The “Money, Sex, and Power” series at the Palo Alto campus concluded with a final activity. 25 envelopes were taken from the stage, each containing $100, to be used both to bless someone else through giving and for the giver to experience, in a real and tangible way, the joy that comes when we give to others and the way that God’s power is manifest when we give.

Inside the envelopes, in addition to the $100 bill, were three instructions:

1.  The money inside the envelope is to be used to bless someone outside of your own family. It cannot be used for yourself or a family member.

2.  The money is to be given away during the next 2 weeks (ending July 8).

3.  You, as a giver, are willing to share with the community about your experience of giving, either in the July 8 worship gathering, online in the Highway
discussion forum, or both.

So… here’s the thread where you can share the story of your purple envelope-- how it was used, how it felt to give, how God has spoken to you through the exercise and what impressions it has left, etc.

Also, if you’ve decided to participate in this exercise on your own, and you’d like to write here about your experience, please feel free. This thread is not limited to the purple envelopes.

If you’d like to contribute your story to this thread, here’s what you need to do:

• If you are not already a member of the highway website, you’ll need to register, which you can do by filling out the form here.

• Once you establish your user name and password, then login to the website here.

• Then, return to this thread, click on “post reply,” and tell your story!

* if you encounter any difficulties creating an account or posting to this thread, please .

I had decided to give this gift to someone I had met several weeks earlier during a Highway service project.  Luis Torres (aka, Chava) is the facilities director at BCM (Bayshore Christian Ministries), and I got to know him fairly well during the service project.  He struck me as someone with a servants heart, so when the purple envelopes were presented, I knew exactly who I’d give one to (also knowing that those who serve in Christian ministries are very rarely rewarded financially for their efforts).  I’ve included the e-mail thread below so you can see how this actually turned out.  God works in ways that we cannot plan in advance. 

From: Luis Torres [mailto:ltorres@bayshore.org]
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 9:56 AM
To: Greg Corsetto (corsetto)
Subject: RE: Question for you

Halo Greg;

Yes, I got the envelope thank you very much and I did give it to some one that’s in need, he got so happy when I gave it to him.
He is not family, he is my neighbor and he had a car accident 2 weeks ago and hasn’t been working.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Greg Corsetto (corsetto) [mailto:corsetto@cisco.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 7:51 PM
To: Luis Torres
Subject: RE: Question for you

Chava, Hopefully you got the envelope, but let me know if for some reason you didn’t.


Thx

My husband and I have two kids. My seven year old son was the only grandchild on both sides for five years. He’s a bit spoiled. I have been trying to teach him that even though we may struggle financially at times he is blessed to have the things he has. He’s lucky to take a shower everyday with hot water, and to have three meals and to be able to go to school. I took the money and both kids and went grocery shopping at a bulk warehouse. I had my son pick out the foods and place them into the cart. I had him pay attention as I paid so that he would realize how expensive food can get. We then drove to San Jose to Martha’s Kitchen on willow road. My son, Isaiah, helped the worker unload the groceries from my car onto the cart. We then took a walk around as I explained how there are people in our own community that aren’t always able to eat three meals. He looked at all the donated foods and began to ask questions about how it worked.

Even though he still may not grasp the entire concept of how blessed he is, he is slowly seeing that he has a lot more than others in the world.

I’m working in San Francisco for the summer, and there’s a lot of homelessness in the city, so when Highway was handing out these purple envelopes I thought I might be able to use the money to buy some useful stuff for homeless people.  First, I bought $20 worth of socks (26 pairs), since I’ve heard that homeless people can almost always use new socks.  After work one day, I walked a couple of blocks to the Tenderloin (the poorest district in San Francisco) armed with my bag of socks.  I thought I would just hand them out to people, but when I turned the corner and saw the clumps of homeless men sitting on the sidewalk, along with younger, gangsterish men walking around like they owned the place, I got really scared… I inched along for a few minutes, thinking about bailing, until a young homeless woman approached me and offered to walk with me as a “bodyguard” since “this is a bad neighborhood.” She asked me what I was doing, so I told her, “My church gave us money to spend on something useful, and so I’m trying to pass out these socks...” We ended up walking around the block as she helped me pass out the socks, and they were all gone before we’d made one round!  There was just so much need in that place.  Then I asked her what else people around there could use, and after a minute of thought she said, “Got it.  McDonald’s gift certificates.” I didn’t even realize those existed, but she waited for me while I walked to the nearest McDonald’s, and they did indeed sell gift cards.  She helped me pass those out too.  I was really blessed by this chance to interact with unhoused people, especially with the woman who helped me, because in talking with her I saw how this terrible condition of homelessness can happen to people who aren’t that different from me and the people I’m used to.  I wouldn’t have had that experience if Highway hadn’t been handing out $100 in envelopes two Sundays ago.  Thanks so much!

