We are blown away by God's faithfulness! His provision for us has been more than we ever expected. We didn't even have housing as of 20 minutes before we got in the van to go to the airport. God has exceeded our expectations! We are staying with a wonderful family who have taken us all in like we were their own kids. What a mighty God we serve! The Lord has opened many doors for ministry here and we are praying into which contacts are on the Lord's heart. We have been on prayer walks in the city, been on prayer teams at an amazing church in town, done treasure hunts in the markets and outdoor malls. The Lord has poured out on so many people that we have prayed for. We are already moving into a lot of what the Lord has spoken over our team. We have grown so much and grown closer together and its only been 3 days.
Tonight we were put to a challenge... or really a "faith journey". Our leaders gave me (Erin) the keys to our van and sent me and the other 4 girls into the city to see what God would do.... We were given a list of things that we needed to see happen before we came home. ie.. preach the gospel, see the sick healed, give words of encouragement, buy someone coffee, and encourage young people to consider YWAM (youth with a mission) as their next adventure in their own life.
We ventured out with great hope that God would do something cool. Not knowing where to go, we asked God to speak. We were kinda chill at first as we weren't really sure where to go. But in God's faithfulness yet again we found ourselves cruising down I-5 southbound with our hearts pounding a bit. We didn't know where we would end up... but God did.
We parked near a hospital and what we found out later was a mall. Nali and I went towards the hospital and Rami, Rosi, and Jamie went towards the buildings off in the distance. Nali and I got to pray for an older Muslim women from Turkey who was eating her supper in the cafeteria, as her husband had been admitted and was resting on another floor. She was so blessed and encouraged as we sat and listened to her story. She had so much peace after we prayed. We were fired up and went on our way looking for someone else to minister to.
While we were at the hospital. The other girls were talking to people at a mall, which none of us knew was there. While Rami and Jamie were each talking to a couple people Rosi noticed a girl about 19 or so on a bench and began to talk to her. This girl was so hungry and open to receive truth. Rosi prayed for her and then the girl left. Nali and I called to see where the girls were and went to go find them to regroup.
We didn't find them right away and began walking toward the mall. We got to the mall and it had closed. We saw a girl on a bench and began to talk to her. Nali and I began to share with her what we were doing and she told us that she just talked to a girl who had prayed for her and was so thankful for the words of encouragement. Rosi had planted seeds. This girl shared with us that just last night that her mom prayed that God would give her a sign for what she was to do with her life. She was convinced that God was speaking to her. She told us the things that Rosi had spoken over her as was wiping the tears from her face. She told us of her addiction to heroin and how she wanted to be free from this addiction. She told us of the abuse that she had undergone as a child, and how she was recently kicked out of her house.
Nali and I were convinced that God wanted to free her and heal her of this addiction to heroin. She repented and poured out her heart before the Lord. By this point the other girls came over as we were praying for her and they joined in. The Lord spoke more over her and we truly believe that God healed her, not only from this addiction but from many other things. We encouraged her to consider doing a DTS (Discipleship Training School) with YWAM. We really think that she will.
We asked her for her contact information. She told us her name. I paused. Her last name was familiar, so I asked if she was related to this author guy I had read about. She told us that it was her grandfather. I freaked out! Her grandfather was responsible for the salvation of my dad. It was an amazing moment. Everyone was excited! I called my dad on speaker and told him what God just did and who we were praying for and he began to cry and laugh at the same time. My dad was encouraged. We all were! We waited with her until her mom came to pick her up. We were so pumped!
Something happened in our hearts during this time. I first noticed it as I was watching the girls as they were ministering to our friend on the bench. Our team had begun to come alive! Everyone's eyes were so bright. They all spoke with such conviction. And as we were walking back to the van it happened just like Kellye and Lizzie said it would... Joy broke out! We had begun to praise God like never before. We were so stoked to get back to share how cool our journey was and what the Lord did. It was so fun to see the expression on Kellye and Lizzie's faces. We celebrated what God did! It was awesome! Praise Him! Tomorrow is the 4th of July and we are hanging out with our adopted family and our new friend. We are so excited to see more of what God is going to do in her life!!! Our faith journey was a success. Not that it's over we will just continue tomorrow where the Holy Spirit left off today.
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