"Could I use your microwave to heat up my mac 'n cheese?"

These were the words of Danny, who wandered into the Cafe on a recent weekday afternoon. He was a bit uncertain, looking around, unsure if he was really welcome. We offered not only the microwave, but a sandwich and a cup of soup as well. Immediately, Danny said he couldn't do that. He couldn't take the food. He didn't have any money. He was stunned when I told him the food was free.

He asked me if I was sure about it being free. I assured him that yes, we simply give the food away at no cost. (Gosh, it's great to be able to do that!) He gladly took the sandwich from me, got a cup of soup for himself, and devoured both. Danny went on to tell me that he was homeless, living out of his car.

Danny's parents told him when he was 18 that he'd have to leave.

Shortly after he left home, his Mom & Dad moved out of state. Danny said he would be starting a part-time job as a dishwasher later in the day - then he'd have money. Tim gave Danny a food map and showed him that there were other places to get food around Medina.

My heart ached for this young guy. Homeless and abandoned at 19! I thought about his need for food, not just earthly but the heavenly food that only his Father in heaven can give him. What an incredible opportunity to feed and build relationship with those who hunger, pointing them to the only one who can bring fullness to every part of life!

As Danny headed for the door, we invited him to come back anytime. He still seemed a bit awed by how he was welcomed as he left the Cafe. I'm not sure if he'll return. I pray he returns and we have more opportunities to point him to the one who fills every need completely in His time.

- Bill Marras

  Cafe' Volunteer 

The cafe was jumping last week. With the temperature outside at 94 degrees, refreshing beverages were being poured out one after another. Pizza, sandwiches, bagels, popcorn, & desserts were gobbled up like crazy. We could hardly keep up with the dishes.

Finally a break came in the crowd and I sat on a stool, with my ice water, and rested my head in my hands...AHHH! A friend of mine from Church came and sat next to me tired after a long day at work. We smiled but barely spoke...just relaxing in the moment.

A woman who had been in the cafe for awhile came over and started a conversation. From what I could tell she had been struggling in all areas of her life and the Lord was currently bringing her out of a great valley. She was accepting of the bits of wisdom she had learned. She was radiating in the beauties of creation surrounding her. She was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and she was grateful. Praise the Lord!

She asked a question of me, "Do I really have to go to church if I have the temple inside me?"

I shared with her how God's word says in Hebrews 10:24-45 that we are called to not give up on meeting together and to lift up and encourage one another towards love and good deeds.

There is a purpose for our gathering in God's house. It's not about just what we can receive but what we can give. It's not about how full our cup is but how much we empty it out for another. It's not about us...it's about God's love flowing through us in a sharing of the gifts and talents He has given us.

Through the tears in her eyes I could see the Holy Spirit had touched her questioning mind and healed her wounded heart. Had I not "taken a break" from my busy deeds, I would have missed the opportunity provided to me to not only give to another but also to remind myself I need to keep pressing on no matter what the road looks like before me.

We are called to come together...one another...FOR HIS HOUSE...HIS PEOPLE...HIS GLORY.

I love this place!!

See you Tuesdays 3-6,

Paula Browand

A twenty-something cafe guest was arrested for theft and sent to prison. This is an unchurched person who struggled in the past to trust in God. Our volunteers have prayed with, and for, this person and helped out in so many ways. One Christian even spent time in Bible study with our now incarcerated friend.

We knew this sentence was coming; We weren't caught off guard. And so we worked to encourage this guest and be a supportive friend in the face of this difficult situation. Yesterday, a letter arrived in the cafe mailbox. It was from our friend. Part of the letter reads:

Dear Tim,

I was sentenced to six months in prison. I sure have learned a lot so far. I have gotten in touch with God so much more in the short time I have been here. Even though I may have been suffering the first couple weeks in here, it has made my spirit in God grow so much. So I think that this is a time that He may be using as a time of growth. He is also showing me that I should grow in Him everyday, no matter how, I have to make time for it.

