WEEK TWO OF SAMARITANS PURSE

I know it’s pretty late but I really wanted to share a couple of the experiences from week two. It was one of the best weeks I’ve had and truly showed me just how much God wants to use us as the body of Christ. I found God’s faithfulness in every circumstance, even if I didn’t see it at the moment.

*The names of the homeowners in this blog are fake for their safety*

The most defining moment happened on the 6th. The whole day was incredible though. It was the first time in my life that I got the opportunity to lead someone into rebirth in the Father. It all started with our first work project with a man named John. He started our day off on a good note. He heard that one of our team members was from Washington and told us about bigfoot. We were blessed to hear his own personal story of his bigfoot encounter as well. However, quite quickly our work on his house finished. We had moved most of the team over to his neighbor’s house across the street. Across the street was a man named Bill. Bill was a very gentle and nice man. But we had doubts about his faith being a true and genuine relationship with the Father. Every time we brought up spiritual things he would change the subject slightly to avoid the primary issue. He claimed he was a believer but quite quickly you could tell he didn’t truly know what that meant. He was working for his salvation, not believing. To him, a relationship with the Father only meant being a good person. This made my heart ache and I knew I had to be blunter to get past the walls that were protecting him. So I asked, “If you were to die today, do you know for certain where you would end up?” He told me that he honestly didn’t know, but he guessed that it probably wasn’t a great place. This immediately inspired me to bring him into true life. I asked him if he would like to be saved and he agreed but it felt off. I took him through the prayer of salvation but yet again, it felt off. I felt the Spirit telling me that he still didn’t truly surrender his life. You could tell by the way he spoke that he was saying yes to salvation for my benefit, not his. Each time I would ask if he wanted to be saved he said “If you want to do it, sure.” This pained me so deeply, I felt his brokenness and all I wanted was for him to be made whole. I took action and told my team leader named Gary about the situation. Gary then took him aside and spoke to him. When he came back, Gary, Justin (My AIM team leader), and I kept pouring into him. After some time we decided to ask the pressing question once again. We asked and he said, “if you want… no, I want to.” This made all of our hearts overflow with joy. Bill had taken his salvation personally, he bore his own cross. I prayed the prayer with him and he was saved; truly saved this time. That same day he was baptized.

The next huge God moment of the week was at a Family Dollar of all places. My friend Caedmon and I needed quarters to wash our laundry so we decided to grab change from the Family Dollar that was nearby. As we got our quarters, I felt that I was being called to pray for the cashier. I asked if I could pray for her and she said yes very quickly. When I asked what she needed prayer for she told us about her daughter who had been really struggling with anxiety. Caedmon and I prayed over this woman and then went on our way not thinking too much of it. But God had greater plans for that encounter than we realized. I went back to that same Dollar General later in the week. I saw our friend, the cashier, restocking the shelves. I went over and asked how she was doing and she just lit up with happiness. She shared through tears that her daughter was cured of her anxiety. She told us that when she saw her daughter it was like seeing a whole new girl. The cashier then asked me to pray for the rest of her family. She listed each of her children, one by one, explaining what each of them is dealing with. Then to top it all off, she brought her boss over and asked me to pray for her as well. My group and I prayed for them all but we inevitably had to leave.

What did Samaritan’s Purse teach me?

Samaritans Purse taught me so much. I learned of God’s goodness and provision. How he loves His children and wants what’s best for them. I learned what a divine appointment looks like. But most prominently, I learned what it looks like to simply step into what God is already doing in people’s lives and hearts. We aren’t the ones changing lives, God is. All we are doing is walking in fellowship with the Father, everything else flows from that walk.

Thank you for reading my blog, sorry for such a big delay in posting. I am currently sending this out from Guatemala and it’s been a crazy time. I’ll let you know all about it in my next blog. God bless you all, adios.