Streets of Wonder....

17 days until we depart for downtown Vancouver to do street ministry with YWAM! So excited......so curious....so broken at what I'm going to see.....

Still remember my first encounter with street ministry - 12 years old with my youth group. There was a homeless man who took a liking to me during our times at Union Gospel Mission because I looked like his daughter. Talked with him for a couple hours....he accepted Christ....I was hooked.

10 years later.....met a guy, fell in love with Him, not just for who he was, but what he saw in these street people. After all, he had been one of those...druggie....sleeping under a bridge, or in buses. But God found him, and took him out of it. Some of our very first dates were walking around Osborne, asking God for divine appointments...he always provided. Hitchhikers, homeless men, women in trouble, angry teenagers. Incredible how he connected us to them and how he opened the doors.

One specific night I will NEVER forget. Chris (my hubby) and I were coming home from Winnipeg. Before we went home, we had a sense that God wanted to use us that night, so we asked Him what it was. He led us to a location...and lo and behold...there was a homeless man there. We approached him and asked him about his life. Turns out, he was so discouraged, he had told God if somebody didn't come and help him today, he would kill himself that night. Incredible how God works.

February, 2007 - went to a conference. By the end of the weekend, they asked Chris & I to lead a small team to do street minsitry down Osborne. I didn't even know my team until they showed up! Sooooo amazing, though. Prayed with a homeless man who inspired me to love God more....met another guy who poured out his heart about his daughter who was a drug addict...met a complete stranger who God gave us a prophetic word for...turned out she'd been talking to God about that exact thing that same week. Again, incredible. God is amazing!

God's heart burns for these streets..these people.. Why he chooses to use us humans, I'll never understand, but I'm sooo glad to be part of the plan.

Pray for our team of 15 people. Pray our heart would be broken with the things that break God's heart. Pray for strength, wisdom, and most of all, people would come to know our God and how great He is! Pray for Chris & I as we lead our "dream team" of youth. They are so incredible. It's inspiring!


I can't wait........can't sleep.......