This month my new team doing ATL for ministry. As a team we prayed into it, and decided to start with night ministry the first week. This looks like going out at night, mainly on Pub Street where all the bars and Night Markets are, and interceding, evangelizing, and showing love to the people there. The first time we went to the Night Market was the week before ministry. We went just to explore, shop, eat tarantulas and scorpions (yes, pictures will be posted on Facebook soon). That’s where I ran into a girl passing out flyers for an upstairs bar. I politely declined and told her I don’t drink anymore, and just smiled at the strange look she gave me. Through the rest of the night I kept seeing her in passing and would smile and wave. For some reason I felt the overwhelming urge to talk to her, but by that time it was too late and we were leaving.
Just a few days later, after waking up every morning with this girl heavy on my heart, I found out my Squad Mentor had also met her. She mentioned Jesus and asked if she could pray for the girl, to which she had replied that she didn’t know what that meant. It amazed me and broke my heart at the same time. I instantly just wanted to go find her again and get to know her. The next week as we did ministry on the streets, I continued to seek her out. I learned she’s from Sweden, has been backpacking around Asia, and had gotten stuck in Siem Reap because her bike broke and she needed money to fix it. As I learned more about her, I got to share bits and pieces of my story as well as Jesus’ with her.
During a morning quiet time, God spoke to me and told me I had something to give her. After reeling through answers like Jesus and love and friendship, I realized He was talking about something tangible, my key. The key I had was prayed over and engraved with a word put on the artist’s heart by the Lord. The purpose of these keys is to keep them until the we understand why we were given this word, and then pass it on to who God wants to give it to. My key said “His” and as I sat there in my quiet time, I realized God was telling me that this girl is His. She is His daughter. His beautiful creation. His heart. After this, I wrote her a letter explaining the key and a prayer, and left it with my Mentor to give to her.
This past week I have learned the love the Father has for all of His children, and how He longs for all of us to come home. I have seen His pursuit of the lost. I have seen His heart for His creation. And I have felt what it means to be His.
