We were busy in different ministries all day every day in Goshen. We would start out in the morning at a public daycare that would let us come and share Jesus with the kids. We would do a program and hang out, play games, talk to the kids. Over several days, our team formed a bond with several of the kids. We also did a kids camp at the church in the evenings. They had sports, art, dance and all sorts of other “teams” or classes the kids could have signed up for. I went with the 4-year old soccer players, who were amazing!

 

We were in host homes again (lucky us) and I was with Zachary, Chase and Ritter. We also went to a local food pantry one of the days to help clean and move food.

 

One of the last days we were in Goshen, we went to a Boys and Girls Club near Goshen. This day might have been the one that stands out to me the most throughout the whole summer. We took a couple hours to just spread out and get to know some of the kids who were there and at the end we did a program full of puppets, skits, etc. for them. Now during that week, our leaders had pressed into us that programs were not just about ministry to children, but also about ministering to the adults that were not part of our team such as parents, or in this case, college-age helpers. I felt the spirit leading me to open up a conversation with one of them. His name is Isaiah. We talked for a bit about sports and other topics until after a few minutes I asked him what he thought about church. He responded that he didn’t believe the bible or church and preferred to live in the moment and not care about what happened if and when he died. We talked for a long time, I told him my testimony and about the things that God had done in my life. Throughout the whole conversation, I was praying in my head that God would give me the words to say to this man. By the end of the conversation, Isaiah told me that he actually liked what I said and would consider it. The reason this day stands out to me is because it was really the first time I saw the power of prayer through the Holy Spirit. Even though I still don’t know whether Isaiah ever accepted Christ or will in the future, God allowed me to see that He had used me to water the seeds that were planted in Isaiah’s heart and bring him closer to God.