Since I signed up for the race in March, I have dreaded the month on the race where I would have to do street ministry. The idea of approaching people on the street to talk to them about Christ terrified me. I had no idea that I would have to face this fear so early on the race. Our second week of ministry was devoted solely to doing street ministry in Ocean View, the community in which we were living. The first four days of the week I was very reluctant to talk to anybody; I generally hung back and played with some of the neighborhood kids in an attempt to avoid talking to anyone. However, on Friday, God had other plans for me.
Friday morning I went out with two other members of my squad and we started walking around Ocean View. We first went to a mosque in the community and prayed that it would become a place where Christ would be worshipped and that it would be transformed from a place of darkness to a beacon of light where the hope and truth of Christ is preached. It was an awesome experience to be able to pray over the mosque, but mostly I was just glad that I didn’t have to talk to anyone.
However, as we moved on from the mosque my squad mates noticed a couple sitting on the side of the road and wanted to approach them and talk to them. We stopped and the woman introduced herself as Lucinda Allen and asked if we had any money so she could buy food for her children. Thankfully we had brought some apples so we were able to give her some food which opened the door to conversation. She began to really open up to us and tell her about her life. She told us about how she and her boyfriend were homeless along with her 2 boys, how she felt rejected by the community, how she had been abused as a child, how she was a drug user who had been clean for two weeks. She talked to us for a half hour about so many things she had been through and all that we had to ask was how she was doing. We then had the opportunity to pray for her and to encourage her. It was a privilege to hear her story.
Next, we began to walk to back to our house for lunch and on the way we ran into two women sitting on a bench. We casually said hello and asked how they were. The first woman responded that she wasn’t so good. We said that she had been out of work for a month and that she was forced to rely on others. We were able to encourage her that God is still providing for all of her needs and drawing her closer to himself through this trial. As our conversation came to a close she told us that she truly believed that we had been sent by God to remind her that He is still present in her life and that He is not punishing her but providing for her in this trial. I was able to pray for her and her friend.
It was incredible to get to know these women, to hear their stories and be able to encourage them with the Word. I realized that afternoon what a privilege it is to have the opportunity to do street ministry, to encourage people and to share with them what the Lord has done in my life! I told my squad mates that afternoon at lunch, “I guess I don’t hate street ministry after all.”
Please pray for the community of Ocean View; it is a beautiful community but in recent years it has been plagued by drug abuse and gang activity. I loved every minute that I spend living in Ocean View and will remember my experiences there for the rest of my life! Please also pray for us as we travel to Swaziland and begin our ministry at El Shaddai children’s home!
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Route Update!
Our route has been changed! Month 4 we will be heading to the Philippines, Month 5 to Malaysia and Month 6 to Vietnam!
