update!

hey folks! just enjoying a lovely sunny day in Montana.

last week was mini outreach week.
we went to Seattle! it was my favorite week of this school so far.  i went to a compline service at a cathedral, there were monks singing & it was beautiful. we went to Pike Place & Capitol Hill. we served food at a homeless shelter called Union Gospel Mission- what a cool ministry!  we sorted food at a food bank, pulled weeds at an apartment complex, farmed, hung out with youth, went to church, street evangelized. :)

my favorite part of ministry during the week was the night my team & i went to Capitol Hill & did "street evangelism" aka: talking to people. ;) my friend Katelyn and i got to pray over a barista at Starbucks, that was cool... but as we were walking the street, we hadn't talked to anyone in a while, i was getting discouraged, but i started praying that God would give us someone to talk to... i looked over & saw a homeless man with a cup in his hand. i told my friend that we were talking to him so i went up & asked him if he was hungry... of course he said yes. :) so i gave him the 5 granola bars i had in my bag. then we just stood there, i'm awkward like that... haha, but he was really nice & asked if he could help us with something, (his name is Terry, btw) i said i wanted to hear his story if he didn't mind sharing. he was so eager to talk to us, he began telling us the story of his life. he said he'd been in prison twice & got out in 2004. he told us that he had made all the choices that had gotten him to the place he was. his choices had made him homeless. he said that he'd done so much wrong & that when he died he was going to get what he deserved, that he was going to hell. my heart immediately broke for this man & the guilt he carried. i began to tell him that God loves him. i told him that nothing in the world, nothing he's done, not his position in life or the fact that he's been in prison- nothing would separate him from God's love. i told him that God wanted to know him & that He would pursue a relationship with him until the day he died. i asked him what he thought made the difference between a person going to heaven or hell. he said a lot, but basically said it was about your works. i just laid out the gospel for him & told him all about jesus & how with Him it's all about grace & love & forgiveness.  he was quiet for a while... and just looked me straight in the eyes & said,
"i wish i could believe that..." 
& i told him that i was telling him all of this because of what it has done in my heart. we talked about a lot... just life & god. it was a long conversation & in the end, he didn't end up following jesus, but we got to speak into his life & tell him that he is God's beloved & that God isn't going anywhere. i'm praying that he remembers our conversation & that the truth continues to steep in his heart. after our convo, my friend felt that God told her to give him some money. it ended up being enough for over a week at the shelter. his face was absolutely shocked! i will never forget his face... & his eyes... wow.
he said, "i know i'm smelly..." & before he could even finished, we pulled him in for a big bear hug.  he gave us each a kiss on the head, thanking us for our hearts & the time we took to talk to him...

it was such a good talk, & through it, God gave me a small piece of His heart for that city. such beautiful, creative, smart people with cool ideas & personalities & talents... God must really love those people. & i know He desires to be praised there. He desires them to know Him. He desires to be worshiped by them. i also realized then that just gestures aren't enough to show people who jesus is. & yet, words aren't enough either. it's the whole faith without deeds/deeds without faith thing... both are dead until they are combined. knowing God does that... wow.

anyway... just wanted to share a little bit of what i got out of the trip... i'm still really burdened to pray for Terry & his salvation & for the city of Seattle. if you think about it, please pray. God is definitely working there.

here are a few things to pray for:
   -  India. we leave June 13! apparently it's a hard hard trip & spiritually dark. pray for relationships. 
   -  i am in need of some money for spending, India, traveling, etc. nothing huge.
   - this week is on spiritual warfare & surprise surprise, we are all facing spiritual warfare. 
   - pray God will direct me & give me vision for AFTER DTS. it's been on my heart a lot lately & other people have been mentioning different opportunities. pray that God will direct me to do HIS will.
   - Terry, the man i met on the street. :)

love you all & i thank you for your prayers, encouragement, support, etc. you will never know the ways you bless me.

feel free to email or comment anytime.  justdandyy@gmail.com

xo xo xo xo
rae