Have you ever been on a scavenger hunt?
For those of you who might need a refresher on how the game is played, let me give you a quick overview. Several people gather together, compile a list of items to be found and then disperse in teams to find these items. Whichever team comes back with the most items found, that team receives a prize.
I remember doing scavenger hunts pretty often as a kid. I used to be very competitive and loved to race around neighborhoods and get the items faster than the others. I’m always up for a good challenge.
Now, I go on Treasure hunts. A little different but exciting, rewarding and even more challenging than the old fashioned Scavenger Hunt.
If you were in and out of the hospital for over a year with the same contagious disease and people would not come to visit you for fear they would get what you have, how would you feel? Lonely, broken- hearted or maybe completely unloved?
What if your husband got laid off work 2 weeks ago, you had 4 kids to feed, and you just didn’t know what to do? You are praying for a sign that all would be ok, but feel like those prayers are falling on deaf ears.
Part of what Ken and I like to do is take people out on these Treasurehunts. Most people can hear God's voice but don't recognize it. Treasurehunting helps us to realize how easy it is to tune into God's station! Now, I’d like to share these true stories with you and explain what a Treasurehunt is.
Several of us get together; we listen to a few worship songs so that we can enter into the Presence of the Lord.
We listen intently for God to whisper in His still small voice the clues as to where we are to go and clues on who we are to pray for, such as color of shirt or pants, or name, or room number if in a hospital. We further ask the Lord to reveal His heart for these people so we know what to pray when we find them. After we listen to God, we then go around the room to share with each other what we heard, type a list of the different clues and then head out to the location specified.
Now, God doesn’t always reveal the “place specifically” and sometimes it’s necessary to use some of the clues to get us there. Once we get to the place we think we are going, the clues become clear to us and confirm we are in the right place.
Next, we start roaming around looking for the clues. In the first example I shared about the person that had a contagious disease, this is what we heard. Room 417, Bed 1, Olathe Medical Center, broken heart. We also heard the Scripture verse John 17:21 which says, they’ll know I sent you. John is the 4th gospel, 17th chapter to coincide with the room 417 we were going to. My husband and I went into the room and sure enough in Bed 1, there lay a little old lady.
We asked if we could come in and pray for her and she said yes. She told us she had a contagious disease so we needed to put the protective gloves on.
I felt the Lord nudge me to hold her hand so I asked if I could and she said yes, seemingly shocked. I began to pray. I asked the Lord to answer the cry of her heart and to honor her hearts desires. I asked God to bring her healing and to show her how much her Heavenly Father loved her and that she was His treasure today.
When we got done praying, she said “I know the Lord sent you to me. Just five minutes before you walked in, I was praying and asking God to either heal me or take me home to heaven because I’m lonely and I have a broken heart… and in walks my brother and sister in Christ to pray for me.
I went back to visit her a few days later to find out that she was released from the hospital and was completely healed. How cool is our God that He would send 2 strangers into her room not only to heal her heart from the loneliness she felt but to heal her of the very disease that brought her there.
Now let me share about the 2nd person, I mentioned earlier.
This time we went to St Joseph Medical Mall, the area where the offices are located and the cafeteria. We had many confirmations we were in the right place and we prayed for many “treasures” that were on our list. However, we were still looking for someone with orange pants on. How many people do you know who where orange pants?? But then we found them. A nurse with orange scrubs on came from around the corner.
We approached the lady and said that we were on a Treasure hunt for the Lord and we felt that He pointed you out today. I asked her if her husband was laid off 2 weeks ago and if they had 4 kids? She said yes, a little baffled. I was hoping she wouldn’t think we were stalking her??
I asked her if she would read this page we typed up because we felt the Lord had given us a whole page for her specifically. As she was reading it, she began to cry. She looked at us and asked us “How do you know so much about me and my life”? I said to her, because God knows every intricate detail about you. He loves you, cares for you and He wants you to know that your prayers have been heard and are being answered. She was completely amazed and overwhelmed by the love of Jesus being shown to her through people she didn’t know.
I don’t know about you, but if I was in a place of hurt or fear or whatever and God sent complete strangers to pray for me and they just happen to know exactly what to pray and say, that would be truly undeniably mind-boggling!!!! To know that the creator of the universe, the God of the heavens and earth would care enough to make me His Treasure for that day is not only shocking but proves to me He exists and that He cares about little ole me.
