Past Events - Our Good Shepherd Ministries

Christmas 2019

Michael Lavergne — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 15:41:03 +0000

We had 85 volunteers serving home cooked holiday dishes to 213 of our friends on the streets of New Orleans. The word I kept receiving from the volunteers was how much they were blessed by the gratefulness of the homeless people receiving their meals. And, our guests kept coming & thanking us for always being faithful to come & share this time with them especially on this holiday. It was a very special outreach & the love shown from both sides of the table was felt throughout the outreach site. Two worlds met in such a loving way at this outreach. Words cannot express the heartfelt blessings received from this outreach.

Thanksgiving 2019

Michael Lavergne — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 15:38:01 +0000

We had an incredible Spirit-filled Thanksgiving feast for our friends on the streets of New Orleans. We had 85 volunteers who served a delicious traditional Thanksgiving feast to 212 of our friends. We also passed out 140 brand new jackets, 100 backpacks filled with goodies & another 200 goody bags. It was like a huge family gathering where everyone got along with each other & enjoyed our time together. We also had a pamper table where the ladies had their fingernails done. We had a lot of prayer requests & a poster board full of personal notes as to why everyone was thankful. What a blessing it was to spend this time with these precious people who are our brothers & sisters in Christ & to see them smiling & laughing & really enjoying themselves for a couple of hours. We truly are privileged to be able to serve our friends on the streets of New Orleans.

Easter 2019

Michael Lavergne — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 15:34:37 +0000

In April, we had an Easter Service with our friends, including a communion service and altar call where 9 of our homeless friends surrendered their lives to Jesus. What a special outreach under the bridges on such a Blessed Day with such precious people. To God be the Glory!

Christmas 2018

Michael Lavergne — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 15:32:15 +0000

We had an amazing Christmas celebration with our friends on the streets of New Orleans in December. We had 92 volunteers who served 229 guests a huge buffet full of delicious home cooked food, passed out over 200 Christmas gifts, pampered the ladies with fingernail polishing & celebrated the birth of our Savior with everyone. We also had one of our guests give his testimony of how he & his wife used to be homeless under these same bridges but now has housing & how this ministry helped them with furniture when the got into their apartment. He encouraged everyone that their situation may look hopeless, but if you make the determination to rise above, there are people who will help you take those steps & you can restore your life. His testimony touched a lot of people that day.

Thanksgiving 2018

Michael Lavergne — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 13:05:20 +0000

The November feeding outreach was our Thanksgiving feast. It was absolutely incredible!! We had 172 volunteers who brought traditional Thanksgiving fixings and served 217 of our guests. We also had some amazing hair stylists who cut hair, trimmed beards & loved on so many of our homeless friends. We also pampered the ladies with fingernail polishing. And, we passed out 173 brand new jackets. We were also able to bring a young man back with us & place him in a local recovery center to break the bonds of addiction & restore his life. And, the best treat for me was having my 92-year old dad with us taking photos!!!!

Easter 2018

Michael Lavergne — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 12:29:10 +0000

We celebrated Resurrection Sunday with a message, altar call & communion with our guests. There were 53 volunteers who served delicious food to 94 of our homeless friends. Thanks to Hannah Bordelon, who raised money to buy 65 bags & items to fill them with amazing goodies to pass out to our friends. What a precious servant’s heart exhibited in this amazing young lady.

Christmas 2017 Adopt-A-Child Outreach

Michael Lavergne — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 19:13:59 +0000

We want to give a huge SHOUT OUT to those who helped with the Christmas Adopt-a-Child outreach, either by prayer or adopting a child or family!!

We were able to bless 53 children from 17 families with everything on their Christmas Wish List. It was incredible!! I have included a few pictures below of some of the children with their gifts. We couldn't have done this without all of God's children pulling together and blessing these families at Christmas. Each family & child know where the gifts ultimately came from & also Who the greatest gift of all is -- Jesus!

Christmas 2017

Michael Lavergne — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 19:11:08 +0000

The Christmas feeding outreach under the bridges in New Orleans on Christmas morning was an incredible blessing on everyone's part. We had LOTS of delicious food (especially the desserts :-)) and gifts for our friends on the streets. We had 68 of the best volunteers in the world show up with smiles & hugs for our friends and we served 248 of our friends on the streets of the city. We also had gift bags full of hygiene, food, hats, gloves & socks for them. We shared the true meaning of Christmas with everyone and also had Christmas carols playing the entire time. It was a glorious morning shared with God's precious children.

