Today was our first full day of mission work. WOW! I am so amazed and so encouraged by all that God is already doing in the hearts and the lives of the people in the TL as well as the volunteers in our church group. There is no one like our God. He is doing so much in stirring our hearts of affection for Him, and revealing Himself to many people in many different ways that prove it is Him and only Him. The Lord is so powerful and so mighty and so GOOD.
I can see the change in my life already and I've only been here for two days - I cannot wait to see what else He has in store for me on this trip and for the rest of my life. I am open to hearing His voice, and my eyes are opening up to things He's wanting to show me.
I am at the point in my life right now where I am searching for direction of purpose and for the next step to take in my relationship with God. That has been one major thing on my heart and on my mind the past few months. I am not sure what I am supposed to do or where I am supposed to be after I graduate college in December. I have dreams of continuing my soccer career by playing professionally somewhere in the world, but I am not certain if that's God's plan for me. I have been praying for direction and for clarity regarding my future, and I think this trip has already confirmed a spiritual gift I have been blessed with. Compassion for people. (After the trip Brooke also told me she thought I had the spiritual gift of compassion).
Tonight we went out after dinner to do street ministry. Before we began I didn't know exactly what street ministry would look like or if I would be any good at it. We started to approach strangers - homeless, prostitutes, addicts - and talking to them came very naturally to me. I had no fear or hesitation once I was out walking the streets when introducing myself and initiating conversation with these people. I smiled, spoke confidently and made genuine connections with some people. It was incredible. Not everyone I talked to was interested in hearing about Christ or talking in general, but most were open-minded and had a lot of life stories to share.
-DIVINE APPOINTMENT #1-
Two others (from the College Station mission group) and I were in conversation with two men on the street. The conversation was directed toward our backgrounds - where we came from and what brought us to SF. As the other two in my group said aloud they were from College Station a man rode in between the conversation on his bike. He immediately pushed the brakes right in front of me, turned around abruptly and said to us with a wide grin, "College Station?!? I haven't heard those words in years! My parents are from College Station!"
This man must have been in his forties or fifties, his wrinkles told a story of long days out in the sun, his clothes screamed, "wash me," and his breath confirmed his affinity for alcohol. His smile, however, radiated complete joy of familiarity. His smile was my favorite.
I carried on the conversation with this man while the other two people in my group turned back to talk with the original two men. When I mentioned that I grew up in Houston his eyes grew wider, and through his increasingly wider grin he told me he grew up in the 5th Ward. Because we had so many random things in common my heart grew bigger and bigger for this man. Because of the abrupt start to our conversation I never properly introduced myself, so at one point I stopped and asked his name. "Richard," he said. I followed with, "I'm Rachel, it's nice to meet you." Man, if this guy wasn't already excited enough, hearing my name took him to a whole new level. Leaning over his bike his big, genuine eyes were only a few inches away staring straight into mine. I saw into his precious soul when he said, "You're kidding me? Your name is Rachel??" And with a twinkle in his eyes he told me his grandmother's name was Rachel and that was one of his favorite names. He gleamed with joy and love as he spoke about his grandmother to me, and my eyes couldn't help but tear up because of how lucky I was to be able to see this side of this man out on the street in the middle of the TL. I felt this divine connection to this man and it overwhelmed my heart with joy.
As our conversation continued I saw the heart behind this man's past, his pain, and his circumstances, which reminded me that everyone is human - no matter which part of the city they live in or what they look like from the outside. I truly believe that conversation was a divine appointment for Richard and I, and I thank God for that opportunity to connect with and share God's love with him.
-DIVINE APPOINTMENT #2-
Earlier in the day I went out with a group to deliver meals to people in their buildings, get to know them and pray over them. I was partnered up with Connor McAtee and we were able to speak to a good amount of residents, despite the many doors that were never answered. We placed our hands on the unanswered doors and prayed out loud over the residents anyway.
We finished with our designated doors only to find down the hall an interesting man talking to some of the others in our group. He had crazy Albert Einstein hair, was wearing solely a shirt and underwear, and was clearly not in his right mind. As I listened in on the conversation from down the hall I heard him talk about his pain and sickness. Several times our group members asked if they could pray over him, and each time he adamantly insisted, "No, no I'm fine. I take pain pills, sometimes five or six or seven and they numb me up real good."
Hearing this I started crying. Like real crying in the middle of the hallway. It genuinely hurt my heart that he believed temporary pain medication numbness was better than our Lord. I wanted to shout to him to choose our God over worldly drugs. I was in a similar place at one point in high school when I thought that a ridiculous amount of pain pills was the only way to mask all the pain in my life. This man reminded me of my broken self and it hurt my heart for him terribly. I want so badly for his heart to soften and open up to You, Lord. It made me sad that he rejected Your love and he still has no idea what power he was rejecting.
This encounter reminded me of the place I was once in and forced me to reflect on my broken past. It ultimately forced me to look to God and remember how incredible and powerful His healing has been in my life. I don't like to think back to the person I was very often, but this man in this brief encounter allowed me to look back on my once broken self and realize how much the Lord has done in my life to restore me. (I am still a sinful and broken person, as we all are- but Jesus Christ restored my heart and I am nowhere near the hopeless, broken person I once was without Him in my life.) Even though seeing this man's circumstances was hard for me, I know God orchestrated this encounter to show me how far I have come and how far God has delivered me.
