Crazy Intense..coming right up!

Hey guys, sorry it's been awhile since I've updated, but God has been doing some absolutely incredible things this past week. But I just wanted to ask everyone to please be in special prayer for our group this week. My group in particular, a group from a church called Temple Baptist from South Carolina (funny, I know), 2 other summer missionaries, and I will be working at a house with some pretty intense situations. The lady who owns the house was married to a man who wired the entire house with cameras to spy on their child and his friends. When his wife, the homeowner, discovered this, she turned him in, and he committed suicide in their house. There are many things that need to be done on the house itself, but I have been given the special mission of spending a lot of time with the homeowner, just being there for her to talk to and just to do some intense head-on ministry.

When I discovered all this on Friday, I was absolutely pumped about going this week. We visited the house on Friday, and when we got onto the street, I seriously felt like I was in a third-world country..it just looks so homely and poor. And when we arrived at the house, I could feel the Spirit of God strong around the house, but as the weekend has transpired, things have changed. I have felt some pretty intense spiritual things, and I think this week will be a very intense time of some spiritual warfare, like nothing I've ever seen before. I was laying in bed last night at like 4:30 in the morning (I know I just said last night and in the morning in the same sentence, but you catch my drift) and was praying because I was still wide awake. And I began to think about the power of God and how incredible it would be to actually see the glory of God, as we often pray. I am constantly praying for God's glory in this city, but I thought of it in a different way last night. When Moses asked to see God, God pretty much said to him, "no buddy, you think you want to see Me, but you can't handle it!" So in His love and grace He hid Moses in the cleft of the mountain and allowed him to see only his backside, because He said no one can see His face and live. So I prayed something bold; to see the glory and power of God displayed in my life. I suppose Satan didn't like that too much!

Today after church I began to feel sick, so I didn't eat lunch, then after we arrived at the Minsitry Center to get things ready for the week and for orientation tonight, I began to feel really week and light-headed. I honestly felt like it was Satan because I knew we would have a crazy intense week ahead. But at the same time God used it for His glory because it gave me some time to spend alone in prayer, as I left the Ministry Center and returned to the apartment for some rest. While "resting", I could just sense God's Spirit telling me to be still, to rest in Him, allthewhile feeling very anxious and uneasy about something. And I honestly feel like there is some major spiritual battle going on that I cannot see, and I think it will probably carry over into the week. So I will spend much time in prayer, listening to and waiting for God. I will try hard to rejoice and be joyful, because it is easy to be discouraged and feel weak. But my God is not weak. He conquered death and the grave, and nothing in all creation can separate me from His love. There is something incredible that God is preparing us for this week, and I can't wait to find out what it is! But I will not be so foolish as to think that I can by any means do this in my own power. So I ask you to be in constant prayer with me for this family and their healing. And I ask you to remember all God's people throughout the world and pray for boldness, opportunity, and clarity of words in presenting the gospel, as Paul instructs us to do. "For we have not been given a spirit of timidity and fear, but of love and a sound mind." "Mercy triumphs over judgment." "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." "The Lord will fight the battle; you need only to be still." "Be still and know that I am God..." "Trust in the Lord will ALL your heart and do not lean on your own understanding."