The Harvest was READY!!!!

Christie, Michelle, & Masani

Where do I begin on today's post? So many great things occurred today and I'll try my best to give an account for every stirring encounter.

The team rose early to eat breakfast and do our daily devotion on "perseverance." Amazingly, God would have us to study that character trait to prepare us for our journey throughout the day. Several times throughout the assembly the children tested whether we'd persevere. In complete respect for our men on this trip, I admired how they stepped to the plate and pressed forward to get the message to God's people. I kept thinking, "That's an awesome love that God has for these kids. He cared so much for them, that He touched people's hearts to give in order to send the right missionaries to share the gospel of Jesus Christ." Wow!

Each morning I pray that God would allow me to lead at least one person to Christ. As I sit here at the end of my day, I'm grateful to God because He honored my request. Not only did I lead one person to Christ, but also four others. My first encounter was at Papine. After the 1st shift assembly, I was lingering to see if there were any needs unmet or if someone just so happen to decide to give their life to the Lord. I striked up a conversation with a young man that grew into an opportunity to minister. He said, "Miss, I know I need God but I'm afraid that my life/actions won't reflect what it is to be a TRUE Christian." My heart melted for his sincerity in taking the next step by committing his life to Christ. I shared a little about what God expects and how God has ALWAYS given us a way of escape in any situation/temptation we may encounter. He agreed and I could see that everything within him wanted a personal relationship with Jesus. I happily lead him to the Lord. But that was just the beginning of what God had in store for me today.

Being on the mission field and engulfed by the many opportunities to minister, I found myself at a table full of ladies around the age of 14-15. Casually, I asked if they'd heard of the God Test after cracking the ice with a few truths and jokes. They all agreed they hadn't and I couldn't believe that my first chance to share the God Test was with 4 individuals. Slowly, I went though each question and the answers were candid. Right before my eyes, I could see that the questions were making them challenge their personal religious philosophies. By the end of the discussion, they were ALL willing to submit their lives to God. I prayed with them and encouraged them to encourage one another.

On another occasion - I was reunited with so many old friends. I had no idea how excited they would be to see we returned. It meant the world to them that the team didn't sweep through to save the week last year, only to not return this year. They were appreciative that we cared so much for them that we returned. Oddly enough, one particular young lady's reaction blessed me -Shanika. She was part of my group when we visited National Hero's Park and I had to show her tough love. When she recognized me today, she ran to wrap her arms around me and welcomed me back. What a blessing for me to see that after all was said and done, she knew that I loved her with the love of Christ.

The last event of the evening was spent engaging the students at UTech! It was raining, the team was tired and quite frankly, we were ready to call it a day. Ps. Lyndon and Ps.Gregg pushed us just a step further. They challenged us to mingle with the university students and try seeing if God would show himself mighty as we ventured out to give the (cue music) GOD TEST!!!!! :-) Reluctantly, I persevered and there was such a great reward that was given due to my obedience. Immediately, I walked to a crowd of students that were gathering under a building to keep from getting wet. Glancing over the faces, I stopped right in front of a young lady who politely dealt with my conversational questions (Are you from Kingston? What are you studying? What is your classification?). However, the more I talked with her, the more she began to relax. Finally, I saw an opportunity to go in for the kill. I asked if she would be willing to take a simple test and she agreed. Again, she concluded that she wanted to go to heaven but couldn't say that she was ready to turn from her ways. I explained the meaning of true repentance and how God loves us so much that he continues to chase after each of us. Regardless of how far away she may be from God, He's never so far removed that he won't welcome her back in. Then the lightbulb went off and she allowed me to pray with her the sinner's prayer. (All this time, people were walking up to purchase items from her portable store.) After praying, I asked her name and would you believe that her name was Cristal. "Ah! Now I know for sure that God sent you to Jamaica for me." she said. Instantaneously, I was energized and wanted to go save the world. Slowly, I walked away but realized that I needed a picture with her. We posed and I asked a young man, Kushna, to take our picture. Before I knew it, I was sharing with Kushna through the God test. As I reflect, God's strength gave me what I needed to minister to him. This science major, was the last person I wanted to get into an in-depth discussion about religion. However, God had me to address his main concerns before he mentioned them. At that moment, he respected me more for tackling the issue of how to prove that God is real. After an amazing discussion, he allowed Samon and I to pray over him. My prayer? God make him miserable until he seeks you for himself and help him to realize that because of him submitting to God others will follow his example. A quick exchange of facebook info and I was heading towards the bus. Right as I got ready to load the bus, I said hello to a gentleman. He stopped and turned around, thinking that I said more. Since I was on a roll, I took the opportunity to share Jesus with him. After I finished, I asked his name and whether he had siblings. He revealed that he has an older sister whose name is "Crystal". The gentleman then began to proclaim, " This must be God. My sister gives me the God spill almost everyday." I smiled and said that God and his sister had planned this encounter supernaturally. Clearly, I was sent as someone to water the seed that his sister planted. There's no doubt that God will be Lord of his life soon!

Cristal (UTech) and I

Kushna (UTech) and I

I could go on for days.......... more to come!!!!! :-)

One Lord, One God, Many Nations,

Crystal