~ 20th Day ~
So long Phoenix...Obey...Las Vegas...Oil...Spiritual Attack...The Strip.
It's so different to wake up in a house opposed to in my truck. The feeling is different, the routine is different, the get-up-and-go is different. As much as I love the comfort of a home, I have grown to enjoy waking up in the backseat of Tumbler, though this morning it felt good to wake up dry and have a microwave to expand my oatmeal. Dan and Sarah's house was such a God-send and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them. I gave their amazing family a "Love" rock... their exemplify this word.
I took my time pulling out of their driveway. It was around 10am when the road to Las Vegas greeted us. Much pray and discernment had gone into seeking God's will regarding this potential mission field. Certainly, I wanted to go here... this city is in serious need of light and love. But I didn't want to go there if God didn't have plans and purposes for me here. The confirming peace was not given till a couple days ago, but I still kept praying 'cause peace can come and then be pulled. This morning, I still had this peace.
It took almost 5 hours to drive up to "Fabulous Las Vegas" though there are some other descriptive adjectives one might use. This Northern trip through the desert land was sweet... many more mountain ranges, rock formations, bridges and the occasional vehicle that was obviously headed to the Vegas strip (driving like they already had ingested a chemical cocktail.) This would have been me a few years ago... the one people pull over in another lane to let by. I saw a few accidents along the road, and with one of them, they were zipping up a body bag next to a totaled car. This person didn't make it to Vegas and they had no idea this would be there last gift of another day. Seeing this dead person made sad, but also grateful. We never know when our last day will be... and we don't have to be living a crazy lifestyle (though this can raise the potential). Cherish every day, my friends. Don't spend today living for yourself. After all, this life isn't about us... it's about others and leaving a legacy of love.
The temperature wasn't as sweltering as Phoenix, but it was still hot enough to make my face look like it just got out of a super tanning bed. I'm glad I like water... 'cause I was drinking a lot of it on this trip. And mom Linda), I've been taking my vitamins and trying to eat healthy despite the lack of appetite the heat had caused. At one of 2 stops to get fresh, cold water, a hat caught my eye. There were a plethora of them on the stand, but this one was calling me to add it to the water bottles in my arms. It had "OBEY" in red lettering on the front. Honestly, it may have stood for something and the makers probably had something else in mind than what I took it for. Here I was, going to Las Vegas with the purpose of handing out rocks, praying, and ministering to the people there... and even with this purpose in mind, I still needed to be mindful to obey. I heard the voice of my Aunt Sylvia saying, "Now, make good choices!" Wherever we are, Vegas or a vestibule of a church, we have the choice to obey the ways of God or the ways of this world. I am no perfect person (a total work-in-progress is writing this), but the desire to obey God's Living Word and to stay on His narrow path is deeply embedded in my heart. I wanted to keep "OBEY"ing my Savior here in Vegas... 'cause temptation to do many things would be ever-present just as my Staff would be with me every step.
I got little lost before the downtown area came into full view. Make that 1.5hrs of driving around many random streets. My GPS was working, but the made-up address I had plugged in was far from downtown. I wasn't in a hurry to walk the strip, but I did want to be closer than where I found myself. But God knew I needed to be in this area... 'cause here I met Elizabeth.
The road we were on, was going in the wrong direction of downtown, so a turn-around road was looked for. When I turned left on this little back road that led to a dead end, I saw a car with it's hood up and a young woman leaning over the engine. She looked as if she had no idea what she was looking for. I made a U-turn, and parked Tumbler. Walking over to her, she looked up, probably from hearing the flopping of my flips. "Do you need some help?" I asked. "Yes, actually. My car started sputtering and when I pulled over on this road, it wouldn't start back up after it died." I asked the obvious question if she had gas, and she said yes. "How's your oil level?" She smiled, embarrassedly... I knew she hadn't checked the oil dipstick. When I pulled it out, cleaned it, and put it back in, it came out done dry. "You need oil, love." I said with as much patronizing softness I could find, so as not to magnify her lack of mechanical knowledge. "I see. Looks like I'll have to find a auto store." I smiled at this obvious set up by God... for I had 3 bottles of oil in the back of Tumbler that I'd bought in Durango, CO. Her car needed 2 bottles just to show a drop on the tip of her dipstick. She was encouraged to go to a store and put more oil in her car. I educated her on the danger of running out of oil compared to being out of gas (my dad has pounded this in me since I was old enough to know the difference between the two.) Today seemed to be a day of recalling things wise people have said over the years.
