Las Vegas Pt. 2

DAY 3 – (PS. Sorry, I don't know what's going on with the weird formatting. I can't fix it. Maybe this is what happens when you copy/paste from Word...)

From my journal: “I already feel my inhibitions leaving. After sharing testimonies in our small groups, I realized that I don’t have to fear judgment. I hear everyone speak on the various ways they’re sinned and the struggles they have. I see God glorified through their openness in their testimonies and I wonder why I try to hide my own. Is it a lack of trust and faith? Maybe a big part of me doesn’t believe that what the Bible says about freedom is really true?”

That morning we were divided into our small groups that we’d meet with every morning for the rest of the week. That day, we spent the hour going around and sharing our testimonies. I was impressed with everyone’s honesty and how that freedom and honesty was part of their story. I wanted that freedom.

The first big activity was a scavenger hunt throughout the Strip. Unfortunately, I didn’t participate because I knew it would be a lot of running due to the race nature of the game. The groups searched for funny/obscure pictures in different shops and hotels/casinos. I, instead, got to hang out and chat with Celeste for a few hours (as well as shower without having to wait in a line). I didn’t mind missing out because I was really looking forward to our night activity, which was intercessory prayer on the Strip. Intercessory prayer is when you pray for something or someone else; you intercede on their behalf. Again, after the sun had been down for a bit, we headed out in our groups with chalk and walked around wherever God led us and just prayed silently with ourselves, or stopped our group to pray together. Some people wrote verses or encouraging messages and truths on the sidewalk with the chalk. I couldn’t get down, but I had another girl write, “You are loved and wanted.” It’s true. Everyone is loved and wanted by God, and I learned that in a mighty way.

The next few days all ran together in a blur. We had a session on evangelism/intercession/discipleship, then opportunities to go out in ministry. The sessions and ministry opportunities introduced techniques and tools to help us start conversations the led to the Gospel. Samuel, the director said, “It’s not evangelism unless you actually share the Gospel.” I had never thought of it that way. We can share God’s love in lots of ways, but think about it this way: We are commanded to love one another. What is the purest love? God’s love for us. Can we love exactly like Him? No, because he’s God and we are only human. What’s the next best thing? Telling people about the purest and best love. The best way we can love one another is to share the Gospel. I guess that reasoning made sense to me. 

 Different outreaches we did:

Free Prayer: Divided into pairs, we all gathered in one area and offered free prayer to passers by on Freemont street (the old strip). We had a “FREE PRAYER” sign and matching nametag type things so people could approach us, which they did, but we also asked people as they went by if we could pray for them. We got a lot of no’s, and a lot of people wanting prayer for a big jackpot. Not gonna lie, it was really discouraging sometimes. We often had to remind ourselves that God has planned who He wants us to talk to at that moment and who’s hearts he’s hardened. We prayed that we would hear His voice and His guidance and He would speak through us, that it wouldn’t be us, but Him. I did absolutely love it when someone stopped to share their heart with us and we could intercede for them, and also show that even in Vegas, with so many people there for themselves, we were there for them, that we cared about them, and more importantly, God cared for them and heard their cries.

Surveys: On this outreach, we were armed with questions about beliefs to use as conversation starters. We were sent out in pairs around the Miracle Mile Mall in Planet Hollywood and across from the Bellagio. We didn’t have to “stick to the script,” but were encouraged to try it all the way through at least once before ditching it if we didn’t like it. I personally felt more comfortable having something in front of me, and someone else’s words to use as a crutch when I was feeling insecure or nervous. Our questions were: 1) Do you believe there’s a god? 2) If yes, what do you think he/she is like? If no, is there a certain reason why not? 3) How do you explain the suffering in the world? 4) Do you think it’s possible to know God as your best friend? 5) If yes, are you interested in that? If no, why not? 6) Would you like to hear what our answers would be?

We got into some really interesting conversations due to some very interesting answers. I loved it though. Especially when I stood next to my partner awkwardly while she and a very nice gentleman (seriously, not being sarcastic) had a 20 minute conversation on the subject of evolution v, creation. People in malls in Vegas really like to tell people what they think. We loved to listen though.

Two by Two’s: After everyone had done both outreaches, we were let lose to chose whatever method worked best for how God equipped each of us. Some favored Free Prayer, some chose the random approach: “Hey, I like your shirt! Know what else I like? Jesus.” While some chose the simple direct approach: “Can I tell you about Jesus?” There were some funny stories about high fives, pick up lines, fake falls, and singing as well. God is creative, so why can’t his disciples be?

Going in to “evangelism” was a little frightening. The word came with negative connotations of angry people telling others how they’ve sinned and listing all the reasons why they don’t deserve God before telling them halfheartedly that Jesus loves them. I know so many people who have been turned off of the idea of God and of Christianity because of a negative experience with a Christian. I didn’t want to say something that would turn someone away from God. I figured it was better to say nothing at all as opposed to maybe saying the “wrong” thing. Thank goodness Samuel spoke on the very issue and led us to scriptures and examples to ease our fears and put our faith in trust back in Jesus as opposed to in ourselves and in our own abilities.

