Aargh….that is what I feel as I hear the alarm go off.  I peek over to look at my clock…….3:45 a.m., I groan to myself.  Oh, Lord, I am tired this morning, give me strength.  At 4, I finally roll myself out of bed.  Thank You Lord for strength.  As I begin to get ready, I have a warm cup of hot cider to sip on; in between drying my hair and getting dressed, the joy of the Lord begins to overwhelm me.  I am sooo excited to go downtown to see my friends and to meet new people that the Lord introduces me to.  I finish carrying out the hygiene kits and socks to my van, and I’m on my way.

As I enter in to Clackamas, oh, look Lord, the coffee place is open.  It is never open this early.  Thank You for the blessing Lord.  MMMMM, tasted so good. 

As I continue my drive, the closer I get to town, intercession begins to hit.  My heart begins to ache for the lost and those who are sleeping on the streets.  Oh God, there are so many, so many mentally ill.  Oh Lord, how this grieves You.  Lord forgive us for not taking care of them, for casting them out into the streets like garbage.  Who will stand up for them Lord?  Who will take care of them?  I am overwhelmed!  I begin to pray and weep for these lost children and for this country and this city.

 As I cry, I am reminded by the Holy Spirit that Portland is called the Gateway.  Oh yes Lord, I cry this is a gateway.  Lord, this is where the healing will pour out from, to the rest of this area. Like the cog in a great wheel, the healing will go out from the center to the other surrounding cities, like the spokes of that wheel. I know this is why You have placed me here.  To help; along with the others that You have called, to perform and help put in place that which You have planned.

Oh Lord, help us to not grow weary, but to continue to stand strong, to continue to fight and contend for Your heart.  Give us revelation knowledge; show us Your heart, Your divine strategy for Portland.  Lord we can’t do this with out You and the leading of Your Precious Holy Spirit.  Continue to ignite us Lord with your heart and your passion. 

I read something that Mother Teresa said, that bore witness within my spirit.  She said,(as I remember) Every sick, disease ridden, dirty, poor, broken, hungry and lonely person is really Jesus in disguise.  Lord, I believe that this is true.  That is why You say in Your word that  “As you do it unto the least of these, you do it unto me.”

 Lord, thank You for the opportunity to serve you, to feed You, to cover You, to give you gloves to keep Your hands warm, to put warm socks on your feet, to wipe away your tears and hug You.  Oh, thank You Lord, what and honor and blessing that You have called me to do just that.

As usual, today You were there Jesus, walking among the people.  You brought Brad and Gabriella to me.  They are so tired, empty and hurting.  The Father’s Heart provides blankets, socks, pants, and hygiene kits for them. 

They begin to share their heart-wrenching story of drug and alcohol addiction with me, my heartaches. I ask them their names.  “Gabriella”, says the young woman. “ Gabriella”, I repeat.  “Wow, that is a powerful name.  Do you know who the Angel Gabriel is?”, I ask.  I share with them the strength of her namesake and the Love of Jesus with them.  I tell them how much Jesus loves them.  I ask if it’s all right if I pray with them.  “Oh yes”, they say.  I ask Jesus to pour his love over them and pray of his unconditional love that He has that is forever, no matter what we do.  I command the spirit of drug addiction and alcoholism to go in Jesus’ name and the spirit of death as well.  As I am praying, I feel the warmth of The holy Spirit.  When I am finished, I see the tears streaming down Gabriella’s face.  Oh, thank You Lord for touching her, thank You Holy Spirit for Your love. 

I reached out and wrapped my arms around her and reassured her of the great, deep love that Jesus has for her.  She clung to me. It’s moments like this when I know it is His touch that they feel, His love pouring out over them.  The embrace seemed to last forever as I continued to speak truth and prophesy it into her life.  It was glorious!

I invited them to church…….Holy Spirit; it is by You that they will come….let it be. 

They continued to “hang” around me.  I know it was the presence of the Lord  that they were basking in.  They kept thanking me and telling me I was a blessing to them.  Then, as I stepped down from the van, I totally missed the step and stepped down hard falling fast and hard in a forward motion……right into the arms of Brad and Gabriella.  “Thank You Jesus”, just automatically rolled out off of my tongue. “Wow exclaimed Brad, that’s right, you could really been hurt!” 

Thank you Lord for Your protection, for watching over me.   You see, if the Lord hadn’t placed Brad and Gabriella there, I would have fallen hard forward on to the concrete from about a 2-1/2 foot drop.

 As I think of how it all took place and what could’ve happened….how I met them and prayed for them and there they were, breaking my fall…..Lord, was I entertaining Angels???  I’ll never know.  His word says that He sends his angels to guard over us, that we don’t dash our foot.  He did, and I didn’t!!!!  Hallelujah, thank You Jesus!

Another day of serving Him.  I can’t think of anything else I would rather do.  I am truly blessed!  AANNDD, the day isn’t over yet!