I’m highlighting the latest news about Cups with bulleted points in this update because so much is happening. Enjoy!

• A teen guest shared with us last week how God is working in his heart and how he is working on trusting in Christ. He decided to get serious about his relationship with God. (YAY!)
• There are two community service workers helping at Cups. Please keep them in your prayers.
• The café was able to stay open till 9pm last Friday night. Two Connection Church members, who volunteer at Cups, served half a dozen guests ranging between the ages of 15-24.
• We needed 13 gallon trash bags. The café was totally out. I prayed and prayed and then last week got a call from Buehler’s on Rt 18. The service manager said some miscellaneous damaged items were available for pick up if we wanted them. I drove out there to pick up the donation and it was a large box full of 13 gallon trash bags. There must have been 10-15 boxes of trash bags in this one box. I’m talking the 30 and 45 count boxes of trash bags. Thanks Dad! I love you J! Keep praying and trusting in Him to provide.
• I shared the Gospel with two 22year olds last week and gave one a Bible. They are searching and asking good questions. Please pray for them in their spiritual journey and for me. They are both also looking for jobs.
• Today is Nacho Night at Cups!
• Cups has a new brownie baker to add to our list of generous men and women who donate food and supplies on a regular basis. If you bake or donate or give in any way, THANK YOU for giving!
• The Cups Café Shelter Squad will hold its first meeting this Sunday, March 27^th at 2pm.
• Lynn opened a Bible last week and shared some encouraging verses with a woman at Cups.
• Cups Café received news regarding our annual Medina County Fair Week fundraiser and it sounds like our responsibilities could increase! Please pray for this wonderful opportunity. More details to come.
• Need tax help? Contact Available Tax Services 330-241-5191 or email joseph.oloyede@availabletaxservices.com
• Our volunteer schedule coordinator extraordinaire (aka Angy Kreuder) is doing a great job of making sure the volunteer schedule is full so the café can remain open throughout the week. Keep praying for her as she calls volunteers and serves in this way.
• Cups Café is hosting a video game drive. We’re collecting gently used video games for the Medina County District Library. More details to come.
• I’ve been blessed with a part time job at the Medina Rec Center (16 hours/week). It definitely helps pay the bills. Thank you for praying and supporting this ministry. Please continue because we need it and spread the word. We’re always searching for more monthly support for Cups Café and the Van Arsdale family. Make checks payable: Cups Café.

We cannot fast from meat and drink during lent and expect God to hear our voice, because on the day of our fasting we still do as we please, and gossip and argue, and hold unforgiveness and hatred in our hearts. Humbling ourselves one day a week is not the kind of fast God requires, it's just not acceptable to Him (Is. 58). I’ve mentioned this verse in previous blogs but felt I needed to write about it again because it applies to this season of Lent.

God wants us to: loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke. This means we need to set each other free and not hold one another hostage mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually. Injustice is like a knot that must be untied and we have the power to untie it.

He wants us to: share our food with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter. This means that we go without so that someone else can go with. Instead of just abstaining from meat and drink one day of the week or not buying it during a season, we can buy meat and drink for someone who abstains from it year round because they can't afford it.

He wants us to: clothe the naked and not turn our backs on other human beings. This means that we are not an island unto ourselves, we are not alone. We exist on this earth in community with others and our fellow human beings are not to be ignored.

When we fast in these ways, then...THEN...God will hear our prayers and cries for help and our hearts and bodies will find comfort and healing.

It was neat to do these things for teens yesterday at Cups Cafe. Volunteers bought pizza and ice cream, out of their own wallets, to feed folks yesterday. Some adults, looking for something to eat, dropped in too. We got slam dunked with guests. It was one of the busiest shifts so far this year with somewhere near 58 guests in three hours! Three new middle school students stopped in also. They just moved to Medina and one of our “regular customer’s” met them at school and brought them to Cups. So cool.

Thank you for your prayers and support. Please continue to pass the word to others about our ministry and pray about supporting the cafe with a monthly pledge. Your gift will help us keep the doors open and provide others with great opportunities to serve Hope one cup at a time.

Instead of "giving up something" for lent or "not doing or partaking in one thing or another", why not try doing the things above from your heart?