A wind driven rain splatters my windshield blurring my vision. The rhythmic squeaking of wiper blades fights the precipitation enough for me to see the dark autumn sky reflect off the blackened wet street. It's East Friendship Street. A street I've driven many times traveling to and from the cafe. Proud historical homes and aging trees enclose its concrete curbs. I enjoy driving down Friendship this time of year. Colorful leaves cover the road like a quilt spread gently across the rocker.

Jeff and I just closed the cafe, and I'm weary from a long day of ministry. I steer my 1979 Grand Prix, jamming to WMJI, when a car rushes up behind me. Its brilliant headlights shine in my rearview mirror forcing me to squint. And then...blue and red flashing lights encircle my car.

It's Medina's finest.

"Great," I say under my breath, pulling the car to the side of the street and shifting into park.

I think: This must be a prank. Am I being punked? Is Ashton Kutcher going to pop out from behind a tree? I wasn't speeding. What's going on?

The officer walks to the drivers side door introducing himself and saying, "The reason I pulled you over is because your license plate isn't illuminated."

"Oh," I reply. "It must be burned out. I'm sorry, Sir."

"And I notice," he continues. "You're not wearing your seat belt. Is there a reason why you're not buckled up?"

"Aghh," I moan in disgust. "I totally forgot. I just left work and I'm tired and I...just forgot."

"Sit tight. I'll be back in a minute." The policeman says.

My first thought? Curse at myself. But that wouldn't do any good. So I prayed. Please, Father in Heaven. Please only give me a warning. I don't have a lot of money right now to pay for a ticket of any kind. In Jesus name, Amen.

The officer returns saying, "I'm only going to give you a warning for the license plate light. Make sure you get a new bulb so it's visible."

"I will, thank you sir."

"But I have to give you a ticket for seat belt violation. It's against the law in Ohio to drive without a seat belt. Actually, it's against the law in almost every state."

He politely hands me the ticket above, informs me of what I need to do, and reminds me to buckle up before pulling away. He was a kind officer but now I have to pay a fine (money I don't have). Oh well, I guess this is just another moment where I need to practice trusting Him to provide.

I had a clean record. I was going on some ten plus years without being pulled over and ticketed (hear me whining and defending myself). That great record now blemished, blotched, marked, scarred, tainted, spotted. This stinks (more whining).

One could insert all those adjectives, and more, when examining the human heart. Our heart is blotched with sin. God tickets us for breaking His law. And the fine for our sin-stained heart is death (Romans 3:23 & 6:23). Thankfully, Jesus accepted the penalty for our ticket and paid the fine in full. The fine we deserve to pay (Romans 5:8). Those who confess this truth and believe in Jesus will be saved from God's ticket (Romans 10:9-10).

Is your ticket paid for?

How do I begin to write about a day that has been greatly blessed by the Lord? I know everyday is a blessing from God but some day's it seems He moves more than others.

Two weeks ago at the cafe things were a little slower than the week before. We got to spend more time with the guests who wandered in. Quite a few of the kids were talking about God, the word saved, baptism, and ways of the world.

A group of young ladies were talking about how they saw no point in getting married. They felt it was O.K. to just live with someone and then leave them whenever you wanted. I couldn't help myself. I had to share what God says about that. In doing so, I found out one of the girls is an agnostic (believes in a higher power) not necessarily "God."

I shared with her about the ways of the devil and how he is a liar and great deceiver. I told her about the hole in her heart that needs to be filled with Jesus Christ. I shared with her how to be saved. She wasn't interested in doing that today but a seed was planted, now we just need to water it and watch it grow, praying it not be snatched away. Mark 4:1-20 (Parable of the Sower) gives a very clear description of this. Thank you Lord.

Other volunteers were busy planting and watering seeds too. One was speaking with a woman about her faith, another was sharing the gospel with a young man who was celebrating his birthday. He was accepting of the gift of God and received Jesus into his heart. Praise the Lord!

Lots of gardening done today at the cafe. Pray with us for the harvest!

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.

I instruct a community service helper to brew a pot of Dunkin' Donuts House Blend donated to the cafe. (They say: America runs on Dunkin'. I don't. I think it's kinda' hard to run on a cup of coffee. A person could roll their ankle attempting that. It's dangerous. I run on a track or away from an attacker. But I drink a cup of coffee.)

I sit anxiously waiting for the coffee to ripen and then pour myself a cup. Steam from the coffee tickles my nose as I take the first sip. Its aroma inviting. Its flavor invigorating. Kids pile in the cafe and plop down in our comfy chairs.

"This air-conditioning feels so good," says one teen wiping sweat from his forehead. "It's hot out there."

"I'm glad you like it," I reply. "Would you like something to drink?"

"A kool-aid," he answers.

A few adults pile in the cafe too. I open the Word and share words of encouragement with a dear friend. After that, a man asks me for food from our pantry. We walk downstairs, and he gathers cans of soup, peanut butter, and a can of beef stew. The beef stew was the only one we had. Not a big deal. I'm glad to give it away. It's better than watching it collect dust sitting on a shelf.

