Last Day

We had a busy last day in Vegas. Getting ready to go, it was sad leaving the Lady Luck, our dumpy hotel. In he morning we spent some time praying and worshipping God, and went out for more evangelsim. Yes more! We continued our focus downtown near Freemont Street. There was a ton of commotion, due to a large parade going right through there! It was a really productive time again, and we prayed with 20 people in about an 1 1/2 hours. There were some really powerful encounters. One thing that Denise and Corrie shared was how they prayed for this guy who was an ex-Mormon. After they talked and prayed with him, God compelled them to ask if he needed healing. He extended a withered hand and shared how he was shot some time ago and it destroyed the moving of his arm. Well they put their hands on and prayed, and all felt a tingling, and heat sensation. He stretched out and partially opened his hand for the first time in years! Needless to say he was excited that God touched him.

After that we took a break for lunch at the UNLV campus again. The weather got cold and windy and we headed to 'The Strip' for our last session of evangelism. It was the most difficult time we had yet. We prayed with 8 people to begin a relationship with Christ. After that we took some time to see some sights before we had to catch our plane home. It was a midnight flight from Vegas, and after the time changes and layovers, we arrived in Syracuse at 12:15 PM today. We are all pretty tired and in need of serious sleep. We had an amazing time overall, I think we all learned so much through this experience, and it was a privilege to minister to so many people. Thanks to those who supported us and took the time everyday to pray. We are so thankful!

Diversity

We have really touched on a large cross section of the population here. On Friday we focused on the students. We spent a couple of hours praying and walking through the UNLV campus. It is not too far off the Strip, and it is really large. We took a break for lunch and a nearby In and Out Burger, and went back for more. We spent time doing evangelism there, and it was pretty interesting. I think they are still on break, but there were a ton of students walking around. Overall the teams prayed with 16 people to begin a relationship with Christ. Some cool encouters included prayer with a couple atheists, a gay buddhist, and some rebellious students. It was a good day. Today is our last day here and we will make one more big push for evangelism. I will update on Sunday, and add more pictures. Thanks for all your support.

More evangelism

Yesterday was another productive day of evangelism. We went out in the morning around the Freemont Street area, downtown. This was our second time here, but this time was much better. We were praying to meet people who were hopeless and those who lost everything. The teams reported meeting a number of such people. One guy was from Buffalo, and was robbed, lost everyting and got stuck here. Paul shared how one guy was sleeping on the street, and they woke him up. The team shared how God loved him, and the man began to cry, they prayed for him and had some specific words about what was going on in his life. He was so touched and thankful, he said "I love you guys" over and over. It was a timely encounter for his life. Overall we prayed with 24 people during that time.

Later we went back to "The Strip" for more adventure. This time we went further south to the the middle of the Strip. We prayed through the area, and went out for evangelism in the early evening. There were some strange things that happened, like when Christina Lee ran into a doctor she worked with at St. Joe's, from Syracuse! We also met a number of people from different countries around the world and were able to introduce them to Christ. One lady was from Argentina, and was quite moved at what God was saying to her. One team also had a precise word of knowledge for a lady and was able to pray for her whole family. The Strip seems more difficult a place to share, but it really felt like there was a break through and we prayed with 19 people to start a relationship with Christ. I think it is a challenge for us, and we a learning so much. Thanks for all your prayers.

A day of rest

We had a much needed day to chill out. We decided to explore the area a bit. We started out by driving to the Hoover Dam, which was pretty interesting, and the scenery around Lake Mead was beautiful. After that we still wanted to explore, and so we looked at the map and set our destination for California. We saw the Mojave National Reserve on the map and wondered what the heck that was all about. Well it was an amazing ride, the landscape of the desert was breathtaking, and a worthwhile trip. I wish I could show you the pictures, but we are having problems with our computer! Hopefully I will be able to post them soon. Some cool highlights: driving through the Joshua Tree Wilderness, an amazing sunset, and running over a wild jack rabbit. We all had a really great time. (Except for the jack rabbit)

More adventure

Again God, had another idea about what he wanted to do. I saw a vision of the North West part of the city, a place we had never been and I felt he wanted us to do evangelism there. It was a very poor part of the city again, and many of the homes were walled or fenced in. It was strange. We went into the neighborhood and had an interesting time. Many of the people were Spanish speaking, only. Christina, was able to put her Spanish skills to the test, and some really cool things happened. One interaction I thought was cool, was how one of the teams prayed with a boy and his Aunt. The boy met up with the other team later, and said "You have to come to my house to pray for my Mother!" So the other team went with him, and he persisted in waking up his mother. He also got his Father, and brother and they all prayed to beging a relationship with Christ. They were all so thankful. Overall we prayed with 25 people to begin a relationship with Christ, in a neighborhood that looked really closed off.

