Let Go and Let GOD

The past few weeks have been somewhat different for me, as some of you may know I was terminated from my job. The first two weeks were great, a much needed time to rest and study. I have had time to work on our house to be able to put it on the market. My wife and I are ready to GO wherever God would have us GO. I know where God wants us to end up but don't know what steps we are going to take to get there or if we are staying right where we are to finish some God business. The last few weeks were extremely hard on me. I have been trying to find a job. I have turned in applications everywhere for a wide range of jobs. I have had minimal feed back and was starting to panic. I had planned to go to spend time with Pastor Sam and Lucy (RAVEN East Coast) since before my termination. As the time drew near I started to think maybe I shouldn't go I need to stay here. When my Wife heard me say this she said, "Are you crazy this is not a time that you need to back out of a trip like this." (For those of you that don't know I was in Delaware for 7 months last year. Christie and my son Cole were able to come visit and I took them to NYC and to Philadelphia. As we drove and walked around Philly I was taking pictures of the homeless (for prayer purposes). They were everywhere and there were people walking over them like they were nothing. As we passed LOVE park, I looked at Christie and told her something has to be done, somebody has to do something. She looked back at me with a smile and said, "You do something." I started praying for connections or someway to get back to Philly to minister. A month or so later Pastor Sam calls me and says we met a pastor in Philly and he wants us to join him. PRAISE GOD.) I agreed with Christie and started getting ready. I was so excited the night before I left I didn't sleep and slept maybe 30 minutes on the plane. God showed up and showed out from my first day, with RAVEN east coast. We went to eat and Pastor Sam and Lucy's ex-neighbor came up and told them after they witnessed to him he had quit drinking and had been sober for 7 months, a lady was healed of excruciating head pain, and the owner of the resturant said that the RAVEN East Coast Fellowship could use the back half of the resturant for services. The wildest thing was the people at the resturant started clapping and gave us a standing ovation when we left. Jesus was definitely walking out with us because we didn't do a thing it was All the Lord. Later we went to pick up the food for the outreach and a guy came up and gave an offering some other people came up and told Lucy where to get bread donations. What an AWESOME GOD I serve!!! What a weekend it was going to be.

Friday we started getting everything situated and bagging chips for the outreach in Philly.

Pastor Sam and Lucy blessed me with an awesome meal that night. After we loaded the trailer and put water in the coolers we were ready. As I laid in bed (Thanks Hammy/Ticker for letting me use your room while I was there!) I could barely lay still. I was praying and thanking the Lord for an opportunity like this. The morning came and I was ready. I felt as if I had drank one to many full throttles. As we drove into Philly it was like seeing a friend after a long time. I finally meet Pastor Frank of Inner City Missions/ RAVEN Philly, and Andrade/Geraldo what great brothers. We went to Kensington and Somerset and set up we started ministering and it was great. I had started out ministering to a few guys but there was another guy that was standing there. The others left and this guy kept asking questions. His name was Nate. I was able to minister to Nate for a long time, I asked him about himself and he said, he had never held a job, had a 3 month old son, and was addicted to heroin, his baby's mom drives by him all the time and laughs at him, all of that is sad but the worst was that he had never heard about Jesus. I continued to minister to Nate and asked him if he was ready to give up the heroin and live the life that the Lord had planned for him. He said, "No, I would have to have responsibilities then." I told him ready or not you have a son that is a huge responsibility. Nate asked me to pray for him and said he had to go. 

As soon as he left Lucy called me over and there was a guy with a medical bracelet on. Lucy said he needs help. I took him over out of the crowd and began talking to him I introduced myself and he said his name was Carlos. He told me he went to the hospital to get help but they kicked him out because they said there was nothing they could do for him. I began ministering to him and called Pastor Sam over. Both of us shared what The Lord had done for us. We shared scriptures with Carlos and told him about the freedom he could have. Carlos told us he was giving up. He thought he had ran out of choices and was going to have to go back to using. Which meant robbing or doing whatever to get his high. He said he thought he would have to die a junkie. Pastor Sam and I told Carlos about the ONE STEP PROGRAM that saved us, that is ONE STEP TO JESUS. We continued to tell Carlos of the freedom he could have and all it took was repentance. With tears in his eyes he said, "I'm ready," and got down on his knees.

