Tell my lover I am Lovesick: Lotta Glowray

Awesome shot I got

Another awesome shot I got

Some of the long termers chilling

All in all it has been a good last couple of days. This is a big change of pace from how the last 5 days have been. It’s hard to describe what was going on but to sum up I just wasn’t feeling great. A very big part of that was the fact that I am an extreme introvert and there’s very little opportunity to truly be alone living in one building with 30 other people. I am learning a lot!

Part of Red Hill

We, the All Nations Church Planting Experience class of 2011, were split into our own “simple churches” this week. We had to choose a township to apply to work in for the next 3 months and the staff divvied out the teams (read “churches”) into those areas. I felt drawn to a place called Ocean View; think I touched on it in the last post. But I wanted to hear what God was saying about that so I took Sunday morning and prayed it through. I went into the prayer room on the property and asked what He had in mind. He didn’t answer right away. It was a little frustrating. So I finally asked Him “God, why are you not just saying what you want me to do? I mean I WANT you to tell me.” I heard Him speak this (pretty much word for word) very clearly – “I know you, you can be really task oriented. If I just told you what I have in mind you would just clap your hands say ‘ok great, let’s go git r dun’ and just leave and not spend time with me. To me - you investing in our relationship is way more important than getting an answer to a question that I will address in good time.” Suffice to say I chilled out and just relaxed in the presence of God, maybe an hour later He told me to go to Red Hill. Long story short I hooked up with a team going there. There are 6 of us, four Americans, two Africans, 4 men and 2 women. Our “job” is to be church – worship God, study the Word, love each other in community and reach the lost and replicate that model in our community of Red Hill. I would like to take a moment to emphasize that people and places are not projects. We do want the inhabitants of this camp to come to know the raw love of Jesus but I want to stress the fact that we love them with no strings attached. If I spend all 3 months in this community discipling people who don’t choose to make God they’re shot caller then it’s ok. It really will be.

A street level view of part of Red Hill

The team talking and driving out to Red Hill

Dan Baumann

After our first afternoon in our township on Thursday we as a church (plus one of our coaches) went to a place near the local YWAM base to hear a lovesick man named Dan Baumann. This guy blew my socks off. He was falsely accused of being a spy while sharing Jesus in Iran and thrown in prison for 9 weeks. He has an amazing testimony of allowing God to change him at his lowest of low points in prison and see his captors as Jesus sees them not how fear would dictate. I highly recommend getting and reading his two books A Beautiful Way and Imprisoned in Iran. So, we were in a big rented meeting room not far from the YWAM base. It looked like there were a couple of hundred people to hear Dan, both YWAMmers and the “local crew” like us. God was moving in some fun ways that night. All glory to God. He used me to speak a couple of things He wanted to say to a couple of random strangers that He pointed out to me. I don’t normally have a hard time giving a word to strangers but it was hard this time to tell these guys what I was hearing but what God was saying was kind of intense. Those words were a step up from what I normally hear so it would be more awkward than it probably would be otherwise if I heard wrong. But God was good and the guys I prayed for were blessed. My gut says that if God is giving me more and bigger words for people He is growing the prophetic gift in me. Worship was intimate and the stuff that Dan said was challenging - he talked about loving your enemies. I felt like I needed to respond and come up to the front for prayer when the invitation was given after the talk so I did just that. I felt like God said to ask one guy on the prayer team specifically for prayer so I did. It was one of the most powerful wonderful encounters I’ve ever had with God. I and about two other people praying for me got a picture of a big nail or bolt or something being pulled out of my heart and chest. Deliverance of crap, it’s a beautiful thing. There really isn’t room to go into what all God did and is continuing to do but I can say that some very deep seated lies were pulled out by the root, lies specifically dealing with my view of the goodness and faithfulness of God. I’m a heavy drinker of the Spirit and His love, if you know me well I think I hardly need say that my friends had to carry me out of there. I couldn’t stand or walk under my own power I was so intoxicated in and by the love of Jesus. To God be the glory. That was Thursday night. Ever since then I’ve felt lighter, happier. Ever feel like all of a sudden weight is lifted off of you emotionally? You should take a moment right now and ask God if there’s anything He wants to say to you about that. He doesn’t disappoint. Friday morning we woke up, came to class and Dan Baumann was there to speak to all of the class that morning so we all got to hear from him. It was a real treat.

Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit…. Ephesians 5:18 (NLT)

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth--for your love is more delightful than wine. Song of Songs 1:2 (NIV)

...If you find my lover, tell him I am weak with love. Song of Songs 5:8b (NLT)