My week can be summed up with the phrase 'God loves you' and the idea of people surprised by kindness, surprised by service, for free, surprised by students serving the Lord.
I was on the 'Healing on the Streets' (HOTS) team. This meant we spent a couple of days gardening, painting, litter picking, flyering and talking to people before saturday when we went out to pray. The week leading up to going out.
It was lovely.
To go out and pray on the streets we went through training of the HOTS model; why we pray and how we pray. The model is simple - chairs set out on the street, a big banner that pronounces 'HEALING', a team of churches from around the city, and faith.
We go out and ask if people would like prayer, some people say yes.
The first thing we say to the people on the street (after introductions) is 'God loves you, he cares for you, and wants to know you' - this blows me away. It comes out of the fact that we don't want to see people healed to build up our faith, so we can brag about a miracle, but simply because God loves that individual person, and loves them so much.
So we had the chance to tell a person, face to face, that they are loved - and God's love then gets to work in their life. It is beautiful.
We then pray for their healing; from pain, illness, disease, aches, depression, anxiety, or something they are worried about. Each are rebuked in Jesus name.
On saturday a young man had his back healed, a boy - his foot, a woman brought peace and blessed - feeling God's presence; each of them told that God Loves You. Bring on next saturday.
The rest of the teams had testimony of how God had used them in individuals lives to restore his glory. A man with Alzheimer's disease was cared for, listened to, prayed with and loved. Lonely people across Durham were served and loved, through gardening, free events, listening and caring.
I love to see the face of someone who has seen their garden completely transformed, to hear of an elderly lady talking about her life, to hear students who sing for groups of very elderly people, who begin to join in, and to hear of lives changed and brought into the kingdom, because of our kindness.
I want to carry on being kind, carry on surprising people, carry on loving.
Come on Lord.
