Earlier this week one of my friends got the idea of going to Atlanta, GA and just hanging out with & loving on the homeless or honestly whoever. No set plan. Just go. So 9 of us decided why not? We decided to leave around noon on Friday, prayed together and there we went. One of us asked,"So do we know where we are going or anything?" and the response was,"Nope. we are just going with the Spirit." And that is exactly what we did.
We got off the interstate and decided to find a park, then we would just walk and pray, trusting for an opportunity. Literally having no idea what was going to happen, but knowing the desire the Lord had put into our hearts to be there. We split up into groups. The first guy my group came in contact with definitely wanted nothing to do with us and that was very obvious. At first, it was kind of a let down because we were so fired up. We then continued to walk and honestly nothing was happening, we didn't know where to go, what to do, who to talk to, and all these doubts began filling our minds on why did we come, and are we even going to be able to talk to anyone. Then, Jeff, one of the guys in our group, said "We just need to stop and pray." So there we are in the middle of downtown Atlanta at a Mediterranean/Italian restaurant (yes, i'm not sure how that happened) praying for direction and opporunities. We get up from the table, Caroline and I hang behind and decide to pray for the boys as they try to talk with a group of men across the street. Immediately, the guys seems to make a connection with these people and talk for awhile. He is faithful.
As Caroline and I are praying, a guy passes us and stops. He is convinced he knows us, and that we met him at SafeHouse (a homeless shelter down the street), which we did not. It was actually a rather comical conversation. Nevertheless, we were pleasantly suprised at here this man stood that literally came to us. His name was Michael. We began to talk to Michael about his life and where he was from. He told us interesting stories about how he arrived to where he was. He was a rather joyful and funny person. After talking to Michael for awhile, we asked if there was anything we could pray for him about. The expression on his face immediately changed. You could tell there was hurt, desperation. He named 3 things: a home, peace, and his children. He then asked us if we could pray for him right then. As we began to pray for this 56-year-old man that we had literally just met, I feel tears running down my arm. I look down and see that Michael is sobbing. I hurt so bad for him, I was feeling his brokenness in that moment. After we were done praying, he asked if he could pray for us. At this point, I was shocked, humbled, stopped in my tracks. Here we were coming to Atlanta to serve him, and he wanted to serve us. It took the words out of my mouth. He prayed over both Caroline and I, and it was one of the most touching things I've experienced. We continued to talk after and he made us promise we would never forget him and he would never forget us. He actually made us take a picture on my phone, he was pretty insistent on it. He made me laugh, a lot. I thought of 2 Corinthians 8:2---
"They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity."
That to me, was Michael.
During the time Caroline and I are talking to Michael, a guy comes and sits near the group. Immediately, Stege (who had just walked up) knew there was something about him. Stege went over to talk to him and long story short- he had lost everything, through a serious of really unfortunate events, and there he was our age, in downtown Atlanta-searching, for something, with nowhere to go or noone to go to. This was Cody.
He was looking for something, and the Lord had put Stege right there in his path to speak truth to him. "Ironic story"- when we were getting out of the car, Stege ran back to grab his "Crazy Love" book by Francis Chan. Well come to find out Cody mentioned loving to read, and Stege was able to give him the book, and just talk with him about the Lord, and hope. Thank you, Lord. Cody was a really big testament to me, here he sat with nothing. Literally. And he said, "You know... I have faith the Lord will get me through, get me through to where I need to be." Wow. I wondered...could I say that in that situation, of being completely stripped of everything? We talked to him for a bit more, and then we left. Stege and I just really had a hard time with it after we left. We left Cody there, without being able to really "do" anything. We kind of felt helpless. But realized we cannot dissociate God's sovereignty with this situation. God's characteristics do not change in circumstances. He is above them. All we can do is pray on Cody's behalf. After all isn't that what we are called to do? It took on a different meaning, when ultimately this is all I could do to help Cody.
"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere." [Ephesians 6:18]
The whole experience today just left me without words. I was humbled. These people blessed me far more than I could have imagined. The whole ride back, we could not stop talking about how faithful, how incredible, and how beautiful the God we serve is. I am so thankful for this experience today, and hope to make it a regular one. Michael and Cody will always be people I remember. Please keep them in your prayers.
I have been photographing for Re-Invention for two years now and I absolutely love it. Kellie Guthrie, the owner and founder of this wonderful company, has become a very special person in my life. Not to mention,the Re-Invention team has become like family to me.
