Jude 2

Saturday before last, my wife, our daughter and an 18 year old boy from church teamed up (as did another foursome) to distribute flyers to some of the neighborhoods in town where lots of kids live. Apartment complexes and what not. The 4 of us canvassed through one complex; I and my gouty toe limped through one part while my wife, daughter and the other boy stayed together to cover another.

I had nearly reached the end of my part when the youngster and my daughter came running, "Daddy, Mommy wants you now!" I was startled, concerned, but the young man said, "She's in some girl's apartment and asked for you to come."

Knowing my wife, I had a vague idea of what had happened ..... she made a connection with someone. Boy, howdy. I got there and the front door was open, and my wife invited me on in. I closed the door behind me while my daughter and the teen waited next to it outside. "Holler if you need me," I instructed them. I sat down in the living room next to my wife and across from a very young woman with a Takamine acoustic propped up against her couch. And empty beer cans all over the place. All over. She was alone. She was the emptier of said beer cans.

I'll call her "V", since that's her first initial. V was distraught. She told my wife a few deeply personal, tragic details about herself. All my wife had done was happen upon her open door with a flyer. She told my wife she'd been asking God to send someone to her right then. That moment.

Lots of other details were shared. She was quite a sight, and more than a little tipsy. She guzzled down a long gulp from a fifth of Bacardi rum straight while I talked to her about her soul and about Jesus. She told me she wanted to hit me. I told her she wasn't really that mad at me. Before it was over, she made a pledge to my wife to not harm herself, and we got her cell number and left.

Later in the day, my wife called her back to tell her we'd come get her for church the next morning, and she agreed. When my wife arrived the next morning to get her, she wouldn't answer the door. We prayed and prayed, confident that her initial prayer to God for someone to come to her was not going to fail because we made it OUR prayer, too. So, over the course of the following week, my wife texted and talked with V. On Sunday morning, my wife dutifully showed up at her apartment, and she was ready.

After a very appropriate sermon, the pastor invited people to become Christians. V grabbed my wife's hands with a death grip and she put her faith in Jesus this past Sunday morning. She was crying, my wife was crying. My sister in law was crying. It was beautiful. Seven people, including V, raised their hands when asked in a very non-pushy way by the pastor if anyone had turned from sin and trusted Christ for their salvation.

After the service, V joined my wife, daughter and me for lunch. She is a very hurt, jaded young woman but who has had some very interesting life experiences and I thought to myself, "Oh, boy. This girl could really be a soul-winner one day." We'll see.

She had volunteered to help with our big Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday (we've got 16,000 plastic eggs that we've been stuffing for 6 weeks; about 50 bicycles -- I picked up 7 more today -- 3 Wiis, all kinds of stuff people have bought and/or donated). Oh, yeah, I'm a character in a puppet show. I'm a black kid. Anyway, back to V......

V. would not respond to my wife's phone calls this week. We've prayed that God would keep her, help her. I haven't been worried with her non-responsiveness because God knows how to care for what is His.

Today, V called my wife. She was at Books-A-Million shopping for a bible and didn't know which version to get. My wife put me on the phone with her, and I gave her a quick suggestion. She told my wife she'd been sober for a week now, the first week she could remember in a long time being sober.

V. is an infant in so many ways. I'm thankful to our faithful Father in Heaven that He is mighty, and He is powerful, and that He saves.

I hope you'll pray for V if you think of it. My prayer is that you'll get to know her one day --- her full name, even --- as she grows into a God-loving, people-loving, winsome young woman known by many as a treasure in the Body of Christ. She even golfs, which is a fruit of the spirit somewhere, I think, if you can manage it without losing your temper. I know I cannot.

Lord Jesus, move in Vs life in amazing ways she could never imagine. Bless her with sobriety and a sound mind that will lead her to sober, sound judgement. Make her a woman of integrity, a vessel of honor for your glory so that when she meets a man of integrity she will know when to trust.

Thank you, Lord, for placing a calling and anointing upon my friend Tim. Help him to stick to you like super glue and never retreat one inch.

Pastor Gary wrote:Lord Jesus, move in Vs life in amazing ways she could never imagine. Bless her with sobriety and a sound mind that will lead her to sober, sound judgement. Make her a woman of integrity, a vessel of honor for your glory so that when she meets a man of integrity she will know when to trust.

Thank you, Lord, for placing a calling and anointing upon my friend Tim. Help him to stick to you like super glue and never retreat one inch.

Amen.

Great story. I just got a text from a V. today. "Two years today!"

Praying for V. and all the others just waiting for someone to come!

Thanks for sharing that Dolfan.

WOW! Thanks for sharing this

Update on V.

What a weekend! God's goodness just multiplied over and again.

V. worked with us all day Friday and Saturday and on into the early evening hours as we prepared for, set up and executed the big Easter Egg hunt. Estimated 3,500-4,000 people showed up. Gospel centered puppet show, and nice, age-appropriate and to-the-point short presentation of the gospel to kids by our pastor. Lots of episodes where parents acted more childish than their kids, but we were prepared for that. Great attitudes. We had about 60 volunteers from church, maybe more.

After the hunt, V. jumped right in there and helped with the disassembly and loading up of things and their return to the church building. She is just a trooper during this.

My wife helped in children's church this morning and V. sat with me during the Easter service. She was glued to it, I'm telling you. She returned home with us for Easter afternoon lunch/dinner with my wife's family. I got a chance for the first time to just sit down with her and have some conversation. She's slowly dribbling out details of her life, but she's a rather closed book. That's fine. She hugged me when my wife left with her to take her home. I've never gotten to feel like someone's parent-in-Christ before, and while I'm not just angling for that for the sake of saying it, we feel it deeply for her.

One cool fruit -- she's ditched all of her "beer-gear" (beer branded t-shirts) without prompting, something she volunteered. She had some money and went and bought some Christ-themed t-shirts. On her own. In the face of people in her life who would rather her not do this. So, I'm prayerful like a crazy person about her fruitfulness over the long haul. (Yes, advice appreciated....)

Turns out she's been a number of things in her young life, mostly an artist. We had a bundle of canvasses my wife had bought some time ago on clearance at Hobby Lobby and never used. Now, V has them. She used to design tattoos, but said, "I really don't want to be around that crowd of people again". So, we want her doing what she loves. My wife pleaded with her, "You have a gift. Please use it if you love it." V accepted the canvasses and said, "Okay, now I have an excuse to buy some paints."

What I would like, if you will, is a suggestion on some reading plans or new disciple books. So many on the market, and I'd like to be speedy quick about supporting her in this way. She's a reader, too, from what I can tell. A thinker. I like this kid.