Okaaaaaaaaaay sooooo I have to share with you all a VERY AWESOME thing that God is doing!!! Weeeeeeeelllll...right after Conquerors's Conference this year God just randomly brought across my mind this boy named Elijah that used to church with a family from our church, The Cleveland's. Now the Cleveland's live CLEAR ACROSS town like practically an hour away, buuuuuuuut they used to live REALLY CLOSE to us. So this boy hasn't been to church basically since the Cleveland's moved, which I think has been about three years now.
.
And I thought you know, that boy is on the way to wear I go to pick up all the African kids, I should go over there, find where he lives and see if he wants to start coming to church again. BUUUUUUT then i'm like, OK I don't even know this kid, or his family and I never talked to him or anything WHEN he was coming with the Cleveland's because I was preoccupied with all the other kids that I was bringing...so I'm thinkin in my mind...Yeah I should go...buuuut just kind of left the thought hanging!
.
Weeeeeeeeelllll that next week I went to visit the kids I have been bringing at their apartment complex and to bring them brownies. So a group of girls come over I'm just like talking to them or whatever and one of them was like, OH yeah so there is this boy at my school that says he knows Zachary Cleveland. I'm like Oh really, she's like, yeah, We were talking about him at school, a bunch of them have crushes on him, and we were talking about him and this boy named Elijah said that he knew Zachary Cleveland that they used to be neighbors and he would go to church with him!
.
I was like WHAAAAAAAT??? Like okaaaaaaaay WOW!!! That's NO coincidence...that these girls, that HAD NOT BEEN TO CHURCH IN ABOUT TWO YEARS, just happened to be talking about Zack at school and this boy Elijah would hear! I'm like OK DUH MARY GO TALK HIS PARENT'S AND INVITE HIM BACK!!! Buuuuuuuuuuut I'm still hesitating because I mean like, these people live in a really nice house and I'm feeling pretty intimidated, I'm NOT used to bringing kids that aren't living in government housing and talking to parent's that MAY ACTUALLY have a curfew for their child and want to know where they are. Soooo I keep thinkin I need to go, I need to go...
.
FINALLY one week I'm driving back from bringing the African kids brownies and I'm just like, DUUUUUUUUUUDE MARY, you KNOW that God brought that kid across your mind AND THEN those girls that were talking about Zack and he overheard....THATS NO COINCIDENCE...SOOOOOOO STOP BEING LAZY MARY AND GO!!!
.
So I pull into the Cul-da-sac where the Cleveland's used to live and I realize that I don't ACTUALLY even know where this kid lives!!! LOL Well I'm walking around, I knock on one door and a woman answers, I see that she has some kids in the background and she tells me that she just moved into the neighborhood so she is not to sure where anyone lives. Well after going around someone tells me where they live. I go to the door, ring the bell and HOLD MY BREATH...SCARED!!!
.
The dad answers, I introduce myself saying that I'm friends with their old neighbors the Cleveland's and I know that they're children used to come to church and I was just wondering if they would want to come again? Well the dad is really excited, he would love for his son to get connected with Zack again, he says they already have plans for this Wednesday but to plan on it for the next week.
.
Weeeeellll the next week comes around and Elijah and his lil sis start coming. After they've been coming for a few weeks, I start thinking about the one family that I had talked to when I was looking for Elijah, they HAD KIDS, I'm like, MARY since your ALREADY in this neighborhood, maybe you should go see if that family wants to send their kids as well...THEN I'm thinkin like, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO she's gonna think your crazy...buuuuuuuut God kept putting them through my mind...
.
Sooooooooooo after a couple of weeks, I knock on their door, a plate of brownies in hand!!! The mom kinda hesitates for a moment, just kinda looks at me, then smiles and says, OK. So the first week she comes just to check everything out and since then has been sending her older son Lawrence. She says that she really liked our church and eventually would like to start coming herself on Sundays.
.
NOW this past Tuesday I went to do my usual run of giving out brownies and reminding the kids that we have church the next day. Well time had gotten away from me and it was already a little after 8 so I decided that I would go to the kids in the cul-da-sac FIRST before all my African kids since these kids parent's ACTUALLY may have bedtimes..LOL...sooooooo I do to the cul-da-sac and the one boy Lawrence is coming out the door and he sooooo excited to see me as I give him the plate of brownies.
.
Then his mom comes out and she is like, OH MY SON WAS WAITING ON THE CURB FOR YOU TODAY, he's like MOM I know Mary is going to come today like she always does on Tuesdays and bring me a treat! I was like AWWWWWWW!!!! THEN his mom says, OH and just to let you know, a NEW FAMILY has moved in next door to us and they have a bunch of kids. I'm like OH OK, I'll have to go over there and meet them! She says, yeah you NEED TO, I already told them all about you guys and they are planning on sending their kids as well on Wednesday nights!!! I was just like OH OK!!!
.
Buuuuuuuuuuut inside my heart was just absolutely EXHILERATED!!!! Whoever would have thought that it would just spiral out to this???? That God would prompt my mind about a lil boy that came with a different family? That God would use a ridiculous crush on poor Zack!!!That God would use the African kids to bring back another kid? That that kid would be the key to other kids in a completely different neighborhood coming? That the mom of one of the kids would have already done the inviting of MORE kids coming for me??? ITS SOOOOOO AWESOME!!! God really does do THE COOLEST THINGS EVERRRR!!!
.
If your ever feeling like maybe God wants you to invite someone to church, JUST OBEY THE PROMPTING OF THE HOLY GHOST!!! Always,always, ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE HOLY GHOST!!!! It is ALWAYS HIS WILLto invite someone to church! To tell someone about Jesus!!! The Bible says that he is NOT willing that ANY SHOULD PERISH buuuuuuuuut that ALL should come to repentance!!!
I just can't wait to see what God is going to do NEXT!!!
♥Mary Frances :)