We prayed for him and told Carlos that he was going to have to Call on Jesus himself, that there was not a special prayer that he would have to say or anything that he could repeat after us. Carlos started praying, one of the most beautiful prayers I have ever heard. His prayer brought tears to my eyes. As we stood you could see the old man had been washed away and the new man was standing there with us. Carlos had a smile from ear to ear. Pastor Sam stayed talking to Carlos, I gave him a hug and told him I had to tell someone else about Jesus. I had seen this guy walking the corner all day, so I went up to him and asked him if he thought that this corner was his. He looked at me like I was stupid. I then asked him if he knew Jesus. He told me ya. I told him do you know of Jesus or do you know Jesus. Once again he looked at me strangely. His name was Justin. He told me he had just gotten out of a Christian rehab in New Jersey. I told him that's great, and asked him again do you know of Jesus or do you know Jesus. He told me he knew Jesus, he had given his life to The Lord in rehab, and I asked him why he wasn't out there with me ministering. He said he was trying to make enough money to get his family out of the area. I told him he needed to get his life right with The Lord and The Lord would handle all of his situations. I kept ministering to Justin and he never moved. Another guy came up to him and asked him to buy his syringes from him for a good price. Justin told him no that he had a few more and he could go home. I told Justin he need to get into his Word and get a real job. He asked me to pray for him and gave me hug and didn't let go nearly crushed me. Justin thanked me and said he needed to hear that. After that we loaded the trailer and went to rest for a few. The went to center city. (The place where Christie told me to do something.) I think we were at Logan Circle. As soon a we unloaded and setup the Lord had work for me. I was standing there and this guy/kid came up to me and said, "I hear you do construction." I told him yes and he told me that he had also said he had a job now but didn't know how long it would last. He told me his name was Peanut. Then he just started just letting go of all of his problems and life stories. I began to minister to him and he told me he was a muslim. I didn't pay much attention and kept ministering. He told me thank you and walked away. I walked over and stood next to one of the team members, Gideon. There was a guy that would not leave him alone. He was saying he wanted a word from The Lord. So Gideon would tell him Jesus Loves You. The man would say no, you are a vessel and I want a true word from The Lord. The third time I stepped in and asked the man what was going on. He said he wanted to hear a word from the Lord, so Gideon told him again Jesus Loves you. He looked at me as I was praying and he said I want to hear a word from The Lord. I asked him if he was sure and he said yes. The Lord began to speak through me and the man stood in awe. He told me I that I told all backsliders that. I told the man I didn't know he was a backslider and can't remember the last time I talked to a backsliding person. I told him you wanted a word from The Lord and he spoke. His face changed like someone had slapped him, he began to cry, said thank you, and walked away. I walked around ministering to different people for awhile. I was standing by myself and Peanut came up to me again and asked if I knew someone big in the Philly government. I told him yes. He asked if I could introduce him so he could help him out. I told him yes once again. We where standing near a cross, I told him to follow me and took him in front of the cross. He didn't realize what I was doing and asked me again do you know someone that could help me. I said yes and told him to turn around. The one I knew that could help him hung on a cross similar to this one over 2000 years ago. He told me yes I know but I need someone who is here now. That is when The Lord let him have it I began to testify and show him how Jesus was here. He stood there with his mouth open. He gave me a hug and asked me to pray for him. I prayed for him and started walking around. These people were great. We stayed a while longer and started loading the trailer. When we were finished loading it was time to leave and I really didn't want to. We all loaded up and made the trip back to Hanover. This was another great time for me. I had never really talked to Donna more than everyday chit-chat or scripture, but her and I talked the whole way. We talked so much I never looked at the gas gauge and when I did it was way past E. It was good conversation she is a great person and I am glad to know her.

When we got back to the Pastor Sam and Lucy's house we hung out talking for awhile then crashed. We woke up early on Sunday to set up for service and discipleship class. Service was great and so was Praise and Worship. After service we prepared for another day of outreach. We were going to Maple street. This is a very poverty stricken neighbor hood, with some great people. Last year when I was in Delaware I would spend the majority of my weekends with Pastor Sam and Lucy. We would be on Maple street almost every Saturday. It was cool for me to be able to go back after a year. The kids are all getting so big. There was a group of boys that I played baseball with last year that really touched my heart, I was able to see one of them this time and he wasn't so small anymore.