When I got home and told some friends about what we did, they gave me looks saying, “Seriously? You did that? In Las Vegas? Were people angry?” I thought people would be angry with us too at the beginning, but we were coming to them in love, with love as our whole composition, and I think people really felt that whenever we were talking to them. I think God really blessed our experiences because even though we were rejected many, many times, almost everyone was respectful of our group. I don’t think anyone went home with a memory so horrible that it frightened him or her from ever doing evangelism ever again. Everyone went home encouraged to share the gospel.

We also had the opportunity to spend half a day at the LVRM (Las Vegas Rescue Mission). For those of your Salem-ites, it’s very similar to the Union Gospel Mission, but at the LVRM they have a rehab center, so some people live there for a year at a time, or sometimes even just a week. Our time there was my favorite outreach we did. We got to really spend time with people, and we weren’t pulling them away from window shopping, or delaying them from losing a few bucks at a casino. I didn’t realize it until we were there after doing all our other activities how much I love serving the homeless in the ways we did. Some people handed out hygiene kits outside before the guests came into where the rest of us were waiting to serve them dinner. Half our group, including myself, was in the kitchen, and the other half got to sit and dine and talk to the guests which I was really bummed about missing. BUT I had the awesome task of being the one to hand everyone his or her meals at the end of our assembly line. To see the people so happy to be given what they desire and to be able to bless them in that way and smile and tell them to enjoy their meal was so great.

The very BEST part was after dinner though. It was Wednesday night and we got to do the church service for the residents. We had one hour and everyone had to be there and we were warned not to run long because some people would leave after the hour whether we were done or not. Without rehearsal or a solid knowledge of what we would do, I experienced one of the best church services of my life. The FL group led music that got literally EVERYONE off their rears to clap and dance and sing along. I was singing one of their songs in my car this morning, almost a month later. The CA group did one song, then a student from WA gave a really powerful testimony of becoming a new creation like it talks about in 2 Corinthians 5:17. I also gave my testimony/message about how God meets us where we are. We don’t have to climb to certain point on a ladder before he comes to us, we don’t have to do this and that before he’s willing to communicate with us, we don’t have to clean ourselves up first because He wants to do it, and frankly, do a much better job of it. The pastor from CA gave the message on freedom, then everyone came to sing “How He Loves” and we ended with the residents raising their hands so we would go pray with them one on one. TWO MEN CAME TO CHRIST THAT NIGHT!!!! PTL!!!!! I loved talking to the people there, and more importantly, I loved listening to them and praying with them and seeing them dance around. I also realized that I like speaking in front of people. I felt totally comfortable on stage sharing my story and encouraging them to pursue a relationship with Jesus. Newly discovered spiritual gift??? Maybe.

Our ministry opportunities were amazing and they gave us different ways of approaching the gospel message so we could find one the gelled with us. The most impacting things for me happened at the base instead of on the Strip though… More to come in Part 3 :) :) :)

Las Vegas Pt. 1

I soon realized after posting about half of my trip into the text box for one post that it would be way too long for normal humans to bare. The first few days are pretty specific, while the middle days of ministry blur together, then the last day or so is where some heavenly magic happened so I broke my postings up accordingly. The posts are pretty much either direct quotations from my journal entries from the week or elaborations on them with only a hint of hindsight.

Please enjoy part one of my missionary saga...

DAY 1 --

Beginning the week, I didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t know what to hope for, but I knew what I was scared for. I was scared of rejection, I was scared that relationships within the group would be stressed, scared that God wouldn’t do wonderful things and/or I wouldn’t let Him do amazing things, I was even scared that the insanely hot weather would negatively affect my attitude. Praise God that He wants to be bigger and more powerful than our fears.

I went into the week blind as to what was coming. None of us knew the activities, how many people would be there, if we would be mixing with other church groups, or any other helpful details. I wish I could say I was excited, but my heart just wasn’t into it the days before we left and even as we were piling into the packed van. Not only was I uncomfortable with the idea of spending 10 days with more middle school boys than I thought doing street evangelism on the Strip, but I was physically uncomfortable due to the worst sunburn of my life. The back of my legs were so burnt and blistered after a beach trip on Wednesday that I couldn’t walk normally or bend my knees. Over the course of the van ride that day, my ankles, feet and calves began to swell for the first time ever, causing even more pain, discomfort, and honestly, some fear. Unfortunately, this persisted for most of the week, but more to come on that later. Despite my poor physical condition, my excitement grew during the 10 hours in the van, and that night when we reached Reno I was anxiously anticipating our arrival the following afternoon.

