Success

A wise wise woman (mel inglis) prayed last night during debrief at the bridge that our success isn't measured in results but in obedience. isn't that such a relief?

imagine we served a God who looked at our results sheets before we entered those pearly gates and thats how he measured our success?

last night at the bridge i had a really great chat with Sarah (not her real name). She told me about how she's recently ran away from her foster home even though she knew they really loved her and had given her the best christmas of her life. She is now living at the youth emergency shelter until april when she turns 16 and is officially out of children's aids hands. she said she lives her life day by day, never trusting anyone, never hoping for anything, never believing anything until it turns out to be true, always protecting herself from disappointment and hurt. sad.

i had a chat with another girl who just had a baby and doesn't have custody. she sees the baby twice a week and from what i gathered that seems like a good amount of time. sad.

i had another talk with (i know its bad) one of my favorite's and she's young and gets all her self worth from relationships with guys and has no idea what love is and has no idea what a healthy, loving, stable relationship looks like. she loves drama, both creating it and perpetuating it. sad.

Bea and I were talking at the canteen and i just told her how heart sick i was that night. Its draining to hear the stories of these kids and see the kinds of lives their living. but i am so thankful that week after week Christ works through me and speaks through me words of love, affirmation, and respect to these kids who so desperately need it. Sarah told me that through it all (running away, living in the shelter, being on her own at 16) she chooses to be joyful because if she wasn't it would be too hard. Tom(not his real name) told me that he's so happy he has this girlfriend because now he has something to live for.

This is what i pray for for these kids and the bridge and you can join me too!

-protection from the ENEMY who is working overtime on these kids, dragging them into depression, drugs and alcohol abuse, and telling them all sorts of lies about sex, love and relationships, belief in witchcraft and all things not from Christ.

-protection from themselves. (self harming etc)

-their hearts would be opened to the love and change that Christ brings. that their hearts would be made new and all anger and bitterness and rage would be replaced with love, kindness, and confidence

-that the girls would become self confident and learn how to stand up for themselves and that all the female staff members would be good examples of that and be living it out for them to see

-the building itself would be protected from all attacks from Satan. It's his favorite spot on brock street and we can definitely feel when he's got a hold. pray for the Holy Spirit to be covering the whole property and washing us with his spirit as we enter, stripping off all that we might bring in.

-for the spirits and lives of the paid staff (Mel, Tim, Carlo, Shelly, Sherry, Melissa, Brenda...) it's tough work and not always rewarding (or rewarding in physical tangible ways) but that they would be renewed daily and encouraged in the relationships they've built with these kids and with the environment they've provided them to come and hang out in a safe place.