The day after we were put into teams, we moved from focusing on us as individuals to working together in ministry. Team NEON came together in prayer to open our hearts to God’s leading. I’ll admit, since I heard Jimmy say the word “ministry” I started battling with my own thoughts of rejection and fear…not of the team, but of the people we would be talking to. (Refer to my previous post about my Deep Ellum experience.) After praying together, we were asked to split up and pray individually and just listen to what God was telling us. After several deep breaths, God lovingly kept telling me “just try“.
I sat down on the gravel and soaked in the bright sun. 90% of the week had been cold and rainy so I couldn’t help but cherish the sunshine for whatever time I could. Just as soon as I closed my eyes I saw a vision of two boys playing soccer on a really grassy hill and then saw other kids flying kites. I never thought that God would speak to me in other ways that just His voice. I didn’t know if this was just my imagination or wishful thinking, but deep down something about this image was just “right”.
After a few more minutes of prayer and deep breaths, I said to God, “okay, I’ll give it a try.”
We regrouped and shared what we had seen or heard. I think it was Kelly who had a vision about kites as well. Kel saw a big fork, but then wondered if it was just because she had just done the dishes. Others knew our ministry would involve kids somehow. I was trying not to go back into panic mode so I’m sorry team if I forgot your details here. We loaded up into Kelly’s SUV and set off to find kites. The first store was a no-hit. We set the GPS for a Walmart. It took us to one far from where we needed to be and had been shut down. We stopped at a coffee shop for a drink and prayer. Turns out the new Walmart was just down the street. We walk in and Kel notices a sign hanging from the ceiling of some silverware which includes…yep, a big fork. We decide, “what the hey” and just go towards the fork. It’s in the middle of the store and just when we look ahead…it’s the toys! We find our kites at just $1 a piece! We stock up and head out to find a park.
After a short detour through a cemetery (thanks “Trina”), we drive through this really nice neighborhood and to our left is a romantic walkway in this valley. It’s nice but with so many trees no one could fly a kite there. We vote to keep going and see more and just around a corner is a playground. A little further ahead and we see a lush green clearing free of trees. But there were no kids save one or two families who go further away after we get out and start flying the kites. That was discouraging. I keep fighting with myself and wondering if maybe we should go somewhere else. I start to reel in my kite and just as I turn around…
I see a woman walking with about 10 kids around her coming down a path. Eventually another group about the same size came down that path. That afternoon we taught kids how to fly kites. Kristin and Kel let some girls take pictures with their cameras (good ones I might add!). Some kids got to draw and write on the sidewalk with chalk. Matt played soccer (not even sure where the soccer ball came from) with some boys. Megan, who admitted she doesn’t normally play with kids, did so well with some of the young girls! Will was such a great teacher and you could see the little boys looked up to him. The day was absolutely fun and fantastic. God’s visions for us were simple, but the reality of it all was an incredible blessing to us and the kiddos.
Will tells us that when the women saw us there, the first thing they said was, “you guys are angels”. We were obedient to God’s voice and He used us in ways that we probably will never fully understand. The kids were a blessing to us and we were a blessing to them and the women. Later we were able to share a message of Jesus and love to a few of the kids as they waited for their parents to come pick them up.
Coming back home and thinking about my growing “to-do” list or rather…”finding ways to get what I need but don’t really have the $ to buy” list tends to get daunting. I’m not feeling overwhelmed, but I’m not gonna lie…the doubt tends to creep in my thoughts from time to time. Everytime I think about the vision and the day in the park, the doubt goes away and I remember God’s voice telling me “just try“.