Later we went down to the North end of 'The Srip" to do evangelism where we had prayed the previous day. There is so much distraction there and guys handing out pornographic material in your face. Everyone bustling to get to the next Casino. We wondered how things would be received. God laid a heavy foundation in prayer and encouraged us with many words about what he wanted to do. It was an exciting time and the teams prayed with 17 people. One interesting thing they reported was talking to a guy fresh from Germany. After talking and praying with the team he said "Wow, this is the first good thing I have learned since I have been in this country!"

Images from "The Strip"

Back to the park

Monday was pretty cool, we started out by worshipping in the park downtown. A man came near and was listening and when we finished we shared some things God gave us for him. He was pretty receptive, and some of the things God showed us had to do with his past. We prayed with him and he left very encouraged. After that we went out again, in the surrounding poor neighborhoods. There were some really cool encounters. We have had a number of opportunities to pray healing for people. Many people were so touched that we went into their neighborhood, to pray for them. In one encounter, we talked with a woman who would not open the screen door. She was closed to our message until we got a word of knowledge that she needed healing in her back--which surprised her. At that point, her countenance softened and she opened the door to allow us to lay hands on her back and pray for healing. By the time we left, it was evident that God had touched her life! Overall, we prayed with 16 people to begin a relationship with God--a very fruitful time.

In the evening, we did a prayer walk focusing on the north - middle area of "The Strip" which is Las Vegas Blvd. and where all the glitz is. It was work to lay a foundation for evangelism. As we walked and prayed, God gave us a strategy for what was going on there spiritually.

Evangelism

Sunday was a very busy and productive day. We did a prayer walk through the downtown area, and then did a session of evangelism. What was cool is that we reached out to a completely different people group than we imagined. We focused on many of the homeless and poor people that live downtown. Vegas is a city of extremes in every way. Just a few blocks off the opulence of "The Strip" you can find people living in trailers, and pretty poor neighborhoods. Well we spent some time reaching into this community and it was really cool. We prayed with 22 people to start a relationship with Christ.

In the evening, we focused our efforts on Freemont Street. I sent the picture of this area in the last post. It is a bustling center of activity at night. It was different than we expected. There were so many distractions that we had to battle. We learned a lot, and prayed with 16 people to begin a relationship with God. God is doing a work of pulling us together as one unit. We are enduring many spiritual attacks. It seems like somebody is getting sick or afflicted each day. We are enjoying our time and it is stretching us beyond our limits. (Note the homeless people sleeping in the park below, this is where we started evangelism)

Freak Fest

On Satudray, by the time we got settled in ate, and walked downtown, it was evening. We arranged to meet with a church "The Extreme Church" at 7:00pm. We really didn't know what to expect, but it was very interesting. I had been communicating with the pastor for some time, talking about things in Vegas. God led us to them, and he gave us some cool words and pictures for them, which we shared. It was cool because God gave us some specific strategy in prayer in the city. I noticed up in front of their church there was a sign that said "God bless the freaks" I knew there would be a cool connection. They seek to reach the type of people we do. In fact our whole encounter with them was really crazy. They prayed over all of us, and God spoke. It was a powerful time of prophecy, and really joyful. They were our type of people.

We are here!

We made it safe and sound. It was a long day of travel, due to the time change, we were all up for 20 hours straight. We got settled in to the hotel and orienteted to downtown Vegas, and here we are on Freemont Street, the central spot for activity downtown(north of the strip). Our hotel is one block away from here. The street is cool, it has a giant canopy that spans the street from building to building, and it also lights up as a giant movie screen. We are planning on doing evangelism there tonight.

Excitement Building

We are getting ready to embark and God is speaking some cool things. Adventure awaits. This Blog will chronicle the adventure. The dates are January 7th-14th. Check for updates daily, and post comments.
-Matt

Our Favorite Vegas Movie

Cousin Eddie: It is a blazer out there. You're lucky you got air conditioning in here like mother nature intended.
Clark Griswold: Eddie, has anyone ever told you you're bad luck?
Cousin Eddie: Those were my mother's dying words. But I guess if your body's covered in third degree burns, and your foot's caught in a bear trap, you tend to start talkin' crazy.