Dear friend,
This week I have been deeply troubled and discouraged. My heart has been broken for the boys that I meet on the streets three times a week for soccer games and a meal. I want so much to see them set free!
During the month of April and May, the boys stopped coming to the Drop-In Center for AA meetings. At the start of this year, some of them were doing well, sober and drug-free for a week or two, even a month! But now they're all back where they started, and their failure keeps them full of shame. Most of them have a terrible self-image and probably don't believe they deserve anything better than to waste away on the streets from drugs and alcohol and malnutrition. But I see them differently; God sees them differently!
At our all-staff retreat in April we took time each day to meditate on “Identity.” As we begin to see ourselves as God sees us, we are also better equipped to see the children as God sees them and to love them as He loves them! Please pray with me as I seek God's heart concerning these boys and seek to reach them with His love so they may know who they truly are – His beloved children! Since they have not been coming as often to the Center, I hope to spend more time visiting them on the streets.
Starting May 15, I will begin a forty-day chain of prayer and fasting for them. I will not do this alone, but have asked other staff members in the community to join with me. We will split up the days; for example, I will fast and pray each Monday. If you would like to join me in intercession for these precious ones, please contact me at rachel.simons@wordmadeflesh.com and let me know what day (s) from May 15 – June 25 you would be willing to fast and pray.
Thanks for your faithful prayer and support.
In Him who is able,
Rachel Simons
Lead Us Lord
(Brian Doerksen)
Here we stand at a crossroads again,
Like you said, in time the seasons change.
Looking back we recall the blessing and the pain,
But now we turn our hearts toward what is still to come.
We want to dream again!
Lead us, Lord, into a life of fruitfulness,
Prepare our hearts to risk again.
And as we trust, taking simple steps of obedience,
We know that you will lead us, Lord.
You will lead us, Lord.
Come and lead us, Lord.