During one of our squad debriefs, one of my squadmates Josten (who is a fellow illinoian woo hoo) said “I feel like I drank 3 monsters and then sat in my car” and I really think that it encapsulated how we all felt about learning so much about making disciples but being surrounded by the same like minded people day in and day out. 

I felt radical change and revival in my own heart and my passion for wanting to share the word of God only grew more but I was still “trapped” in the confines of AIM’s base here in Georgia. I was so excited when we were given the opportunity to help and love the people of DeQuincy, LA. Our one week got extended to two weeks and opened up doors to have more ministry opportunities. I’d never been more excited to do manual labor. 

In our second week of ministry I was worn out and definitely running on low energy. I prayed a prayer of “God give me fresh eyes and a fresh heart to continue on in ministry with a servant’s heart”, to be honest it was really a prayer of asking God to give me a homeowner that I could connect with. Later that day, we arrived at our last home and I noticed a very energetic homeowner jumping and waving her arms as we pulled up. 

Her name was Jan* and the best way I could describe her is a 66 year old version of myself (or at least how I pray to be as a 66 year old), she was energetic and on fire for the Lord. She shared a little bit about herself and how she was a widow and that her next door neighbor had recently become a widow as well. Her neighbor named Jenni* was sitting on her front step so I decided to go up to her with a couple of my teammates, not only because I wanted to love her but I also am literally called to do so: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27  

It was an honor to sit with Jenni* in her grief, to share her identity in Christ with her, and to just watch God answer a prayer from that morning. Jenni* had shared that she prays and listens to gospel music but it was evident that she wasn’t walking with the Lord (yea God’s got a whole lot more to Him than just prayers and gospel music). After we left Jenni’s* house I continued to intercede and hope that the Lord would show up and change her view of Him. 

We’ve been back in GA for almost a week and two days ago, we got news that some of the chaplains from samaritan's purse had revisited Jenni’s* house and she decided to rededicate her life to Christ!!!! 

Matthew 7:7 says “ Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” All I needed to do was expect God to show up and He will. So crazy!!! 

thx for reading , 

kayla

*all names of homeowners have been changed for privacy reasons