For years, Labor Day weekend in Hendersonville, North Carolina
has been defined by the historic “Apple Festival.” Having grown up here since I was 5, it is,
for me, the signature event that marks the passing of summer into the
Fall season. It’s as much of a tradition
in my life as Christmas or the 4th of July. Main
Street shuts down. A stage is erected in front of the old courthouse in the middle of the
street, which plays host to all kinds of local bands and performances. Booths line the sidewalks on each side of the
road with all kinds of various arts, crafts, and souvenirs. Finally, while it may be a relatively small
event compared to others or become redundant for some, it has all the charm and
quaintness of a small southern town. Good times, good folks…
And then
there is the food. Let me just tell you
I love this food. In fairness, I love
most food. (My wonderful teammate,
Marisa, figured this out pretty quickly and has vowed to not let me go too
hungry on this trip). But this is state
fair-esque food. Greasy. Unhealthy. Delicious. All the wonderful
street food you wait for all year. Candy
apples. More kinds of meat on a stick than
you could ever want or imagine. Every
kind of carnival/festival food. My lips
are watering just thinking about stuffing my face for three days straight. Then…
11:30 pm EST: Thinking about this weekend, check email
before bed
11:32 pm EST: Click on post by squad-mate, Jessica McVey
11:33 pm EST: Read the following:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I have spent a lot of time in prayer the last couple of days
and with a little prompting from the Lord have decided to begin a 72 hour fast
this weekend (5pm Friday-5pm Monday). Anyone who is interrested,
feel free to join me. I plan to fast from food and the internet–
COMPLETELY! If there is any way I can be praying for you during this
time, I would love to do so. You can leave your personal prayer
requests as a comment here or e-mail them to me any time before 4:45 CST
tomorrow (this will be the last time I check my e-mail before I
begin the fast). [email protected]
I ask that you will pray for me during this time as
well.
Much love to all of you,
Jessica
11:34 pm EST: “God,
you mean you really want me to join this fast THIS weekend?!”
11:34:01 pm EST: “Yes”
Works for me. I’m in
🙂
My fellow brothers and sisters of G-squad, can you feel how
close we are? Can you hear the
nations crying out to us? Aaron has just
released to our team possible assignments for the Philippines. Based on the quick responses by my teammates,
I think I can say without a doubt that I speak for all of Judah (and hopefully
the squad) in saying that we are pumped! Our time is NOW! Others supporting
me will obviously see this letter, but this post is directly for you,
G-Squad. And it is a challenge to
challenge yourselves this weekend in prayer and fasting, following Jessica’s
lead. I know everyone is fasting
something already. But let us really
dive deeper these next three days.
Insights from Judah girls:
Marisa: “God has shown us the vault of all his
resources.” (Kind of ginormous)
Janina: “The key to opening that vault is prayer and
fasting.”
As a team, we still have a long way to go in fundraising. As a team, we still have 30 days in the
“wilderness.” As a team, we still have
so many things to take care of before we leave for nearly a year. As a team, we all still have our struggles to
deal with before we go.
AS A TEAM, LET US HUMBLE OURSELVES BEFORE GOD THIS
WEEKEND. Let us PRAY. Let us FAST. Let us see how powerfully God will move on our behalf when we, as one,
come to Him!