Thanks to all that participated by attending, providing food & praying for this outreach.

Thanksgiving 2017

Michael Lavergne — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 19:08:48 +0000

Our Thanksgiving feast for our friends under the bridges & on the streets of New Orleans was amazing! We had 109 volunteers that brought incredible food and we served 126 of our friends. We had a great time praying & visiting with them during this special day. They were all so grateful for us sharing this time and food with them. We also passed out 82 hygiene backpacks & some warm clothes.

I also want to share a testimony of how God works everything out for the good to those who love him & are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We have a beautiful Vietnamese volunteer named Linda who serves with a group at our outreaches. While we were setting up the tables & food at the beginning, she dropped her wallet. Before anyone could pick it up for her, a guy picked it up and took off on his bike before anyone could stop him. A few hours later after the outreach, Linda texted me to apologize for leaving the outreach & not serving. I told her that was totally understandable & I also told her that I was praying her wallet would come back to her. I prayed that prayer each day. Three days later, my friend called me & said "you are not going to believe this! My husband just found Linda's wallet in the back of his pickup truck!" THIS WAS ALL GOD!! His pickup truck was parked across the street in a parking lot with other vehicles. What are the chances of this guy running off with the wallet & throwing it into one of the only vehicles that would have gotten it back to us. BUT GOD..... My friend mailed Linda's wallet back to her & we found out that the only thing missing was some cash she had in there. Everything else was still there. Praise God!!!

We want to thank everyone that participated in this incredible outreach. We had such an abundance of Thanksgiving food that we had enough leftovers for the volunteers to eat! We also were able to take some to the Ozanam Inn in New Orleans, which is a homeless shelter for men, and also to both Oxford Houses in Hammond (transitional housing for men & women). What a blessing this outreach was - it was truly a day full of Thanksgiving & blessings & a reminder that we are to be thankful EVERY day!

January 2017 Feeding Outreach

Michael Lavergne — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 16:27:07 +0000

God blessed us with an absolutely gorgeous day to bless our homeless and needy friends on the streets of New Orleans. There were 38 volunteers who brought a bounty of home cooked food to bless 89 of our friends. Everyone I talked to shared about how delicious the food was and how long it had been since they had home cooked food like this. We also passed out treat bags, eyeglasses, warm jackets, hats, scarves, gloves, socks & blankets. We also had 18 Bibles picked up and prayed with so many of our friends.

Christmas 2016

Michael Lavergne — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 15:44:32 +0000

For Christmas, we had 62 volunteers serving 132 of our friends under the bridge in New Orleans some amazing home cooked meals. We also had gift bags with gloves and knit hats in them. Additionally, we passed out jackets and warm clothes.

It was such a blessing to share these special days with such precious people. They are so appreciative of everything and to see them smiling and having a good time just warms the heart & soul.

Thanksgiving 2016

Michael Lavergne — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 15:37:50 +0000

WOW! We had an incredible end to 2016 with our Thanksgiving & Christmas feeding outreaches in New Orleans.

For Thanksgiving, we had 97 volunteers who blessed 158 homeless & needy friends on the streets of New Orleans with a traditional Thanksgiving Feast. God blessed us with such an abundance of food, the volunteers were even able to eat AND we were able to bless a local shelter with leftovers just in time for their dinner! We also passed out goody bags that contained hygiene products, knit hats & gloves, snacks & devotionals. We also passed out warm clothes.Please take a close look at the Thanksgiving pictures below. There is a precious little 4 year old boy who was passing out the drinks at the end of the serving line. He would hold a water in one hand & a soft drink in the other & let his friends pick which they wanted. Nathaniel, the homeless guy who we have known now for 3 years, is looking down at little Ayden with such a sweet smile. This picture represents a true servants heart in such a child like little Ayden and a very grateful gentleman whose heart is warmed by this precious child who looks on him without judgment & with the Love of Jesus. What a picture of the love Jesus has for us!