God loves each and every one of us. He knows every aspect of our lives. He keeps a bottle with every tear we cry. He smiles when we smile. He created us to be in relationship with Him. He doesn’t just want us to go to church but to know Him as a friend, a good friend. He loves us that much!
So, if you could choose between a Scavenger Hunt and enjoy fun for the moment or a Treasure Hunt that could make a difference in someone’s life for eternity, what would you choose? I think you know what I choose!!
Treasure hunts – Priceless!!
Yesterday we took a couple out on a Treasurehunt and we had a blast. The husband said he had never prayed for a total stranger before but yet he was the first to jump out of the car to flag down a UPS driver that fit some of the clues we had! God is so good and He wants us to fellowship with Him. He's not just a serious God - He loves to play with His kids! I will share more of these stories another time.
Peru update - we still have NO logistics for our upcoming trip (no house/dog sitter, provision, etc) - but we have been getting quite a few confirmations from the Lord about what we will do on the trip. Yesterday we had a great Skype call with an American seminary leader in Peru and he is willing to help us while we are there any way he can. Praise God for connections!
Ken and I have people tell us that they don't hear God's voice or that the only way they do is through the Word of God (which is very good). God has given us a passion to teach and activate people on how to hear God's voice. We do outings often and are speaking in front of small groups and churches. If you are interested in having us help you, please send us an email.
Please let us know how we can pray for you!
God Bless YOU -
Ken & Michele Cole
http://wantinsight.blogspot.com
michele@wantinsight.com, ken@wantinsight.com
This is how you can give to support the ministry God has entrusted us with, if the Lord so leads you:
Tax deductible donations can be made by visiting:
1. https://www.hhmin.org/make_donation_projects.php, select Ministry Projects, then use drop down box Ken & Michele Cole - Want InSight?
2. Or you can donate through my medical account, select Medical Projects, then Michele Cole.
3. Non tax deductible donations can be made directly to us by:
4. Paypal - account is michele@wantinsight.com
5. Send check to our home. Please contact us for our address.
Any donations made through Helping Hands will be anonymous. If you want us to know that you supported us through them, please let us know personally. Thank YOU
UPCOMING EVENTS
5/5 Ken and I will be ordained into full time ministry!
****** 5/10 & 5/15 Joni Ames will be here to minister - if you are interested in attending, please email me.
Joni is also available other days or evenings to minister to your church or home group. She will be in town from 5/5-5/15 but her schedule is filling up. Please email me if you are interested in hosting an event and I will let you know what's available.
ARK INTERNATIONAL - Equipping us to be ready for disaster response is having training! Please visit their website and sign up.
PREP 2 and CISM
Registration Now Open
The ARK Team is pleased to offer 2 new training opportunities.
PREP 2 April 13 - 14, 2012 - Fee $45.00
Friday 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Saturday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Location:
The Daniel Academy
310 West 106th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64114
ARK's Second Preparedness course (PREP 2) builds on the concepts and principles introduced in PREP 1.
The goal of PREP 2 is to help develop a sustainable, long-term strategy.
In the long-term strategy, the focus begins to shift toward being a resource to others when the infrastructures are damaged or unavailable for an extended period of time (weeks or months). This will include Building Spiritual Resilience as well as developing the strategies for the 8 essentials outlined in PREP 1. PREP 2 will involve demonstrations and hands-on skill development. An extended resource guide will accompany this training.
Critical Incident Stress Management Training (CISM)
April 19 - 21 Fee- $75.00
Thursday 6:00-9:00 PM
Friday 6:00-9:00 PM
Saturday 9:00 AM - 5:00PM
Please join us in this vital, internationally recognized training for volunteers who are called to help people in times of crisis and/or called to the mission field. This training will equip participants to deal with the mental, emotional and spiritual issues most people encounter in times of disaster, including trauma, learning debriefing techniques, peer support, self care and much more. Certified Traumatic-Stress Instructors will present the training. All participants will receive a certificate of completion in CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management/Critical Incident Stress Debriefing). This training is recommended for teens 16 years of age and above.
Location:
River of Refuge
5155 Raytown Rd.
Kansas City, MO
You can register for all of our upcoming trainings at www.arkintl.net
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