Sunset, Ice Cream and Gavin & Stacey

Today started with prayer and ice cream...two of my favorite things! Since I went to sleep last night (this morning)  around 6 am, I decided it was okay to lounge around in bed until about 2 pm, then I got up, had a little personal prayer time and then headed off to meet one of the other long-term team members Becky. We decided to head out for some ice cream with a side of girly chit chat.

On our way we noticed a mural that's being painted here in town. It was nice to just stop and watch the artist at work. I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like! 

My schedule today was pretty open until the streets at 11:30 pm. So after ice cream I hung out at home and did some reading. Then around 8:00 pm I got this serious urge to go watch the sunset. At first I was going to put it off, but I kept feeling like I was supposed to go...and so I did.

As I sat and watched the sunset I was struck by the fact that it felt like God had called me out to watch so he could display some of his beauty for me (Psalm 19). So I just sat and soaked in the love! On my way home I passed a sleeping stranger on a side street just a few blocks from my apartment. I quickly ran home to get one of the guys to go back with me to see if we could wake this guy up before he got robbed. We managed to sort him out quickly, and it felt like an opportunity to share that love that I'd felt God lavish on me during the sunset...

After dinner it was time for the streets! I got to go out both hours with James who's one of the guys on the short-term team. It was so amazing to watch God work!  Through out the night James kept meeting people he was connected with back in England. The 2nd hour we went out, we barely got a few steps out of the center before James ran into one of his childhood friends! I just love the way God orchestrates things on the streets. James and I met some interesting people last night. One of my favorites was a guy who wouldn't stop rapping! He even made up some freestyle rhymes about 24-7!  In the end we were able to give him a bible and sent him away with a smile on his face.

Then around 4 am we got a call to go help a guy outside of  one of the bars close to the center. Once we found him we realized pretty quickly that he'd taken drugs. We took him to get checked out by the medical staff that's here in the west end. We ended up sitting with Stefan for 2 hours before they would release him to go. In that time we managed to talk about football, travel, and his love for the television show Gavin & Stacey. I held his hand while Jaime held the ice packs on his back (to help bring his body temperature down). Once the medical staff released him we were able to get him back to his hotel. We left with a handshake and a promise that I would watch my first episode of Gavin & Stacey soon! 

What a great day!