What God Did In Hilton Head

  Earlier this month, I was blessed to be able to join my church’s youth group on a mission trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina, where we served the community alongside Adventures in Missions in different ways, including children’s ministry, spending time with people who struggle with dementia and Alzheimer’s, and outdoor construction/landscaping work. It was a great trip, and the Lord moved in many amazing ways.

  The most influential part of the trip for me happened on our last day, Thursday, June 18, and it was a day I will never forget. Like every other day, our entire group met for breakfast, but ministry was a little different than usual. We did something called ATL, or “ask the Lord” and we utilized it in doing beach ministry. Hagen and Brandy, our AIM leaders, explained to us that ATL involved splitting into groups and spending time praying that God would open our eyes and hearts to the people he wanted us to interact with and/or pray for.

  My group was formed, and we walked to the beach that is just around the corner from the church where we stayed in Hilton Head. As soon as we arrived, we got off to the side of the path and circled up to pray.  None of us really felt the Lord speak anything particular, except I kept hearing the word “family”. I had a few expectations as to what that might mean for our beach ministry that morning, but they were all pretty much shattered in the most beautiful way by what actually took place.

  We set off down the beach, saw many people we could potentially talk to and pray for, but I, for one, felt very intimidated by that prospect, which is unusual for me, because I am not what you’d call shy.

  My youth pastor, Eric, who was in my group, led us really well and began conversations with a couple of varying groups of people, a man and his young daughter, a lifeguard, a young family. Some of them accepted our prayers, some did not. We walked away from that young family all a bit discouraged at the people who denied prayer, and weren’t sure if we wanted to try and talk to anyone else or just head back.

  As we continued to walk a bit, we passed a man, his wife, and a few of his daughters, and I felt pulled over to talk to them, but ignored the feeling because it looked like they were talking to someone else (and because of that ever-present intimidation that the enemy uses to try and discourage us).

  Wow am I glad that God knows what He’s doing always. Just as we had passed them, I saw Eric saying something to Nick, someone else in my group,  and before I knew it I was following them back to the very family that I passed right by.

  Eric explained to the man that Nick told him that he was afraid to go up to the man and his family because he was too big and muscly. The man laughed and his wife asked Nick what he was feeling when he told Eric he didn’t want to go up to them. “I was intimidated,” he said. I related. But, she told Nick and all of us that they were also Christ-followers, that God did not give Nick or any of us a spirit of fear, and that she was sure that the Lord put them in our path to encourage us in our reaching of those who are not yet Christ-followers.

  It turns out the man’s name is Keith, and, of all things, he’s a motivational speaker who works with youth and teaches them the Gospel. We talked for a while about what we’d been doing during the week in Hilton Head and what he does in his ministry. We asked if we could pray for him, and he gladly accepted. Nick prayed a beautiful prayer over him; thanked God that Keith’s words and our meeting encouraged him to be strong and bold in his faith. Then, Keith asked if he could pray for us, and he also prayed a beautiful prayer over us.

  The most amazing part of the whole thing was the words Keith’s wife spoke over each of us. She looked each of us in the eyes, and seemingly into our hearts, and spoke straight from the Lord to our spirits. Looking into her sweet face and knowing her words were truly from the Father, I was brought to tears.

  It was one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve ever had, and I have full confidence in God’s presence in that meeting, and in the credibility of Keith and his wife in speaking the Father’s words over each of our lives. We walked away joyful and full of the Spirit, knowing that God lined that moment up in the most perfect of ways.

  When I heard the word “family” earlier in the morning, I thought maybe there was a family somewhere on the beach that day that really needed our prayers and that would be that. Instead, the family we met blessed us so much more, and the meaning of that word also went so much deeper. We connected with people who are part of a much more profound definition of the word family – the worldwide, deeply-rooted and all-connected family of God. It was a beautiful and blessed time.

  I don’t think the Lord necessarily has anything against the expectations we form in our minds about what he speaks to us. I do know that we have a responsibility to Him to thank and praise Him when those expectations are shattered (like mine were that day) and He blesses us more than we could’ve ever fathomed in our thoughts prior to what He always intended to happen. All those expectations we form do is serve to remind us that He is in control of every situation. No matter how we think things are going to go, when God orchestrates meetings like the one that Thursday morning I was blessed to experience, they are the most beautiful they ever could be.  I continually need reminders to let go of the expectations I form and allow the Holy Spirit to move mightily and do its work. Praise the Lord that even when he’s teaching us, He blesses us.