PLEASE PRAY!!!!!

I am writing this at 11:30 on Wednesday night, but I probably won’t be able to post this until sometime tomorrow, whenever my Internet is fixed.

This is one of those blog entries that I don’t really want to write, and I’m not 100% sure I should, but somehow I feel like I have to. I always want to be honest about what is going on in Philly, the highs and the lows, and I always want to have people praying. Plus, this blog has become somewhat therapeutic for me to be able process everything I experience and knowing that people read it reminds me that I am not alone, no matter what the enemy tries to tell me. So, as much as many of you (mom and dad) would probably rather not hear this, I am going to tell it.

Less than an hour ago was a major shooting on my block and 4 people were shot. They are all at the hospital and I have no idea how they are doing. At least one of them looked pretty bad, though all were alive when they left for the hospital. It was not a random shooting, and judging by the massive amounts of police cars and helicopters still circling the area, the shooters have not been found.

I am scared.

My friend Shera came over tonight and we watched the American Idol finale. I have a friend, Jenna, staying with me for about a month, so we all enjoyed eating dinner together and watching TV. When the finale was over I left to drive Shera home while Jenna stayed and got ready for bed. I came back and wasn’t really tired, so I decided to see how much of the Lost season finale I could get through before falling asleep. I lay down on the couch by the window and started watching TV. About 15 minutes into the show I heard the gun shots.

Gun shots are not uncommon around here, but neither are fire works and sometimes it is difficult to tell which sound you are hearing. However, when the gun shots are right outside your window, they are unmistakable…especially when there are 7 of them…one right after the other in a very controlled fashion.

This was not a random shooting.

I immediately paused the TV and sat quietly, praying that God would protect us. His angels surround my house, but I wanted assurance that they were there. The block was quiet for a few minutes, long enough to make me question what I heard. Then I heard people yelling to call 911 and looked out the window to see a man being carried down the street toward a car. He was bleeding and gasping for air.

This is real.

I went upstairs and got Jenna and we started to pray. I heard the helicopters and sirens outside, and the neighbors talking, and I have to admit that my curiosity got the best of me. I opened the door and asked what happened.
All 4 of the victims are young, early 20’s. No one that I talked to is 100% sure why they were shot, but at least one of them was the target…he runs around with some shady people. It is believed that some of the others were just with the wrong person at the wrong time.

Several people were outside when it happened, but no one is really willing to talk about what they saw…or at least who they saw. Jenna and I stayed outside for a little while talking with the neighbors, trying to bring truth. One girl had literally just gone inside when it happened; she is now wondering if there is a God that led her inside.

My next door neighbor suddenly had to use the bathroom and heard the shots as he flushed the toilet. He asked me if I thought it was nature calling him, or someone else.

God is at work.

On Sunday as I was moving my stuff back in the house, there was quite a commotion on the block as everyone saw me coming back. Several people were very excited to have me around again and one woman couldn’t wait to invite me to her daughter’s 1st birthday party. They wave to me every time I step out of my car and help me carry my groceries into the house. Their kids are already knocking on the door asking me to come and play with them, and I can’t believe how much they have grown up in the last 2 years.

As I sat on my steps tonight talking with the neighbors I marveled at having just moved back in. One neighbor laughed and said, “Welcome Back!” I am back. I am home.

I do live on a dangerous street. There are drug dealers and some very shady people. The enemy is at work. But, there are also kids, families and people very open to the Gospel. God is at work too, and we already know who has the victory. I am on the winning team, but many people on my block are not. I want them on my team.

Tonight reminded me that my life here in Philly is not just about Cornerstone Community Church. It’s not just about the programs I run or even the people that I already know. My life here is all about Christ. Christ is doing an amazing work, but He is not finished. There is so much more that He wants to do, and I truly believe that He has called me to be an integral part of it.

I am still scared. I am still very unsure. I still have no idea what He is doing, but I know He is doing something.

People are dying here, and they don’t know Jesus. There is a song out now by LeCrae that I absolutely love called “Send Me”. It’s all about missions and the urgency of the Gospel. One line that is running through my head right now is: “If the violence doesn't cease, then at least the deceased might know Jesus as their Savior as their bodies hit the streets”.

I know those words seem harsh and the image that they create is not pretty. But I have seen that image right in front of me. It is real. The people around me know that all too well.

Jesus is real too. The people around me don’t know that truth, though. They need to know.