Here we are- officially day 2 of the World Race and even though we are still on America soil in Chicago, THE RACE HAS BEGUN! Today, we had our first opportunity to do ministry as Team Fire Starters. After the morning session, the speaker sent us on an adventure challenge through a “listening prayer” session with our team. Listening prayer is pretty much exactly what it sounds like- you sit down and ask God what He wants to do through you, where He wants to send you or what He may have in store for you. It's about sitting and waiting for Him to speak, then walking in obedience (even if you have no idea where exactly that may be!)
So, we sat down and started praying/listening for God to speak. Our team leader, Jackie, started asking us “sooo what are you guys hearing?” A couple of us starting speaking up. At first, nothing seemed to make sense. Cracked sidewalk. Airport. Blue car. Palm tree and awning. Pink cast. Little blonde boy. A man with glasses and a brown fedora.
Bryan suggested that we go on a prayer walk to continue listening for the Lord to speak. We started walking out of the hotel doors and decided that if there was an airport shuttle outside, we would take it. A few seconds after walking out, a shuttle pulled up. On we went. The shuttle's first stop was at the United gate and we all didn't feel like this was our stop. Meg and I both heard “baggage.” So we got off at stop number 2 and headed downstairs toward the baggage claim. On our way there, Kaitlyn and Jen started talking about Starbucks coffee and how awesome it would be to get some Starbucks. No sooner did those words come out of their mouths did we see a Starbucks! Some of my teammates got in line, but I kept walking toward the bathrooms with Kaitlyn. I glanced over at the tables near Starbucks and saw him- the man with glasses and brown fedora hat! He looked EXACTLY like the man I had described to my team just minutes before in our hotel room!
After returning from the bathroom, I walked up to him and, in awkward Sarah fashion, said “hiiii uhhhh howww areeee youuuu?” He looked bamboozled, but politely said, “I'm doing well… how are you… it's been a long time…” I went to shake his hand and introduced myself, “We've never actually met and this is gonna sound weird.. but this morning, when we were praying, God gave me a vision of a man with white hair, glasses and a fedora hat. You seem to meet that description so I felt compelled to come talk to you.” The man, Richard, said that he too was a Christian and believes that God speaks to him as well. He told us that he was saved back in his hippie days in the 1970s and although he is walking with God, he isn't as bold or walking as strongly as he would like to. We all talked with him for a while, encouraging him, speaking life to him and letting him know that he is not too old to still fulfill God's purposes for his life. Before leaving, we asked if we could pray for him. We prayed for boldness, courage, for him to be a light to the world and to reach out to those God placed around him. Then the coolest thing happened. He prayed for us!! He prayed that we would be bold when going out to the nations, that we would proclaim the saving name of Jesus, that we would take the sword of the Spirit and be a light to the world. How beautiful!!! Our first opportunity to do ministry and God blessed us through that! Wow! As he prayed over us, I began crying and after ending the prayer, I realized that he too was teary eyed. Talk about a divine appointment.
We all left that conversation so encouraged, believing that God truly does speak to us, lead us and work through us. We are living on purpose. We are being intentional. We are already seeking out ways to start fires in the hearts of people, starting with the ones God has placed right around us.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” – Proverbs 27:17
Team Fire Starters and our new friend, Richard
