P90X workouts.
The Bon Qui Qui "Ruuude" finger.
Awkwardfamilyphotos.com.
These are just a couple of our quirks/obsessions thus far (3 weeks into the school). Yes, we do indeed drink aloe vera, crowd around the computers to howl at awkward family photos, and then put ourselves through torture, aka an intense workout. Just so you have a visual of how we spend our free time... or a small portion of it. I hope that mental picture is helpful. You're very welcome. We also sit outside in 100 degree heat and drink hot tea in the evenings. I don't quite understand us sometimes.
Have you heard of prayer walks? I hadn't; not until Tuesday. As part of our local outreach, we did a prayer walk through our neighborhood and the surrounding streets. Our base is located within the 3 square miles with the highest crime rate in Las Vegas, so poverty is rampant in our area of the city. Drugs and prostitution are the two biggest problems: many people here are crack addicts. Poverty is a mindset: those in this mentality often place priority on appearance and vehicles instead of food, medicine or other basic necessities. As we walked down the streets in pairs, we prayed aloud for the ceasing of abuse, the oppression (one can almost feel the heaviness and spiritual darkness,) the sense of entitlement these people often hold, broken families, the drugs, and the sexual bondage on these streets. I had not fully explored my own neighborhood and was shocked to discover the vast number of churches just a few blocks from our base. Instead of feeling encouraged, I was sorely upset to see at least 7 or 8 churches within a few blocks from each other. Why, oh why, are there so many "Christians" in this area that come to worship but yet based on appearances, the neighborhood has experienced few, if any, positive effects? Why aren't the people in the churches doing more to reach out to those who are so obviously desperate and broken? These churches and their members need not be wealthy to minister and care for those who live on the same street as their building. Do they not care? Do they choose to turn a blind eye? Are they so hardened that they feel any efforts would be futile? I don't have the answers; this is just my commentary on our observations.
The Father heart of God was the focus of this week's lectures. Jeff Pratt, from Love146 and Axiom Global Monastic Community, spoke to us on the different ways God loves us and His heart for us to know Him as a father. Jeff led a time of ministry for us last night, providing us with an opportunity to confess and then receive prayer and healing. I assumed this week would be "easy," but no, it was incredibly intense (in a positive way) and most of us were broken, again. God continually reveals issues we need to deal with and remove from our lives. I am realizing more each day that this DTS is not about the destination, or the end of our school, but the journey itself in getting to know God better.
I think this is an awesome picture of all of us praying in the classroom. Photo courtesy of Sam Henderson.
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