I can see the change in my life already and I've only been here for two days - I cannot wait to see what else He has in store for me on this trip and for the rest of my life. I am open to hearing His voice, and my eyes are opening up to things He's wanting to show me.
I am at the point in my life right now where I am searching for direction of purpose and for the next step to take in my relationship with God. That has been one major thing on my heart and on my mind the past few months. I am not sure what I am supposed to do or where I am supposed to be after I graduate college in December. I have dreams of continuing my soccer career by playing professionally somewhere in the world, but I am not certain if that's God's plan for me. I have been praying for direction and for clarity regarding my future, and I think this trip has already confirmed a spiritual gift I have been blessed with. Compassion for people. (After the trip Brooke also told me she thought I had the spiritual gift of compassion).
Tonight we went out after dinner to do street ministry. Before we began I didn't know exactly what street ministry would look like or if I would be any good at it. We started to approach strangers - homeless, prostitutes, addicts - and talking to them came very naturally to me. I had no fear or hesitation once I was out walking the streets when introducing myself and initiating conversation with these people. I smiled, spoke confidently and made genuine connections with some people. It was incredible. Not everyone I talked to was interested in hearing about Christ or talking in general, but most were open-minded and had a lot of life stories to share.
-DIVINE APPOINTMENT #1-
Two others (from the College Station mission group) and I were in conversation with two men on the street. The conversation was directed toward our backgrounds - where we came from and what brought us to SF. As the other two in my group said aloud they were from College Station a man rode in between the conversation on his bike. He immediately pushed the brakes right in front of me, turned around abruptly and said to us with a wide grin, "College Station?!? I haven't heard those words in years! My parents are from College Station!"
This man must have been in his forties or fifties, his wrinkles told a story of long days out in the sun, his clothes screamed, "wash me," and his breath confirmed his affinity for alcohol. His smile, however, radiated complete joy of familiarity. His smile was my favorite.
I carried on the conversation with this man while the other two people in my group turned back to talk with the original two men. When I mentioned that I grew up in Houston his eyes grew wider, and through his increasingly wider grin he told me he grew up in the 5th Ward. Because we had so many random things in common my heart grew bigger and bigger for this man. Because of the abrupt start to our conversation I never properly introduced myself, so at one point I stopped and asked his name. "Richard," he said. I followed with, "I'm Rachel, it's nice to meet you." Man, if this guy wasn't already excited enough, hearing my name took him to a whole new level. Leaning over his bike his big, genuine eyes were only a few inches away staring straight into mine. I saw into his precious soul when he said, "You're kidding me? Your name is Rachel??" And with a twinkle in his eyes he told me his grandmother's name was Rachel and that was one of his favorite names. He gleamed with joy and love as he spoke about his grandmother to me, and my eyes couldn't help but tear up because of how lucky I was to be able to see this side of this man out on the street in the middle of the TL. I felt this divine connection to this man and it overwhelmed my heart with joy.
As our conversation continued I saw the heart behind this man's past, his pain, and his circumstances, which reminded me that everyone is human - no matter which part of the city they live in or what they look like from the outside. I truly believe that conversation was a divine appointment for Richard and I, and I thank God for that opportunity to connect with and share God's love with him.
-DIVINE APPOINTMENT #2-
Earlier in the day I went out with a group to deliver meals to people in their buildings, get to know them and pray over them. I was partnered up with Connor McAtee and we were able to speak to a good amount of residents, despite the many doors that were never answered. We placed our hands on the unanswered doors and prayed out loud over the residents anyway.
We finished with our designated doors only to find down the hall an interesting man talking to some of the others in our group. He had crazy Albert Einstein hair, was wearing solely a shirt and underwear, and was clearly not in his right mind. As I listened in on the conversation from down the hall I heard him talk about his pain and sickness. Several times our group members asked if they could pray over him, and each time he adamantly insisted, "No, no I'm fine. I take pain pills, sometimes five or six or seven and they numb me up real good."
Hearing this I started crying. Like real crying in the middle of the hallway. It genuinely hurt my heart that he believed temporary pain medication numbness was better than our Lord. I wanted to shout to him to choose our God over worldly drugs. I was in a similar place at one point in high school when I thought that a ridiculous amount of pain pills was the only way to mask all the pain in my life. This man reminded me of my broken self and it hurt my heart for him terribly. I want so badly for his heart to soften and open up to You, Lord. It made me sad that he rejected Your love and he still has no idea what power he was rejecting.
This encounter reminded me of the place I was once in and forced me to reflect on my broken past. It ultimately forced me to look to God and remember how incredible and powerful His healing has been in my life. I don't like to think back to the person I was very often, but this man in this brief encounter allowed me to look back on my once broken self and realize how much the Lord has done in my life to restore me. (I am still a sinful and broken person, as we all are- but Jesus Christ restored my heart and I am nowhere near the hopeless, broken person I once was without Him in my life.) Even though seeing this man's circumstances was hard for me, I know God orchestrated this encounter to show me how far I have come and how far God has delivered me.
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