When we got to Maple street we set up and began cooking. After a few minutes Pastor Sam came up to me and said come on. I thought to myself Oh Ya time to go to work. We walked for a few minutes and the entire neighborhood was empty. Usually people are in front of their houses chillin'. We continued to walk and saw a kid on a scooter. We started talking to him, he told us Jesus was his personal Lord and Savoir and he was on the worship team at his church. We talked to him for a few minutes more when a group of kids came walking by. We confronted them and they kept walking. One of them the leader was acting funny saying that he didn't believe in God. So we kept walking with them talking to them. The leader Dashaun finally stopped and started talking to Pastor Sam. I kept walking with the group. They stopped in front of a house and sat down so I began ministering. These kids were laughing at everything I told them. I told them of the reality of Hell and once again they laughed. There was a lady sitting outside who was listening to every word, so I walked over and ministered to her for awhile then went back to the kids. After warning the kids about the path they were on I crossed the street and saw Pastor Sam ministering to Dashaun. I also saw the kid on the kid on the scooter paying attention to every word Pastor Sam spoke and every move he made. I walked over and and was going to start ministering with Pastor Sam. A lady drove up next to me opened her door and said Thank you. She said we were just what the neighborhood needed. She told me she was Dashaun's cousin. She also told me that Dashaun had just been released from jail and his mom had past away just months ago. I continued to Pastor Sam and Dashaun and started ministering. This kid was not the same kid that was busting jokes and telling us he didn't believe in God. He was asking some serious questions and thought he was doing good by helping the other kids out with money when they needed it. We stayed with Dashaun probably 2 hours. We prayed with him and went back to the park where the rest of the team was. I met this great brother in the Lord named Junior. Junior was great we started talking and he was telling me about his life. Lucy came up to me and asked how old I thought he was and I said 50. Junior shook my hand and told me thank you, he said he was 67. We continued to talk and he told me about his kids. His oldest was 41 and his youngest was 22 months. This brother was still going strong. Some lady's came up and Junior started talking to them. One of the Lady's husbands need prayer so we joined together and prayed. Junior started praying in Spanish and it was awesome. I have been around the language my entire life and had never heard it spoken like that, it gave me the chills. We continued to serve food and water for awhile after the crowd stopped we loaded the trailer. We started talking to Junior some more before we left Pastor Sam, Lucy, Junior and myself joined together and began to pray. Junior started praying (in Spanish) and once again it was awesome, he started calling fire down, Oh yea, it was good, no it was great The Spirit was moving. The fire came and consumed me.

Monday we got up, a little sluggish, and hit the buck. Pastor Sam and Lucy took me to Lancaster to the replica of the Tabernacle. This was a sure blessing to me. I had read many times but could never really visualize it or understand the distances. After seeing it and re-reading it all came together. Later that day I was blessed again Pastor Sam and Lucy took me to eat "Maryland Crabs." Growing up and living in the southwest we never really get to experience fresh seafood. I did that night and it was great. The crab and fellowship was great but what was really the best is we were able to share Jesus with our waitress Aubrey.

Tuesday I woke up and packed my belonging, I was flying home. The blessing never stopped the entire time and Lucy blessed me again with her famous chocolate chip pancakes. (Can't remember if I told you, but they were great.) After breakfast I loaded my bags in the truck and Lucy and Hammy/Ticker took me to the airport. As excited as I was to see my Wife and Kids I hated to say bye to my East Coast Family.

The last leg of my flight home was interesting an older lady sat next to me and drank 2 cups of wine after she finished she started talking to me. I started ministering to her. She said she was a Christian well a baptist, and she drank 2 cups of wine everyday for her heart. She told me that the way she looked at it was Jesus turned water into wine, so it couldn't be wrong to drink it. The Spirit unleashed on her, she sat dumbfounded, and didn't know what to say. I showed her why it was wrong for her to be consuming alcohol. She said thank you and was amazed that a kid knew so much, I told her I didn't know a thing, but my Father knew it all.

This trip was just what I needed. It seems that everytime I am around Pastor Sam and Lucy I learn something new. Well this time was no different.

 

Thank you Pastor Sam, Lucy, Hammy/Ticker, Pastor George, Ocho, and Donna!