California Blitz!

November 19, 2010

So I am back from my ministry trip and I just have to say I had the best time! Thank you so much to everyone who supported me both financially and through prayer. It is an absolute pleasure partnering with you to see the work of God’s Kingdom. I don’t even know where to start so I guess I’ll try the beginning. Like I said in my previous blog I had a lot of fear going into this trip. I felt like I was 5 years old but honestly the biggest fear I had the whole time was who am I going to sit with on the bus? I was like Lord please let someone sit next to me that doesn’t think I’m boring and thinks I’m fun. Silly right? I had one friend besides the girls in my small group that I knew and I was really praying we would sit together. However, as it turns out she was on another bus because they divided us up by small groups. So there were 5 girls in my small group and they all paired up and sat together and I was the lone man out. So already I was like ok God I really don’t like this. So the bus was filling up and then a guy sat next to me. I was thinking wow this is going to be really awkward. The Lord is so good and faithful! The guy was really friendly and we started talking and he was also a first year student and he was from Houston! He literally lives like 20-30 minutes from my parents’ house. Small world right? Anyway he was really funny and we clicked instantly and got along really well. This was good because we had a 36 hour bus ride and slept overnight on the bus. So that fear was immediately squashed. There were 5 buses and we had about 300 students on the trip total. Once we got to California we all split up to different areas. My bus went to Rancho Cucamonga! Haha isn’t that fun? Our group was really small and I loved that. We had my girls small group and then a first year guys small group and with the leaders we had like 20 people total. It was great!

Friday: We got to California around 4 or 5 the next night and found out we were going to be living in a house of prayer. Can you think of anything my little heart desires more than that? The place was called Refuge House of Prayer and it reminded me a lot of the Katy one. I felt right at home. There was one room for the guys and one for the girls and we took turns going to the house of the couple who lead the prayer room, Ted and Toni, for showers every few days. (least favorite part but it could’ve been worse) The first night was really low key. We got in and got settled and they had vegetable lasagna waiting for us since we were still Daniel fasting. It was so yummy! Then that night they had a worship/intercession set and we got to pray and participate in that. Then we went to sleep.

Saturday: On Saturdays they do healing rooms, like at Grace. So some people were assigned to a room and were put on a team while others were assigned to sit in the main room and intercede for those getting prayer and to worship. I was assigned a healing team. Instantly I was freaked out but I was like ok God I put all this in your hands and said use me however you want to use me so if this is what you want I will do it. I was with 2 other guys and 1 girl. The main guy was really sweet when I told him I didn’t really know what I was doing and I don’t really even know if the Lord is gonna speak to me. He prayed for me and it was encouraging. So anyway, the way they do the rooms is a person comes in and writes down on a piece of paper what they want prayer for, then the dude at the front desk folds it in half and brings it to our room. We ask the Lord what He wants to say to this person before we even open the paper. Then we discuss what we got from the Lord and how it fits together and then the person comes in and we pray for them. I’m not sure if other rooms got the people that needed physical healing but our room pretty much just got people that wanted prayer. I think it was more like the prophecy rooms where you are just supposed to exhort and encourage. The first one went pretty well and I feel like he was really encouraged. Then it was the second one and I found out later she was the wife of someone very high up in leadership there or something like that. Before she came in or we knew what we were praying for I felt like God gave me the phrase “eyes like Esther.” I don’t really know what that means and someone prayed it over me once but I told the guy. When we opened the paper it said she wanted prayer for her eyes. So that was interesting. When she came in and we asked her what she wanted prayer for she said something completely different from on the paper. So the others went around the room and told her what they got and prayed and then it was my turn. I said ok I think this is going to sound really strange and I don’t even know what it means but I got the phrase “eyes like Esther.” The lady started crying. She was like that’s exactly what I really wanted prayer for but I didn’t want to bring it up. I have the seer anointing and my physical eyes have had a lot of problems lately and I feel like it’s interfering with me being able to see in the spirit. So I’m actually going to IHOP this week because the Lord said He wanted to give me the mantle of Esther. (whatever that means?) By this point the main guy leading was freaking out and he goes you don’t know this but this girl standing across from you is from IHOP. How funny is that? So anyway I prayed for her and I anointed her eyelids with oil and was basically like ok God I don’t know what you want me to impart to her but obviously there’s something you want to give her that you’ve given me so whatever that is I impart it to her. Then she said her eyes starting burning. I never figured out if that was a good thing or bad. Anyway the guys felt like after I prayed for her she was supposed to pray for me. So then she prayed for me and anointed my eyes with oil. I didn’t feel anything different but the main dude was really excited and said when we were praying for each other he saw fireworks and angels in the spirit so that means something must have happened. He said we were like kindred spirits. So I think that was definitely a divine appointment. The best part was afterward she walked out and the guy in charge, Ted, asked how it went and she goes. I just got what I was going to Kansas City for. Crazy huh? She still went but apparently she couldn’t stop talking about how much I blessed her after that. Ted kept telling me how much it blessed him that I blessed her because apparently she has a pretty impactful ministry. So that was pretty cool. Then I repented to the Lord for doubting that He wants to use me and that He speaks to me.

Sunday: This was a pretty low key day. We went to this place called the cove which apparently was a spot that was important back in the 70s when there was a revival called the Jesus movement and people got saved and baptized right there in the cove. So we went there and heard some history and even baptized some people. It was a beautiful day and a pretty cool experience.

