Spark St Louis Trip Report

Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shelters [her] all day long. The one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.  Deuteronomy 33:12

Spark St. Louis was my third Spark adventure, and I'm noticing a theme.  Each trip is the "best ever."  They just keep getting better.

Let me begin by saying that the prayer support we felt throughout this weekend was remarkable.  As a team, we felt held together by God Himself.  We sensed His beautiful presence in so many of our moments together with the girls at Mercy Ministries.  24 of us traveled to St. Louis physically, but hundreds went with us spiritually.

Several things made this trip different than others.  First, the fact that Mercy has such a young population.  Working with women who are 18-28 and have their whole lives ahead of them was so cool.  Working with such young women who've been wounded in such profound ways was also heartbreaking.  Second, being at Mercy is a choice for these women.  Each of them has willfully chosen to be there, and is working hard at recovery and healing every single day.  That desire to be free deeply impacts they way they listen to and respond to the messages we share about their identity in Christ and all that He has for them.  Third, the staff at Mercy are amazing, and their support of us and all that we were doing with the girls was such a boost!

Reasons I love Spark Ministry and am so grateful I got to be in St. Louis this weekend:

1.  Baby Sparks!  We had no fewer than 9 first timers on this trip, and I had the privilege of being the "BabySpark Herder" much of the time -- riding in the van with most of them and encouraging them throughout the weekend.  Four of them were young women in their early twenties, two of them Mercy graduates themselves.  And, they did serve beautifully.  I was in awe of how they stepped up and worked hard and shared their own lives and testimonies so courageously.  

2.  Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion. -- Steel Magnolias.  Spark trips are filled with emotion.  Spark women are some of the most alive women I've ever had the privilege of knowing.  They laugh freely, never taking themselves seriously, but always taking any opportunity to have fun very seriously.  They are truly Proverbs 31:25 kind of women, "She is clothed with strength and dignity. She laughs without fear of the future."  Our work is weighty, but we never lose sight of the fact that God is on His throne and He makes all things beautiful.  

3.  Transparency.  Spark is made up of some of the most real women I've ever known.  Every single one of them is remarkable in her own right, and none of them bears any pretense when serving.  This weekend alone, the testimonies we heard from Spark team members were of sexual abuse, eating disorders, unplanned pregnancy, loss of a spouse, loss of a parent, unforgiveness, anger with God, and the illness of a child.  The way that God seemed to demolish emotional and spiritual barriers through the words of these brave testimonies was a powerful thing to watch.  For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes, II Peter 1:16

4.  Adopt-a-Sister.  What a gift to be able to tell those women that they were being prayed for by name throughout our time together.  The way that reality would sink in then light up their faces was priceless!  Being able to hug them and whisper the name of the person praying for them was so very sweet.   Later this week or next, they will receive  notes of encouragement from the friends who adopted them in prayer, a pick-me-up reminder that they are thought of and prayed for by people they've never even met!

5.  Transformation.  My favorite small group session is the last one on Sunday.  That's when I get to ask the girls a simple question, "A year from now when you've forgotten our names, what are you going to remember about this weekend?"  To hear them talk about encountering the extravagant love of God, realizing that God is a fun God who does permit laughter and dancing, to hear them talk about truly experiencing the freedom of being able to forgive someone who had wronged them deeply, or to hear that even though they don't yet feel lovable the weekend made them want to keep fighting for that peace makes it all so very worthwhile.