DAYTONA BEACH -- Charles Elliott was asleep in the grass, snoring gently, oblivious to the singing and dancing and praising going on in the park all around him. A white Styrofoam container sat next to his head -- his meal for the afternoon.

Two girls in matching church T-shirts approached him quietly, flipped open the lid without a word and placed a tomato and a banana inside.

They left, and Elliott snoozed on.

August 5:  Lighthouse Ultreya - New Smyrna Beach, FL :: Pastors Jim & Jean ministered to more than 100 folks at the Lighthouse Via de Cristo Ultreya. The Holy Spirit moved and 19 people came forward to receive Christ and rededicate their lives to the Lord.

August 6:  Tomoka C.I. - Daytona Beach, FL :: A HGM team ministered to approximately 40 inmates in the Main Unit of Tomoka Prison. 7 men came forward and recommitted their lives to Jesus

August 11:  Tomoka C.I. Work Camp - Daytona Beach, FL :: Higher Grounders ministered to approx. 20 prisoners in the Tomoka Work Camp. 5 men in blue came forward and received Jesus as Savior.

August 16:  Covenant UMC - Port Orange, FL :: Pastor Jim ministered to 22 men at the Team Jesus Men's Group at Covenant United Methodist Church. Two men stood to receive special prayer and a touch from the Lord.

August 29:  Putnam C.I. - East Palatka, FL :: We had 102 prisoners that filled the chapel.  The Holy Spirit moved and 40 brothers in blue flooded the altar and received Jesus.

A team of five went into Putnam Correctional Institute on Monday, August 29th. 102 brothers in blue attended the service, with well over half having never been in a Higher Ground service before. A brother in blue named Darrel Coleman shared his testimony, touching many of the men who had come out, including the team. Billy shared his testimony of God's faithfulness when he lost his leg.  The Gospel was proclaimed, the net was cast and 40 men came forward to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior! All glory to God!

For Jimmy, one of the team from Higher Ground, it was his first time into Putnam C.I. Jimmy found the experience uplifting and rewarding to be a part of doing work for His kingdom. Jimmy said the outreach to Putnam was really touching as the Holy Spirit led the service, touched the hearts of the men and gave them hope where before there was none.

Our Higher Ground Ministries team has been busy answering God's call to "Go into the world and make disciples". As Isaiah cried, "Here I am, Lord, send me" (Is. 6), so our hearts have cried out for God to send us. Jesus' promise in Acts 1:8 is "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth." Good things happen as we "GO" and witness for Jesus, and we know it is "not by our power or might, but only by His Spirit"!

Our call remains clear and simple, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you invited me in, needed clothes and you clothed me, was sick and you looked after me, was in prison and you visited me." (Matt. 25)

It's hard to believe it has been more than 11 years since I walked away from a great job with a six-figure income to answer this call. This remains an adventure of faith and we marvel that God continues to "make a way where there seems to be no way"! God is faithful ... and He continues to use your prayers and financial support to sustain this outreach ministry. Thank You and God Bless You for your prayers & financial support.

Together we are making a difference! We have personally prayed with more than 3,800 people to sincerely receive Jesus as their personal Savior. These are real and conservative numbers and do not include those who have recommitted their life to following Jesus. We recently returned from our sixth mission to Honduras where we witnessed 133 salvations.

From June 23-28, a team of 5 from Higher Ground ministered in 5 remote mountain villages near La Esperanza, Honduras. We brought groceries to 150+ families, put new shoes on 200 children, shared the Gospel and prayed with scores of families to receive Christ. We spearheaded 3 church services (including a Pastor's Conference), ministered at a Children's Home, on the radio and held two meetings in Central Prison of La Esperanza where 60 men were saved and powerfully impacted by the Holy Spirit. All glory to God!

In June we also had teams minister to Alliance Retirement, Celebrate Recovery, Carpenter's Children's Home, Volusia County Jail and Putnam Correctional Institution.

Upcoming outreaches include: Tomoka Prison, Tomoka Work Release, Carpenter's Children's Home, Alliance Retirement Home, Celebrate Recovery & Putnam Prison +.

We sincerely want to ask you to please pray and ask the Lord what love gift He would have you send to support Higher Ground Ministries. Unfortunately, in the summer time, it seems many 'put God on the back burner'. Your prayers and a love gift to this outreach ministry would be a tremendous help as we 'press on' in this call to outreach ministry.

Also, we ask for your prayers for a dear friend, Manny Valle, who is scheduled to be executed at Florida State Prison on Aug. 2. We met Manny 3 years ago. He had already spent 29 years on Death Row and did not know Christ. James "Gator" Leggett and I had the great privilege of praying with Manny to receive the Lord. We'll see him in heaven.