Hi friends & family!
Two weeks ago my squad got to meet with another world race squad that was staying in South Africa. The ninety of us got together for “Awakening”, where several people gave teachings, we worshipped, we encouraged each other, we called out talents in other people, and we shared the love of Jesus with people. The weekend was insanely powerful; God moved in astronomical ways.
The point of ‘Awakening’ is to activate each other to step into uncomfortable territories and teach each other the wisdom God has gifted each of us. One of the ways that happened was with evangelism.
Evangelism can be a daunting term, but, it really isn’t complicated. Evangelism is telling other people that they are loved by God. This looks really different in every situation, but it is never forced conversion. Here’s one story from a day of evangelism:
I went to a mall with two women, Eva and Lauren. We prayed, asking Jesus for direction about who to talk with. Lauren got an image of a blue hat. We were walking past a store, and I saw a blue hat on a mannequin, so I pointed it out. Then I kept walking- it was on a mannequin, not a person after all. But, thanks God that Eva turned, and walked straight up to the woman standing at the door. She asked the woman how her day was, and the woman said it was actually really crappy, and shared all the reasons why. Eva simply asked if we could pray for her, she said yes, and we did. Then the woman told us that us talking to her and praying for her showed her how much God really does love her. Um- wow! That conversation was a God thing. Also that day, one man got baptized in a swimming pool and one woman who couldn’t bend her knees was able to squat to the ground!
Seven months ago, I didn’t like being honest/bold in what I believe, because I didn’t want to interrupt people’s lives. What I’ve realized is, one, not telling people is selfish, because Jesus is so, so good, and worth interrupting people’s lives for. Two, I said that out of fear of stirring the pot up. But, when I read the gospels, that is exactly what Jesus does. He stirs up the pot, He gives us Holy Spirit to guide us, and tells us that we will do greater things in our lives than He did (wow, that’s a high calling). Getting to encourage people and love them and see them, is worth pushing past your own fear or insecurity or doubt! One of the guys on O Squad pointed out that the only thing to lose when evangelizing is your dignity, and that isn’t a fruit of the spirit.
Here’s a couple more cool stories from that weekend:
Night one I lost my phone and headphones. South Africa has a lot of theft, especially with electronics. It completely vanished. When I figured out it was missing, instead of running around asking people if they’d seen it, I wasn’t worried at all. I was completely calm (had zero anxiety!), even though my only access to drawing out money or talking to anyone at home for the next two months was through that phone. In reality, I should have been nervous, or frantic trying to find it. But, I prayed that Jesus would move through people and bring the phone back to me. He gave me supernatural, unexplainable peace. A day passed- no phone. We were leaving the next morning. I wanted to go ask staff where we were staying if they’d seen it, but the Lord again simply gave me a feeling of peace. I know it was peace from the Lord, because I shouldn’t have been calm. The night before we left, my mentor held up my phone AND headphones, saying it’d been found! Thanks God.
On that last night, we were worshipping, and a teenage boy heard us and came in. Worship was a little different than traditional church worship you’ve probably experienced; we plan out a set list of songs to sing and practice, but during worship, if Jesus places stories or prayers or feelings on people’s hearts, they stand up and share. That particular night was full of people sharing stories of how Jesus had moved in their lives, and people praying over one another for things they were struggling with. People were freed of anxiety disorders, depression, fear of their future. When I say freed- I mean all of those feelings simply left them, when they prayed for God to remove them. People sang their hearts out, they cried, and spent time thanking God for how He is good. All this to say, God was very active and obvious in His movement that night. At the end, one person stood up, and shared that the boy who had wandered in, gave control of his life to Jesus during that worship!!
I could tell you so many more stories from those three days, but I’ll wrap it up here.
To O squad, you led me into bolder faith and riskier worship, you loved me really well, and Central America is blessed by having you all there now.
To everyone else, God is moving in HUGE ways through this generation of 18-35 year olds. I pray this is encouraging, growing, and largely thought provoking to all of you readers.
Much love,
Caitlyn
