Band of Survivors Team Update 18 - Friday, July 11

For the past week, Band of Survivors has been serving at the Chicago Midwest Corps under the care of Majors Colleen and Emmanuel Michaud and Pastor Dwight Hall. The week previous, we had been serving at the East Chicago Corps doing VBS. Luckily, the Midwest Corps wanted us to do VBS as well, so we just adapted what we had already made. This was no shortcut, and indeed enabled us to be focused on more important things. Here’s what I mean:

On our first day of VBS as Midwest (Tuesday, July 8) we divided the kids up into age groups: 4-6, 7-9, and then 10+. Of course, those that were 10 and over were too cool for everything that we had planned, so we decided to take immediate action and made an entirely separate track for them for the following day (Wednesday, July 9). What happened? Three kids out of the newly established track accepted the Lord. Praise God! So, then we realized that we needed to make an entirely new track just for those three, so as to disciple them as much as possible (This started on Thursday, July 10). Then on Thursday, while the newly saved were in their discipleship class, three more kids accepted the Lord in the 10+ track. Praise God! Pray for these kids: Pray that they would get plugged in at the Corps and that they would be discipled and that they would keep with this new commitment.

Today started off just like every other day this week: after breakfast, everyone began cell groups to go through Galatians 5:13-15, after which most people were concentrating on finishing up final preparations for the day’s VBS lessons and the Prayer & Praise Night. Lunch came and went (not after a few culinary blunders, praise God). Then we headed out for the Midwest Corps.

We started VBS at 3:00pm (and I was later told, by a few team members, that today had been a particularly challenging day due to the hyperactivity of EVERY SINGLE CHILD!!!), and then headed to dinner at 5:00pm. Then, after a nice meal, we got ready for our Prayer & Praise Night Meeting. For those that are unfamiliar with those meetings, it is a monthly gathering for the high school and college students in the Salvation Army in the Chicago area that includes worship, a sermon, and prayer – all in a way that is relevant for them.

Tonight’s meeting was truly blessed by the Lord. The theme of the sermon, and really the entire service, was about being a light in the darkness, and how we are called to reflect God’s character (holiness) to the world. After the sermon, we gave a time for people to pray at different prayer stations that we had previously set up before the service. Each station represented an issue the Chicago deals with specifically (drug addiction, domestic violence, human trafficking, gang violence, poverty, and then those that don’t know Jesus yet). After a good time of prayer, we had a time for people to share what God had shown them during their prayer times.

Some rejoiced over people being saved, another over being able to pray with clients at work for the first time. All in all, everyone was encouraged to seek the Lord and to become more like Him.

Praise God,

Nate Irvine