Julie's Prayer

This is the true story of how God is still a God of miracles. It is the story of how a very big God loves each and every one of us and how He does answer prayer. It beautifully displays that when we take a step out or a risk to truly trust Him, He faithfully blesses us in ways we could never imagine....

Colleen is a woman who has been attending our church for a few years. She came to know God and surrender her life to Him after much loving persistance and many prayers of love through a beautiful young woman named Michelle.

Colleen signed up to go on a Go Missions trip last year with no idea of how the money would come together, no idea of how she could possibly lead a devotional and certainly no idea how she would survive a flight across the ocean. But she had a knowing inside that God was calling her to go, so she took a step of faith and chose to trust in God.

Soon, after many answered prayers, some tears and a lot of holding onto fellow teammates, Colleen was on a plane headed to the Ukraine to work with orphan children. Here is an exerpt from her journal while she was there....

" Today we spent some time at the camp with the children. All these kids want is some attention, a hug. A small thing that means so much to them. I now know why God picked me to go on this trip and why I had so many obstacles to overcome to get here. At the camp, I met a young girl by the name of JULIE. Julie was the only black orphan there. When she first saw me, she just stared." (Colleen is also black)

Julie had prayed to God that when the Canadians came He would send someone who looked like her. Colleen and Julie cried and Colleen told her that God had heard her prayers and answered her.

" I do believe that God sent me on this mission for Julie, who was waiting in the orphanage for someone who looked like her. God is real, He is alive, and He does perform miracles."

" I wasn't sure what to expect on this missions trip, but it turned out to be harder than I had anticipated. I didn't know how touched I would be, or what God had in store for me, but I do know that with God, all things are possible."

" I have a picture of myself and Julie on a stand in my livingroom along with a letter that she wrote to me. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. Julie is not the only child I made a connection with in the Ukraine, but she is the one that God had waiting for me. A part of me is still there, and I brought a piece of her home with me, in my heart."

" The last day that I spent with Julie was an extremely hard day. We cried a lot and hugged a lot. I promised her that I would never forget her. I told her at night when she was looking at the stars, that I would be looking at them and thinking of her....that God loved her and would watch over her....that all she had to do was believe in Him."

I pray this story of God's incredible personal love touched your heart. I needed many kleenex the first time I heard it! I want to leave you to think about what God may be asking of you. It might not be a missions trip...it could be offering a prayer for someone at work, it could be mending a broken relationship, maybe stepping out in a way you never dreamed....on the other hand :) it might BE a MISSIONS TRIP! I end with a few more words from Colleen...

"There is something in missions for all of us. There are miracles and memories waiting to happen. You shouldn't let your fears or other obstacles hold you back. If you feel it is in you to go, take that step and DO IT. Trust God for all the rest...I did and look what God has done for me."