| ‘I know the 99 are fine, let’s find the lost one’ | By: Sabrina Bates, News Editor
| Posted: Friday, June 18, 2010 1:21 pm
| With the help of his Daystar Bible Church family, Pastor Ed Eubanks, along with his wife and two children, of Martin will hit the open road July 1 in a quest to cover more than 3,883 miles across the United States.
Eubanks said there is one goal in mind and that is to bring help and comfort to those who are considered the nation’s’ “mobile homeless.”
“The mobile homeless are a fast-growing group of people who are typically educated and have hit some hard times. I just couldn’t imagine a single mother having to stop at a rest area just to clean up her children because she has nowhere else to go, for whatever the reason may be,” Eubanks explained.
For the last several years, the 26-year pastor had traveled to China to spread the word of God. This year, brought a different story as Eubanks described how God had laid this home mission heavy on his heart.
“Charity begins at home. God laid this on my heart and I must do this. As a Christian, I can rise to the occasion and so can the church,” Eubanks said.
With a network of friends that spans far beyond the boundaries of Weakley County, Eubanks was compelled to provide a mobile food bank for the families who have been displaced and live at rest stops along the nation’s interstates.
It was through a group of Christian truck drivers that Eubanks had the idea to offer comfort and food to the mobile homeless.
“Many of them told me about the people with children who actually sleep at rest areas and they and I could not believe how many people in this country are left to live like this,” Eubanks shared.
He said if he touches one person’s life at each stop along the 3,883 miles, he would have accomplished a tremendous success.
“I remember well the story of Jesus leaving the 99 people to minister to the one lost soul. Other churches have called and asked me to pastor at their church on this trip. That is not my goal. We are going to reach out to those families in need. I want to pray with them and encourage them and provide them with some food,” Eubanks said.
His values are instilled in his children and that love for mankind showed through when his 14-year-old daughter passed up the opportunity to visit Disney World this summer to compete in the national gymnastics championship.
The Eubanks family will provide live updates from the road during its 30-day home mission at www.missionusa.org.
Their goal is gather 1,000 pounds of food into their camper and drive from Miami, Fla. along the coast of Louisiana to Mackinaw Island, Mich.
The mission trip is known as the Tour of Hope and is one of the first of its kind.
Daystar Bible Church will host a yard sale this weekend at the former Martin Junior High location in an effort to raise money for food items to take on the road.
The sale begins at 7 a.m. and will last through 1 p.m. For additional information about the Tour of Hope or how to help, contact Eubanks at 514-0526. | | | | |