My process of being born again is continuing. I have also learned that we should praise God for filling us with the Holy Spirit. So I hope you have been doing well and have been successful in your path with God. Write me whenever you can and just give me some idea of anything you think may help me get through these six months. Because I am trying to find more moral support. But I am using God our Lord, our Savior, to help me and will continue worshiping and praising Him.

Hope to see you soon.

The work of Cafe 41:11 continues and, by God's grace, we are seeing the young people of Medina touched by His love and mercy. Please be faithful in giving and spreading the word to your friends and family about all God is doing through the team at Cafe 41:11. Your support puts real arms and legs behind His transforming power. And we sincerely thank you.

• Please pray for this young person.
• Pray also for the volunteers and for Janis and me.
• Ask God to give us all "some idea of anything that may help" these young people place their hope in Jesus Christ.

My daily complaining and whining regarding decisions about what to eat, what to wear, where to go, what to watch on TV, enhancing my credit score or purchasing power, putting someone else's needs above my own, or whether my cell phone, car, and computer are working properly seems even more insignificant after receiving a letter like this one. I'm not suggesting that you and I not care about these decisions, but we surely shouldn't worry about them or allow them to distract us from the most important "thing" we should be seeking (Luke 12:22-34).

Then why do we?

The writer of Hebrews reminds us, "Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering" (NIV, Hebrews 13:3).

Man...oh man...how guilty most of us are of not loving each other as brothers, or entertaining strangers, or remembering those in prison as if we were their cell mates.

God have mercy.

Kids swarm the cafe. They line the coffee bar sweating all over the counter and panting for something cold to drink. Library bags relax comfortably on the cafe's cozy red chairs. A teenage boy and girl sit face to face at a chess table in a furious battle of wit. And a group of middle school youth pile on the wooden bench near our over-sized table. The cafe is packed. It's packed with kids. Some new kids. And some regulars. And it is fun!

I blame the free kool-aid, ice cream, popsicles, and air conditioning. The cafe volunteers fault the friendly and welcoming hospitality we offer. Maybe it's a bit of both.

"What'dve Y'all been up to?" I ask. (Y'all spits from my lips now and again. It comes naturally from being born in San Antonio.)

"We're headed out to play basketball?" replies one young man.

The kids carry on. Tease one another. And argue over whether they have enough people to play. They chug kool-aid and sweet tea and beg for more Ramen noodle soup.

Then, as fast as they came, they're gone. But they'll be back.

So I sit down to read, leaving the work to my community service helpers. A woman I've never met walks through the door carrying a Bundt Cake. It was a delicious surprise!

"Is that for us?" I say excitedly.

"Yes!" she replies setting it gently on the bar.

After a quick exchange of thank you's and you're welcomes, she leaves. I sit up, place my book on the shelf, and walk over to smell her donation. I lift the cake to inspect it and hiding beneath it is a $20 bill.

I think to myself as I drop the donation in the box: WOW, What a sweet surprise! Thank you Father for this woman and her provision.

Please know that all the volunteers are doing what they can to serve and reach the young people of Medina. We may not always see them experience the life-changing power of knowing Jesus. But we are serving. We are sharing. We are praying. We're giving away bibles, and feeding the hungry, and quenching the thirst of those thirsty, and doing all of this in His name and for His glory.

Thank you for giving. You are just as much a part of our work as those on the front lines. And you get to share in the reward awaiting those who remain faithful until the end.

Someone once wrote, "Whatever you do (WHATEVER), work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (NIV, Colossians 3:23-24).

A woman came into the cafe this week and ordered her usual Chicken Salad Sandwich. Except, this time she wanted just a half. I took a moment to glance at her and noticed she looked defeated...worn...lost. I made her small meal and went over to her seat asking if we could talk.

