Sharing God’s Treasure – Appalachia Day 3, Part 3

Remember my blog describing the seemingly random list of clues that God brought to our group in Appalachia? It included zebra stripes and pink polka dots … (of course it did … we had a 6, 7, 8, and 9 year old little girl on our team)! Well, after we left Leia, we passed a really cute shop (Uptown Market & Lil Peeps Boutique). It was slightly dark inside like they were closed, but we paused to look in the window. They had such cute stuff. Kris, the girls and I were oohing and aahing in wonderment. To top it all off, the place was covered-up in pink polka dots and zebra striped items.

We went to the front door determined to go in and meet our next appointment for the day. On the front door hung a sign that said, "Called away. Will return soon" (or something like that). We all looked at each other. The girls were disappointed that we couldn't go in to look at all that pink stuff!! I must admit; I was surprised that the door was locked, because we had found nearly all of God's treasure that day; and this store was obviously part of the plan. So, why was it closed? Why wasn't anyone inside?

As we speculated what might have happened to the shop owner (or worker), I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to go ahead and pray for whoever left the note on the door. I gather the team, and we prayed for God to be with the person who left the note on the door. We prayed for that person to have God's peace and know God's love. Just as we finished praying and turned back toward the street, a car zoomed up to the curb, and out popped the store owner (Amy). "I'm here!" she said excitedly! "Oh great! We are actually here to see you!" I said.

Amy, with a somewhat confused but still interested look on her face, opened the shop and welcomed us in. The girls began to tell her about our incredible treasure hunt and how God had led us to find her that afternoon. When we asked if she had any prayer concerns, the floodgates opened. You could hear the release and relief as she poured out all that she was carrying with her that day:

• Her baby was sick. So, she had gone home that afternoon to check on him.
• She was waiting to hear from a potential employer about a new job opportunity to help make ends-meet for her family. She was supposed to hear something on the job that afternoon.
• Her grandmother was in hospice and losing a battle with cancer. She was expecting to hear from her family any minute on her grandmother's condition that day, and she had a feeling that her grandmother was going to pass away that afternoon.
• To top it all off, it was her birthday!

In a word, she was overwhelmed; and she welcomed our prayers. Our 9 year old stepped out in boldness and led the prayer for Amy. After the prayer, we were all in tears as God overwhelmed us again with his powerful love. The girls lightened the mood by leading us in a round of Happy Birthday!

We visited with Amy a while more as we shared all that God had been doing with our group that week. We shopped in her darling store and blessed her with some purchases. Best of all, we parted friends in Christ.

Well, that's it! That's the end of our Prayer Walk/Treasure Hunt! Or, is it? …
After meeting with Amy, we headed back to the mission lodging for dinner and evening debrief; but this story is far from over. Stay tuned for Experiencing God's Treasure – Healing Power, Appalachia Day 3, Part 4.