28th
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping. I Cor. 16:13,14 MSG
It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks and I haven’t taken the time to write an email. But this week was a reminder that we are to put on the armor of God each day and love without stopping. The enemy is always trying to deceive us with friendly smiles and polite conversation but we have the victory in Christ!
We stopped to give a lunch bag and pray with a lady we see quite regularly and she told us that there have been a lot of ugly, violent things happening on the streets so her friend was down the block keeping an eye on her. She said her friend was with another guy named Blood and that it would not be a good idea to stop and talk to them so she would give them a lunch bag. We thanked her for warning us and off we go. As we start to pass the guys they flag us down so we stopped. Maybe not the best move but it ended up being a very enlightening encounter. The guy they called Blood was someone that knew us and was very happy to see us. When he explained where and when we had met him I remembered him but knew him by another name. There was a crack house we used to stop at and pray with the 3 guys, he was one of those guys. I hadn’t seen since the house was busted which was a few years ago. One guy has since been released and has cleaned up his life, thank you Jesus, another of the guys is still in jail. There has been no word on the street about the third guy until we ran into him on Monday. God moves in some very mysterious ways, this encounter could have gone sour instead this guy was so happy to see us that he gave us his address and asked us to stop by and pray with him and his girlfriend. We know his girlfriend and I told him we haven’t seen her lately. He informed us that she has broken her back and hasn’t been able to leave the house and he knows she would love for us to come pray with her. The whole time we are talking to him I’m turning his street name, Blood, into a prayer; a prayer that we are covered in the blood of the covenant shed by our merciful savior.
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28 NIV
“Would you pray for a drag queen?”, he quietly asks. While we were stopped praying with 2 young ladies another person approached the van and asked for prayer. Encounters like these can really break your heart because you know that it took a lot to ask for prayer knowing you might face outright rejection. Thank you Father that you love us, all of us no matter our life choices, so much that you sent your Son into this world. May we be faithful to pray with all who ask for prayer and trust that your Holy Spirit will begin a work in the hearts of all of us.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17 NIV
After we prayed with our friend he asked us if we would cruise another street and pray with all the drag queens that work that area. We had never been down the street he named but it wasn’t far from our usual route. We were so excited to check out this new area that we didn’t stop to pray about it first; as a result we did not find the street. After driving around for a while someone in the van had a cell phone with gps or whatever it’s called and found the street so next time we go out we will be prepared both geographically and spiritually.
Blessings,
Donna
P.S. next week all the little kids will be putting on their costumes and collecting candy. In the past we’ve asked if you would share your leftovers with us. We will gladly take your leftovers again this year but what we would really appreciate is toothpaste instead. So if you find it in your heart and budget please help us prevent tooth decay!
