19 March 2008

You IS In An Area!

This past weekend was INSANE.
I don't think I've sat down to reflect on any of it for more than a couple of minutes!

Friday night was our monthly MIDNIGHT OUTREACH here in Baton Rouge.
Vincent Bellipanni and Craig & Hope Boutte joined us for a night of seeking and reaching the lost and hurting in Baton Rouge... and it was anything but ordinary.

Now, I'm sure you're probably thinking: "How could giving roses to strippers and prostitutes and chocolates to bouncers and pimps ever be considered ORDINARY, anyway?"
But as Pastor Alliece says, when you're doing this kind of ministry, EXPECT ANYTHING.

We encountered cross-dressers and an apprehensive police officer who unexpectedly gave us a brief, "police escort" to our intended target.
And who could forget the enigmatic, street-walking woman who encouraged us with quoted scripture?
Basically, she told us to keep it up -- to not be afraid for "no weapon formed against us" would prosper -- and let us know that we were in the right place, at the right time with an enthusiastic:
"You IS in an area!"

You know, I have been scared walking in to Cortana Mall before.
I have been frightened while stopping at a deteriorating gas station in the middle of nowhere.
And I have prayed fervently (under my breath) when approached by unseemly characters who appeared to be straight out of "Deliverance," but I am constantly amazed by how UNFEARFUL I feel when doing Midnight.
I know that we are following the heart of Christ and I believe that God has His hand on us when we enter this particular "mission field."

It's truly indescribable; you kinda have to be there.
And when you get there, you'll know it.

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