We Made it Through 2021
1981 to 2021, we can say, “look where He’s brought us from”. From Joe sensing the Lord leading him back to LA from Sunnyvale, California, where we started our lives and Mr. & Mrs. Joe Browne and our first 2 children were born, to come to LA and Joe found himself at a radio station, KTYM-FM, Inglewood; without any previous experience learned to produce a radio with us a retired RN who became our COVID Czar. She set the standard that has kept us safe and functioning to enable us to continuously serve our community. So we were able to be a Vaccination Center, we had our Summer Discovery Camp for a group of youth and we had our Christmas in July providing backpacks with school supplies for children in our community. God is GOOD!
Thanks to Esther Song, we now can harvest Faithful Worms to enrich our gardens or to go fishing.
Manna from Heaven
The following organizations have been a blessing and we have been able to bless other ministries as well.
- The Dream Center
- Food Finders
- Ocean Gate Ministries
- LA Salad – Roger
- Food Donation Connection Harvest Program
- Careit (a new food rescue app, available to anyone)
Pastor Song’s Children for accumulating thousands of pounds of food and PPE supplies; a junior high, a senior high and freshman in college. Their father thought they should learn to seek donations and learn how to graciously receive declines.
- For the youth of our community – Resume the S.A.Y. Yes! Youth Development Program
- Enhance our Women’s Program to provide a positive outlet/alternative for women in the local shelter which is just a block away or from other housing situations
- Creative outlets for local Artists and Culinary Artists
- Family financial skills, parenting and marriage skills
- The needs are great and opportunity abounds
- We need IT Support for Social Media, pictorial cataloging, converting reel-to-reel into digital format
Our greatest gift of love from God is the fact Joe, is still here with us today. December 5th, while beginning our morning service, Joe experienced some type of episode that made him become unresponsive, 911 was called. By the time the paramedics arrived, Joe had regained consciousness and is back to his normal self. Finally, my children got him to the emergency hospital and he was admitted. What initially began as a concern for his heart, because he was in the hospital, his lab work showed that he was losing blood. He was immediately given 3 units of blood and admitted to ICU, he was there for 2 days. They discovered he had a bleeding ulcer. The doctors said, had he been at home when that happened, Joe would probably be with Jesus right now. God is GOOD!
You Ask, “How Can I Help?”
- Drivers are needed to pick up food donations: 3 locations approximately 5 miles one way for FICM
- Drivers are needed once a month to pick up food donations from the following locations:
- Inglewood – 4.8 miles one way
- Hawthrone – 14 miles one way
- Produce District – 4 mile one way s
- Volunteers are needed to assist with packing food bags on Mondays from 10 am to 12 noon
- Please consider becoming a monthly supporter of Faith in Christ Ministries
What’s on the horizon for FICM?
- For the youth of our community – Resume the S.A.Y. Yes! Youth Development Program
- Enhance our Women’s Program to provide a positive outlet/alternative for women in the local shelter which is just a block away or from other housing situations
- Creative outlets for local Artists and Culinary Artists
- Family financial skills, parenting and marriage skills
- The needs are great and opportunity abounds
- We need IT Support for Social Media, pictorial cataloging, converting reel-to-reel into digital format
Isaiah 61: 1-4
This is what we do.
Psalm 119: 57
Because of what He has done, we know he will provide.
Oh My...From 1981 to 2021
June 03, 2021
My God is my Salvation, My Strength, My Joy!
To every thing there is a season…Ecclesiastes 3:1
My God is my provider!
Val Peacock, RN BSN **Thanks Val for being our COVID Czar!**
Diane McDowell
Jack Wright
Sonja Huffman and son, Michael
Emilia Dyar
Yvonne Flemming
Pastor Song, wife Sarah, and their children, Daniel, Esther and Abby
Tony and Mily Santano
Drivers, Jamal Beckett, Ed Nelson and Clairfoster Browne
Pastor David Manila, Ocean Gate Church, another supplier for our food program along with The Dream Center and Food Finders
ABCOFLASH our American Baptist Region
A new partnership formed with LA County Health & Human Services Department, Sponsor of our 3 Pop-Up COVID Vaccine Center events
It isn’t often I get to witness a full rainbow and this one appeared on Thanksgiving Day of 2019. I felt God’s presence that His Promises are still true not knowing we were going to enter into a season of the COVID pandemic. This view is from my front door on Western Avenue and the rainbow stretched from 45th Street to 46th Street.
My God will never leave me or forsake me.
Hear my cry, O God; Attend unto my prayer…When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:1-2
Life can be frustrating:
- My cell was stolen
- I contracted the COVID virus (no one else in my family, nor the core food team) I had a very slight case.
- All three of our buildings needed roof repairs, 2 need full new roofs
- The catalytic converters were stolen from of our 2 church vans and Gwynn’s cars
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My God is our provider.
“Thank You, God, for Good People! They’re the ones who willingly and generously help wherever there’s a need…”(From Patricia Mitchell’s November short prayers)
First of all, Thank, you Pastor Joe, for your faithful leading, for believing God for His promises. Thank you supporters, all who give monthly, quarterly, yearly, and those of you who respond to a plea and give whenever your heart leads you; each of you have carried us through a very difficult season.
- Pray for continued protection of our health.
- Consider being a rotating volunteer to help pick up donations.
Share what we are doing with your friends.
Help us develop and participate in our summer programs or holiday events for youth in our community. This is a great opportunity for a family service project.
Help with tending our garden and sprucing up the play area in our park.
Consider teaching our office volunteers how to use Google docs to improve our communication/technology skills.
- Consider being a monthly financial supporter.
Friends, we know not what the future holds; but we know who is in control. There is still so much to be done in healing relationships, comforting those who are grieving or feeling insecure about life. Please join us.
Lord, bless you and keep you. May He be Gracious to you and give you peace.
Amen,
Pastor Joe and Gwynn Browne
2020 Update
A Special Life-Encouraging Trip to the Holy Land
Change is inevitable; change isn’t always easy. Thank goodness, God never changes. God is faithful and continues to provide in changing times. Pastor Joe and Gwynn are so grateful for the opportunity to have visited the land May 2019 where Jesus walked and ministered.
Pastor Joe and Gwynn were photographed in front of the massive lion. Looking and it confirms my inner sense of our Lord saying I AM with you. The blue butterfly is a reminder that His mercies are new every morning. “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”.
Our main prayer in 2019 was to have a youth leader for the youth in our community. This September 2020, God has given an intern for 1 day a week for our youth.
So with great anticipation for the coming year of 2020, we will walk with the Lord in determining His will.
However, COVID-19 hit.
And in response, we said “So What!”
People will still be hungry. FICM never stopped serving. Our main food team was comprised of adults with underlying health conditions of over 50 years of age. Fear raised its head for just a moment, but God already had a brand new team of volunteers ready to step in to carry on, to ensure Pastor Joe’s vision never dims.
God protects as we adhere to all the current CDC guidelines. It’s certainly our fortune, a blessing that God has Ms. Val Peacock a retire nurse to keep us on point. Thank you Ms. Val.
Thank you ABCOFLASH Regional office for the N-95 mask we have shared with our essential workers and clients who come for our food program.
2019 Accomplishments
- 1820 Breakfast meals served
- 2080 bagged groceries distributed
- 832 homeless bags given
- 14,000 pounds of Idaho potatoes received from New Plymouth FBC Idaho, lead by Pastor Phil Pittman who brought a team down for a week working with FICM and a church in Long Beach.
