Last Monday, before Thanksgiving break, our school took part in a pretty major outreach in Minneapolis dubbed 'the King's Banquet' (Luke 14:12-24). We were all given roles for the evening. I was initially placed as a server, but switched to a table host the day of. Below is my testimony that I sent in to the group that put this on. I didn't have time to rewrite something for this blog, but I wanted to let you all in to my experience with this outreach. (I loved it, if that's no surprise!)
I sat in the far back corner, upstairs, waiting for my guests to arrive. From my vantage point, I had a pretty good view of the wall and the tables immediately to my left and thats about it. First to the table came Rich. Richard is a law student in his 50's that has been unemployed, and taking advantage of the food services offered at Dorothy Day since 2008. He is a devout Catholic who just seemed a little lonely. I enjoyed talking with him about legal studies and Ireland. Next to the table came Ron. Ron is pretty far on the other side of the spectrum from Rich. He is addicted to booze and has the goal to enter a wet-house and continue his lifestyle. Another host came to join our table so the ratio became one on one. As conversation continued, it became clear that these men had little in common. It was difficult to engage both of them at once, but once the talking started we let them listen to the message as we prayed silently over them. I could see instantly how both of these men seemed to shut down when the talking started. Ron put on his jacket and seemed to be looking for a time to exit. When he stood up to leave, I asked him if I could pray for him before he left. This led him away from the table so that Rich could have the full attention of the other host. After I prayed for Ron he suddenly told me this story of how some lady had prayed over his leg randomly on the street a few weeks back and he had been healed. He didn't seem to know why it happened, or why he was telling me really. His story launched us into a lengthy conversation about God's love for him. He wasn't ready to make any commitments to God, and still tried to make up excuses throughout the conversation. At the end, he did give me his kid's phone numbers and asked if I would contact them on his behalf and let them know that he is alive and doing alright. After Ron left, I went back to our table and sat down with the other two. We finished off our conversation and prayed for Rich, and the two guys exchanged contact information to keep in touch. We walked Rich down to the door, and with a hug, said goodbye. The other host and I shared stories from our separate conversations once they were gone. He had gone out with Ron before the event actually started and grabbed a hot drink. He told me that during their conversation, Ron was completely closed to talking about God in any way. He strongly felt like he should ask for Ron's kids contact information, but was reluctant in asking. God was so faithful in bringing that back up so that we would be sure it was from him. I really do believe, based on the conversation that Ron had prior to the event compared to the one we shared, that God is was really moving in his heart on this night. There was a real break-through by God's Spirit. I have yet to get in touch with both his children, but I pray for them often. I think God wants to reconcile this family back together. He is calling Ron to himself so strongly, and I know that he feels it! Prayer covering is needed for Ron and for his kids, Megan and Ryan, as well as over our future conversations!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Out there.
Two major themes are running through my mind right now. One is unity and complaining and the other is outreach.
Our freshmen class here at BCOM embraced unity right away. We were a family from the get-go. So, of course, this is going to be the thing that gets attacked from the enemy. A running problem around the campus lately has been this negative spirit and a complaining heart. It spreads so quickly. One person brings up a silly rule, and the whole group starts talking bad. It is a hard thing to turn around. Yesterday we had a class - one of our Power Of the Cross classes that we have every Friday - that was on Rebellion, Repentance, and Restitution. We spent a long time in our cell group after talking about rebellion. It doesn't need to look like purposely talking back or being outrightly defiant. It begins in our hearts. When we do things with an unwilling heart, and when we mock the authority placed above us. I really think it's a big problem here, even within my own heart. It is important to go back and think through the reasons we are here. We paid to come to this school. to learn. to grow. to be inspired. to make friends. to meet with God. There are so many reasons that could be listed out. And those things are all happening. It is just easier sometimes to focus on silly rules and structure, and get totally side-tracked. Yesterday in cell group we made a pact to spread joy instead of negativity. We want to try and cut down the complaints in our hearts before they have a chance to affect others. Its a start anyway... (reading back over this it really sounds like this is an awful place where everyone always has a bad attitude. that is so not the case. It is an underlying thing that rears its ugly head once and awhile. We just decided that a transformed heart was the better way.)
On outreach: I am SO looking forward to the outreach event that is happening next week! Every year the school puts on a major outreach n the week before Thanksgiving Break. This year, we are renting out a big hall downtown and serving dinner/putting on a program for hundreds of people, most of whom are homeless. I will be a server - so fun! We have people set up to be table hosts and kitchen duties and performers and a prayer team. I think it is going to be a pretty crazy night. On Thursday we all hit the streets with invitations and invited basically every person we saw, specifically targeting the homeless. Our group got out really late, and ended up getting lost for forever. It was cold too, so there were hardly any people on the streets. We didn't get very far with our invitations, but it was so cool to see how our group maintained a positive attitude and was just so ready to get up and go and try another street. We were all laughing and singing and getting to know each other better. It was a great evening. I really do love all my friends here. They are such a blessing to me. I learn so much from being with other people... and its neat to see similar 'lessons' being brought up by God routinely throughout your week.