Monday/Tuesday: These days we went to the campus of UC Riverside. They had been doing 48 hours of non-stop prayer and worship and we were going there to strengthen them and pray and worship with them. They had a tent set up in the middle of the campus where we all met to pray together. The first day we prayer-walked the campus and wrote down anything that we felt like the Lord was saying. We wrote it in a little notebook and they really appreciated our feedback. I have a funny story though. As we were walking around I noticed that all the plants by the psychology building were dead and then when we turned a corner I saw these awesome trees with lots of fruit on them. I was like oh this must symbolize something in the spirit but I couldn’t see what the building was. So when we stopped I told one of the guys in my group what I thought and he looked at the map of the campus and found the building and started laughing. I was like what’s so funny? He goes it’s the entomology building. I was like wait isn’t that like the study of plants? Yeah so turns out there wasn’t anything to it so that was funny. The second day they wanted us to go around campus and evangelize. I was not excited about this. The idea of evangelism is super intimidating to me but I said ok God here I am. I want you to show me the person on this campus that you want the most. The one that your heart breaks for the most because they don’t know you. So we’re walking around and the guy I was partnered with pointed out a girl sitting by herself and said what about her? So I prayed and felt like the Lord was highlighting her so over we went. My heart was pounding and I didn’t even know what was going on but before I knew it I was sitting next to her and introducing myself. I opened with the fact that we had a prayer booth in the center of the campus and asked her if she needed prayer for anything. She said no and then I asked her if she knew Jesus. She told me that she was a Hindu. I was like oh yikes. So I asked her if anyone had ever told her that Jesus was a real man and He wanted a real relationship with her. She eyes got huge and she was like no tell me more. It was crazy! She was so receptive. The guy I was with and I ping-ponged off each other and just told her about Jesus and a little of our stories and how He’s changed our life. Then she had to go to class and I asked her if I could pray for her and she said yes! So she didn’t accept Christ but we both felt like we planted a good seed. I was super grateful that the Lord highlighted her first knowing that she would be receptive and not spit in my face or cuss me out. Something happened to me too. When we were done and walking back to the tent I was overcome with joy and I was so excited about what just happened. There was something in me that came alive when I did that. It was new and I really liked the feeling. Plus since we’ve been back I feel like the Lord will put her on my heart randomly and I will pray for her. It’s kinda cool.

Wednesday: This was a day when all 300 students went on a tour of historical revival sites and listened to Lou Engle tell us the history. It was so fascinating and by the end of the day you felt tiny because you saw how much bigger this all was than you. I also walked away super grateful that the Lord is letting me be a part of such a historical happening. We started at Mott Auditorium, then went to the Rose Bowl, then Amy Semple McPherson’s temple where the Four Square church movement started, and ended the night on Azusa Street. In 1910 there was this amazing revival called the Azusa Street Revival and there have been a lot of words spoken about how in 100 years (2010 anyone?) God was gonna pour out another one. So we had an awesome night of prayer and worship on Azusa Street.

Thursday-Sunday: These days were the fight conference and student call. We were there for the conference but we were also serving in lots of different aspects. I didn’t really know what the conference was going to be about before. It was basically about missions and how we are all called to go. So there was a lot of really interesting speakers and the Lord definitely touched my heart in new ways. They gave several alter calls for if you were ready to be a missionary and go. I did not go up for any of those. I basically told the Lord ok God I am nowhere near there yet. I’ve told you if you want to make me a missionary than you still need to do a huge work in my heart. But at the same time when I said yes to you, my life was no longer my own and you know I’m going to say yes to anything you ask me to do. So I am not willing. But I am willing to let you make me willing. So that’s where I stand on that right now. I’m willing to be willing. I’m not actually sure how to articulate what’s on my heart about this part yet so we’ll just leave it at that.Who knows what the Lord has for me…

Then that last night we got on the bus and drove 2 days back to Kansas City. This time we slept overnight on the bus 2 nights. Needless to say, we were all ready to be home. Overall the trip was amazing. They gave us an acronym of our assignment and mission before we went and it was S.O.S. Strengthen the believers, Open the heavens, and save souls. There were awesome stories of people getting saved, healed, and delivered from the other groups too. So we all felt like we did a pretty good job of accomplishing this. Plus now we have faces and people in mind so when we intercede for California, we have more of a heart connect which is always helpful. One of our leaders said before we left that his main goal for this trip was that all of us students would just fall in love with each other and that is so what happened. We can’t even explain it but our group was like instantly brothers and sisters. I didn’t know my small group girls well at all and we became super close. I didn’t know any of the guys either, and as it turns out the guy I sat by on the bus was also in the group with us. We all came away with new brothers and sisters in Christ. On top of that, those guys served all of us girls more than I think we’ve ever been served. They gave up all their air mattresses so we didn’t have to sleep on the floor and gave us their coats when we were cold. They always let us take showers first and eat first. They would actually serve us food and refill drinks before they even ate one bite. They went above and beyond and really loved us and took care of us. It really opened my eyes to see how a Godly man is supposed to treat a woman. There was definitely some healing of my heart that took place this week. Actually there was a lot of healing I felt like the Lord did in my heart. Then the last night we played a game called I love you because and we went around the room and told everyone why we loved them. It was so encouraging and God really used some of those guys to speak straight to my heart. So all in all it was such an amazing trip! All my fears were like nothing once I was there. God is so faithful! Oh and last but not least. On the ride home I asked the guy if he wanted to be my bus buddy again and he said yeah so we sat together again and on the way home he goes Ya know Amy, I’m really happy we got to sit together. You are so fun! =)

P.S. As I was just finishing this blog I got a friend request on facebook from the guy that I did the healing rooms with and this was his last sentence in his message:

BTW-the testimony of the eyes of esther is still being talked about! :)