In time, we shared things from our past and our present. I found that the roads we traveled were quite the same. They were broken and filled with chuck holes. We talked for quite a while and ended with how we pray to God:

She goes to the throne of the Lord as a frightened woman.

I go to the throne of the Father as a trusting child.

Same road...same God...different approach.

I was reminded of the Scripture Matthew 25:34-40. The nations asked when did they feed and give drink and visit the Son of Man. Jesus answered, "When you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

I could only love on this woman as she shared her story. We can't always fix a broken life, but we can go to the One who can! We hugged...we parted...we will meet again.

I love this place!!

See you Tuesdays 3-6,

Paula Browand

"You look familiar," the young man says. "Did you once live in a white house with a staircase going up the side?"

"Yes," I answer inquisitively with raised brows.

Then he says, "I used to come to your house."

"Really?" I ask.

"I was a Jehovah's Witness, and I would come and talk to you."

"REALLY!" I reply, "I hope you remember me for good reasons and not bad reasons."

"It was good," the young man reassures me. "I came to talk with you three times."

"Wow," I remark. "I don't remember. I mean...you kinda' look familiar."

"Yeah, I was just a kid then."

I sip my coffee and then ask, "What happened after the third visit?"

"You asked me not to come back."

"Oh." I reply. And then ask him, "You said you were a Jehovah's Witness. What happened? Was there something untrue about there belief-system that made you stop practicing?"

"No, not really. I mean I couldn't take the hypocrisy. The leaders would say we had to live one way but they would live a different way. That...and...they basically made me choose between my girlfriend and the church. So I was disfellowshipped. No one there will talk to me anymore. They won't even shake my hand. If I see them, I'll say hi but they won't initiate a hello."

I can tell that he's open to discuss more so I say, "If you are no longer a Jehovah's Witness, would you consider yourself an atheist or do you believe in God."

"No," he answers. "I believe in God."

"Is this your first time at the cafe?"

 "Yeah," he replies.

"Well, I want you to know that you are welcome here."

"Thanks," he says.

We didn't speak much after this...just a little chit chat. But I believe a relationship was ignited. The young man hung out a bit longer watching his buddy finish a chess game. And I believe he'll be back to hang out. I'll see him again.

While sitting at the cafe watching him and his friends, I was reminded of Paul's words, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone" (NIV, Colossians 4:5-6).

I must've been practicing this verse when I first met him roughly ten years ago. I shudder to think of how his response to seeing me again at the cafe today would've been, if I had not welcomed him into my home. Even if it was for only three visits.

He is now back in my life, and God may be giving me a new opportunity to not only tell him about the love of God found in Jesus Christ...but maybe to live it before him. This means that I need to be ready to own my hypocrisy and the hypocrisy of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray for me. I need to be honest and authentic before this young man. I need to exhibit a life of repentance and faith before him so that He can see Jesus.

Sometimes a cup of coffee ain't so bad. I've never had a cup of coffee in my life, and I'm 59 years old. That's a lot of life...LOL! But during one shift at Cafe 41:11, I had my first coffee experience. A group of kids stopped in aging from 15-18 years old. They were a happy group, and we started to kid around immediately. They saw some coffee flavoring on the counter and asked if I could make them a Latte.

I said with raised eyebrows, "What's a Latte?"

They thought that was pretty funny. (I didn't get the joke...as usual). Well, anyway, they taught me how to make a Raspberry Latte. We laughed about different ways to say the word Latte (guess you had to be there). Within 10 minutes, I felt we were looking into each others faces and eyes really smiling with one another.

It was then that I realized:

Sometimes a strong cup of coffee (i.e. strong message) needs a little warmth of heated milk (i.e. love added to it) topped off with a sweet dab of whip cream (laughter) and a drizzle of chocolate syrup (friendship) to make a sweeter coffee (connection with the Lord's love for us).

Smile and Drink up!

I love this place!

See you Tuesdays 3-6,

Paula Browand