Our devotional lesson that night ended up being the perfect introduction to what the week would bring, now that I look back on it. Christopher brought our attention to Luke 24:13-32, a passage that describes two men who were too busy mourning Jesus’ death that they didn’t recognize that they were walking next to him and conversing with him. Too often we are the two men who ignore and/or don’t seek the presence of Jesus in our lives. How would we act if we were constantly aware of God’s presence? The rest of the week really challenged everyone to see God’s work in the city and in our own lives. I had been taught that God is everywhere, but I never stopped to consider what that meant for my own life and my relationship with him. Even though God is there doesn’t meant that we recognize him and let that knowledge change us and set us apart. After that, we shared what we were looking forward to most. I was very excited to meet people and have conversations with them, similar to my experience last year. Like last year, I really discovered what it meant to see people through God’s eyes, as His children, wanted and loved in His sight. I wanted the same experience. It was really cool to hear the other kids in the group, especially those on 13 years old, share their expectations of seeing people come to Christ, of breaking out of their comfort zone, of proclaiming the Gospel boldly. It was encouraging to be reminded that we were all there for the same purpose. That night God brought to mind a passage in 1 Corinthians where Paul writes about preaching the Gospel “not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power . . . For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified . . . So that your faith might not rest on human wisdom but on God’s power.” I needed to rely on God’s power as opposed to my own, and I needed to allow him to work in and through me.

Unfortunately, I feel like the trip can be broken up into two parts, me struggles vs. group experiences. Ideally, everything would fit into “group experiences,” but my various injuries took me on my own winding road. Friday night, it hurt to walk and I was fearful of what the next day would bring. I remember praying that God would heal me, or reveal to me the reason He was allowing this to happen.

“God, why am I hurting? Why won’t you make this go away? I want to be able to go, and move, and not be crippled! Gah! This is so frustrating! Horrible timing! Please let me recover tomorrow! Please…”

It’s kind of funny, the days before the trip I had a feeling that Satan was going to try to stop me from going, and I ended up being right. My dad went as far as to call my mom in an attempt to keep me home because of my sunburn. Psh, like I was going to stay home because of a sunburn. I had hoped that was the extent of Satan’s meddling, but when my ankles started swelling, I knew it was another attempt at stopping me from going out and sharing the Gospel. I wish I could say it didn’t work, but it did to a certain extent.

DAY 2 –

In the car ride from Reno down to the YWAM base in Las Vegas, we were “surrounded” with desert. I put the quotations because it felt like nothing was around us. I never appreciated the desert scenery, and honestly I still don’t favor it, but after a few hours of looking out the window, I began to see the beauty of God’s creation in the rough mountains, the colors of the sand, and patterns of cacti etc. The drive down was a good indicator of what the rest of the trip would be, seeing God’s beauty in new and previously unappreciated things.

When we stepped out of the van at the YWAM base, we definitely weren’t on the Strip. The base is in what would be Vegas’ “red light district,” and honestly, isn’t that where the church should be? It was a sweltering 113 degrees outside and I was dumbstruck that the staff girls were wearing jeans. That went all the way to their feet. Whaa? They said you get used to the heat after a few weeks. The rest of the evening consisted of a pizza dinner with the three other church groups and an overview of the rules of the base. With the other groups, there was 40-something of us participating in the program, and I didn’t know if we were going to be working together or simply living together. We found out the next morning that we were all there as one large group, and our church groups were pretty much disbanded, which scared me at first but I loved that I knew everyone by the end of the week. There was a youth group of mostly girls from the Los Angeles area who I roomed with, a youth group from outside Spokane, WA who we meshed with really well, and a group of 35-70 year olds from Orlando, FL. The groups from CA and FL were so much fun because of the difference between their church and my own. When the adults from FL led some spontaneous worship before dinner or something, I experienced true gospel music (everyone from FL and CA was black, so just imagine how cool it was singing and clapping and stomping and shouting like I’ve only seen in movies).

After the sun had been down for a while and it had “cooled down” to a refreshing 100 degrees, everyone piled into vans and we drove a few miles to a point overlooking the entire city. We gathered and listened to facts about the place we would be serving for the next week.

Did you know that Las Vegas is…

·       First in the nation in divorce, high school dropouts, homicide against women, rape, armed robbery, meth abuse and gambling addictions (8 billion dollars a year is gambled there)

·       Second in the nation in auto theft

·       Third in the nation in bankruptcies

·       Fourth in the nation in alcohol related deaths and suicide

·       42 million dollars is spent on advertising for sex annually (Ex: there are 150 pages in the phone book offering a “good time”)

·       Considered to be the epicenter of North American prostitution and trafficking. The sex business there generates nearly 6 billion dollars in revenue per year

·       Over 33 million people visit the city annually from all over the world

I’m not going to pretend to have remembered all of that, the facts from the brochure on the Mission Adventure program at the base. We also learned about the frustrations with the local government and their mistreatment of the homeless, and the lack of action against the sex trade. More interesting than statistics though was the way he presented it. He showed us that the negative images we have of Las Vegas (sex, money, fame, materialism etc) are all exploitations of our own sin. No one can say they’re above it all, because we deal with exactly the same things, just on a smaller scale for the most part. We then had the opportunity to stand over the city and pray with people from all over the world for the week ahead and Las Vegas in general but also specifically. A staff girl brought a guitar and worshiped and I decided to join her and sing some Phil Wickham songs :) On a different note, my ankles were at their largest that night and I was seriously scared. It hurt to have any pressure on them at all, and I was reduced to sitting on a rock instead of standing over the city. I so wanted to focus solely on my prayers for Las Vegas, but they quickly turned into prayers for myself. Despite that though, the night was a wonderful way to start our ministry there.