1 John 3:17 - But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

The vision for this ministry started with the Girl Scout Promised

"On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country.
To help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law."

The "Water Angels" Brownie Troop 547

After the first year I wanted my Brownie Troop (26 first graders) to really know what that law means, and not just memorize the words. I prayed one day for God to use our troop so we could serve Him, and help others. The following week, my very good friends, Dottie & Rolen McMahan, invited my husband & I to come downtown to hear a ministry working with the homeless under a bridge. I had a fear of homeless people at the time, so my husband went. The following week, I decided to go. We went down, and it was there that I remembered my prayer to God. It was if He was reminded me of that prayer, and was showing me this is where we could help. I immediately was saying to myself, "Oh no, God, not this! I know nothing about homeless people. There has to be someone more qualified for this!!"

Then I remembered a sermon of Pastor Sager's that was about this very thing. When God shows you what He wants you to do, you shouldn't try to back out of it, you should obey Him. Sometimes He will make you step out of your comfort zone, but that's because He wants your to totally rely on Him. So, I said to myself, "Ok, but what in the world could my Brownies and I do?" About that moment, a man asked me for a bottle of water. I was looking around and realized that I was standing at the water cooler. I handed him one, and he drank it in about four seconds. I handed him another, and he looked so thankful. Compassion was all I felt, the fear was gone, and my mission was realized. We can collect bottled water and bring it to the services. I immediately told Rolen my idea, and he called me the next day with an idea that came to him about what we could call ourselves. Hence, The Water Angels were born.

Charter of Incorporation Mission Statement:

"Our purpose in the Water Angel Ministries, Inc. is to fulfill needs for the poor and homeless in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. Our main goal is to supply them with information about Christianity while concentrating on their physical needs in order to get these people on their feet, such as shelter, food, water, and clothing."

We have learned that once you are doing what God wants you to do, Satan will come and try to destroy it. I also learned that you can easily overcome Satan's attempts by keeping focused to the task at hand. Don't get sidetracked, keep praying, and if you doubt your mission, pray for God to show you the way. At one point, we got two disturbing phone calls to different Brownie Moms discouraging them to come and serve the homeless. An unidentified male mentioned how dangerous it was for our children, because these were dealing with sick and dangerous people. They both came to me, and I was for the first time doubting what we were doing. I felt so certain that this was what God wanted us to do, and in a matter of days, the certainty was shattered. That's how Satan works. I immediately prayed for God to show me with clarity if this is what he wanted us to do. I did not want to put our girls in any danger. That was on a Friday. On Monday, my daughter brought home a bible verse she had to learn at school for the week. "Do not be afraid, nor dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." That was comforting to me, but I wasn't sure if that was the definite sign that I was hoping to receive. On Wednesday, I went into my bible study group, and the lesson for the class was Satan. He attacks by creating doubt and fear. He wins by you quitting the task at hand.

He wants nothing more than to separate you from God. That was amazing to me, because I felt that was a great sign, but I have to admit I was still a little apprehensive. The following day, Thursday, one of my Brownie Mom's called me. I could tell the emotion in her voice, and I thought to myself, "Oh no, another anonymous phone caller reached her". She proceeded to tell me that she was studying for her bible study class, and reading John 4. It was about Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the water well. The Samaritans were society outcasts, but Jesus wanted to meet with them. He walked up to her and asked for water. She seemed surprised that a Jew was even speaking to her, and he told her that if she would drink this water, she would thirst again. But if she would drink the water he could provide, "the living water", she would never thirst again. He used water to talk to her about the Holy Spirit. We both were emotional when we realized that we are living in John 4 every Sunday. The Samaritans are similar to the homeless, they are both society outcasts, no one wants to deal with them. We were lead to bring water and use that as Jesus did as a way to talk to these people about Him, and hopefully lead them to salvation. At that moment, our mission was crystal clear to me. I felt no more fear, no more doubt, and just was flooded with emotion! That is how God works! Awesome!

The Water Angels offering compassion

It's been six and a half years since that day, but so many lessons have been learned, new friendships built, lives changed, and hearts have been touched. The Girl Scout Troop is no longer involved, but God has led a variety of volunteers to continue the work that they started. We go down every week to bring God's word, water, food, clothing, supplies, hugs, and ultimately hope. Our Sunday services at 2 provides them the opportunity to hear the word, surrender to it, accept Christ, and repent from their sins. Since we started, we have prayed with over 1200 people. During the week, we have classes, help them get their State ID's and Social Security cards, assist them job opportunties, help them find housing, and help them move them in. We've moved over 400 people off the streets through God! Most importantly, we are there to walk with them to encourage their spiritual relationship with Christ along the way. When they fall, we encourage them to get back up. When they reach milestones, we are the first to give a Holy High 5! It's been an awesome experience to see God work, move mountains, restore lives, and transform people right in front of our eyes! But the best thing is when we have the blessing to watch Satan flee!

Prayer is so important everyday of this ministry. This ministry began because of a prayer, and we exist today because of prayer. We pray for our obedience to His will, and pray on behalf of the homeless. Please join us in prayer, pray for our ministry, our volunteers, the homeless, and God will continue to provide everything He wants us to do. Pray for the devil to flee, for the surrendering and repentance of all of us, and that we continue not to judge, but encourage.

I'm so blessed to have my family 100% in this ministry. We receive the blessing in serving God together as a family, and look forward to each Sunday!

The Water Angels opening with a song or two or three...