More Matamoros ATLs

The third ATL I led was cool. Way. Just remember, I was there, I saw this with my own eyes.

It was a pretty large group - about 12 - and we had to meet right outside the noisy VBS tent. I introduced the ATL and sent them away to pray.

When they came back, they immediately started to tell me what they thought God had revealed to them. Red shoes. A woman, all alone and carrying a heavy burden. A blue house. A man in a yellow shirt, walking by a blue car and Trinity was supposed to translate (this was from a young girl of about 12. I'll never forget what she said because she said it with such assurance). One of the leaders said, sort of embarrassed-like, 'something Irish...?' No one really reacted. We just said ok, and moved on to the next person.

We did the test and started out. I asked which direction we should go and they all said they wanted to go find a woman they had met the day before. They knew where her house was, so we started in that direction.

The first house we went to had a few people in the yard. We talked with them and weren't getting anywhere. It was apparent that they were just being polite. We said goodbye and walked across the street to a big, blue house. A young woman came out and three girls from our group went over to talk to her. The rest of us stayed back and prayed for them.

While we were praying, one of the girls in the group came up to me and asked if it was ok if she kept praying and asking God to show her something. Of course, I said yes. She moved across the street and began to pray. She came up to me five to ten minutes later and said that God had shown her a boat. I asked her what kind of boat and she said, 'a boat.'

Meanwhile, the girls that were at the house went inside for about five minutes. When they came out, they were smiling like you wouldn't believe. They said that the girl they had talked to was pregnant and her husband had been missing - she thought he was in jail in the States. One of our groups had visited her the day before and had prayed for the lady and her husband. He came home that night. When we showed up, she was ready to accept Christ as her savior and her grandmother was too. Praise God!

We continued walking and got to the house of the person they were looking for. She wasn't there. They talked with her young son - he was 12-14 - and, as we were leaving, I saw Trinity slip him some cash.

We turned a corner and saw a woman carrying a baby who was wearing red shoes. Some of the group started talking with her while about four others from our group went to the next house and started witnessing. The lady with the baby was a Jehovah's Witness. They gave her a tract and a Bible and left her alone after talking with her for a while. I wish I remembered what happened at the other house, but I don't.

As we were leaving, someone came out of that house and went to the bus stop. One of our girls, one who had not said a single word voluntarily the whole time we were out, took Trinity and the pastor's wife and went and talked with the girl at the bus stop. She told me later that she felt a strong push from the Holy Spirit to talk to the girl and she said to God, "If you want me to talk with her, you're going to have to make her come to me." When she looked up, the girl was walking straight at her. Is that cool or what?

It was time to head back, so we headed towards the VBS site, keeping the three people at the bus stop in sight. We stopped at a corner and someone saw a bunch (3) of people wearing yellow shirts standing across from a blue car. They shouted at me, 'Hey, look, there they are.' Meaning, the man in the yellow shirt thing mentioned earlier. I pointed out that none of the people wearing yellow shirts were, technically, male and therefore did not fit the criteria. They acknowledged this and went to talk with them anyway. What the heck, it was what we were there for.

I stayed on the corner so I could keep an eye on both groups. When the group of three left the bus stop, I directed them across the street to the yellow shirts.

I'll never forget what happened next. It was like I was watching a movie that I was also in...does that make sense? I saw a man in a yellow shirt walk by the blue car. I watched Trinity, the pastor's wife, and the junior high girl turn their heads and see the man in the yellow shirt. They headed towards him and he just kept on moving, around the corner and out of the picture. The three of them went to the house behind the blue car and led the father and the daughter to the Lord. Woo Hoo!

I found out later that the blue car had a shamrock hanging from the mirror and the thing that caught the eyes of the three girls was a water truck that drove by with a boat on it.

Why does stuff happen like this? I don't know. Does God do this kind of stuff here in the States? Yes. So what?

If someone is actually reading this, please comment on what you've read. I'd love to know what you think.