God's Faithfulness

A few weeks ago my family was able to celebrate the 100th birthday of my Grandpa Art. It's amazing to think of all the changes that have happened in his lifetime. How different our world is now from when he was born. As I look at his life and reflect on all he's experienced, I am thankful that through all the changes that we may go through, God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. I am also thankful for the faithfulness God has and continues to show my family. I am forever grateful for them and the Godly heritage that I was given. The last time I wrote I was in London with the UDTS. Thanks so much for praying for my time away. I had an incredible time and appreciate the opportunity to go with such a great group of people. Since being back I have been very busy. The first week back was the final week of the UDTS. We were able to celebrate all that God did during the 5 months together. The twelve students all graduated and the majority of them will be continuing on to do the School of Evangelism in Tyler, Texas. I had a lot of fun getting to know all the students and walking with them through the school as they learned more about God and how to walk in relationship with Him! As thankful as I am to have been a part of the school I am excited for this next season. Less than a week after the graduation of the UDTS we had our first outreach group come to the base. My main job at this point will be coordinating the outreach groups that come to the base. Mostly during the Spring and Summer months. I love working with the groups and usually feel a renewed sense of passion for working with youth encouraging them in their walks with the Lord. Please pray for us as we gear up for a very full summer. June and July will be full with groups here every week! I would like to take a moment and share with you one of the things we do with the groups that come. It is one of my favorite things we do with the youth that come. It is praying at Daley Plaza. Daley Plaza is a government office building in the Loop area of downtown Chicago. We go during the lunch hour and split up asking the people we see in the plaza if we can pray for them. There are hundreds of people that walk through the plaza on a day to day basis. It is also an area that people sit to eat their lunch while they are on a break from work. Daley Plaza building is the city court house as well so there are many people coming and going from difficult situations. The first group that we had this year went to Daley plaza. In the two hours we were there, the sixteen of us prayed for about 150 people. I am always amazed at the difficult circumstances that the people we pray for are going through. They are just walking by and when we ask if we can pray for them it seems as though it is a needed break to offer hope in the midst of the trouble. There were three people that I prayed with that I would like to briefly share about. Bernise was a woman who was on her way to court because her mother-in-law had just passed away and they were trying to figure out how to best take care of her brother-in-law with special needs. She was hurting and wanting to get wisdom from God. She told me she appreciated prayer that was spoken out of relationship with the Father and not religion. She gave me the biggest hug after I said Amen! Petro was another person I met. He came walking toward me and looked as if he were talking on his cell phone. Earlier the base director, Brad, told us that sometimes the people that we don't think we should go up to and ask are exactly the ones that we should go up to. Normally if people are talking on their phones I won't bother them but I felt like I should even though he had his phone to his ear. I called out Hi, we're praying for people in the plaza today, can I pray for you. He stopped and with wide eyes looked at me. He then asked me to look at his phone. It showed that he was listening to a song called "His Presence is in This Place". He said that he just started listening to the song because he really needed to know that God was with him and that his presence truly was there. He was so amazed to know that we were there and praying for people. He asked me to pray for the relationship between himself and his wife. His eyes filled with tears as he said that they were really struggling. In the midst of the struggles he needed to know that Christ was with him. I was able to pray for him and encourage him that truly God was with Him and cared deeply for him. The last woman, Laura, has been on my mind and heart ever since that day. She was dressed like a business woman and was walking quickly with a purpose. When I asked if I could pray for her she immediately said yes! I then asked if there was anything specific that I could pray for. She said that she was on her way to the doctor because she might have breast cancer and was heading to the appointment where they would tell her the test results to confirm the diagnosis. She had such a pained expression. She was nervous and grateful that I would take the time to pray for God's peace to rest on her. She thanked me and then walked off. My heart broke for her and others that I met. It was just a Wednesday, nothing special just lunch hour at a busy downtown plaza. People are hurting and just need to know that there is a God that cares deeply for all they are going through. Please pray for us as we continue to go to Daley plaza weekly over the next few months. I always pray that God will put us in front of those that need to be encouraged with His hope. I would love it if you would do the same! Thanks for taking the time to read this! I am very grateful your support of me both financially and with prayer! I love knowing that there is a team of people behind me, encouraging me forward as I attempt to follow the calling I believe God has for me! Blessing to you today!! Expecting great things from God, Kathi:)