SMG: Day 26 March 14, 2008

As we enter into the high school for morning prayer, I am still amazed at God’s orchestration.  We have been moved from the back hallway to the band room, to the small computer room, to the principals office.  First, hidden, in the back of the building, the part that was no longer in use.  Now, brought forth to the place of authority.  Decisions are made here that effect the whole school – each and every student.  Discipline takes place here.  This is where business is taken care of – even in the heavenlies.  Thanks for the new set up Jesus.  Pray that we can continue to pray here, and pray that the principal would join us (he is a believer and even participated in morning prayer at his prior placement).  Praise God.  He is positioning His people in places of authority and leadership. 

Women’s Shelter…have I ever written about this place?  It’s one of my favorite places in Cairo.  These people are beautiful precious gems, treasures in the Kingdom, but most of them don’t even know it.  I love seeing these kids and their moms.  Even when they are having a bad day and crabby.  I have no idea what their daily reality looks like.  The struggle is much different for them.  What does it look like to struggle for survival?  Many of these women have been in and out of shelters throughout their lives.  These children have been in and out of cities and towns, moving from place to place.  Today I witness something so special, I must share it with you.  One of the girls (4th grade) planned a surprise celebration for her mom who passed a nursing test.  She was so proud of her mom that she asked one of the staff to help her put together a surprise dinner for her mom with all of her favorites.  She waited with eager anticipation as her mom was about to return from school, on the edge of her seat every time the door buzzer went off.  When her mom got home, she gasped with thanksgiving at what her daughter had done for her.  Her daughter had the HUGEST smile on her face as her mom received this present.  It made me think of our relationship with our Father.  When we put together a special present just for Him, what is His reaction?  How does He feel when we do things just for Him?   Wow I know I don’t recognize the joyfulness of God as often as I should.  Over and over I would hear, “He is a glad God.”  Sometimes I need a parable to show me what that may look like.  Thank you for showing me a slice of your heart today God through this little girl. 

“What do you do for fun in Cairo?”  I hear this question a lot.  Well, you get creative and make you own fun!  Tonight we celebrated Kristy’s birthday by doing a few random activities.  Amanda and I put together a scavenger hunt/art project for the team to do together.  We met at the center and divided into three teams.  Each team had an assignment – collect as many small (red, orange, and yellow) items as possible.  Each team had a different color and the item had to be disposable.  We would explain later what we would do with these random little trinkets.  So, off we went – rummaging through old Kid’s Club supplies, office drawers, and donations.  After about 15 minutes we had all filled our bags with goodies.  We met back int the big prayer room and dumped out our bright colored objects.  We had to laugh at the diversity of our treasures – erasers, pencils, crayons, tan-grams, pom-poms, light-bright pieces, and even a little shovel.  So, now what?  The next part of our project is to put together a mosaic on a white board, a picture that resembles a fire.  Red, orange, and yellow filling the flames, and scripture would be written in little squiggly lines representing the smoke.  After taking time to think about which verse we would encourage Kristy with, we wrote them on the lines and ta-da, a beautiful mosaic!  The fun didn’t stop there.  Melissa and Sara lead us in a game of pictionary.  The theme of the game, “These are things that remind us of Kristy”.  It was probably the most fun I have had playing pictionary, as each picture represented a funny story or sweet reminder of our sister.   This my friends is what we do for fun in Cairo.

PS  I found out that the lady who bought the condemned house behind us is planning on creating a Tea House/Coffee House – a place for artwork to be displayed and artists to perform.  Also, she would like the upstairs portion to be used for traveling artists to stay, whether writing a book or creating some other type of work.   I will post a picture of this house.  It needs A LOT of work, but it can happen.  Stacy has been hoping for a coffee house in Cairo, and I was just thinking the other day…”I wonder if I could ever play my guitar at a coffee shop?”  Hmmmm…it’s fun to dream.

SMG: Day 25

Gary prayed for divine appointments this morning.  One of my favorite prayers…a surprise me God all on it’s own.  I shouldn’t have been surprised as the days events unfolded, but I was.  Thanks Lord for a day filled with ministry to women. 

While praying in the teachers lounge at Bennett we were able to pray for a teacher.  He had his first year in Cairo last year, he was actually the third teacher to enter that wild and chaotic 4th grade class.  He stuck around, by the grace of God he stuck around.  He has such a father’s heart for these kids, it’s incredible to see this male role model loving these kids.  He shared a “mini-miracle” that had happened yesterday.  One of his rebellious students from last year (who had gotten written up at least 9 times) came to him and apologized for her behavior (no, she was not prompted by a teacher, she went on her own) last year.  She has not been written up this year.  Praise God!

