After our ministry in Portland, one of the darkest cities in America during the morning, we then headed to a much brighter city in the afternoon: Salem.
First off, it is absolutely crazy that one city of darkness can exist in the midst of lightness all around. Seriously, Portland is dark and most of Oregon is not. Most of Oregon is not experiencing countless days of continuous protesting and riots. That undeniably changes a city. And the contrast is absolutely noticeable. People are friendlier and much more open to conversation. So, from that, my first piece of encouragement is that the darkness loses. The darkness cannot win because Jesus always win the ultimate victory.
That being said, let me tell you about our pretty incredible afternoon in Salem.
We pulled up to a curb next to an occupied bench, which Ryan later said he felt God encouraging him to park next to.
In my perspective, having a van pull up next to you and 10 people pile out is kind of unsettling. So, I struck up a conversation with the man to explain who we were and what we were doing.
He lit up and said “Y’all are Christians? Will you lay hands on me and pray for me?”
So that’s exactly what we did. He then shared with us a hectic story of growing up exposed to all kinds of Christian denominations and some cultish beliefs and spiritual warfare and everything.
Now, he describes himself as a Christian Rastafarian.
I honestly have no clue exactly what he means by that, but it’s a starting place.
In all of that, he came to this season of living on the streets, homeless and feeling oppressed by demons.
So we prayed against those things. I bought him some corn dogs and Gatorade.
And then the questions came from him about wanting to find a church. Unfortunately, we’re not from Salem. We don’t know anything about churches in the area. So a few people did some googling and wrote down some nearby options that could be walked to.
And they also started asking if he had a Bible to help him grow in his Christian walk while he searched for a church.
He didn’t.
Hannah felt called to buy him one. To trust in the Lord for that financial sacrifice on a limited missionary budget.
There was a book store a few blocks away, also in the direction of one of the churches on the list. So, the perfect way to kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
He joined us as a group of us walked to the bookstore.
Unfortunately, with strict rules of occupancy only a few people could go in the store at one time. We would have to wait in line and not all of us could go in. But the angels in the store learned that all we wanted was a Bible and they took care of it for us.
So then we continued down the street toward the church. But we were stopped by a man on the street corner asking if we were tourists. Because, guess what, he was a YWAM missionary wanting to minister to us.
And I learned this was an answer to Eva’s prayers that she had been asking God to send a local person we could connect our companion with to help him find a church and get involved and everything he needed.
I don’t know about y’all, but this situation doesn’t strike me as a coincidence.
We didn’t end up going to that original church where we were heading. We just talked with this missionary and his fellow missionaries as they joined us on that corner.
And we could rest assured that if our companion is serious about his journey with the Lord he has the resources he needs.
A lot of really cool personal stories also came out of that encounter with those YWAM missionaries for my squad mates, but those are their stories to share. And I bet if you check out the blogs of my squad mates you’ll find a story or 2.
But this was my story of experiencing that day. And that day is the day our squad was inspired to ask for money to buy Bibles to give away. And that has bloomed and boomed in so many ways.
In Salem, Oregon we brought the light of Christ and in Salem, Oregon we were blessed by the light of Christ that others have placed there firmly.
And we all left inspired by one another, and hopefully together we made a difference in the life of a man who needed to see, experience, and be part of the light of Christ.
