GINA: My dad used to say, not every day is a good day, but
there's something good to be found in every day. And right
here on Skid Row, we are finding the good. As you can see, we've
got hundreds and hundreds of cars, people lined up waiting,
and we have people in the heart of Skid Row that are also
waiting. Like I said, we are finding the good today and it's
because of your help, your support that we get to have days
like this where we get to help those that are in need.
Something that really hit me so hard when I was here last, there
was a woman who came in, asked her what she needed. She just
wanted simply a bottle of water to wash her hands, and that just
touched my heart because it's things that we take for granted
every day that literally they go without for days on end. So
that's just another reason why it's just so important to
connect with us on social media, get the word out. Let's get as
many people as we can to help support the Fred Jordan Mission
so we can keep meeting the needs of those people who come through
the doors of the Mission. And then days like this that it's
kind of a special celebration. What we've done is we've gone
outside of the Mission out to the surrounding areas here in
LA and we've invited families to come. They're going to get a box
of food, they're going to get all kinds of things, but I won't
jump ahead. I see Joe Jordan down there and we're going to
ask him exactly what's going on. But again, I just want to
encourage you to keep praying for Fred Jordan Mission. The
needs are great, and the streets have gotten worse. They've
gotten more crowded, and so the need is greater. You know what?
There's no amount that's too little or too big. That we can't
do something with to help touch and change the lives that come
here to the Mission. And the most important thing is we pray
with them and we share the love of Jesus with them. Again, we
just want to thank you for joining us today. Thank you for
your financial support. Thank you for your prayers and love
for Fred Jordan Mission. Remember, we are here every day
serving, so God bless you. Let's go check with Joe and see what
he's up to and see what we're giving away.
GINA: Hey Joe, how are you?
JOE: Hey, good to see you.
GINA: I was just down on, Towne down there and there's hundreds
and hundreds of cars ,and we are doing things a little bit
different here on Skid Row today.
JOE: We are. We're putting all of the great gifts that God's
blessing all of the families with in the back of their cars,
or their trunks or their trucks, and it's just exciting.
GINA: Drive through.
JOE: Drive through, yeah, we continue to meet the needs,
whether it's a drive-through for our families and kids, which
we're doing right now to bless them. Or all of our homeless
guests will be serving in just a little while.
GINA: I know I can smell it. It's actually amazing. We have
amazing special chef here today cooking and it smells so good.
And I love the fact that even going of an extra step for the
children. Every child should feel special. And, I think these
baskets of goodies is just bringing that extra little bit
of love to them today. Before I take off, tell me a little bit
about what is in the boxes and what the people are receiving.
JOE: So there's these Vesta boxes and they're awesome, and
they're actually from the government. From the farmers to
the table for us. And we're so excited about it, because we've
been getting these 12 pallets a week at a time. Has milk in it,
and eggs. Has all kinds of things like yogurts and cottage
cheese, vegetables and fruits, so awesome fresh boxes. And then
we have canned foods, corn flakes and pastas and rice,
beans, and all of the things that are necessary to feed and
care for a family for about five days. So that's awesome. And
then we're doing these essential baskets too, that have hand
sanitizer and that have just all the other things, shampoo,
conditioner, soap. The basic necessities that people need
just to help. So we're able to declare, exactly, and lead 'em
to Christ as they're driving through. And also then we get to
demonstrate God's love with all these great things.
GINA: The need is great. So keep supporting Fred Jordan Mission.
And Joe, the one thing you were talking about is the fresh
produce. And that was something that when I first started coming
down to the Mission, and going out and inviting people to
lunch, and talking with them on the street. How important fresh
produce was, they would ask, I'd say, Hey, we're having barbecue
or this Saturday, are you having a salad? And it didn't hit me
until I realized, you know what? When you're eating something
that's in a package that lasts for a month or in a can or
whatever, how important fresh produce is, and now we have
trucks that are refrigerated trucks, absolutely. And so that
has just been amazing to meet those needs, but we still have
to put gas in them and we still have to have the produce and we
still need help. No gift is too great. No gift is too small. But
the importance of keeping these trucks
for the fresh produce up and running
JOE: Fresh produce, and of course fruits and vegetables,
and we have lots of farmers too out in the Coachella Valley that
bless us and that we get to bring stuff here to downtown LA.
And then all of the dairy and it's just so much good stuff. So
now we're running four trucks and they're running constantly
two or 26 foot reefers. So it does, it takes a lot of fuel.
