so, it’s taking me awhile to write about one of the ways i’ve been trying live out what we learned during ignition, so this one of those “to be continued” [dun dun dun] posts. hopefully a continuation of this story will come at some point before i launch, hehe. i wrote this about a week and a half ago from today.
my dear teammate bev would like me and our leader, neil, to share what happened the penultimate day of training camp, about how we “asked the Lord” what He wanted us to do but instead He ended up doing something in us. i probably should’ve posted such a blog a week ago, but i couldn’t keep much straight even half-an-hour thereafter, so i don’t think waiting another couple days will hurt.
suffice it to say that God came on us, mostly the people He brought us to, with power (DUNAMIS!). our Abba (which is very similar to the Korean word for Daddy, ¾Æºü) drew us – the g-squad – so very close to Him that week+, and since then, we’ve been commissioned for this in-between stage between ignition and launch. many, if not all, of us were excited to obey the Lord, to live out what we had learned.
for me, this meant walking out what God already had made clear.
here in my jerusalem, currently dc, are so many homeless men and women. during my lunch break one day last week – tuesday? monday? i don’t remember anymore – i stepped out to franklin square, which sits right outside my office building in downtown. last year, i had spent a few days giving my lunch or buying lunch for whoever i’d meet there. i met a few people, asked questions, offered lunch, and just listened for a little while. each time it was a new person.
slight tangent: one lady had been sitting on the grass, sorting through her bags of clothes, and as i drew closer, her mumbling grew audible but still nondescript and indecipherable. once i got close enough to offer her sandwiches, she just looked at me and cursed. that was an interesting glimpse into how some of us are like when Jesus draws near to us. i thought at that moment, “so that’s what it’s like…” to be spurned.
anyway, this time around, i felt compelled to go the park. moments before, as i had been wrestling with to make the decision to go, i think the spiritual opposition physically manifested – my jaws would clench and my head would shudder. i think that only made it clearer that i needed to go out and get my feet wet again with the homeless.
so i stepped out, crossed the street and began walking around. i asked God to lead me to someone. i’d look at man sleeping on a bench and ask, “is it him?” i’d wonder, “what about that woman over there?” i walked the perimeter, then walked the paths in the square, passed the fountain that was in middle, and headed toward the corner of the park.
there on a bench was a man with a cane, sitting, hands folded, head lowered. he closed his eyes. i dunno if i was drawn to him because he was just…sitting there. and i’m not sure if God had been whispering to me that it was him, but i parked myself beside him on that bench.
i pulled out my journal and began writing. i asked God if he was the one. if he opened his eyes and woke up, i’d talk. he opened his eyes. he glanced my way. he closed his eyes again. it was kinda funny. so i waited and wrote, if he wakes up again, this is it. he did wake up again. then he got up and moved to a different bench.
and then i paused for a moment and moved to where he sat. and waited. and then i spoke. i apologized for following him around (i wasn’t feeling candid enough to say, “stalk” but essentially that is what i ended up doing) and then i introduced myself.
“hi, my name is sara.”
“i’m otis, nice to meet you,” he said.
