1 corinthians 14: 33
Market day.
we walk through it every monday.
we keep our heads low and try not to get split up.
Its chaos.
For me, this market represents the flesh.
constantly grabbing, constantly wanting.
go, go, go, go.
never rest.
fulfill whatever you can whenever you can.
I get overwhelmed in the market.
I get frustrated because there are too many people
and not enough space.
Anxiety overwhelms my spirit,
so i just walk and hope that i get out.
Today, the last Monday of our time here in the Dominican Republic,
we were told we were going to minister here, in the market.
My heart stirred inside of me.
Anxiety filled my bones and my head spun.
I couldnt handle this.
This was different than going into neighborhoods.
You can breathe in neighborhoods.
You can walk freely.
Underwear isnt being shoved in your face in neighborhoods.
I prayed.
I prayed for a calm spirit and i prayed to hear His voice.
I couldnt do this without hearing Him.
There was no way.
Standing outside of the market we stop to pray.
We have already prayed multiple times before this,
but one more time couldnt hurt.
We walk through, praying for the familes, the children, for their home.
We stop.
We regroup.
"Chelsea, will you lead us?"
My team leader, Claire is looking at me, i can see the trust in her eyes.
Im not feeling the same trust.
Im feeling overwhelmed.
"Chelsea, out of all of us, God has blessed you with the gift of hearing him clearly.
you know where to go and when to go, please, lead us."
OKAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
In this moment im begging God to show up.
Im begging God to talk to me.
Im begging to feel his breath on my skin.
Im begging for him to do something so i dont let my team down.
We stop to talk to a family selling fruit.
they are christians, and we pray for them.
It was encouraging, and it gave our team the right jump into this.
Two young girls pass me selling bags of water.
We smile at them.
They lay heavy on my heart.
We keep walking.
I turn.
I walk.
I pray.
Trying not to cry.
I pray.
I stop.
I walk to the sidewalk.
I look at Claire.
"the girls with the water"
She nods her head feeling the same leading.
Just as we agreed they were walking towards us. God. So God.
We wave them over.
Horlyn translates.
we buy a bag of water.
(Tonya and i have been wanting one since we got here. perfect.)
We ask them how old they are.
10, and 7.
What.
Their mother is here somewhere in the market.
I see my little sister and my heart cries out.
We hold their hands and pray over them.
My heart is longing for them to feel God, to feel what pure love feels like.
We hug them goodbye.
A group of people have formed around us.
You know when a celeb is walking down the street
and people form around them?
That was us in that moment.
People took notice of us praying.
"Who else needs prayer?"
i heard my own voice, but it wasnt my own. It was His.
Person after person came up to us,
begging for us to pray for them.
They set down their belongings and they held our hands.
They trusted us.
They felt him.
We were living out the bible, right there, in that market.
We were the disciples.
A boy came up to us to tell us he needed prayer for his heart.
It was too fast.
His beats were irregular.
Claire put her hand over his heart and prayed
the stronget prayer i've ever heard.
I felt the spirit on every single word she spoke.
He walked away smiling.
As we looked around at each other we smiled.
This is what we are here for.
This is what God wants to do through us.
LOVE. love his people.
See them the way he sees them.
Pray with power and authority.
He turns chaos into order.
and he turns faith into obediance.
I am humbled.
My team is humbled.
We are thankful.
We are overflowing.
This is what the world race is.
This is what we are supposed to be doing.
In that moment we were lights.
Light in a place where there is usually only darkness.
God used us today.
