As we all climbed out of the Greyhound bus and gathered our suitcases, we were greeted with a cheery, "Well team, welcome to our Nations capitol!" from our very own leader, Sam Harper. We had finally reached a location that we could call home for an entire month! This was a little over 2 weeks ago, and little did I know how intense our time here was going to be.
Our first couple days was primarily consumed with getting to know our contacts here at the Justice House of Prayer (our base). Hearing stories of how JHOP was started and its vision was so inspiring. We also got to hear alot about the birth of the famous red LIFE tape, a prayer movement for the ending of abortion. Those first couple days we were also given the privilege to do our first LIFE siege. As we all lined up in front of the Supreme Court, the smell of red duct tape over my mouth, I began to pray for the ending of abortion. As I was standing in the cold wind, I looked to my right to see a family taking their picture on the steps. The Lord started speaking to me about all of the children who will never have the opportunity to go on family vacations, to take pictures with their mom & dad, or tug on their mothers shirt to tell her that they're hungry. I instantly began to bawl. As the tears started coming faster, I realized I couldn't really breathe anymore... I still had the tape over my mouth. I thought to my self, "gosh, I can't even cry!" and thats when I heard the Lord speak so softly with such a sadness in His voice, "Exactly... they can't even cry. No one can hear them..." - That broke my heart.
^ My team standing in front of the Supreme Court praying for the ending of abortion.
Don't get me wrong, it's not all depressing. At the same time as this, there are always people who are talking to our spokesperson. They're given the opportunity to share our heart for the power of prayer and the love of Christ. We're often even encouraged by passers-by! (passers-by may sound like incorrect grammar, but I'll have you know I had the greatest English teacher my senior year, Mrs. Pile, and I now know that passers-by is correct! haha) - We've gotten to do many sieges, and will be continuing throughout our stay in DC.
My favorite story so far is from when we on a tour of the National Mall. As we were ending our tour for the day at the Jefferson Memorial, we had some spare time before we were to be picked up. In the lower level of the memorial there is a museum type area with souvenir shops and such. We noticed a quote written on the wall above a nook that stated that "the knowledge of man is happiness" or something of the sort. My leader Levi instantly prayed out, "No, the knowledge of God is happiness." - We somehow ended up sitting around in that nook wasting time, when Jackson pulled out his guitar to just play quietly during our spare time. As he played, we were all quietly singing praises to the Lord. I guess we picked up some volume over time though, because when we opened our eyes we were greeted to a crowd of people who had gathered to listen. We were all a little startled to see so many people watching and taking pictures, but Levi stepped out to proclaim, "hey guys, uh.. we weren't really planning on this but we're Christians and we believe that Christ died for all of our sins. and if any of you guys would like to talk or pray with one of us we would love to." - As Levi was saying this, the Lord began to speak to me about a middle-aged woman in the crowd. So I weaseled through and tapped her on the shoulder. Our conversation went something like this:
Me- "Ma'am? The Lord just wanted me to tell you that He sees you. That He is wanting to comfort you in this time. That He sees what is going on in your family and He just wants to let you know that He is holding you...."
Woman-- she instantly started to bawl and threw her arms around me. As I stood there hugging her as she cried, she looked up to me and said, "My mother just died last week." - and continued crying while thanking me through her tears.
Me- "Is that your daughter right there?" (the Lord had highlighted her to me as well) and sure enough, it was. "I feel like the Lord is wanting to bring you two together in this time. To mend your relationship." I think I said a few more things, but by this point the mother and daughter were both crying and hugging each other.
That was quite possibly the most incredible thing I have ever experienced. As I was praying for the mother and daughter, my team was quick to jump on the opportunity to prophesy over the other bystanders. Kayla was hugging a teenage girl who was bawling, a few of the boys were ministering to this teenage punk boy, while the leaders were each talking to people as well. It was so humbling to see how the Lord will use people who are willing and listening for His voice at all times. I think that is what I am learning the most about... to simply listen at all times. If you're always listening for God's voice, then He knows He can use you because you're ready to respond.
Our team will be in DC until May 24, when we will venture to New Jersey and New York for a few weeks! That will be SO exciting! After that we have a short 3 day debrief in South Carolina and then back home to Hawaii for graduation!!! I can't believe the time is going to quickly!
I know I am failing miserably at updating my blog... but with such a busy schedule it is kind of hard to find the time to type up all the the thoughts and emotions that go on during the day. Hopefully I'll get better at it!
God bless you all!
Madison
