August 30, 2003

Last night was amazing. I have sent this to many people but must post it too, to keep with blog tradition. If you already read this, you can skip this entry as it is a modified version of what was sent:

Soon after I got here I got online and started looking for a church in the city where maybe I could be involved in a Bible study or something. Because I have chosen to live here I felt a bit isolated because I did not know a soul. Church is 15 miles southwest, and work is 8 miles west. It is an easy drive to both places, but I wanted to meet people in my city too. So two things happened.

The first is that I found a with pastors I knew from other ministries in which I have been involved. So I thought, wow-if these guys pastor here then the church is going to have all sorts of extra stuff. So I looked it up and they have many conferences. I signed up for the one I have been mentioning this week. Then the next thing that happened was when I went to visit Margaret and she had the info on the conference and had a bulletin from the church and I noticed something very important. It had early morning prayer.

Anyway, I miss early prayer very much and even if my own church had it I would be too far away to go and get to work--so the idea of it being here was very appealing. I decided I would find out when I went to the conference. Of course I had about the worst week EVER last week, but God was faithful and I went off to the conference and was very interested. I learned SO MUCH just in the first night that I am in awe--and yet it only reinforced much of what I have believed deep down anyway. But that could be another epic.

So today I finally asked in the bookstore if they knew about the prayer ministry. One lady told me I needed to talk to someone and described her and said she should be there. But no one could find her. By the afternoon session I was so tired I had to go home for a while--still no prayer person. Also I am not good at talking to strangers so I did not run up to everyone I knew was from the church and ask. Then tonight I was determined. I knew they had a ministry on prayer but I didn’t know what that meant exactly. While I was in the bookstore the lady said she had seen the prayer director and told her I was looking for her also. She sent a bookstore worker with me to find her. He led me to her and I guess I was surprised that she was kind of young--not like a kid but closer to my age than what I would have thought for the leader of a prayer ministry. So there I was with her--and she is sitting with a couple young women also. So I told her I wanted to know about the prayer ministry at the church--have just moved her from Texas and have a home church, etc, but I wanted to connect locally.

Thursday night after the conference I drove home with the feeling that this was going to be a part of why I was here--a church this international was going to have lots of externals for me. If I may back up to June, when I first came here... well, I fell in love. I drove into this city and KNEW I was home. And also, if you recall, it all started at Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles—a dive in Hollywood where I saw a girl with shoes on that looked like ballet slippers. A guy from church went to her for me and asked where she got them. A couple days later I looked online for the store and the nearest chain was here and that is how I found this city I love so much. All because of chasing down some ballet like shoes. Then if you all recall, when I got here I had that one rental company and I went there and they had ONE apartment ad it was in the middle of the neighborhood I LOVED and thought there was no way I could afford, but h rent was way cheaper than the neighborhood. And then suddenly I was living in a city I loved where I did not know a soul--not near my church or work--I mean near enough to drive, but actually farther away from both of them. I am closer to Wal-Mart than church (a blessing in high priced LA—I paid 2.13 a gallon for gas the other night—and growled the whole time I pumped!!!) And I have not really understood why I lived here except that I knew God led me here. I mean, as much as I knew He led me to LA, I knew this was the place. In fact, in all my adjustment, it has been the least hard thing to adjust to, my new city. I think tonight I found out why.

I talked a bit with the director, who was also a teacher til she went full time running this ministry. They are affiliated with other houses of prayer. Then came the dance. They had seen a prophetic dance team ministering the same way the singers do but in dance, while in visiting a house of prayer! When I said dance her eyes got so big. "Will you teach us streamers? one of the girls instantly asked. " I would LOVE to," I told them sincerely (is the sky blue?). The one asked if I would be willing to teach kids. HELLO!!! They asked if I have a Sunday night service at my church because that is when they want to do some of this "equipping" stuff. I don't. And they were excited because the vision of the prayer ministry is that everyone worships in their own home churches and ministers separately at the houses of prayer. It becomes separate from the church so all can participate as the body of Christ, not just a church. Then they said when the new school of students training comes, apparently a lot of dancers are coming with that all of a sudden, which is very uncommon!

She told me the prayer schedule--and they do have early prayer. They have a separate hour after that. They have weeknight stuff and some is on nights that I am free. In fact they have nothing on Tuesday or Thursday and those are ballet days! OF ALL PLACES TO HAVE MOVED TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am beaming. I know it just started and now I have to go and be involved. But I am starting Sunday. They have some late prayer times right now so I will probably start with early and Friday nights, maybe some Saturdays--but soon they will have from 8-10 on M-W-F so I can go M and F. They are devoted and amazing. They were amazed I knew so much about all this. Isn't it incredible that even random visits to a Midwest prayer center a couple times could lead to this? It really shows you how God has every little thing in His hands and planned out. And it even seems like a new dance arena could come out of this--though I hate to get my hopes up about that--but my streamers might have a place to go more often!

We exchanged phone numbers, comments that we would see everyone again tomorrow at the conference, and I left amazed. I think my schedule just got busier. But in one night it all seemed to make sense. I had no idea that this ministry was here. Who knew ? It is nowhere on the internet. And the way I found this church at all was an internet search. If I had not been here, I would not have even found it because I wanted something local--hoping for a Friday Bible study or something. This was beyond what I could have imagined. It is almost overwhelming. But it is good. We all connected the way you do when the Spirit is there.

So major wow! I have the beginnings of friends finally. I start work next week for real and feel finally settled. I am not used to everything yet. I have not met my new ballet teacher--that is Tuesday--or been to pray--or even a Sunday night service yet. I have not taught a class here or met the majority of my colleagues. But that is different than feeling settled. I finally don't want to go home anymore.

I think it is time to put my dancing shoes on again.