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Topic: Camping (07/11/05)
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TITLE: Camping with Jesus | Previous Challenge Entry
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07/17/05 -
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We had been married less than two years at that time, and felt the Lord call us to travel around the country to pray over certain cities. With much fasting and prayer, having received confirmation, an outline and some dates we set our hearts to the highway. In six months we would return to visit our adult children for a month of rest, then head out again.
We were excited but apprehensive as we told others of our plans. Even our pastor refused to give us a blessing. He said people don’t go out on their own anymore. Who would support us? Did we expect him to give us money? We told him the Lord would provide. And that he did every step of the way. Did we know what we were doing? No, not at first we did not; we had to learn to live each day moment by moment depending of the Lord for everything.
The first place we were led to go was a small town in South Carolina. Arriving on a Saturday night, we asked the Lord where we should attend Sunday service. He said to look for the cross. Just then it appeared on the side of the road - a large, red, cross standing in front of a small, shabby, strip mall. Could this be where the Lord was directing us?
That night we stayed in a cheap motel about five miles from the red cross. We continued to pray and seek direction. Morning came, too soon for us. We were not ready to take the big plunge. However, we wanted to be obedient. We rushed out, in search of the red cross, arriving after the worship had already begun.
Joining in, we immediately felt the presence of the Lord. At the conclusion of worship, the Pastor asked for prayer requests. As we stood up, two of the nine member congregation came towards us and prophesied over us, telling us we were in the Lord’s will and began to speak scriptures to us that the Lord had given us before we had left our home.
That day was just the beginning of many blessings as well as challenges to come. During the six months that followed there were mountains and valleys. Each place we were directed to something different occurred. We prayed on street corners with the homeless, with the blind, with the abused, with the suicidal, and many other situations.
We literally went camping out in rest areas, Wal-Mart parking lots, truck stops, and 24-hour supermarkets. Each “campsite” was reflecting another view of the condition of our country. Once or twice a month we got motel rooms for freshening up, also people invited us into their homes.
At the end of the fifth month we were at my mother’s in New Jersey and felt the Lord say to fast on Sunday, go to the Statue of Liberty on Monday and pray. We did. While waiting for the ferry, we snapped a few pictures of the skyline. On the island we separated and prayed. I was faced northeast; Bill was under the statue. I heard “the fall is coming”, Bill heard, “the Lady will fall”. The next morning my cousin called and said, Are you watching TV?” We put it on and saw the World Trade Towers going down.
That was Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Our photos show the towers as they were on September 10th. We went back to Virginia; rested up about a month and then started out again. We did that for the next few years, visiting some of the same places and many new ones. As we were camping with Jesus, we were greatly blessed even though we never did use a camp stove or roast any marshmallows. We didn’t bathe in any rivers or streams; we did brush our teeth and wash up in Wal-Mart restrooms. We did sleep in the back of our van; it wasn’t a Dodge “Caravan”, however, it was not a holiday. When Jesus calls you to go camping, you never know where you will be going, but you know everything will be all right when you get there because he is with you.
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God will provide, when we are in his will and way. God bless ya, littlelight