June 2016 Feeding Outreach

Michael Lavergne — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 15:33:02 +0000

Hello Everyone,

Our June feeding outreach was our summer picnic and was a great success! We had 32 volunteers who served 196 plates of hotdogs, burgers, baked beans, salads, rice & beans, and the list goes on and on. We had plenty of food and also gave out travel bags with sandwiches, chips, drinks, etc. for later on. Pastor Gary was on vacation so Cliff stepped up to the plate and delivered a powerful message on Choices. Communion was served and there were 6 people surrender their lives to Jesus! To God be the Glory! We also passed out Bibles and eyeglasses.

We have also connected with a rehab program in New Orleans and discussed this with everyone who was interested at the outreach. We had 3 people make life changing decisions to enter the rehab program to move forward with their lives. Cliff & I are walking them through this process and will follow up with them throughout their stay.

The Lord is moving at these outreaches in a powerful way. We are asking everyone to keep the ministry, these outreaches and the people on the streets in prayer continually. It is awesome to see God's Hand moving over these precious people and changing their lives in a positive way.

We want to thank our volunteers that participated SO much for the love they show to our guests. I continued getting comments from them about how sweet everyone was to them and how much they enjoy spending those couple of hours with us. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and are so blessed to have the best volunteers ever as part of this ministry.

DUE TO THE EXTREME HEAT, THE JULY & AUGUST FEEDING OUTREACHES ARE CANCELLED. We will start back in September. We may possibly go down there and pass out sandwiches, etc., but not set up the tables and stay for 2 hours in one place. If we do this, I will send out an email.

May 2016 Feeding Outreach

Michael Lavergne — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 15:23:12 +0000

We had beautiful weather for last week's feeding outreach in New Orleans. Pastor Gary delivered a powerful message on the armor of God from Ephesians 6. We all shared communion together and 10 of our friends surrendered their lives to Jesus! The Spirit of God is moving through the streets of New Orleans. There were a lot of prayer requests from our friends and a lot of encouragement was given. We had 25 committed volunteers who served 155 plates of delicious food. We also passed out Bibles and eyeglasses. It was a great time in the city!

We want to thank everyone who participated in bringing hope to our friends by loving on them and showing them that they are cared for and not forgotten. We also want to thank you for the amazing food everyone brought! We thank our Heavenly Father for allowing us the opportunity to serve his hurting children. To God be the Glory!!!

100th Home!

Michael Lavergne — Mon, 16 May 2016 22:24:36 +0000

As Cliff & I was delivering furniture to a family in the lower 9th Ward in New Orleans last week, we realized it was the 100th home the ministry has been able to furnish since the beginning of the ministry! To God be the Glory!! Thanks to a lot of you who donated furniture, household items, linens, clothes, food and so much more that made this all possible. It's amazing how God uses each and every one of us to work together as a team with Him coaching us and leading us on to help those in need. We cannot tell you how many homes we have walked into and there was literally nothing in them - children sleeping on the floor, no bath towels to dry off on, no pots to cook in, etc. These 100 homes included 50 former homeless (including families), 26 single moms, 28 families, 10 veterans, 15 burned out victims, 10 single persons; for a total of 267 people, which included 128 children. As of the writing of this email, we have furnished a few more for a total of 104 homes with a list of 10 more that need to be done over the next couple of weeks. It is such a blessing to be able to minister to these hurting families and show them there is Hope and how their loving Heavenly Father is providing for their basic needs just as His Word says: "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 KJV

The pictures below show the family that was the 100th home. They actually came to our April feeding outreach to share a meal with us. In the picture by their home, the two older children were at school at the time we took that picture.

April 2016 Feeding Outreach

Michael Lavergne — Mon, 16 May 2016 22:19:32 +0000

With the City of NOLA closing off the areas under the bridges for permit parking, we have moved our feeding outreaches just a block over to a little side street where we have served before. The weather was beautiful for our April outreach and we had a great turnout. Pastor Gary gave an awesome message on the parable about the four soils that Jesus taught on. He also passed out "wordless bracelets" which tell the Gospel with beads on the leather bracelet and also a tract that explained the different colored beads with Scripture. Communion was served and there were 15 of our guests who surrendered their lives to Jesus -- ifyou look closely in the picture below, you can see some of the hands raised. Words cannot expressed the joy felt on the inside as I watched these precious people, most of whom have given up hope in the dark world they are living in, raise their hands as they asked Jesus to come into their hearts & lives.
We had 42 volunteers who served 156 meals to our friends. We were also blessed with a PA system so we were able to play music during the entire outreach. We also passed out 18 Bibles and quite a few eyeglasses. We also met the family that became the 100th home the ministry has furnished (see picture below).

