Vegas: MA Style

My welcoming package!

I arrived 5 days ago in Vegas to work with Mission Adventures. While it is different (being staff, other people living in my old room, sharing the place with 24 other girls), it was a rather natural feeling. I suppose it helps when within 5 minutes of being on base I was whisked away for Starbucks.

The past five days have been wonderful. I have bonded with the DTS girls during a hike Saturday afternoon, laughing over scars from raccoon bites, and worshiping with hearts surrender to our Abba. The MA group consists of 13 high school students from a Christian school in Oregon, two moms chaperons and the student's Bible teacher. With MA we have had lectures on evangelism, Free Prayer on Fremont street, washed dishes and played basketball together. One of the moms and I have gone on morning runs together; we have had heart felt conversations on life, raising children, youth and the church, and bared our testimonies before each other. She does no more than seven miles a day, she sacrificed for me and I upped my game for her. We have joyfully connected as well as shared groans over being tired and still having to "do stuff".

Free Prayer. Two girls praying for strangers!

Monday morning we had MA small group time after breakfast. My two girls show up, obviously tired, and with no idea where the two boys are. We began by reading James 2:17, neither girl is interested in digging deeper. Frustrated, I give up. "Okay, let's just go to the park," I say. We take a Frisbee, and shortly the boys join us at the park. I notice a mom with three daughters. "Okay, God, what do we do?" I pray, and He provides me with the words.

"What does James 2:17 say?" I ask. One of the girls rolls her eyes, "Faith without works is dead." "Correct," I respond, "and what are the two greatest commands Jesus gave?" Another eye roll and look of disgust, "Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself."

"Okay," I say, "go. Faith without works is dead. Love God. Love your neighbor. Go."

Intercession and worship at dusk overlooking Vegas

"What if they say no?" "What do we say?" "WHAT?" "Why?" are some of the responses I receive from these four teenagers. In reality, I was thinking all of those. But in that moment, I pulled up my pride pants, and showed them "it wasn't hard". Truthfully, I was worried the mom would think I was a pedophile and say no. God had other plans, the three girls were ecstatic to play with us!

Soon I saw another mom with her children. She sent her nine year old son to watch out for what looked like a 1 year old baby. The older boy put the baby on the slide. I gladly went over, picked up the baby and asked the boy if he wanted to play Frisbee. And he did!

This baby boy, Soldier, ripped my heart. He had dried vomit on his face, shirt and pants. His diaper was old and needed changing. His eyes did not smile. My heart ache for him knowing he was not being cared for as a prince should. I tried to pass him off to one of the girls and boys in my small group, but Soldier wanted me. As I spoke over him his true identity in Christ and prayed for him, I found each word stung my heart. We smiled, his toes were ticklish, he could walk if I held his hands, and oh how he loved to hold my hands, even when I was just holding him.

Frisbee in the park.

When it was time for us to leave, I gave him back to his mom, a prostitute and mother of seven
children ages one to eleven. Soldier's mom put him in his stroller, immediately he began to cry. I left the park to the screams of a baby. A little boy screaming out to be held, to be prayed for, to be told he is a child of God. My heart screamed for God to do something.

I do not understand why God did this. All those babies I held in India and Nepal, my heart hurts for them. Sometimes I wonder if I knew how much it was going to hurt, would still pick up the baby? Yes. Five minutes of praying over a child, five minutes of love, is worth the pain. Working for Him is excruciatingly hard sometimes. I often want to quit simply because it hurts. And I am reminded of the Abba who turned His face as His little boy cried out of Him. My selfish ambitions resulted in God's baby hanging bloodied on the cross. He never fails to bestow the love necessary in all circumstances.

Here is truth: God heals, God raises the dead, God provides. Go.