We’ve been passing out flyers all week for Calvary Chapel Community Church’s parking lot BBQ and festivities! We spent the morning setting up the face paint, balloon animals, children’s crafts and of course the BBQ. We ended up serving approximately 450 hot dogs and hamburgers to the community. Some were invited and others simply stopped by as they saw the festivities.

Later in the evening, we went out to see Rapid City’s night life which it seemed due to the weather, was not quite so busy. Our teams ended up at a couple different coffee shops where we were able to at least bless those who walked through the doors and engage in conversation. We drove by Art alley as well to find our work from previous days painted over with what seemed to be a message of hate and anger. Though upsetting, it tells us that Satan is not happy we are here and so with that, we will keep our armor on and keep on loving…

“While we were Laundromat I met a girl named Tamra. Ezekiel was taking photos and she said that she wanted a picture with me. Because of the way that she spoke, I could tell that she had special needs. Right away she told me that she loved me. Her mother came over and introduced herself and I invited them to the BBQ at Calvary Chapel. I told her what would be at the event and she said that she would bring her family. I didn’t expect them to come because we didn’t talk very long, but they did!

As we were talking at the BBQ, I asked if they wanted any prayer. The father said their family needed a place to live. He had just gotten a job and they were living in a motel, but because of the motel payments they didn’t have enough to save up for a home. I asked if they had contacted any social services, but they said they didn’t know of any. I said, ‘There has to be something, could you wait for me? I’m going to ask around’. I got the contact information for Corner Stone Rescue Mission. I called the Mission and explained that I met a homeless family with a child with special needs and asked if they could help the family. They said yes and added that the family could come tonight.

I remember talking in class once about how we need to not just be willing to pray for people, but to meet needs where we can. I got to not only pray for them, but I got to meet their needs. I didn’t want to push them to come back to church because I knew that they would probably come back on their own. They said they would come tomorrow! As they were leaving, the mother said that the food was delicious and they were tired of eating microwave meals. “  -Lydia

Art Alley has been one of our favorite locations in Rapid City. When we go downtown it’s as if we naturally gravitate to its color splashed interior. After the days we had worship and painted there it became sacred ground to the HSE family. However in a matter of days we returned to find that hate attempted to block out our work. “Jesus loves you” signs were covered with swastikas; beautiful artwork was defaced and tarnished by locals with darkened hearts. [Editer's note:  Although swastikas have different meanings in different cultures, in western cultures, it is typically a symbol of hate.]

Our first reaction was sorrow, but after contemplating it we could see their opposition was just confirmation that we were engaging in a very real spiritual battle and that we are on the winning team. Seeing the enemy franticly try to extinguish our light gave us joy that we were truly pleasing the Lord by reaching out to the community.

“I felt the reality of the spiritual war. We need to be more aware of the battle. We need to have one hand holding the Word, and in the other hand a sword. It says in John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The devil is not happy we are here doing Gods work, but he will bring abundant life. We need more prayer!”  -Dinna

Our morning started off with singing worship and a short devotional by Pastor Greg.  He talked about how the Lord called him to South Dakota and how to recognize our own calling.

We then loaded the vans and drove to Battle Mountain Humane Society in Hot Springs, SD.  It was burned to the ground by a florescent light issue on April 4^th this year. Eleven dogs were lost in the fire, including 3 of the owner’s personal pets. Our teams went out to the area to help with any need we could. Michelle, the lead on the rebuilding project, led us as we washed and groomed dogs, dug trenches for water piping, cleaned out and moved equipment and supplies, painted, organized donations, and of course removed as many “doggie diamonds” as we could. Michelle expressed how truly thankful she was though we wish we could have done more!

After we finished our service project, we  headed home only to be greeted with a special dinner prepared by Amy, a Calvary Chapel church member.  She wanted to bless us with a hot meal and made us the best meatball sandwich.  It was delicious!

We ended the night doing laundry and meeting some of the locals.  What seemed to be a slow quite night for the laundromat, ended up being a small mini church service.  We talked to kids and adults about an free BBQ we’re having next weekend, paid for people’s laundry, and folded their clothes… all in the name of Jesus Christ.

Here’s a some testimonies from our students…

Kristin and Misty were best friends growing up, and even though they were eventually separated by the miles they stayed in contact over the years. When Kristin found out that the school was going to have their practicum in South Dakota where Misty was now living, she knew it was a divine appointment in the making.

Today the woman were able to see each other at the Dog shelter outreach in a town called Hot Springs which is the town that Misty lives! Kristin’s earnest concern for the state of her friend’s soul compelled her to ask her if she believed that Jesus was the only way to heaven. The answer surprised and stunned Kristin, she said “Sure!” (Past conversations had led Kristen to think Misty believed there were many ways to heaven).However somehow over time those false beliefs were disintegrated and all that was left was the truth. Kristen asked Misty if she ever verbally acknowledged her faith in Christ and she said no but that she was willing to do so right then. Not only was Kristin now confident in her friend’s salvation but also was amazed that Misty told her she wanted to continue to learn more about Jesus from Kristin and from the bible she have her! Two friends separated by time and distance were brought back together in the most unlikely place by Gods grace and unfathomable love.