About fifteen minutes later, a women walks in with a box of canned goods for the cafe. Her present contains (get this): cans of soup, peanut butter, and four cans of the exact brand of beef stew I just gave away. No joke. I give away one can of beef stew and immediately receive four!

There is an interesting occurrence in Scripture. Paul shares something Jesus said that is not recorded in the Gospels. (All you bible scholars can correct me if I am wrong.) But Paul writes, "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'" (NIV, Acts 20:35). It truly is more blessed to give than to receive. This truth applies to many aspects of our lives.

It is more blessed to:

• give love than receive love.
• give money than receive money.
• serve than be served.
• give hope than receive hope.
• give mercy than receive mercy.
• give faith than receive faith.
• feed the hungry than receive food.
• shelter the homeless than receive shelter.
• clothe the naked than receive clothes.
• restore sight to the blind than receive sight.
• restore hearing to the deaf hear than receive hearing.
• heal the sick than receive healing.
• give freedom to captives than receive freedom.
• give life than receive life.
• give a job to the jobless than receive a job.
• give a car ride than receive a car ride.
• give fair fries to a missionary who shall remain nameless than receive fair fries (I had to throw that one in there).
• be a friend than receive a friend.
• be a listening ear than receive a listening ear.
• forgive someone of an offense than receive forgiveness.

Being a child of God is more than simply knowing and believing. He desires that we live what we know; that we act on our belief (1 John 3:18; James 1:22-25, 2:14-26). Dearest friend, step out in faith! Live what you know and what you believe and trust Him for the results.

The cafe rent is due tomorrow and we could use some beef stew. Our "beef stew" is the roughly $80 the cafe needs to pay the bills and stay open. The cafe will be open tonight from 6-9pm. I'll be there, and I'm dropping one can of beef stew ($8) in the donation box trusting my heavenly Father to provide a bunch more "beef stew." It is one way I can put my faith in action. And I believe He'll provide.

I sipped my tea thinking about the next sentence to write. My trusty laptop computer (I call him Mr. HP) hummed and whined begging for me to pound my fingers on his flat keypad. Mr. HP is like 7 years old. That's nearly young enough to collect a pension. The age of a computer in human years is a more dramatic increase than the age of a dog in human years. Anyway, Mr. HP was my companion Tuesday at the cafe. He's been helping me write a new book.

Tuesday was a Medina city schools early release day. The first part of my shift was unusually quiet because our after school crowd left for home earlier in the day. I had one student stop in for a bowl of soup. Before he left he asks, "Can I take some bread home for me and my grandma?"

"Sure," I reply. "Pick out whatever you need." He thanks me, waves, then bounces out the front door leaving me and Mr. HP to work on the book.

A half hour later, a young man walks in. He has been a regular guest at Cafe 41:11 for almost a year. The volunteers have all taken turns praying for him and feeding him. Basically...loving him. Last week, a pastor of a local Church and one of our supporters made a commitment to meet with him on a weekly basis to encourage him, counsel him, mentor him, and answer his questions about God. He agreed.

Yesterday, he walks through the door, sits down on a stool next to me and Mr. HP saying, "Oh, Tim. Guess what?"

"What?" I ask.

"I've just asked Jesus to be Lord of my life."

My heart shouted, YES!, giving Jesus a kind of spiritual high-five. And I'm not certain, but I think Mr. HP hummed a high-five too.

I was in a fierce wrestling match last week with that great masked avenger: The Common Cold. He is a worthy adversary, but eventually I won. I pinned him to the mat, and I'm feeling better today. Although, I had some help. There were no metal chairs, ladders, or 2x4's at the side of the wrestling ring so I grabbed orange juice from the fridge, water from the faucet, a sturdy cardboard box of Kleenex, and two of my closest friends.

Rich and Lyle answered the call and joined me at the cafe Thursday afternoon providing support, encouragement, and strength to serve and minister to cafe guests. We had a great discussion going about God's sovereignty and evangelism when one of our "regulars" dropped in.

We welcomed him. The guest asked for a glass of water. Rich filled up a cup for him, and the three of us continued our conversation.

He overheard us and joined in saying, "I wish God would save me, but I just don't think he hears me. I do all these bad things and ask God to forgive me but keep doing dumb things that I don't want to do. I'm also afraid of what my friends will say if my life changes, like...a lot. But isn't it also true that, like...um, if someone asks him to come into their heart but that person just keeps doing stuff, eventually God won't forgive that person?"

Immediately, the direction of our conversation deviated. Three men slurping coffee and talking about God became four men. It was a wonderful conversation. It was a confluence of people and their stories of how God has changed, and is changing, their lives. After nearly an hour of sharing the scriptures and our lives with this young 19 year old, Lyle stood and hugged him.

I share this moment at the cafe to encourage you that your prayers are being answered and your financial support is not futile. God is giving the cafe volunteers opportunities to feed the hungry and talk with guests about Him. Your support makes this possible. Thank you!

Please continue sharing the cafe ministry with your friends and family. And remember the cafe in your prayers. Ask God to provide new financial supporters, more volunteers, and more people to pray for a greater confluence of the staff, the volunteers, and those guests walking in for a glass of cold water.

Jesus said,

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward" (NIV, Matthew 10:42).

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" (NIV, John 7:37).