I have witnessed several miracles in the past few days that I really must share to give glory to God. God is moving powerfully here in LA, and I am totally amazed. The first miracle actually repeated itself three times as we began our ministry projects this week. Scott and I wanted to meet our neighbors but the rain kept pouring, so we prayed that it would stop. We stepped outside, and the sun came out. This happened not just once, but for all three days that we went out, the rain miraculously stopped afted we prayed and started walking. Isn't God amazing?
This past weekend our internship team went on a retreat in Santa Monica, and Saturday night my roommate's back was hurting really badly, so we prayed for her. As we were praying, our team leader said he had a sense that we should go outside and pray for her in the rain! Soon after that, another teammate said that he felt that in order for us to pray for physical healing, we must first repent of sin within our community. Several people took the opportunity to confess ways that we had harbored feelings of envy, bitterness, and resentment towards our teammates or allowed negative comparisons to come between us. I personally confessed how I wrestled with feelings of inadequacy and would self-censor my opinions for fear of being judged by those I deemed more learned or gifted in speaking.
At first standing in the rain sounded crazy, but several other people said they felt that we should do it. We stood out in the rain, seeking God's forgiveness and mercy, and confessing our sins and literally letting him wash them away with the rain. We knelt on the ground and asked to be cleansed and healed, and it reminded me a lot of being baptized by the rainwater. His power moved and my friend's pain went away. We came back inside and sang hymns and worshipped with great joy. That night is one that I won't forget soon, and I pray and hope that it will be a turning point for our team to trust one another.
5 comments:
Jessica, it's so good to read your thoughts. Keep posting!
ps. I absolutely love your quote up top!
hi jessicky! i'm glad you opened a new blog! xanga was kind of abandoned... you prob heard about me stepping up for skid row (that sounds kind of funny). i'm doing it on the 3rd sunday now. it's so sad that you're not with us anymore. we still talk about you a lot. you know, it would have been you becoming a leader!
ooo cool poll on the presidential elections! I didn't vote (in the poll, that is) because I'm still kind of undecided. But anyway, thanks for writing about the retreat. I wanted to, but couldn't seem to get the right words out. =D
oh forgot to mention!! "The Sound of Silence" is my absolute favorite Simon & Garfunkel song! (And "The Boxer")
Thanks for keeping me updated Jessica. I was encouraged by your teams faith and prayers. What a beautiful image (praying in the rain) as the "silent raindrops fell." (I'm a S&G fan too)
I look forward to reading more about your adventures in SP!
Aron
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