I could write a lot about the conversation that continued after her hood was closed. Let's just say that Elizabeth is wise in many things not related to cars. She loves God and loves telling others about how He changed her life. She had only lived in the area for a short while, so she didn't know of any local ministries that I could link up with on the streets downtown. Still, she offered me much more with her encouragement on this journey. She kept saying how she was in awe that God would have me pull down this dead end street and would have exactly what her car needed. I gave her a "Hope" rock and she wanted to put the hood up again so the picture showed how God can provide for something as small as 2 bottles of oil.
The Vegas strip was calling me, but I would not step foot here for another 5hrs.... but I did drive down the main street at 6pm. It took a long time to go from one end to the other cause it was the weekend (Sat) and the people were traveling in herds on the sidewalks and the vehicles on the street were packed like sardines. I could feel the darkness more than I already saw it from my truck. It wasn't my time to walk with the herd... but with a different mission in mind.
The next 5hrs were mostly spent in a Walmart parking lot, making more rocks to hand out. There was another place I parked for a short while, and that is a story I will now tell you, but with the risk of making some of you question if I did in fact, partake in a chemical cocktail before this experience. I was clean and sober when this happened and whether you believe my reasoning or not, it was without question, a spiritual attack.
I wanted to write a day post (as I was seriously falling behind from the present day), so I found a little soccer park to pull into. It was a rough side of town (if that's possible in Las Vegas) yet I'm not partial to seedy parts of cities. Pulling out my laptop, I went to hook up the MiFi apparatus a good friend (TheIncredible Steve Martin) had loaned me for this Rock tour. It needed to be charged, so I plugged it into my adapter. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, knowing there was going to be some time to do more processing. Not a couple minutes went by when I suddenly felt this strong dark presence sweep through my truck... from the driver-side window into my truck (yes, I could sense it coming in from this side). My stomach got queasy, and the air felt thick. Then a loud "ping" sound was heard and I looked up at the metal clip on the visor in front of me. I had bought this before I left and the clip had a copper cross with "Put on the Full Armor of God... Ephesians 6:16" etched on it. The clip had broke but instead of falling down, it went out, then up to the ceiling of my truck, and then fell down by my feet. My eyes stayed there a moment, but then they averted to the screen of the MiFi device... which went brilliant white for a few seconds and then fadingly turned completely black. The dark presence was still in the cab, and my breathing sped up, not with fear, but with anger. I knew exactly what this was... there was a dark spirit in my truck. Now stay with me, I'm not going to get all deep into talking about spiritual warfare and the constant war between angels and demons that is around us all the time. BUT, I will not paddy-cake this experience and say that it was a happenstance that caused these 2 things to happen... cause that would leave out the undeniable dark presence that was present before and during them. Since I was little, I have seen, heard and experienced the spiritual realm. Once believed to be a curse (or I was crazy), I now know to be a gift (and I'm not talking about being a "seer" or "medium" or "psychic" for that is witchcraft.) I am a warrior in God's Army, and being allowed to be the warrior in my own life, has enabled me to be a warrior in other people's life. I'll post more about this down the road.
For now, I'll just say that this was an experience where satan wanted me to cower in fear, high tail it out of Las Vegas, and make me believe that God had taken His hand off me. I wasn't about to let the bastard he is, get his glory by believing he had more power than my awesome and most powerful God. No sirree!!! But what I did do was crank up the praise music playing on my system, pray against the evil spirit that wanted to claim residency in my truck (In Jesus' Name... they must OBEY!!!) and I put Tumbler into drive... but I was simply leaving that park, not Las Vegas.
I'm aware that some may "de-friend" me from these last 2 paragraphs, but I hope that at least one person will learn about the very real war that is going on around us. And don't be afraid of this new (or refreshed) awareness... they only have power when you give it to them (or give into them). We are victorious in this waging war when we speak the name of Jesus. And BELIEVE that He has the victorious final say, when you pray. Message me if you have questions about these things. There are verses you and I can claim and they will shed light on this often not talked about part of our journey here on earth. Ok, enough on that, right!?!
