Training Camp Stories: ATL in ATL

It was the second or third to last day of training camp (the days kind of run together) and the challenge was set before us: Today we are going to put everything we learned from the week into practice by doing some sort of ministry in our individual teams. But what was it we were going to do? They had no plan for us. They only said, “We’re going to spend a little time in worship and prayer as a squad, then we’re going to Ask The Lord (ATL) to show us where he wants our individual teams (smaller groups of 6 or 7 people) to go and what he wants us to do.”

Uhh….  ooookkkk….

I tell you know that I doubted. I doubted myself more than anything else, but it was doubt nonetheless. And I tell you right now that I repent of my doubt, because I experienced with my own self how things came together. And because they came together the way they did, I have no other explanation than this: God.

So we circle up in our teams, do our darndest to clear our minds and pray that only the Lord’s voice will be heard in our minds. There was nothing special or magical or supernatural about it. We could have been sitting in a circle thinking about lolcats and making gingerbread houses for how magical things weren’t. But instead we all chose to be obedient to the command, ask the Lord to reveal something to us, and in faith recalled the thoughts that entered our mind. I took the liberty of recording in my journal what everyone said.

-Kara saw a marquee with the words “Chick-Fil-A” scrolling across, and also a cross with a rainbow behind it.
-Micah heard noise and children, or the noise of children. (There were no children near the pavilion when we were sitting in our circle.)
-Jon couldn’t stop thinking about a black ball with a stick.
-James (me) got an impression of openness, a red flower with an orange bug crawling on it, and purple sheet.
-Emily thought about a guy leaning or sitting against a wall with a cap on, and traffic.
-Alicia envisioned a homeless man that had a tangible need, be it shoes or food or something.

You know, there weren’t anything special about these thoughts, at least not in my case. In other words, it wasn’t like some light shone down from heaven into my brain and with a choir singing in the background said, “JAMES, HERE IS A THOUGHT FROM GOD.” Not at all. Nor did we hear any audible divine voices. They just seemed like normal thoughts that lingered in the mind for a little bit. We didn’t understand any of them at the time, and I’m sure we all felt a little pang of “omg I’m going to sound like an idiot” when we were recounting these thoughts to each other. But you know what, it’s whatever. We’d rather take a chance of looking stupid and maybe learn something new about God than not step out in faith at all and keep some semblance of cooth. And that’s what I love about our squad, that we’re not afraid to look stupid for the sake of pursuing Christ.

Anyways, we agreed that we should go to downtown Atlanta (ATL), and on the way someone suggested we go to Piedmont Park. About a block from the park we stop and grab two Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches. Why two? I don’t know, I just know that when Alicia asked what we should get at Chick-Fil-A that I just felt like we should get two. We didn’t even know who they were for yet.

So we’re driving along the perimeter of Piedmont park and one of the girls spots a guy, sitting upon a short rock wall by the road, baseball cap on, and big black suitcase that was bulging to roundness with an extensible handle coming out the top along two bars. Black ball with stick? Maybe. Is this the guy? Maybe. We don’t know, but we’re going to stop and talk with him nonetheless.

So we drive down a few blocks and park, and on the way it is decided that Alicia will go up and talk to this gentleman one-on-one (so 6 people don’t overwhelm him) while Micah and I sit a few meters away and pray-talk and keep watch on them. Meanwhile Kara, Jon, and Emily go off on their own adventure (which I hope everyone gets a chance to read about).

So Alicia goes up and talks to this guy, and they talk for maybe 20 minutes before she motions for Micah and I to come up and meet this guy. His name is Turner, and I wish I had taken a picture, but I didn’t. (I need you people reading this blog to hold me accountable to taking more pictures and video!) It turns out that Turner was hungry. He was sitting there on the wall because he didn’t have energy to go anywhere else at the time. He also needed a friend. He talked to us like no one had talked to him in months. Whew that man could talk! At some point Micah noted that there was a playground just inside the park fence, where children were playing. We couldn’t see it that well, but we did hear the noise of children. As well, at some point when Alicia was talking to Turner, an orange bug crawled on her. She was wearing a rose-red shirt, too, and sometime later when we were back at camp we recalled that I called her a flower the night before when we were “prophesying” over each other.

Anyways! At some point we when and got Turner a big mac and some canned food, just to keep him going. That was God moving in Alicia’s heart to provide those things for him. And on the way back to camp, we spotted an all-purple flag flying somewhere between the Chick-Fil-A and where Turner was sitting just outside of Piedmont park about a block away.

So how does all this “asking the Lord” and “hearing his voice” and whatnot work? I still don’t know. I have no theory (and being scientifically minded I’ll admit that having no theory or pattern to follow or experiment to duplicate is a little frustrating), all I can do is recount to you the things that took place that day. And all I can hope for is for the Lord to work in our lives this way more often and more conspicuously over the next year. So I pray, in Jesus’ name, for such an intimacy with the Lord to grow over the course of the next year that such occurrences as these are framed with more confidence and less uncertainty on our parts, that we will boldly step out in faith and trust that God is King and he’ll work everything together! Amen.