One evening, we led a service at a small church that is attended by mainly poor families. My squadmate, Andy, spoke about being the transition generation. About how no matter where you’ve come from or what your family was like, you can be different. You can break the generational stuff that has been passed down to you. Your children don’t have to struggle with the same things you struggled with.
After Andy spoke, he invited the congregation to come forward for prayer if they wanted. Many did come forward and we began to pray for them. One of the people that came forward was Anderson, who is probably about 12. Because of where he was standing it was awhile before anyone prayed for him. I noticed him standing in the middle of the crowd, waiting.
In my experience, 12 year old boys don’t go forward for prayer so that they can overcome their family’s history. And if they do, they don’t stand patiently, with so much desire for God in their face that you can’t help but pray for them. And most 12 year old boys don’t stand with their eyes screwed shut, as though they wanted nothing more than to be and do better either.
But Anderson did.
So, I went over and prayed for him. I thanked God for Anderson and I asked Him to speak truth over his life. God answered that prayer immediately. I used to be pretty freaked out by the idea of prophecy but now I definitely believe in it. I love that God uses his children to encourage each other like that. God gave me these words about Anderson: That God is making him a man of God, a man of strength and a man of honor. (You want a random Guatemalan lady to love you? Speak those words over her 12 year old son while she can hear you haha).
I would love to meet Anderson in ten years to see what God has done in his life. To see the ways that He is going to use Anderson. To see the impact that his life will have on his family, his community, even his country. God is raising up a generation of men and women of strength, and honor. Men and women of God.
To those that have supported me, thank you for sending me so that I could have a part in that. Better yet, thank you for sending me so that I can be that generation. I want to be a part of that generation. I don’t want to settle for ordinary. I want to be like Anderson, someone that you want to hear about in ten years to see how God has used them, someone that will move forward to become something better, to be a woman of God, of strength and of honor.
