(Picture Above: Chesapeake Bay Bridges - heading towards Ocean City, MD)
On Monday, my family came to OC to watch the team preach. Adam, Micah, Tim, Matt, and I got to do the drama. Afterwards, my 4 year old cousin came up to me and said that she was scared and thought Micah was actually trying to hurt me. The next day she went to my aunt and she explained to my cousin that it was just an illustration of what God did for us so that we could be with Him in heaven. She said that she believed in God and that she was going to heaven. It was amazing to see how the drama not only affects nonbelievers but it also makes people who are supposedly Christians think about what they believe. It is a great example of the bondage that sin can make you feel and God’s love that sets you free. (Julie)
(Picture Above: Micah & Shauna performing "Set Free" to open for preaching)
So far this last week on MP has been quite different from our 5 weeks in California. In San Francisco, people had some really interesting beliefs and some of them were so passionate that they would yell at us. In Ocean City however, people will walk by and yell something ignorant, just for the sake of being funny. Most of the people that watch the messages are Christians. We still get people who stay for the messages, but people here are not nearly as convicted as the people in SF were. A lot of teenagers think it's a joke and a lot of adults simply don't care, but sometimes we have conversations with people who truly are interested in the Gospel. An example of the primer: this guy walked away from Paul's message, so I gave him a tract and got into a conversation with him. He said that he was just going to enjoy life as much as he possibly could and on judgment day he would "accept" Christ. I asked him, judgment day aside, if he knew exactly when he would die. He said, "Well no one knows that!" I said, "Then wouldn't you want to be ready for that moment?" He knows that Christ died for his sins and that he needs to repent. I told him that those who have been given much, much will be expected. A lot of people on the boardwalk think that we are too much trouble to talk to, but I had a conversation with this teen, who said he believes that God is a ridiculous thing to believe in. I asked him what he believed and he said he believed in the big bang theory... one of the most ridiculous things to believe! What's ridiculous about all other beliefs is that they exist just to make people feel good about themselves. I had a long conversation with him and I left him with these words: "The big bang theory can't be correct because something cannot come out of nothing, which means that either the universe has always existed, or God has always existed. Neither can be fully comprehended because they are infinite, so eventually you have to put faith in one. I put my faith in God because through God all things have an explanation. However, the universe does not and cannot account for all things!" I pray that that the Holy Spirit will work through our conversation and convict his heart. (Adam)
(Picture Above: Julie following up the message by talking with some people near her)
From the start of this trip my eyes have been opened wide to how real spiritual warfare is. The very first day we went to Powell and Market Streets in San Francisco, Kelly and Carmina pointed out the distractions that occurred while Paul was sharing the gospel with Derek, a security guard. At first, I didn’t really think anything of it, until I realized the police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks driving by with their sirens blasting as soon as we started preaching. Over the weeks in San Francisco I couldn’t help but notice how the Devil showed up everyday to keep us from preaching, but only through God were we able to block out Satan, draw crowds in, have many great conversations, and even lead someone to Christ. Coming to OC I didn’t think the warfare would be as bad as California…but I thought wrong. The last few nights there have been fireworks going off in the middle of messages, people walking by cursing at us, and someone even tripping in front of the crowd as soon as Paul mentioned Jesus. Again, by praying I can see how God has once again blocked out Satan and led many people to come hear the most important message of their lives. (Jianna)
(Picture Above: Matt preaching)
This trip has been a growing experience. I've learned to seek first the Kingdom of God and He will take care of the rest. God has been working through us especially in our preaching. There have been numerous occasions where I would be nervous and I would start to preach and the words would just flow. The other night I was extremely nervous to preach a new message that I made up. The group was all trying to encourage me and said I would be great but I still was nervous. I started to preach and I was going through it and was feeling a little anxious. Then when I got to the Gospel, the words were just flowing through me and that was God. The Holy Spirit moved me and I got in to it. I would like to thank you all for your support. (Tim)
(Picture Above: Tim preaching)
This summer has been amazing! As a leader-in-training and a former Mission Possible teen, I am so excited to see the impact of the summer on the whole team - our teens as well as the leaders. We have seen God show up in many different situations throughout the summer. One way we saw Him taking care of everything was the pattern of the summer. We started the summer with 2 intense weeks of sharing the Gospel on the streets of San Francisco, being ignored or shouted at by many angry people (while still seeing God show up), but then we got one week of intense time with fellow Christians, being encouraged by sisters and brothers at West Hills Community Church and Vallejo Bible Church. This allowed us to be refreshed going into the next 2 weeks of intense conversations with hardened non-believers. We were again given an oasis in Sacramento, being encouraged by Youth for Christ staff, including Steven Schultheis – a Forcey missionary and former Mission Possible teen too. That week was full of times of oasis and still tough conversations too. We started out this week in Ocean City having conversations with many fellow believers – encouraging us and giving us another oasis. Wednesday night was again another night of intense ministry. We saw the Devil fighting against us. There were more multiple times, more than usual, where people would walk away at the mention of Jesus or distractions would show up right when we started sharing the Gospel. Yet, in the midst of all of this, we know that God is in control and His Word won’t return void (as it says in Isaiah 55:11). Our job isn’t to make sure that people listen to us, but to preach the Gospel faithfully. To God be the glory! (Kelly)
(Picture Above: People watching Jianna, Sam, Matt, & Tim perform "Set Free" from their hotel rooms)
(Picture Above: Adam preaching)
(Picture Above: Group devotional time back at the house)
(Picture Above: Sam preaching)
(Picture Above: Micah preaching)
