the glue before a major complication arose. "In the fifth surgery, when they went in to use a synthetic glue, they shot too much of it and it dried down his trachea. They had to scrape all of that off," said Larry Foy, Braxton's father. Braxton had so many surgeries that his esophagus eventually began to deteriorate. Doctors went in again to cut out the dead part of the esophagus and reconstruct it. However, the stitching left a small hole. Braxton began to get recurring infections because what he swallowed still leaked into his chest. Doctors then stapled the esophagus shut and rerouted the rest of it to the side of his neck. "It's called a spit fistula. Everything that goes in his mouth comes out his neck onto a rag," Larry Foy said. Braxton is now fed through a feeding bag. A tube in his neck connects to a Mic-Key button on his stomach. He can only digest liquid milk. He can also have ice and water by mouth. Solid foods are forbidden for Braxton because of the dangers they pose. Larry Foy gave him a piece of an orange slice recently. Since Braxton didn't know how to chew it, the food stuck in his throat and he had to be rushed to the emergency room to have it removed. He has now learned to lick foods such as fries and chips and then give the solid portion back to his parents.

In all, Braxton has had 27 surgeries to correct his TEF. In addition to enduring all the work on his esophagus, he has also had part of his lung removed. "All of the saliva that was building up in his chest caused pressure in his cavity. So the upper right lobe of his lung had to be removed," Darlene Foy said. He is still in need of at least one more surgery. Doctors plan to take six inches of his small intestines to build him a new esophagus. However, Braxton's father is concerned that one more won't be enough. "He's coughing now. When he coughed before, it meant he had a fistula formed. So he may have one up higher now," Larry Foy said. The trials Braxton has faced in the past two years have had no affect on his attitude. He is a happy, energetic little boy most of the time. Darlene Foy said her young son is an inspiration to her, and she hopes other parents find hope in his story as well.

"He has a desire to live because he has been through so much," she said.

Lovelady Center

Tonight I met some new friends. Jennifer, Donna, Amy & Pat. They all live in the Lovelady Center in Woodlawn. Woodlawn is not the best part of city and as we arrived to have a Christmas Party with these ladies - an armed robbery was taking place at the center. Guns were pulled and the ladies running the front desk lost their purses and belongings. God protected us as we went in to minister and share the love of Jesus with these ladies. TCAB provided new Bibles for these ladies as gifts and we had subway sandwiches and chocolate desserts. It was so much fun to talk and share our life stories with each other. Janet Thorn and Janet Tatum will be continuing their Bible study with each of them on Monday's after the New Year. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to come to the party.

Ricky Bobby Barwick

As a front row sitter at the 11 o'clock service at The Church at Brookhills, Rick was given the opportunity to meet and pray with a boy named Ricky from the Alabama Youth Home to accept Jesus Christ as his Saviour last year. This 18 year old young man has no mom or dad, has grown up in foster care most of his life, has one real sister a few years older, a brother in Tennessee who isn't his real brother, many health problems, no concept of real life, no clue on how to take responsibility or provide for himself, has repeated the 9th grade 3 times, has lived in every southeast state as foster families passed him on, has lost every job given and all of his stories are exaggerated or fantasized. Ricky has been given a new opportunity to go back and live with a former foster parent in Remlap, Alabama. It is a single divorced man named Commander. Ricky went to Remlap for Thanksgiving and fell off of a 4 wheeler and hurt his arm. After he was returned to the Youth Home, he was playing basketball with the other boys, tripped and fell hurting his arm again. To the doctor - Broken Arm from the 4 wheeler accident. According to social workers - Ricky will be leaving and going to live with Commander forever. Ricky just wants a family and to be accepted and loved. We will see Ricky one more time before he goes to his forever family.