Fast forward to 11:00 in the night. It was time to strap on my huge backpack and go to the crazy busy street of the Vegas strip. I would spend the next 3hrs in the heart of "Sin City" and would come across some pretty gnarly situations. A whole lengthy post could tell about these 3hrs, but it will be kept to highlights... and lowlights. I'm taking a guess that not many come here to hand out love, hope and rocks. Most come to the strip to get... drunk, high, hit the jackpot, score a night of fun, frivolous spending, and fornication. There is no tone of judgmentalism when I say this... I'm not looking down, rather just looking around and calling it what it is. Again, I have my weeds in my heart and life that need constant gardening. But I felt out of place on the strip... like I didn't belong, though still needed to be here.
I walked a lot. I didn't stop walking for over an hour. I prayed for this city, the strip, the roads that surrounded the main street, the people who lived here and were visiting, and I prayed for my shadow and fragrance. If you ever get a chance to read about Peter in the Bible, read about his shadow. I love this awesomeness... and because I believe in this, I pray for my shadow every gift of another day. I also believe that we all have a fragrance (or aroma) that permeates to others around us. And I'm not taking about the Patchouli or Flower Bomb oil I usually wear. The fragrance of Jesus and His unconditional love is the fragrance I always want to have on... and have others smell. Walking and praying, I wondered if there was anyone whom God would have me stop for. There was.
There was a really cool water fountain show in front of the Ballagio Hotel. As I was crossing the street to go watch it, I saw a sign being held a few heads higher than the crowd that had gathered. The sign said, "Jesus Loves You" and I smiled knowingly. Not usually a fan of street corner preachers who yell Bible verses and the fire-and -brimstone messages, I was curious of the holder of the sign. It was a couple, not an individual... and they weren't screaming or shouting, just standing there and smiling with an intense glow on their faces. I waited for the show to cease and when they put the sign against a street light, it was time to amble over to this couple. Their names were Pastor Walter and Pamela Poston. I learned that they had taken this ministry over from the man who started it. The Vegas strip was the sole mission field of this ministry (holding this sign and handing out tracks). But this was not the only mission field this couple had, for they go to prisons, to churches, to homes, and to other street corners that others might avoid. There ministry is called "Highways and Hedges." It was an overflow of joy to have crossed paths with them. A rock with the verses Psalm 18:32-33 on it was left with them... and they were encouraged to continue being bold about Jesus as well as the possibility of passing the rock on to someone else who might need it more.
One of the other persons whom I stopped for was Mike. He lived on the streets and had lived on many other streets in different cities. We talked for about 30 minutes and both received some furrowed brows by those passing by. Most were past their first drink and many were roaring drunk by now. But Mike and I were sober and trying not to pay attention to the jeers and even one lady who crouched down in front of us and let our a saliva-filled, loud rooster crow. Mike was busy eating the granola bar I'd given him and I couldn't help but laugh when the "fowl" woman walked away. The 2 of us talked about his back-story, surviving the streets, and the God who wanted to be his stronghold in the miry clay of this world. He asked a lot of questions and intently listened to the answers that I prayed were soaking into his dry spirit. I left Mike with a Psalm 46:1 rock. Might he soon find refuge in the true Rock.
It was now 1:00 in the morning and though I truly wanted to stay for hours longer, my body was tired. Time to find a Walmart... and I did. Tomorrow I would leave Las Vegas, hoping that others would be led to come to this mission field... to plant more seeds of hope and love, water the seeds already planted by myself and others, and come to permeate a fragrance of Jesus in a city that He may not be invited to, but certainly is still present. But the morning would be still spent in this city that hit close to the home of past chapters of my life-story.
Every city could be called "Sin City" for sin is present everywhere.
It is just more visible and apparent in some well-known cities.
The darkest parts are not confined to the main strip.
It's often the dark alleys and side streets.
Our hearts are the same way.
But there is hope in this.
The Gardener is able.
Give him access.
Today.
...For tomorrow isn't guaranteed.
~Unshakable Peace, Boldness and Purpose~
cling to the Rock
Psalm 18:1-2
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