Dear Livingsong Family,
We pray that this newsletter will be a reminder of the impact you make as God continues to reach people with the Gospel through this ministry. This photo above was taken on September 10th at a recovery support gathering in South Daytona, FL. As you may already know, our ministry began in Daytona Beach ten years ago, so the whole visit was nostalgic. "The Jesus call" is the quote from a person in this photo which we felt is a perfect title for what we wish to share with you on this newsletter.
It was a blessing to serve in Daytona again. Thanks be to God that everything went as planned for the service that night. After the closing serenity prayer and saying our goodbyes, we started gathering our equipment like we always do. By the time everyone was gone, except for the audio technician, and one of the recovery leaders, the person wearing the black long sleeved shirt in the photo, came back to let us know he did not respond when “the Jesus call” was given. He was referring to the invitation to receive Christ as Lord after the gospel was shared. He seemed very restless and could not keep still while confessing troublesome details about a sexual sin that he claimed has become an addiction and risking his marriage. While we do not understand the full weight of the oppression over him, we believe it was spiritual. He pleaded for Manny to give the invitation again so of course Manny stepped aside to share why “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), but that we have a wonderful and glorious Savior Christ Jesus who died on the cross for us sinners! Furthermore, he explained accountability, discipleship and counseling support that is available for him through the leaders of the program and the importance of getting plugged in immediately.
The moment that brought everything together was when this once troubled gentleman began to repeat the sinner's prayer, he became emotional, and we were all overwhelmed by the calm that immediately came over him. It was such a supernatural experience to witness him surrender to Jesus and the peace of God literally cover him. Incredible moments like these remind us of how great our God truly is. We are also eternally grateful for the partnership support you entrust in us to this most rewarding work. September was indeed a special month of ministry, and we were truly grateful for every service we were blessed to lead, both large and small.
So what’s next?
It’s hard to believe we are already in the last quarter of this year! Lord willing, we will finish the year serving our dear friends of First Baptist Church of Boulougne at the state line, while fulfilling ministry commitments to recovery support programs in Georgia and Florida. Once our stationary season at First Baptist comes to a sad close, we will make one last round of ministry through Florida before making our way up the east coast. Until the next newsletter, we send you love, prayers, and please remember that God loves you, and so do we. “Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.” - 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Erika Lynn Garcia
Livingsong
