Memphis

I know it's been a few weeks, but after Easter and busyness, I'm still re-acquainting myself.
So the trip...it was awesome.
I think perhaps the only thing that gets more exciting and energizing than watching young people give their hearts to the Lord and allow Him to transform them in new ways is watching your own kids experience God in that manner?? But even then, it's a close race. The girls I went with and the many more boys and girls I got to know on the trip were a true refreshing blessing to my soul.

Our week consisted of hardly any sleep and not a lot of food (seriously - but that's another post in itself), but it was refreshing to me personally (one who requires lots of sleep) to - no joke- see God be the sole provider of energy for that week!

I have grown a special place in my heart for these girls I have gotten to know over the past few years, and it truly was an absolute BLESSING being able to be there through the ins/outs of this experience with them, literally watching their relationship with the Lord grow before my eyes.
What a privilege.

Our mornings started with devotions, then on to service projects (which were different every day), and then on to our "gym" until dinner time to do activities with the inner city kids. In the evenings we had some PHENOMENAL speakers come and challenge our kids (and us old folk!) while worshiping our Savior. It was at these services that you got to see the Lord increase in these kids' lives - it was amazing. I will forever cherish some of the conversations and prayers that took place during this time.

There were a lot of cool ways God used us that week, but perhaps the most favorite service projects we were a part of were doing a downtown prayer walk and working at a battered women's shelter.

DOWNTOWN
One day a bus dropped me and about 7 of our girls off downtown and told us to meet back in about 4 hours. We had a shotty map (at best) and just started walking. I gave our girls a mission: to find people they could go up to and ask them if we could pray for them about something (while explaining we're walking around praying for the city). I gave them a goal of many people were going to seek out in our 4 hours. Honestly, they were a little nervous and apprehensive. The first man we came upon was homeless and a little rough looking. They all wanted me to take the lead and shuffled behind me. That man was very welcoming and friendly, and before we left him, our girls had given him (I estimate) close to $50 of their own money, and held hands to pray over him. It was beautiful. After Larry, there was a new energy to the girls and they began hopping all over Memphis downtown, stopping people to pray for them. Not once were they rejected; not once were they laughed at; not once was the person not instantly softened. One lady just cried and cried saying no one has ever asked to pray over her. It was beautiful.

WOMEN'S SHELTER
This day was awesome! Again, only a small group of us girls went over to do an aerobics class, paint nails, and eat lunch with a group of women seeking shelter. The Lord worked all over that place that day. It was amazing. We built instant relationships with these women who opened up to us on so many levels. We praised Jesus together, we cried together, laughed hysterically, and just loved each other. We hope to go back to this place for sure next year!

Perhaps the most encouraging thing about this trip was being to walk alongside our girls as they learned about the difference between needs and wants, and about how Jesus' love is for EVERYONE and it's our responsibility to tell them and talk to them without any discrimination. We live in a very wealthy area where it is easy to get distracted from how God wants to use our lives and the resources He entrusts to us (for me at least!). It was awesome for these girls begin to learn and understand how their money/time belong to the LORD and how to be obedient to His leading on how to use such resources.

One day, we were driving in my car on the way back from our gym, and we approached a homeless man begging for money on the side of the road. The girls had heard me say in one of our cell meetings last year how I always stop, give, and pray. So this time was no different. I stopped. And before I could roll down the window, our girls had already pulled out their wallets (with zero prompting from me) to pass up whatever they had (which wasn't much because most didn't even have their money with them). It equaled out to exactly $6. I handed it over to the man (who took it without yet counting) and we asked how we could pray for him. He said the shelter he stays in requires him to pay every night and that he wanted prayer that he could get the money. I asked him how much, out of curiosity, and it was six dollars. Our girls were blown away by this, and how the Lord worked through their obedience, then continued to pray for this man the entire way to our destination. Again - beautiful.

 

So anyway, those are a few of the stories. There were tons more, including some hilarious ones - like getting caught on the 14th floor of the most famous Memphis hotel landmark when the fire alarm was triggered - or showing up for a service project one day and the "man in charge" having our group do the Harlem Shake as our number one project of the day - but overall, nothing still tops seeing kids' lives change. One such kid Jason and I know well became a Christian on the first day of this trip. Incredible.

Anyway, so in love with my Savior, so amazed at how He lives and works through us, so humbled at how much I have to learn to be more like Jesus. I'm thankful He is always teaching me and always weeding out the areas in my life that are unnecessary, unfocused, selfish, and frivolous.