Neighborhood Prayer walk 6-12-8

Marion/Harrison Street neighborhood

A simply tremendous night tonight. Melissa Wolfinger, Terry Wallin, Chris Nord and I walked and prayed tonight. It was wonderful. The weather was very warm, but with a delightful breeze. So much was happening tonight all over the neighborhood, twice I was taken away from the immediate area where we were walking. . . I think Melissa noticed it first, it is like the neighborhood is opening up, blossoming before our very eyes. There are numbers of people and happenings that I only heard reports of, I'll let someone else tell of the happenings that I did not see.

We stopped and talked with Cigar Bob for quite a little bit. He was obviously waiting for us and had much to tell us of his week. We just chitchatted for a little bit. . . I asked him what the happiest day of his life was. He said, "When my family was alive. I loved my family so very much. . ." Bob has made comments like this before and I thought that his family was literally dead, but they are only apparently dead to him. They live in the immediately surrounding area, mere blocks away, but they never come to see him. His happiest days were when his family surrounded him. He spoke very wistfully about this. . . He asked for my name. I don't quite understand. I gave him my name and my cell phone number. . . he said the funeral home was wanting to know where he went to church. I'm not sure. Maybe Bob is making his funeral arrangements. . . I don't really know. He asked me what I was doing for Father's Day. I said nothing much probably. He scoffed at that. Smiling with certainty, that he had uncovered some supposed slyness on my part, "Aw. . . You'll have big doings. . . I'm sure of that. . ." The thought comes to my mind. . .I'm going to get Bob a nice Father's Day card and put it in the foyer of the church, maybe with the greeters, for anyone who is interested to sign and I think I'll take maybe a cake over to Bob for Father's Day. I don't think Cigar Bob has anyone in his life who cares about him. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think he's very much alone. The four of us joined together and anointed, laid on hands and prayed with Bob. He was visibly moved. It was a wonderful time.

Next we went to the little store to buy our water. Again it is apparent that the lady who owns the store, enjoys our stopping in, leaving our fliers and Bible verse cards and talking with her. Her little girls, like every little child we meet, especially enjoy the Bible verse cards and the pretty colored strings and beads on the fliers.

My joy. . . the Spirit of God had just been building in me all day long. It got to the point where I could very scarcely contain it any longer. I prophesied to Terry, Melissa, and Chris that God was going to do something wonderful tonight. . . it was something that we would see, but that we could not even begin to understand. I almost started dancing on the sidewalk. . .

A younger lady maybe 30 or 35 met us as we were leaving a flier on her porch. I was expecting a rebuke. . . She said that these fliers were the highlight of her week. They really uplifted her. She has kept them all and has them hanging in her house. . .that was pretty cool. . .That made my day. . .

Melissa saw a couple sitting on their porch halfway down a side street and she wanted to go talk to them. On our way there, we met another man and woman (not apparently a couple) sitting in the back of their house. . . it was Julio and a lady who also stayed in his same apartment building. He greatly smiled when he saw us. Two weeks ago we prayed for a job with him. He got a job the day following our prayers and he told us of that victory last week. Last week we prayed for him to quit smoking. Tonight he has conquered smoking. He told us that he has no cigarettes and doesn't feel any worry, anxiety, or craving for them. We praised the Lord with him for a few minutes before anointing and praying with him again for continued victory over his addiction, for peace, for continued financial blessing, for God's protection for he and his family. We left and were a little ways up the sidewalk when he came running after us, the lady he was sitting with on his steps, also wanted to be anointed and prayed for. She needs a job. We lifted up wonderful prayers to God for her.

I went and gave a card to the little old Hispanic lady with the broken arm and again through sign language told her I would be praying for her healing. Her bright eyes smiled a huge smile at me. . .

We came back by the little store. . . Melissa headed across Marion Street. . . Melissa magnets were out. . . kids!!!. . . Melissa is just powerfully drawn to any child. . .There were four little girls, maybe 5, 6 and/or 7 years old sitting on the sidewalk, doing something between the street and the entrance to the store. Chris, Terry, and I kind of hung around on the other side of the street before Melissa began excitedly waving to us to come across. She told us that two of the little girls wanted prayer, their grandpa had died recently. Melissa asked the shop keeper if it was OK to anoint and pray with the girls. The lady said that was fine with her. I didn't know that until later. . .Anyway so Melissa and I sat on the sidewalk with the little girls, put some oil on our hands, told the little girls what the oil represented, what anointing was all about and held hands with the little girls and lifted up a prayer to God of healing and peace on them as the store owner looked on at us. . . Her girls were with us, sitting in our little sidewalk prayer circle, but they are not the ones who lost their grandfather.

All of the little girls had little journal-like notebooks and various colors of the rainbow magic markers. They were all sitting there in bright sun, cross legged on the very warm sidewalk chattering away and drawing and writing gibberish characters in the unknown language of children before they learn the lexicon of adults. . .They informed us that they were all writing about God. . . they proudly told us and showed us their journals. They had our little fliers and cards from our visit before. . . and they were writing about God. . .

The shopkeeper lady taking all this in, looked at me with very dark and serious eyes. . ."You don't know where I am from do you?" My first guess would have been that she was Hispanic, but in hindsight her accent was not really right. . .I kind of shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know." She told me, "I'm from the Holy Land. I'm from Jerusalem. . ." My girls and I have not long ago gotten back from a visit there. . .I told her that was a dream of mine to see her land. . .Just then she had customers enter her store and had to go tend to them. . .I have no idea. Is the lady Jewish? I do not know. . .I do not know. . . paths crossing. . .random events. . . Thank you my God. . .Where this leads I have no idea, but you are right God. . . I see and I do not even begin to understand. . .

Lots of other people. . . luscious dripping ice cream from the street vendor. . . lots of prayers. . .

A lady named Bernice. . . we prayed for her three times tonight and right before we left the neighborhood for the evening we anointed, prayed over and she took a prayer cloth for a friend who was having a problem north on Second Street. Anyway, she came and got me from Harrison Street (she lives on the beginning of Marion). She had her boyfriend's bicycle. He is strung out on drugs pretty badly. She wanted me to anoint and pray for him. I took another route. She didn't want him to know that she brought me to him. I walked probably 6 blocks back to her apartment steps, he was gone when Bernice got back there. Bernice couldn't figure that out as she had his bicycle and he would never leave his bike with her. She can only figure that the devil made him leave before I got there. . . I told her that when it comes to God you can run but you can't hide. . . We laughed about that. . .

As I said just as we were leaving the neighborhood Bernice came to us again. She wanted a prayer cloth. . . she pointed to a church in the neighborhood. She said that they were nice people at that church. . . but you people are coming out in the neighborhood and talking with us and praying with us. . .getting involved in our lives. . . Aren't you afraid? There are mean people here. . . we watch. . .we see. . .

What a Holy night. . .
Holiness was the topic of our flier tonight. . .
What a Holy evening. . .

Thank you my God. . .
Thank you for blessing us my Lord. . .