january.

We heard that January was a slow month. We heard that the streets were usually dismal. We heard the girls would be far and few between. We heard that January would be quiet. We heard the weatherman continually forecast temperatures colder than the previous week. Jaime, Jeana, and I entered the month of January with the expectation that everything we heard about January would be different this January…….

Our leader has spent the month of January off the streets but in prayer and fasting over the ministry and seeking the Lord for what is to come. For the first time in eleven years she commissioned three of us to the streets without her physically present…. She has lead this outreach for over 10 years so you understand her surprise when she hears this January is not slow, the streets are not dismal, the girls are not far and few between, and the month is not quiet.

Twenty girls this week, nineteen the last, two dozen the week before… and the numbers increase. But it is not about numbers. The streets are not slow this month because the Spirit is active. The streets are not dismal this month because the encounters have been mind blowing. The girls are not far and few between because no matter how dark of a place you find yourself in the light attracts you and draws you near. We have seen our regular girls and we have prayed with a lot of new girls. Even girls who are still in the womb… one of our girls is 5 days away from her due date and when I laid my hand on her stomach the baby suddenly became an acrobat – she knew the Spirit. The first night out Jeana said God told her to buy cheerios, so she did…. While we were out Jamie felt like she was supposed to give them to a specific girl who then responded “I have an 18 month old and a 6 year old and they both love cheerios, thank you!” We have been able to pass out coats, scarves, gloves, and most importantly hope to more girls than we have seen since the summer.

I also could say it has not been a slow month because the spiritual warfare has been off the hook. The streets have not been dismal because every corner also has a man present guarding territory. This past week it seemed as though every girl we prayed with got a date immediately after. Satan thinks this neighborhood is his playground, but when you bring the Holy Spirit the devil doesn’t stand a chance!

During outreach Jeana had a vision that our car was leaving behind a trail of fire and then I had a vision of heating lamps… Jeana added that the heating lamps were the girls after we drove away from them, the fire of God was upon them and heat beamed off every one of them. The light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness has always got there first – but once light arrives all darkness shudders…..and that is the beauty, my beloved.