Serving with Samaritan’s Purse:
2 weeks, 14 days, 2,100 hours, $470,000 worth of labor, 97 houses, 10 weeks of work squished into 2 weeks.
Mark 16:15
“And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’”
When the Lord says “GO” He means ALL the world. For my squad and I- it was a 6 hour drive away to Foley Alabama.
My squad and I got the opportunity to not only serve the physical needs of the beautiful people in Foley, Alabama after hurricane Sally and hurricane Zeta (such as tarping roofs, gutting molding houses, and cutting down MANY fallen trees). But more importantly, we were able to pray over, listen to, encourage, share the good news of the gospel, and give each and everyone one of them a Bible! John 15 “Abide in me and you will bear much fruit” and bear the Lord’s fruit we DID. The Lord has been walking me through 3 things in the past 2 weeks.
1. Walking in boldness
One of the first houses we served at I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with one of the homeowners granddaughters who was 27. After listening to her story, and being able to share some of my testimony, we started talking about reading the bible. I told her that the Lord was putting on my heart to tell her to start in Ephesians. After praying for her and returning back to the church that night, the Chaplain’s (crisis trained volunteers who visit each home to share the Gospel and speak to the homeowner) said that they told her to read Ephesians as well! Thanks God.
2. Being in tune with the Spirit
Oftentimes these past 2 weeks I doubted myself. Sometimes it was the lie that I was too young… other times it was that I didn’t know enough head knowledge about the bible BUT the Lord redeemed both of those lies! When I was approached with hard questions, every single time the Holy Spirit would give me an answer that I didn’t even know I knew! When we obey- the Lord promises to deliver. Matthew 10:19-20 “Do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” Heart posture over head knowledge baby.
The Lord spoke encouragement and life through me to people over 3 times my age. 1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” Despite our age the Lord calls us all brothers and sisters in Him. With different roles, yet the same importance in the body of Christ.
By beginning each prayer with inviting the Lord into it, my prayers were not of my flesh but of the Holy Spirit! Multiple times the Lord put specific prayers on my heart that the person I was praying over didn’t mention in their prayer request.
OUR GOD IS SO GOOOOOOD.
3. Living an Interruptible lifestyle
Thursday the 12th, was a wild day to say the least. As we arrived at the first home, my team of women and I had to use the bathroom (per usual lol). After walking into 3 different stores and being denied a restroom, we finally walked into a small tile shop. The Lord told me to pray over the woman in the tile shop, without hesitation I walked up to her and asked her if there was anything I could pray over her. I’ve learned that oftentimes in the moment, you don’t see it- but that one prayer could change someone’s life, could stir something in them, or plant a seed. That is the beauty of the Lord!
After presenting the homeowner her new Bible, I saw a man walking down the road. Again- the Holy Spirit told me to pray over someone random. I grabbed one of the men on my team to pray with me, obeying.
After barely being able to stay awake through dinner due to utter exhaustion, my friend Lacie and I decided to treat ourselves with some ice cream. The second we walked into the ice cream shop AGAIN I heard the Lord tell me to pray over the 2 women serving us ice cream. Now at this point I was wondering if it was just all in my head. I thought “I don’t want to make a scene and interrupt their work night” I also thought “don’t be extra Vivian, you are literally just getting ice cream with your friend”. Now HOW STUPID is our flesh. There is never a time when praying for someone is BAD whether it is from the Lord or not- if it is glorifying to God go for it!
The second we left the ice cream shop I felt convicted, a heaviness in my heart- I then turned to hear Lacie say “Vivian! The Lord told me we need to go back into the Icecream shop and pray for the women who served us!”. See- we serve a God who’s plans are SO MUCH BIGGER than we are. When I disregarded what the Lord was telling me, He said alright fine- I’ll just tell Lacie then too. So we turned around and marched back in there and asked if we could pray over the 2 women. The second we asked if we could pray for them, one of the women was in tears. So there we were, the 4 of us, holding hands in a circle, being able to share the Lord’s love, and encourage our sisters in Christ in the middle of the ice cream shop. On Thursday the 12th the Lord taught me to BE INTERRUPTIBLE.
I encourage you to be interruptible, even if it’s on the street or in an ice cream shop.
Photo Dump
Mark, a homeowner we got to bless by gutting out His house after it had flooded.
My teammate Beth presenting a homeowner her NEW bible.
Beth, Maddie, and I snacking on some Kumquats mid work day.
Girl Power!
I am so incredibly thankful for each and every one of you! It’s the biggest blessing to be able to partner with you all through this journey
Love,
Vivian
