Week 9

So Tuesday's meeting was really, really great. We met at the college's clock tower, and as we arrived we discovered God had been busy already. Kari Andersen has long wanted to come and pray with us, and that night she did. As it turns out, Kari is the Student Body President for Centralia College and has been deep in its inner workings for a while now. Being so placed, she was able to tell us about tons of things that need prayer, and visions she has for the student government and the student body. We also had C.C. alumnus there who has a real burden to pray away the spirit of homosexuality that has burgeoned on campus in the last three years. And we had a current student to represent the student body!

Kari told us her desire for this year is to see love put into action on campus. She wants school to be a safe place, not just another drain on the emotions of those already overwhelmed by life. She and the student government have some excellent ideas about promoting that, and I hope we can back her up with some serious prayer.

Since it was so late in the day, we also got a chance to pray over the cafeteria and student services building, the "heart" of the school. We did a lot of warfare, a lot of binding and loosing and a lot of blessing. So much fun! There was much, much more, but come next time to get in on it!

In other news, we now have "business cards" with the blog address and facebook group on them so we can pass them out to other believers. Also, Carol Druckman, of Love INC, has been talking us up all over town. She's going to be letting her massive church network and has asked if we'd like to have the word put out on the radio. Thank you Carol!

This Tuesday, the 1st, we'll meet in the parking lot in front of the emergency room at Providence Hospital. Park closer to the street to keep out of people's way. 7:30. We'll see you there!

Week 8

Hello everyone! Last week's meeting was delightful. We enjoyed sun and warmth on the W.F. West bleachers, and did a lot pin-pointing of places we'd like to cover in prayer in the coming weeks. We also identified a lot of groups of people who need continual prayer. So far the list looks like this:
*The College
*All the schools
*The churches (at least 112)
*The nursing homes (at least 30)
*The bars
*Safe Family Ministries
*Love INC
*The youth groups
*Our police force
*All EMTs and Paramedics

We prayed quite a bit over the fair as well, and over the outreaches that were going on there. One of the main themes of the evening, however, was a continuation of last week. Rather than stopping at praying for work for the men of the county, we asked the the Lord to bring them purpose. Without purpose, why even try? We asked that He turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the mothers back to their homes. After all everything starts there.
This Tuesday, the 25th, we'll be meeting at the Clock Tower on the Centralia College campus. 7:30. I've also made this an open event on facebook, so feel free to invite people there. Blessings on you all!

The Latest

My apologies for not posting last week. I was out of town and there was no meeting, but the meeting the week before was excellent and yielded some good direction for our prayers to take. Right before we gathered I got to talk with the ministries coordinator for Love INC. We covered a lot of stuff, but the thing that stuck out to me was the need for gainful employment for the men of this county. With the highest unemployment rate in the state, a staggering amount of Lewis County men are left with nothing to facilitate their God-given need to provide. All sorts of societal problems emerge when this is the case: gangs, teen pregnancy, crime, anger and abuse, a black market, reliance on porn and alcohol and drugs, and general hopelessness. We end up with a culture adrift, men robbed of their identity as providers and protectors, and the government happy to step in and play Sir Gallant to everyone. Lets attack this one and pray for a God-resurrected economy with legitimate jobs for everyone!

Other hot buttons from the evening:
*Prayer that the churches would relish networking together to meet the needs of the community at large.
*A context of love in which the dregs of the world can be cherished, and then trained about the meaning of "normal".

Overall, I was encouraged by this ministry coordinator to remember that love never fails. This does not mean, negatively, that if something fails, my love was not sufficient (that's what I've believed for years). It means, positively, that love never doesn't work. Love always works. So let us love one another.

This Tuesday night (the 18th) we'll be at the football/track field at the Chehalis High School (W.F. West). We'll have cover in the stands if it rains. 7:30. Bring your friends! Blessings.

Week 5

Last week's meeting at WalMart was really good-- loud, but good. We forgot to think about road noise, but God had it covered: the road construction going on drastically diminished the amount of cars going by. :-)
As has become the habit, we asked God to move in and dwell in that place, touching everyone who walks through the doors, drives into the parking lot, or touches a shopping cart.
The themes of the evening seemed to be specific prayer requests for hurting people, a removal of blindness everywhere, and a revelation of what God's heart is here. We want to be joining His work, not coming up with our own ideas and "doing something for God." We figure He's God, He's got His own agenda.
We also specifically asked Him for revival in the road crews that are working all up and down I-5, and in the churches of the nation, especially among the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and every other unlikely church.

This week we plan to meet in the parking lot between the Colony House and the bus stop on the corner of Market St. and NE Division St. in down-town Chehalis. See you there at 7:30!