And there's insurance, and there's drivers, and all of
that. But you know what? God's blessing us with all the
product. And, so with the support of our donors, our
partners and our friends who love the community, who love
these people as much as we do, because we're all just brothers
and sisters. We're one city, that needs to stand with each
other and be a community and support each other. So by our
partners helping, they're helping to bless them with the
word of God, to know Jesus, but they're also helping to feed
these kids and families nourishing food. So anything
they can do, you know how I say it, I can do a good thing and
you can do a good thing, but if we all get together, we can see
God do extraordinary things through us, whether it's a
dollar or $30 or whatever you can do. And also,
we need your prayer and volunteers.
GINA: Amen. Well, you sound like you're
ready to get ready to preach
JOE: Ready,
GINA: So I better let you get on With that, stay tuned.
We have got back to school coming up one of our favorite
times of year here on Skid Row. Seeing Children's coming from
all over the inner cities, and we're going to be able to give
them new backpacks, new outfits for school, and it's all made
possible by all of the viewers and our impact partners. And we
just can't thank you enough. And it's just we're all going to be
able to on events like this, it's like all of us get to
experience the joy on each face, but it's fun that the people at
home, that love, pray, support, get to really be involved as
well and see what a wonderful day this is going to be. Joe,
what is it like for you to be able to see thousands of kids?
You know that when a kid has a new outfit and they're going
back to school that they're going to do better. They're
going to know better, they're going to do, they're going to
succeed a little bit more, just because of
that day of receiving these new gifts.
JOE: I just want to say thank you because back to School will
literally change lives, if not for more than a day, hopefully a
week, a month, six months, because every time they look at
those new shoes, that outfit, every time they remember that
day of being loved and encouraged and being blessed.
They're also going to remember the message of Jesus, because
that day catered to kids and youth and teens, we're going to
preach the gospel. We're going to share with these kids, kids
Jesus loves you. And that's probably
the most exciting thing for me.
GINA: That's exciting. And again, we want to thank you at
home for supporting this amazing ministry and just know today
that Jesus loves you. No matter what you are going through
today, no matter what you're facing, remember that us here at
Fred Jordan Mission, we love you, we appreciate you, and more
importantly, God loves you and He'll meet
you right where you're at. God bless you.
ANNOUNCER: Join the conversation by connecting with us on social
media. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
and more. Visit us at social.fjm.org.
JOE: I'm excited because we are blessing children and families
by the hundreds and hundreds of cars, as we give them what God
blesses us with. There's all kinds of gifts, and there's
toiletries and hygiene products, all kinds of food boxes, and
what a blessing it is. And then we're going to serve our
homeless guests. So it brings me great happiness, but it also
brings me a sense of joy. Deep joy that lasts. You see, for
many of these families, they'll come through here and you can
see on their faces. We talk to 'em, we pray with 'em. The joy
in these families is really about happiness. Happiness that
they didn't have food before they came, and now they're happy
they're going home with food. But for many of them, they won't
go home with joy. They'll just be happy. But happiness, it's
really temporary. Happiness doesn't last forever, and I've
learned that in my own life. I wanted to share some thoughts
from Paul the Apostle as he wrote a letter to the
Philippians, the church at Philippi, and it's all about
joy. And it talks about how joy is the importance not happiness.