When John asked for people to come forward to take an envelope, I was almost sure I wouldn’t be walking away with one. It just seemed completely out of character for me to do something so bold. But as I sat there praying for the people who took envelopes, God really put it on my heart to take one. I had been praying for the past couple of months that God would use me as a vessel to serve him and I thought this sounded like a good opportunity.
My first thought about getting the money was like “Wow, I could really change lives with this.” But little did I know that God was changing and working in me.
Each day since I got the envelope I had been consistently in prayer, hoping that God would show me right away who he was wanting me to give the money to. (You must understand I am a very organized sort of person who likes to get things done in a very timely fashion). Day after day went by and I was getting nervous because a week had already passed and I had not given the money away. I was getting frustrated, but the Lord was telling me to wait and be patient and that he would reveal who he wanted me to give to in his time.
The weekend came around and I was with a friend at a restaurant. We noticed that he was looking around the garbage for scraps of food and was hungry. My friend asked me if I had had given away the money from the purple envelope and I felt like this was the right time to give part of the money. I bought the man a gift card to the restaurant and when I gave it to him he smiled sincerely and told me thank you. A woman in the restaurant saw the exchange and went out of her way to tell me what a nice thing that was that I did. I thought about it and knew that the kindness and boldness to reach out was not because of me but because what Jesus was doing in my life.
The Lord had also pressed on my heart a boy that I watched in daycare a year ago and his mother who struggles financially and also struggles with a fatigue disorder. The Lord was telling me to call them and tell them that I had been praying for them. This is completely out of character for me again and awkward for me, but the Lord knew what he was doing and he blessed our conversation. I told her that I had a gift for her and her son and she was excited and touched. ( I bought them a giftcard to the movies and gave them the rest of the cash). She told me that me calling her was totally a God thing. Just before I called she told me a story of how her friend had just called to give her some good news about some furniture for her that she explained as “a blessing from the Lord.” She was also telling me how much her and her son wanted to go to the movies, and I told her that that was exactly the gift I wanted to give to her and her son. What a God thing! I have not given them the gift yet, but when I do later in the week I pray it will be a blessing.
Overall, God has helped me step out of my comfort zone and approach people I never would have approached on my own. He has shown me that I need to be more patient in my prayer life, and ultimately shown me that he can use anyone (even me!) to serve him.

Ok, I just wrote my whole story and pushed something on my computer and lost it....Here it goes again…

I hadn’t posted my purple envelope story yet because I thought I would be at church today to share it but as it turns out I am not due to our move. But part of the deal was that I share and I have a good story to share. So here it is.

As I was sitting there on that Sunday I was thinking that I wouldn’t take an envelope because I couldn’t think of anyone that I would give one to. Then the Lord brought to mind a co-worker that I have on my heart alot. I knew He wanted me to give her one. I do have to say that I struggled more with the how to give it to her and what to say in my letter, than I thought I would. I did finally after much prayer give it to her one day after work.

First, in all fairness I have to say that I may not know all the details but have been told by many other friends that this is the way it has happened. Even if it isn’t my co-worker is still hurting and struggling.

Her story goes like this....she is young around 30 and has a daughter. A couple of years ago she found out that her husband cheated on her with a “Christian” woman. Her husband left, moved to Oregon to live with this lady.Well the divorce papers weren’t final and the daughter went for a visit in the summer to see her dad. Partly because my co-worker had a class she had to take in Sac so she let the daughter go. She then received a phone call stating that a restraining order was placed against her and that she couldn’t come close to her daugher. They filed paperwork in Oregon saying that my co-worker was a danger to her own daughter. They piled on false allegations and now she is in a huge custody battle. The daughter calls crying and asking her mother to come get her, she just wants to come home. She is 9. As a mom, I can’t imagine what she is going through. I have always wanted to do something for her but never knew where to start.  I talk to her often and pray for her. She is struggling with the cost of this huge legal battle. She has 2 attorneys and has alot of other expenses. Like recently she paid to have her mom, who is in a wheel chair, and her aunt to be flown out from Ohio to be witnesses. She had to rent a special car for her mom, only to find out the night before the hearing that it was cancelled because an attorney couldn’t make it. She had to pay for them to come back out all over again later. I told her that I knew that this money was a small amount compared to all that she needed but hoped that it encouraged her to know that God brought her to mind one Sunday and that He wanted me to give it to her. She told me later that her attorney got her a visit and that her daughter is coming in a week and that it was perfect timing. She is always taking any and all overtime at work because she needs the money. She is a hard worker and has had to take out alot of loans to pay for her legal fees.

