Friday, April 08, 2011

First Day in AZ

Posted by: Norah
We arrived in Arizona! The desert air is crisp and dry but the blue skies and sunshine are a nice reminder of home. The Dream Center staff workers welcomed us with open arms. We had a little down time that we used to settle in our rooms and get acquainted with Phoenix.
We then enjoyed lunch with one of the disciples. He told us his riveting story. He was on the straight and narrow. But after being beaten, he began to hate life and subsequently joined a gang. He got involved in the usual activities associated with being in a gang. This left him face to face with the barrel of a gun one night. The disciple was shot twice in the back, and stabbed multiple times. He, by the grace of God recovered, and gave his life over to God. The disciple later developed a lump in his throat. His sister, a doctor, took a needle to try and extract the lump from his throat. She found the lump to be very hard in nature, unlike most other lumps. She used the needle to extract the lump, which turned out to be a bullet! The disciple was very much affected by this; in fact, to this day he carries around the bullet in his pocket.
After hearing his story, we decided to unwind at Papago Park and climb vast amounts of rock. Although these Floridians have not seen anything higher than Mt. Trashmore, they stepped up to the challenge. Some groups even climbed 2 of the highest mountains.
We ended our day on a positive note with devotion from 1 Peter chapter 1. One of the verses that impacted us was verse 22. It spoke of the purification process that comes with obeying the truth. What better place to see this, than at the Dream Center? We learned that God takes us all from different places. He heals us all in different ways; however, through His Son, Jesus Christ, we all are brothers and sisters.


PS: Casey says hi.