Many Christians and many who aren't Christians think that
happiness is it we're pursuing happiness. 'The Pursuit of
Happiness' was a movie that was out, and you think of happiness,
and some people might think of getting gifts Christmas morning
when the gifts come out, walking hand in hand on the beach with
the one you love or being on a date with your wife or your
girlfriend. That's happiness. That does bring happiness. But
some of us also think about vacations or at times that we've
had in the past that bring happiness. I know for me, my
happy place is being around water, my wife's happy places,
being around mountains and streams and wooded places. We
all have our different happy places. But you know what? I
know for me, even when the water's gone or the vacation's
over, sometimes the happiness I had on vacation and that
excitement, it diminishes. And what happens when all of the
happiness of the presence or the food that the families are
getting when the presents are gone or they're broken or
someone steals 'em or they rust when the food is gone that they
receive or they run out of all the products, happiness is kind
of temporary. And I wanted to share with you today the
importance of why joy is what we really need to have. And not
that we shouldn't be happy and not that we shouldn't be happy
about the things God blesses us with. We can and should be. But,
if we always just seek after happiness and being happy all
the time, we'll miss that mark every time. Because even for me
in ministry serving the least of these, the poor, the needy, the
hopeless, the homeless and the helpless, it brings me a lot of
happiness, but it also brings some sadness. Watching the enemy
try to destroy lives and what the streets do to people. Drugs
and alcohol, mental illness, it's really sad to see some of
that. And so for me, I think of a lot deeper than just being
happy. I think of joy, true joy that lasts. If people always
pursue a lifetime of just being happy, they'll definitely never
find that because it's elusive. Some people go after how much
money can they make or how many possessions, how many toys can
they buy? What's the next car, what's the next house? What's
the next vacation trip that we can go on? But happiness, if
it's based on and depends on circumstances, we're all in big
trouble. Because circumstances change. And as I said before,
you know what? The toys, the trips, and even our health can
dissipate or be disappearing out of our lives one day. And so we
can't base everything on happiness and what we have. It
needs to be deeper than that. And so, we need to base
everything on joy. And when we have our foundation in Jesus and
knowing Him and knowing that the Bible says the joy of the Lord
is our strength, then we'll be able to sustain and get through
anything knowing that Jesus will always be with us no matter
what. He'll never leave us and He'll never forsake us. And you
know what? I'm not saying don't be happy. And I'm not saying
don't have happy times. We all do. But again, there's a lot of
sorrow and sadness. Even serving Jesus through Fred Jordan
Missions, I'm sad a lot of times, and it's not always happy
to see the destruction happening in people's lives. The despair,
the discouragement. There are so many people hurting and
suffering, and that's why we're here to bring a little happiness
for the day? Yes, and it does, but even deeper than that, to
bring them hope, to bring them joy. And the joy is knowing
Jesus. Because that sure and that's certain and it lasts
forever. Paul shares in the book of Philippians something that is
just real powerful. He shared with the church about joy and
the joy that he found in Jesus and the joy he found in his love
for them. You see, the church blessed him. They supported him.
They prayed for him, and they encouraged him. And so Paul
wrote to them expressing his love and his affection. And how
Paul had one great joy aside from Jesus, and that was brought
from knowing that the church of Philippi loved and supported
him. And they exhorted them with that. The idea of rejoicing
appears over 16 times that Paul talks about it. Throughout those
4 chapters, Paul committed his life to serving Jesus by serving
others. He faced great wealth, but also great poverty. He was
locked up in prison when he wrote this letter to the church
about joy, and how much joy he had. Because he knew that no
matter what, rich, wealthy had everything or in despair, he had
nothing. He always knew Jesus would be with him and that Jesus
was with him. And that took him through everything, even his
worst times in prison. And so Paul's life, no matter what, no
matter what the circumstance was, he had joy, a deep
contentment. And it even says that in all things that Paul
found real joy as he focused on knowing Jesus and obeying Jesus.
Happiness can be very temporary, but real joy runs deep and
strong. There's a confidence and assurance with it knowing that
God loves us. He loves you, and he'll always be there and work
in our lives. We can always be sure and certain about that.
Happiness always depends on things happening in our lives.
But true joy only depends on Jesus, and knowing Jesus. Why
I'm sharing this with you today is because if I just went from
moment to moment, week to week, year to year of just being happy
or trying to be happy, I would find a lot of really sad moments
and down moments and discouraging moments and sad
moments in my life, whether it's with my family, whether it was
with my wife, whether it's with my children, my friends. In
ministry, there's always those lows. There's always those
valleys. But the one thing that keeps me just on top of things
and not rolled up in a ball, discouraged and in despair, I
never get to where I'm depressed, where I just can't
function because it's not about happiness for me. Although I
love happy times and I'm happy right now. But aside from that,
knowing Jesus, knowing that He's forgiven me of my sins, knowing
that I'm going to be with Him in heaven because of what He did
for me on the cross, that joy, the joy of knowing the Lord is
my strength. And that's what carries me through all of it.
