Anna

 Since the beginning of the Nightbell project, a specific woman I will call, “Anna,” kept coming into my mind. I began to pray for her more deligently than I had before. I looked back over my prayer journal and noticed that I had prayed for Anna now and then, but not on a regular basis. I made her a part of my regular prayers. I prayed for her salvation and I prayed for her deliverance. I wasn’t sure what I felt she needed deliverance from, however.

Anna lived in another part of the country and I didn’t see her, at all, however, she kept coming into my mind. I was aware of Anna’s predicament through a friend. Anna had financial burdens and emotional burdens and was having problems keeping her head above water. She often times didn’t have enough money to make it through the month, and it was a regular cycle in her home to have electricity shut-off notices and to run out of food before the food stamp card was recharged and etc.

I received a call from Anna. I honestly do not remember the entire phone conversation, to tell you the truth of it. But she asked me for money to pay her electric bill and she was asking for twenty dollars for food. I explained to her that even if I sent it, it would take two or three days to get to her, at least. To make a long story, short. I invited her to ride a train and come visit me. She did so.

Once she got to my home, I wasn’t sure where to start. She wasn’t sure where to start, so we just started from the beginning with normal life. The first time she had dinner with my family, she seemed a bit confused. After the dinner, she said to me, that she was shocked at the prayer that we said before the mealtime. She told me that she had never prayed before and that she had not grown up in a home where they had even eaten a meal around a table together. They had always taken their food into the living room and watch t.v. while they ate. She said to me, “That is the first time I have prayed. I’m not sure who you prayed to.”

I explained to her who we prayed to and what prayer was and walked her through the truth of Jesus Christ and who He is and the power of God’s love. Over the few short weeks that she visited with me, I learned about her mental illnesses and how they affected her life and the roots of her pain. But, I still didn’t know how to help Anna.

I will be honest, that I was worried and wondering how to help her. I knew God had placed Anna in my life for a reason. But, in truth, there were many frustrationss. Trying to help someone with mental illnesses is difficult at times. Sometimes it is a new world every day. I kept praying for God to show me the direction that I needed to use to guide her to Him. I knew that Isaiah 58:11 tells us that God will guide us continually.  I kept reminding myself of that.

When things got their darkest, Anna decided to give her heart to Jesus and she got saved in my den. When she said the sinner’s prayer, I could feel the change in her, as her entire body relaxed. She talked openly to God and surrendered her life and spirit to God with full commitment. She understood completely and was ready for a new life.

A few days later, I had an “aha” moment. I realized that many of her issues with daily life were that she just “couldn’t” do many things she was trying to accomplish in the world. Through a series of phone calls and events and a very large door that God opened up just for her, Anna will be going into a residential living center on the 30th of June that she is very excited about and that will be perfect for her needs. As a matter of fact, this center had one opening that opened up fifteen minutes before I called them.

God is a great God. He was waiting for Anna. He had a plan for her life. He had a place for her. She just needed to make the decision to get there.

Please be praying for Anna as she walks down her path as a new Christian in her new home.

I will keep you posted, of course, on how things go with Anna. If any of you feel led to help Anna, she desperately needs a Bible, clothing items and cards or letters of encouragement. Please email me or my website staff for her size information and we will make sure it gets to her.

This entry was posted on 25. June 2010 at 20:19 and is filed under Those of the Night Bell/Online True Experiences Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.