Denver surprised us this week. While some of us had prepared for “roughing it”, we never imagined it would look like spending our nights in an indoor skate park. After getting used to sleeping on the hard ground and shoddily working showers, we began to wonder why God did not have us staying at the Hilton.
We got our answer our first morning of ministry. As we worked at a shelter called ACTS Resources, poverty could not be ignored. So many old men, young women, teenagers, and everyone in between was coming to receive food for the week. Surprised looks flooded the shelter as a bunch of our middle schoolers asked to assist them with their groceries. One woman frankly said, “I don’t know what you did to them kids, but KEEP IT UP!”
After learning about what we could do from helping an organization, we then turned outward to serve in an outreach capacity. We teamed up with Extreme Community Makeover, an organization that does neighborhood cleanup and repair on Colfax, a notoriously dangerous neighborhood in Denver. From picking up trash in alleyways to yard work, so many lives were touched by the lives of our youth teams. One woman said to us, “Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what?” we responded.
“Why do you care so much?”
One of our youth responded, “Because of Jesus!”
From VBS to public worship to paying for people’s groceries, our days were jam-packed with ways to be His hands and feed. However, this was only part of our work in Denver. Another way we explored God was with an activity called, “Ask The Lord”. During this time, we prayed for specific words for people. After awkward coughs, we wrote down a few words and headed downtown. One by one, our words came to fruition, and we were lead to a group of train riders playing music. We listened, and then joined in a freestyle jam session. At the end, a train rider asked, “Hey… what are y’all doin’ here?”
“We’re on a mission trip!” said one of the kids with enthusiasm.
Her eyes widened, “No way! I wish I was taken to talk to train riders when I was younger.”
From beautifying the neighborhood to discovering how active the Holy Spirit still is, we can all say that we were surprised by God. We were surprised at His personalization, His beauty, and above all, we were surprised at the change that were made in both of us.
God is here!
Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
