29th
Rock of our salvation
God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns. Phil. 1:6 CEV
I have been trying to write this email for weeks and every time I sit down to write I get excited, my thoughts and prayers wander and I find I haven’t written anything. I’ve wanted to share with you our joy in seeing God at work in the lives of 2 very special people. We have known this couple for almost 4 years now. We met D first when we found him stumbling down the street so drunk he could hardly stand. He asked us for 2 lunch bags so he could share with his girlfriend J. Every week we would find D wandering around or lying in a field scratched by the weeds and bleeding but he would get up stumble over to the van ask for prayer and 2 lunch bags. Months went by and we finally met J but she didn’t want anything to do with us. As time went by we found out that J was the local dealer and was afraid to let us know where she was squatting. Over the next 2 years or so we would see J once in a while walking down the street with D. D was always very friendly, requesting prayer and thanking us, J would say hi grab her bag and leave.
About 18 months ago everything changed. Some of the ladies on the street told us that J wanted to see us and they were told to give us directions to the place where she was staying. Needless to say we were very apprehensive about going to see her but we prayed and felt the Lord was telling us to go. When we got to her place she came out and thanked us!! She said that she knew we had been praying for her for a number of years but she was afraid of us because we believed in a God who was punishing her. Then for some strange reason our faces kept popping into her head and she felt safe when she thought of us so she put the word out on the street for us to pay her a visit. Well her honesty opened the door for some very interesting conversations about her misconceptions as to who Jesus is. She asked us to come back every week and start teaching her about this Jesus that loves her. We tried to give her a Bible and other reading material but she only has a 5th grade education and can’t read very well.
I could write pages and pages about our times with her but I will fast forward a year. Her boyfriend D decided to head to upper Mich. to see his dad and try to get sober. While he was gone J decided she would quit taking drugs, dealing drugs, and selling her body. She got on a bus got her ID, applied for assistance, rented a run down house and would wait for us to show up every week to pray for her. It took a while before she believed she was worthy of praying to God without intercessors. She now prays everyday for strength. A few months ago D came back to town sober! Unfortunately that didn’t last long and he was lying in the fields again drunk. J gave him an ultimatum, get sober and get right with God! Every day is still a battle for these two precious people but when we stop to visit them every week they surprise us with joy, because in the midst of their trials they have found the rock of their salvation.
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Ps. 95:1 NIV
I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen. Eph. 3:20 CEV
Rejoicing in Him,
Donna