Easter 2016 Feeding Outreach

Michael Lavergne — Mon, 16 May 2016 13:58:03 +0000

Happy Easter!!

We have been doing the feeding outreaches in New Orleans under the bridges since October 2013 and I have to say that this past weekend's Easter celebration with our friends under the interstate was the most humbling and powerful experience I have had since the beginning!! We had 53 loving volunteers serving 160 meals to our friends. But, the best part was before the food was even served. We had a dear friend of ours, Pastor Gary, bless everyone with an awesome Easter message, followed by an altar call and beautiful communion service. We had over a dozen homeless friends surrender their lives to Jesus!! Praise God! I have also had volunteers tell me that they were able to pray with a couple of them after the service and led them to Christ!! The Presence of God was definitely felt during the entire outreach. It was so powerful!

Pastor Gary was also able to use a beautiful wooden cross with the colored beads that tell the salvation story during his message. Pastor T from In the Wind Ministry donated 100 of these wooden crosses for our outreach!! Thank you so much Pastor T!!!!

Words cannot express the Love, Peace, Joy & Hope shared under the bridges this past Sunday. It filled the atmosphere the entire time we were there. This was the first time we served communion with our friends under the bridge and the response was amazing - a lot of them said it had been many years since they took part in communion and they were so thankful for us doing so. We thank God for allowing us to serve these precious people and for His Presence being there with us. We also passed out Bibles and eyeglasses.

I have attached a few pictures for you to see. You can go to the website next week and see all of the pictures that were taken.

We want to thank everyone for their prayers for this outreach - they were heard and definitely were answered. We also want to thank the volunteers that participated. You are amazing & God has SO blessed us with the best volunteers EVER!! You just jump right on in and do such an awesome job!! We love you!

February 2016 Feeding Outreach

Michael Lavergne — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 14:35:17 +0000

Our February outreach was great and we had beautiful weather under the bridge in New Orleans. We had 52 amazing volunteers who served 144 homeless a delicious buffet of food. We had everything from roast, ham, mashed potatoes & gravy to fruit and tons of dessert; just to name a few items. We also passed out Bibles and eyeglasses. Everyone expressed their gratitude for us coming and sharing the time and food with them. Looking forward to next month!

Sumner High Project

Michael Lavergne — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 19:29:44 +0000

Sumner High School's SADD group collected many items during month of January for the ministry. These items will be used to make hygiene bags for the homeless. Other items will be given to families in need. The ministry thanks them for helping those in need.

January 2016 Feeding Outreach

Michael Lavergne — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 14:06:18 +0000

Our January homeless feeding outreach in New Orleans was a little on the chilly side, but the warmth of the smiles and hearts took care of that. We had 64 volunteers who served 147 friends under the bridges in New Orleans some delicious and warm food. We also passed out Bibles, eyeglasses, warm clothes, socks, gloves and blankets, etc. I have attached a couple of pictures below. Next week, you can go to the website and see all of the pictures from the outreaches.

Thanks to all of you who participate in these outreaches. They are so important to our friendsunder the bridges in New Orleans. Not only are you meeting their physical needs for that day, you are also meeting their spiritual needs in sharing Jesus with them and praying with them, giving them hope in the dark worldunder the bridges. Right now, there is such an increase in homeless where we serve due to most of them traveling from the north for warmer weather.

We are asking for everyone to keep the homeless all over the world in prayer. This is an increasing problem in our world that is affecting not only individuals but families. Seeing moms with their children on the streets or living in shelters is heartbreaking. Our prayers are powerful and if we would just grasp the power within us through Jesus, we CAN change this world. Join with us in praying for the homeless everywhere for warm, dry & safe places to sleep, food, restoration, healing and housing.