Hello Friends! This is my Summer update letter!! I send out a letter out, every four months along with some other YFC stuff to everyone who signs up to receive it! I decided for now that because there are alot of you who follow this blog but aren't yet signed up for this letter that I will post it here!
Also if you would like to sign up to receive my YFC letters please email me your name, address including postal code, phone number and email to
ryan.russell@yfccanada.org
thanks for reading!
“God has a plan for your life.”
Before I share a story that I am really excited to tell you I have another bit of exciting news, with all the support that I have been receiving YFC has decided to hire me this summer as an intern!! It’s a really amazing opportunity because if I survive (here’s hoping ha-ha) in august I will be hired as a full time youth work with YFC working with the StreetLight/Trax ministry!
“I see you as a great warrior!...”
It never cesses to amaze me on just how God chases after us and the ways He does so, and with that I would like to share a bit about a youth I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with.
Sometimes at StreetLight you can have average, slow or normal nights, or whatever word you can you can pull from your thesaurus to call being at StreetLight “normal” Ha-ha. It was one of those nights so I prayed to God a prayer like this “Lord if at all possible would you bring someone here who I can build a relationship with.” It was a simple and quick 10 second prayer, and to be honest I didn’t remember that I prayed it till God reminded me later that night when He decided to “bring someone who I can build a relationship with”.
I was inside the streetlight trailer when I went outside and saw a youth sitting there in one of the many lawn chairs. I again have to be honest I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to talk with this youth as I was in a mode of indifference… His tattoos that coved his body didn’t help either. But I had a feeling like I should have a conversation with this youth as I had never seen him at the streetlight trailer before. I asked Him his name (Let’s just call this youth “David”) and what brought him to the streetlight trailer… It turns out that this youth has quite a story; he just recently lost his job so he is couch hopping a friend had told him about the trailer. It’s really cool because this youth grew up going to church and actually continues to go “because of the feeling he has when he leaves there” which was really awesome to hear! In fact when I talked to David about God I have a feeling that he is ready to give his life to him, but David feels like he needs to change or be perfect before he can even begin to approach God.
“It’s the cracks that let the light come in…”
Though our coffee dates I have gotten to know “David” more and more I have learned that despite his efforts to reconnect with his family, he feels like they look down on him and don’t see him as good enough. And so he has given up on that endeavour.
On one of our coffee dates, we were walking to the Tims when David say’s its way too nice outside to go for coffee in the mall lets go to Eau Claire instead. I agreed and we went on our way, while we walked we were talking about what was going on in his life, when suddenly we were interrupted by a man stating almost out of spite,” I am going to play louder than that Christian rock music!” I was really hoping he didn’t as he was going to play his accordion ha-ha. I also love how God can use a statement intended for evil flip it and use it for good, as I asked this youth if he want to check out this Christian rock concert and he said yes! So we went over the field were the concert was being held and sat down. While we were there I sat talking to David about God, how He wants to have a relationship with him. We must have been sitting there for hours talking about God back and forth with questions, when I finally gave up on my quest… cause I realized that’s exactly what it was, not to say my intentions to bring this youth to Christ weren’t good I wanted him to know the reason for the hope that I had, but I forgot the last part of the verse “But do this with gentleness and respect” I was relaying on what I had to say rather than God work in his heart. Sure this youth was super stubborn but I was also being proud. Realizing this fact I began to pray “Father I thank you for today, Lord I know you brought us here to this place, and Lord I have no more words to say. Please bring others that are here to talk with this youth.” And that’s exactly what happened! People started to come up to us sit down and prophesy over David’s life, saying God has a plan for your life that God wants to use him for something so much greater. It was so amazing to see God use all these people to see God chase after David, so 7 hours of worship, 7 or so people later a couple comes and asks to sit beside us. At this point I am so floored by God’s pursuit of this youth and say ”yes you are welcome to sit beside us.” the couple then precedes to tell us their story.. Which for the purpose of this letter won’t get into, but after they share their amazing story and in turn ask me to share mine. Then we prayed for each other, first me, then we pray for them, and finally we come to David. This is the amazing part while we are praying for David the couple starts prophesying over him, I see you as a great warrior! God is going to use you for amazing things, and finally they say I see God wants to restore your family” then we all depart. “I am in shock” David says “everything that happed today couldn’t be a coincidence, how did those people know about my family I had never said anything!” I then replied, “God want to have a relationship with you his relentless pursuit of you has proven that even today, and now you have a choice….”Needless to say at the end of that long day...
David
gave his life to Christ!
Praise God!
Love In Christ
Ryan Russell-Timbrell
