By Sarah Young

Thank you for your overwhelming support either through your prayers or financially. Your support has made it possible for me to experience God in a more profound way that I could ever imagine.

To be honest, at first I wasn’t sure if I was prepared to go on this missions trip because I was away in college. However, I felt a little tug in my heart from God telling me to go and trust in Him and that he will show and grow me only if I was obedient to him. So I went and the first two days of the trip I did not receive much from God so I wondered to myself if I have to surrender or confess anything and so I did. In addition, I prayed that I would be opened to be used by God and see his marvelous works. Without a doubt God had not only used me abundantly but also revealed to me numerous miracles.

The first time during the trip that I felt the Holy Spirit was during our street ministry with the homeless. There was a guy named Alfonso, who was 72 years old and was still working at a small factory very close to the park. The moment I started talking to Alfonso I sensed an overwhelming joy and a contagious smile radiating from his face, which I found very unusual coming from a homeless. However, the joy was not only physically visible but through his way of talk, actions and behavior. Even though he had some ups and downs, he was still praising God for the little things that God has provided, like the job that he got two months ago. In addition to praising, he passed on little nuggets of wisdom like: study hard, don’t do drugs, keep giving thanks to the Lord, etc. He was just so full of life, humble and loving towards us. As I look back now, I felt I understood what it meant when the scripture says that we all have the image of God in us. Though he was not exactly a believer yet, I saw characteristics of God in him. Little did I know that he’s been reading the Bible everyday and when he shared that, I was overjoyed and could not believe it. At the moment I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to ask him if he wanted to receive Jesus into his life. If you had asked me to bring someone to Christ a few years ago, I would have said ,“no,” right away. However, this time there was no fear or anxiety over me, I just felt that this was just the right moment, for the right person because I had my trust in God and I knew it was God’s hand leading me through. For me it was such an honor and a beautiful thing to lead someone to Christ and I will never forget this moment.