On the way out we are greeted by a pastor in town as he drops off his grandchildren.  He said it has been his morning ritual for the past 5 years.  He talks about his desire to spend more time with us, to fellowship.  Not just once, but to regularly get together.  We talk about the Youth Revival his church is putting on next week – a couple other pastors are actually speaking at this event.  Before he leaves we pray for him, hands held through the car window.  God has been moving on Gary’s heart for the past 4 + years in unifying the Shepherds of this town.  This man is one of those faithful le pieces.  

Instead of driving to the Kitchen Table I felt the Lord wanted me to walk.  Yes, silly, I know, but the Lord can even direct these “little” steps in our lives.  I should be walking anyway, it is less than a mile away and the weather is getting warmer.  Everything in Cairo is pretty close.  The sun was shining, the birds were chirping.  The BIRDS, oh man, if you come to Cairo you will know what I am talking about, those dang birds!  It’s like we are in a Hitchcock movie or something.  Anyway, back to my divine appointment story.  I see two of my friends walking on the other side of the street.  I love these women dearly even though I have a hard time understanding their life.  Prostitution, drugs, violence, and alcohol are all too common in their world.  I don’t have a clue.   I just love them.  We chatted for a while and then I prayed for them.  Usually they break down in tears wondering why their defenses are down when we pray.  The Father touches their hearts, He brings hope to their spirit.  He lavishes His love on them.  They don’t understand and have a hard time receiving, but they are always open.  One of the ladies is truly desperate for the Lord, she is desperate for change.  She is hungry for more.  She recognizes this is not the life the Lord has for her, He has more.  She continues to ask me to pick her up for our Friday night worship.  I’ve heard this before, but I don’t get offended.  I tell her I will pick her up and that I want her to be a part of our family.  She is not meant to be alone.  Before we depart ways, a man walks by to give one lady a message from her ex-boyfriend.  Now, this man has his own story.  Without going into details, he has been in and out of drugs for many years.  He truly loves the Lord and is experiencing victory over his addiction.  Every time I see him he has a song in his heart.  As we stand there on Washington street – the main street in Cairo with cars whizzing by, I feel so content.  This is how ministry looks in Cairo and I love it.  I feel the Lord prompting me to have this man minister to these women.  They really don’t know him in his new identity.  So, I ask this gentleman if he has a word from the Lord to share with these women.  Without hesitation he starts declaring truth from Psalms 1, the importance of remaining in the council of the righteous, and staying away from the council of the wicked.  He explains how important this has been to him in his relationship with God.  The women look at him, look at me and shake their heads in confusion.  “Heather, is he right?”  “I believe so, let’s look at what Psalms 1 says.”  He reads it to them.  They are still shocked that this man knows the Lord and his scripture.  When he is done with his mini-sermon, I ask if he would pray for us.  We all join hands and he blesses us in prayer.  Victory for this man has not come easy, but the Lord has taken him step by step.  Pray that this time the enemy will not snatch away the seed.  Pray for these women, I believe they too will be mouthpieces of VICTORY in Cairo.  That people will look at them baffled by the power of the Holy Spirit in transforming broken lives.  Lord, do what you love to do. 

Tutoring went amazingly well!  I just prayed beforehand, “Lord, breakthrough, allow __________ to understand and give me continued favor.  I want to do more than tutor, I want her to know you Lord.”  After I picked her up we sat outside and worked on her homework assignment.  Well, we talked for about 20 minutes and then started her assignment.  It was so good to hear her story, where she came from, hear about her family.  It was so funny, as I would give her advice, she would say, “You sound just like my sister.”  Ha, talk about favor!  We move onto math.  She doesn’t really like math and struggles, but she presses on.  She really tries to get it.  Today there was much progress.  Praise you Lord for answering that prayer.  It is so hard for me when I have to leave a tutoring session knowing that she hasn’t grasped the concept.  Today was different. 

B and B is not really happening (Beads and Bible study), but that’s okay.  Structured programs rarely work here, so you have to flow with it.  It’s good though because it got me out there talking to women again.  Tonight we visited with another community friend.  It is hard to hear about her struggle, her fight to survive in this town, her bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness.  The conversation transitions from gossip to prayer.  She soaks it in, receiving each word from the Lord.  After we finished praying I was surprised to hear the words,

“You know, we have to forgive and love those people who hurt us, or else we are just bound up.  We need to let go of it and be freed of it.” 

 “Yes, yes, yes.  You are exactly right, and the Lord will be the one to allow us to do that. – It’s pretty much supernatural to love your enemies.” 

Loving the wicked, Jesus did.  I can not forget His words,

“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Talk about a day full of surprises!