Whether it's hurt or betrayal. God bless you, kids, God bless
you guys. Whether it's hurt or betrayal or sorrow or sadness or
loss, you can always, always find peace contentment in joy
because Jesus is the joy in our strength. We see in Philippians
4:11 and 12, it says this, "for I have learned to be content in
whatever the circumstances, I know what it is to be in need,
and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the
secret of being content. In any situation". Paul goes on to say,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or
want, he says this, I can do everything through him, through
Jesus that gives me strength. I love that so much. That was one
of my brother Tom's favorite verses, I can do all things
through Christ who gives me strength. And that was what Paul
said here in The Word. Paul exhorts the church in chapter 4
with these words. Paul exhorts the church by saying, rejoice in
the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice. Some may think it's
weird that Paul was in prison and telling the church to
rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice in
all things. Paul wanted the church to rejoice because of
Jesus. Some might think it's weird that Paul rejoiced and had
so much joy as he was in prison. But Paul's attitude shows us and
teaches us how important it is and a great life lesson, that no
matter what the circumstances around us are, that we can have
joy that is full by knowing Jesus ,and knowing that no
matter what happens, Jesus will always be with us. I hope and
pray that today's word from Paul, that happiness versus joy,
that you're encouraged by knowing that even if you're not
happy, even if you're in prison, even if you have loss, even if
you have nothing, like so many I see on the street, when they
know Jesus, when I know Jesus, when you know Jesus, there's a
joy that gives us strength because the joy is knowing Jesus
and what He did for us. He will always be with you. He will
always be with me walking us through this life. And no matter
what happens by knowing him one day, we will be with Him in
heaven for eternity. I just want to encourage you to follow
Jesus, to rededicate your life to Jesus, to continue to know
Him better. And if you don't know Jesus today, all you have
to do the Bible says, is just receive him Jesus. I'm sorry.
Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart, be my Lord and Savior.
And you can be saved, forgiven for your sins and have joy and
contentment and peace inside knowing that you have a
relationship with your father. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Let the
joy of the Lord be your strength. Enjoy the happy
moments, but when the happiness is gone, let the joy of the Lord
take you through it all. God bless you.
ANNOUNCER: It's that time of year as school bells ring across
the nation with kids of all ages, ready to go back to school
wearing brand new clothes, tennis shoes, backpacks, a fresh
haircut and smiles from ear to ear.
ANNOUNCER: However, consider the contrast with the kids in those
communities affected by poverty that have no other options. No
choices, but to wear the hand-me-downs, the torn clothes,
the shoes that are too small or too big and dirty. Or cradling,
a paper bag used to carry their school supplies. Fred Jordan
Missions looks to change that for kids. Headed back to school
once again this year at the annual Back to School
Extravaganza. It's truly a party on Skid Row, and we need your
help to throw it, as FJM gives hundreds of brand new shoes from
the Foot Locker, fresh, clean, new clothes, new backpacks, and
new school supplies, and yes, even haircuts to the kids of
Skid Row and the surrounding areas. We love the huge smiles
and big hugs, and even the tears of joy as kids pick out new
shiny shoes, stock up on needed school supplies, and even select
a brand new backpack. We invite you to be a part of this party
and support this event with the financial gift. Great or small.
Your best gift will make a difference in the life of a
child heading back to school. To give safe and secure online, go
to fjm.org or send a check to FJM Box 12345, Covina,
California 91722. Do it now while it's on your
heart. All gifts, no matter what the size are
so needed and greatly appreciated.
JOE: So we had a great day here. We're still having a great day
as we're serving the least of these needy families, needy
children, and needy homeless guest. And it's all made
possible because of friends like you serving the least of these
in Jesus' name. But without your partnership, without your
support, we wouldn't be here. I just want to thank you for all
of those who pray for us, that support us, that volunteer. And
if you're new today or you haven't been involved yet, come
out and volunteer. Come work with us and be the hands and
feet of Jesus. Come serve a homeless meal to a homeless
person, that just blesses them for the day. Come be a part of
helping to hand out food bags and baskets to children and
families, and watch the joy and the happiness on their faces.
Whatever you can do, it all makes a difference. And if you
can give financially gift financially. We would love for
you to partner with us so that we can do more as
the needs continue to grow. God bless you.
FEMALE: (Singing) When the night comes, and there's no-one, and
you feel hopeless, and abandoned. Just take my hand and
lift your eyes. Change is coming Love has arrived. We will
overcome the sorrow we will see the dawn tomorrow. We we soldier
on down this road as we reach for home. Reach for home.
ANNOUNCER: Please will you join us in feeding hungry children
and their families by phoning today, (844)FJM-Food or donating
online FJM.org. That's FJM.org or mail your check to Fred
Jordan Mission PO Box 12345, Covina,
California 91722. Please will you help.
FEMALE: (Singing) Reach for home.
ANNOUNCER: The proceeding program was sponsored by
generous friends and partners of Fred Jordan Missions.