Greetings my friend! Hope all is well!
It’s been another fruitful week on the mission fields.
On Friday, there were lots of people at the park, and a good number of tracts were given out. We also got to pray for a handful of people and had some meaningful interactions. Very few pics, but I did get this one of a family getting ministered to:
We also saw our friend AJ, whom we hadn’t seen for about a year. When we first met AJ, he was full on “transitioning” and was going by Bella.
Over the course of months, we saw AJ give his life to Jesus, get baptized, and walk in the male identity that he was given by God.
Scroll about 40% down this page to see his testimony- 2024 Mission Field Highlights – Awaken Florida
The last time I spoke with him though, he was living on the streets again and was struggling to stay in a good mental place. After seeing him on Friday and hearing about his past year, I realized that since we spoke it had gone from bad to worse.
His sister died shortly after I spoke with him, and after that he was very hard hearted towards God. It got so bad that he even tried to hang himself, yet he was spared by the Sovereign Hand of God. I’ll share the story next time I see you.
Come last Friday though, he was in a much better place, but he still needed help. Praise God he was humble and repentant and asked for prayer. We believe we will continue to see him out there and that eventually he will be mightily used by God.
On Saturday, there was the threat of rain, so the crowds were a bit smaller. Despite that, we were BUSY. Person after person came and asked for gifts and prayer, it was amazing.
This girl was one of many to pray to receive the Lord, and she was crying as the Holy Spirit was coming upon her. She stayed and got counsel for maybe 45 minutes too.
This was my favorite moment of the night though. So special that I even posted about it on Facebook. I’ve copied and pasted the testimony below:
Precious God moment ❤️🙌✝️
We met this little boy at the outreach back in June.
That night, he came up to me and asked me what we were doing. I told him, and then I began asking him about his relationship with Jesus.
He told me that his family went to church when he was younger, but I was shocked when he said… “we stopped going after my dad abandoned us.”
My heart was instantly broken for him.
After that, I spent some time sharing the gospel with him, praying with him with to receive Christ, and encouraging him in the love of the Father.
For the rest of the night, he wanted to stay right by us. It was truly heartwarming to see this little boy make such a connection with us after just a few minutes.
We hadn’t seen him for the past month, but last night, he was at the park again. The moment that he heard my voice come over the speaker, he came running over to me with excitement on his face.
He told me that he was so glad to see us again and that he has been reading his bible everyday.
He again wanted to stay with us for a while and he told me all about his last month. It was so precious. Thankfully we got to plant a seed in his mom too.
This interaction was such a beautiful reminder of how the Father meets us right where we are. He’s so good.
Please keep this little boy lifted up. 🙏
There was also a very interesting moment where a late teenage boy who had been stabbed several times in the chest (and had the scars to prove it) came and asked us for prayer. I didn’t think about it until now, but because father abandonment is a big trigger for young men joining gangs, I almost feel like the teenage boy represents what this young boy is being saved from through him encountering the Father at a young age. Hopefully we will keep seeing both of them.
On Sunday, it rained like crazy until around 5, so we got out the beach pretty late. Despite that, it was still a very busy and fruitful night. Lots of families were here on vacation, so that helps a ton.
A number of people were being drawn to the preaching and the music, and many were making public professions of faith.
This woman danced and praised for about 15 minutes in the early part of the night. I later got to pray with them.
This man even bowed down at the cross for a few minutes when he saw us.
This young man in the black was really encouraged by what we were doing, and he asked if he could hand out tracts. He did it very persistently-
And this was one of the cutest moments of the night, watching these children clamor for all the stuff on the table:
So thankful we get to do this.
To close, how crazy is this???
According to various surveys it is estimated that about 45% of Sarasota and Manatee County are unchurched.
Now, of course, many of those unchurched people could be saved, but I would argue that its likely less than the number of “churched” people who are NOT saved. So, I’d call that a wash.
Let’s make sure we are really investing ourselves into being a solution to this problem.
On that note, please keep this graphic in your phone and have your friends scan it when you’re at church, Bible study, home groups or other gatherings. We have over 40 monthly opportunities for people to serve and EVERY believer should at least join something 1-2x per month. There is really no excuse.
On that note, check out all the laborer activity that’s been happening on the app lately.
We just need WAY to join them!
Lastly, I will be in New England from Saturday to Thursday doing ministry and connecting with missionaries, so PLEASE come and help on Saturday and Sunday if you can!
Love you and hope to see you soon!
C, S, N & AY