Prayer Walk-East Hastings

Today the prayer walk team (myself included) headed off to East Hastings to pray. There are so many emotions and thoughts that came into my head with being in that area.

-Purposelessness-

Firstly, being there I really saw what purposelessness was like. We are so blessed to have purpose in our lives, honestly. I saw fights breaking out, people walking down the street haphazardly shouting obscenities. Sometimes people would look at you lasciviously. People would be smoking, and others looked like they had just been physically abused.

-How?-

There one is hit with two waves of feeling. First feeling is wow, it's so great that we are here and I have faith that God is going to do amazing things here. The second feeling is wow, this place is challenging. It's important to remember that it is GOD who will do the work, not us. We are simply being placed there and are the vessels through which His light can shine. It is important to go where God leads because as human beings we have to be in those places for God's love and power to shine through us and affect change there.

-Not me, Him.-

I've been really convicted of that these days. Just really realizing that it is only through God's grace that I am growing in Him. Without Him, I honestly would be a "no-gooder" but the closer we grow to God and faith in Him the better we become as people. With Him removed, we are victim to the sin we were born into. I must remain close to Him and guard my heart from sin.

-How do you reach out?-

It's so hard to reach out to others (for me at least) especially my friends. All I can really do is be a support and be there for them. But it's so hard. All of my friends are going through things, and I do not even have the time to talk in depth to them about it. In terms of East Hastings, I really believe that being there is the key to reaching out. We have to be there, simply there. It would be nice to actually talk to some of the people who live there and get to know their stories and just really share life together. We will see where this prayer walk will lead us.

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Blessings and Praises:

-S's cousin has settled in safely in her new school and has already found a friend!!
-Being able to share your faith and conversing with other believers!
-New desires (one of the girls in the prayer walk has a newfound desire to take part in a discipleship training and perhaps participate in yWham (missionary organization)
-The way God speaks to His believers-I'm always amazed by how God speaks to the leader of the prayer group, in just such crazy and cool ways. When we were dwntwn there was a sign for the Army and Navy store (I think it was) and it said.."You won't believe what's in store" and the leader said that it reminded her of that verse in the Bible "No eye has seen, No ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared (but she said "in store") for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 2:9 I just thought it was very fitting and an apt time to be reminded of that verse.

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I feel like I'm really going to be tested yet again spiritually soon. And honestly..I dislike it! Which is really really sad that I'm saying this! It truly is and yet I do say it. God disciplines those He loves and I need to be thankful because He is trying to teach me so many things through this situation. I can't neglect the lessons and wisdom to be found here. True wisdom=humility. Very enlightening. =)