Early on in my employment I was talking with another co-worker about what church she goes to and what church I go to. My co-worker overhead this conversation and yelled, “not another one, I can’t get away from you Christians!” She said it half joking but I could tell she had been hurt. She is a tough military girl with a lot of walls. After I gave her the letter she found me in the locker room with tears running down her face. She thanked me and of course tried to give it back. I told her she had to take it, it wasn’t my money. It was from God and that he wanted me to give it to her. She thanked me and cried. She said she has been having a really hard time and that she was so touched. She recently wrote me a card partly to thank me but also because I am moving and it said that she was really touched by my note. She appreciated to know that she crossed my mind. That she has struggled with church but liked to go but that it is hard to go alone. She said that ultimately she knew He was good.

I want to thank God and the person that prepared these envelopes for allowing me to be a part of this. Thank you and God Bless

There are many needs in the homeless community that go unmet. The sad truth, however, is that most of the money received from panhandling goes to support alcohol and drug addictions. I teamed up with a friend who does homeless ministry in San Francisco to hit the streets with socks, underwear, sleeping bags, and sandwiches. The $100 from the purple envelope paid for 10 sleeping bags, and my friend contributed $100 of his own money to buy the socks, underwear, and sandwiches.

It was an evening I will never forget. We started in Golden Gate Park and the Haight district, where many of the homeless were teenagers and young adults. I was struck by the overall despondency, but also by the excitement people displayed when receiving a new pair of socks. Some people asked us to pray for them…and one man asked me to marry him! While I laughed it off, he said that he was serious. He was looking for “a good Christian wife”, but didn’t want to go to church to find her. We talked with him about becoming the man God calls him to be, so that he will be prepared for the marriage he desires.

The atmosphere of the Tenderloin area was worse. Most of the homeless in that area had been on the streets for many years. We talked with four people whose stench of urine was nearly intolerable. They each had numerous prayer requests and, as we prayed with them, a police officer stopped by to move them out of the area, as neighbors had called to complain about them. We then proceeded to a city square to distribute the sleeping bags, and as we approached a woman to offer her one, she exclaimed, “There is a God!” before we even uttered a word.  Her blanket had been stolen the week before, and she had asked God to provide for her if He was real.

~Michelle Proehl

There are also two more stories posted as separate threads in this forum. One is located here, and the other is located here.

I am quite new to the highway, and on account of that, was quite apprehensive to take a purple envelope. Recently, I had been praying that God would teach me how to bless people with my finances and this seemed like a good way to get the ball rolling. I had no idea how or in what degree this would bless me, or those involved.

I spent the first week and a half praying sporadically that God would give me direction as to where to put this hundred dollar bill. I had several random thoughts rolling around in my head, all of which seemed pretty cookie-cutter, non-personal ventures. So, on a trip back home to see my family I shared the challenge of the purple envelope, along with it’s guidelines to avoid my sisters telling me that they needed gas money and such. They all seriously considered people in their lives who may have a legitimate need, and my sister Laura suddenly had a look of relief on her face as she exclaimed, “Mike!”

Laura works at a local restaurant/pub as a waitress in a small town called Twain Harte. She is fairly new there, but has become quite close with her co-workers. She said that as she began working there she asked around to find out how much was appropriate to tip her busboy and her dishwasher, and the other waitresses told her they tipped the dishwasher as much as they could and then shared with her Mike’s story.

He is an 18 year old boy, with a large family and he is the sole provider. His father is disabled and his mother is very ill, so neither of them are able to work to provide monetary needs for the family. They do not have a car, and barely scrape by with what Mike makes as a dishwasher. He works as many hours as they will give him, and the waitresses always try to tip his as much as they can. The most amazing part of all of this is that Mike is always happy. He constantly has a smile on his face and he is always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needs it.

When my sister told me about Mike, I knew this was the person God wanted me to bless. So, one Saturday my sister and I drove up the restaurant and met Mike in the back. I let my sister do most of the talking, since she knew him well. I stood back and listened to them talk along with the waitresses and the reaction was significant. Mike was extremely grateful and a bit confused as to why some stranger would just hand him a hundred bucks, and the waitresses were all crying because they knew full well that he deserved it more than anyone.

I really pray that some how this spoke to Mike not just about the potential goodness of mankind, but of the heart the Father has for him and his family. I hope he understands that the God of the universe put him here for a purpose and that his care for his family is not going unnoticed.