In Awe

It is very late and I have had a very busy and long day, yet I can not rest. I am so excited about what I have witnessed and experienced tonight. I feel like I need to type up some of the things that are going on in my head right now mainly for my own documentation, so please forgive me if this post does not make much sense.

At the last quarterly board meeting of The Mission, we decided to make an extra effort toward praying for God to reveal how best to meet spiritual needs of those in the community. There are already multiple ministries in place through The Mission that are meeting physical and mental (educational) needs, but the spiritual aspect, while always serving as the base of our efforts, had not been pushed to the forefront yet.

During the week following this meeting two individuals from the community approached separate board members with the idea of having a monthly meal and incorporating a spiritual application such as music and/or spiritual message. These two individuals had no knowledge of each other's idea until we brought them together for a meeting. This was at the end of May and less than a month later, the meal (prepared for 500 people) took place tonight.

What I witnessed tonight was amazing to me. It was SO God. I saw people working without grumbling. I saw humility demonstrated time and time again! I saw multiple cultures collide--and in a good way. I saw THE CHURCH functioning healthily and as it should. The hands and feet of Christ at work, on display for a community to see...and let me just say, I think they are watching. People are searching, reaching, listening, and tonight the love of Christ was there to be found, grasped, and heard.

Several years ago, The Mission began as an organization whose primary goal was to meet the needs (physical, mental, and spiritual) of all the members of our community and through personal relationships, to share the love of Christ. Prayer has been the cornerstone of this ministry. That is the ONLY reason the ministry has flourished. The ONLY reason, period. Anyone who has anything to do with The Mission will tell you, God does all the work. Every single thing, program, event, whatever we have ever attempted has come with such ease and been so successful it is not even funny! Actually it is kind of funny--we laugh all the time because of how God just takes care of everything. This may not make sense, but it is almost comical at times. It's simple, really. We pray, He works. We watch, He is revealed. We are amazed, He is glorified. It's all about HIM. Seriously, we are nothing and can do nothing without Him.

The ultimate prayer from day one, has been that people would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord. We may be taking the scenic route getting there, but salvation is the ultimate destination. To be able to rest in the arms of Jesus is something that I hope and pray for all of the people who we are able to serve. This is not a "project." Nor will any person or persons ever be considered a "project" where The Mission is concerned. As my brother pointed out, no one wants to be some one's project--they want to be part of a community. Community is what we strive to cultivate.

If you call Gunter home or feel so led, please offer some serious prayer for the folks in our community. We all need God. I am believing Him for huge things and I know a lot of other people are too. In my experience, when you believe God for something big (and it is in alignment with His Word)--get ready cause it's gonna happen. It may not be today, and it may not be next month, it may even be years in the making, but God is working and what He has begun, He will finish.

God, I stand in awe of you! Words do not seem to mean anything right now, but please accept this offering of my praise to You. My offering seems so insignificant in comparison to your GLORY. Lord, I pray for the amazement that consumes me tonight, after having witnessed something of this magnitude come together, something that only You could have orchestrated, to stay fresh and vivid in my mind and in my heart. I thank you for the willing and humble servants that You provide. Thank you for relationships--new, unlikely, and renewed. Thank you for revealing yourself to your people. We will continue to wait on You in expectation and in awe. Amen.