The other thing about outreach: Every Monday I go to a Somoli community nearby to help teach English to Somoli immigrants. I started this outreach late, so I've only been a handful of times. But every time I've gone, I have been able to work with the same girl. She is a year older than me, and engaged to be married this coming summer. Instantly we clicked. She brought me a beautiful yellow scarf a couple weeks back, and I brought her a journal filled with quotes and scripture! We do her homework for half of the time, and focus on more important things the other half. Like talking about the world, love, family, culture... and God. It is so much fun. One week we ended up talking for ages about prayer. Why we pray, when we pray, what we pray, how we pray. I got to explain to her all about how my relationship with God is similar to her relationship with her finance. How it is focused around love and communication. It was pretty cool. Since then, I can tell walls have gone up a little. But she still comes, and still talks with me. I am praying for her constantly. I love the ministry that has gone into that community. In faith, we believe and we pray.
NEXT WEEK we are OFF! I am so so so looking forward to Thanksgiving Break!! I will be at Alyssa's Grandma's for the weekend. It will be a relaxing time with food games and family. I'm excited for a break.... and to be able to READ again for fun. It will be good.
Our freshmen class here at BCOM embraced unity right away. We were a family from the get-go. So, of course, this is going to be the thing that gets attacked from the enemy. A running problem around the campus lately has been this negative spirit and a complaining heart. It spreads so quickly. One person brings up a silly rule, and the whole group starts talking bad. It is a hard thing to turn around. Yesterday we had a class - one of our Power Of the Cross classes that we have every Friday - that was on Rebellion, Repentance, and Restitution. We spent a long time in our cell group after talking about rebellion. It doesn't need to look like purposely talking back or being outrightly defiant. It begins in our hearts. When we do things with an unwilling heart, and when we mock the authority placed above us. I really think it's a big problem here, even within my own heart. It is important to go back and think through the reasons we are here. We paid to come to this school. to learn. to grow. to be inspired. to make friends. to meet with God. There are so many reasons that could be listed out. And those things are all happening. It is just easier sometimes to focus on silly rules and structure, and get totally side-tracked. Yesterday in cell group we made a pact to spread joy instead of negativity. We want to try and cut down the complaints in our hearts before they have a chance to affect others. Its a start anyway... (reading back over this it really sounds like this is an awful place where everyone always has a bad attitude. that is so not the case. It is an underlying thing that rears its ugly head once and awhile. We just decided that a transformed heart was the better way.)
On outreach: I am SO looking forward to the outreach event that is happening next week! Every year the school puts on a major outreach n the week before Thanksgiving Break. This year, we are renting out a big hall downtown and serving dinner/putting on a program for hundreds of people, most of whom are homeless. I will be a server - so fun! We have people set up to be table hosts and kitchen duties and performers and a prayer team. I think it is going to be a pretty crazy night. On Thursday we all hit the streets with invitations and invited basically every person we saw, specifically targeting the homeless. Our group got out really late, and ended up getting lost for forever. It was cold too, so there were hardly any people on the streets. We didn't get very far with our invitations, but it was so cool to see how our group maintained a positive attitude and was just so ready to get up and go and try another street. We were all laughing and singing and getting to know each other better. It was a great evening. I really do love all my friends here. They are such a blessing to me. I learn so much from being with other people... and its neat to see similar 'lessons' being brought up by God routinely throughout your week.
The other thing about outreach: Every Monday I go to a Somoli community nearby to help teach English to Somoli immigrants. I started this outreach late, so I've only been a handful of times. But every time I've gone, I have been able to work with the same girl. She is a year older than me, and engaged to be married this coming summer. Instantly we clicked. She brought me a beautiful yellow scarf a couple weeks back, and I brought her a journal filled with quotes and scripture! We do her homework for half of the time, and focus on more important things the other half. Like talking about the world, love, family, culture... and God. It is so much fun. One week we ended up talking for ages about prayer. Why we pray, when we pray, what we pray, how we pray. I got to explain to her all about how my relationship with God is similar to her relationship with her finance. How it is focused around love and communication. It was pretty cool. Since then, I can tell walls have gone up a little. But she still comes, and still talks with me. I am praying for her constantly. I love the ministry that has gone into that community. In faith, we believe and we pray.
NEXT WEEK we are OFF! I am so so so looking forward to Thanksgiving Break!! I will be at Alyssa's Grandma's for the weekend. It will be a relaxing time with food games and family. I'm excited for a break.... and to be able to READ again for fun. It will be good.
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