“When I asked her if she would pray with me and accept Jesus, she was like, “sure”, and I was like really, is it that easy? When the Holy Spirit is doing the work, it’s not hard. It’s not anything you do because the works had already been done. Wow, the Lord showed me the root of my problem was unbelief and that He would go before me.

I was nervous about her thinking I was a bible thumper, but I wanted to know if she believed in Jesus. The root of my problem was disbelief. I thought the unbelief was in her but I discover it was really in my own heart. The treasure was there, I just had to dig a little. It was surreal, God is good!”  -Kristin

“Tonight we were able to do our laundry and bless others by paying for their laundry. People were very receptive to our gestures and willing to listen to the Word we had to give. I was blessed to spend time with a five-year-old girl named Alicia. She was with her Grandfather and two brothers. While playing games and talking with her, I learned that she came from a broken family; her dad was in jail and her mom was living in a different place with a new boyfriend. Her grandparents had full custody of her and her brothers.

Realizing that she needed a fatherly figure to look up to, I began to share with her the love of our Spiritual Father. I told her the story of David and Goliath and how trusting God gave David the strength to overcome the biggest obstacles. Then I related that to her life right now. I told her that God loves her and can be the Father that she looks up to. I prayed for her and she opened up with joyous tearful eyes. Afterwards she smiled and gave me a big hug.

She spent the rest of the time we were there with me. In that time I realized how much she needed the love that I was giving her. I was reassured that after we left she would still get that love from Jesus.” -  Jayson

“Tonight, we went to the laundry mat and I met a family; the oldest daughter’s name was Salina (age 12), but her auntie called her Stalina because it meant ‘the stars’. We were talking about school and getting to know each other and I gave her a Bible and explained to her how cool it is. I asked her what she thought about God coming in the flesh and told her how He is with us, in the words of the Bible and inside a person.

I shared a few bible stories with her. One, about Mary and Joseph and how the Holy Spirit placed Jesus in Mary’s womb. Two, about Jesus growing up perfectly and dying on the cross and being sealed in a tomb and coming out, walking and eating and living again then ascending into Heaven.

I asked her if she had ever heard Jesus knocking on her heart. I explained that when I was a little girl, Jesus knocked on my heart and my Sunday school teacher told me that Jesus would come and eat dinner with me if I asked Him to come into my heart. I really wanted Him to eat dinner with me. Salina wasn’t sure if she wanted Jesus to eat dinner with her, but we prayed together.

After, I shared with her the miracle of Moses. He was taken out of his home, like a lot of Native Americans are taken out of their homes. Moses was placed in a kingdom, but it didn’t change what God would do with his life. God would use him to lead His tribes to safety.

I gave her a quarter to get a bouncy ball and it looked like a star, so I think that was a kiss from God to show her He wanted to bless her.

At the end, Salina had a question about the Holy Spirit putting Jesus in Mary’s womb. She explained that her mom had a child before her who died in the womb, and that her grandfather had died, and it caused her to pray more. She spoke gently, but when she told me who she was, she was very proud about being part Sioux and part Lakota and knowing the language. I encouraged her to keep that and share the stories of Jesus with others.

I really love the Native American people and was searching for Jesus in their culture. God showed me that the Old Testament especially is all about tribes and God moving His tribes around to safety. I feel more comfortable witnessing to Native American people. I’m continuing to search for Jesus in her culture.”  -Angie

Our day of rest began with a team headed to the YMCA to get a nice refreshing workout in, followed by visiting Art Alley, and then on to the Golden Corral! Another group chose to spend some time at CCCC catching up on some much needed rest. Afterwards, the group bought supplies to then head to Art Alley to paint Jesus on the walls. All teams eventually ended up in this area to take part and to use the time to once more meet individuals walking through offering them to paint with us.

The women spent the evening fellowshipping with the ladies of the church in their Thursday night study where they allowed us to share and teach. The men spent their evening bowling! Though a day of rest is needed, we find that if we’re in the mindset to meet people where they’re at and offer genuine love; it often can lead to great surprises. Even after the evening was over, many of us went out once more to Ice Cream Parlors and Coffee Shops to engage and bless others.

Here are a few testimonies…

“This morning, my plans were to rest after being sick the day before but God brought Dominic in the morning to wake me up. It’s so great to be used by God; you just have to be willing. Dominic and I met after Wednesday night service in the parking lot and shared our testimonies. I invited him over the following day.

He lives outside of Rapid City and biked all the way to church at 8am. So we continued to talk and have breakfast, then we got in the Word of God. I answered the questions he had and felt God just reminding me of verses. After reading the Word, I can tell that Dominic was going to have a different approach to his current problems in life. We ended our time with prayer.”  -Felipe

“Today, we painted a wall at ‘Art Alley’ with a picture we found on a tract of a butterfly and the words “No one enters the kingdom of God unless he is born again” and the verses 1 John 5:11-12 and John 3:3. Rich ministered to a young couple named Kaycee and Jared. They came from another state and county just to see the walls in Art Alley. They were preparing to get married. They accepted the Lord and we all prayed together! Daryl shared 1 Thessalonians 3: 11-13 with them to encourage them about love. They wrote their names on the wall, along with the date, next to the butterfly. Kaycee said, “I can’t believe I’m on the wall.”

Later, we met two young girls named Anna and Francis. They were raised in church, but didn’t see a huge difference or results in their life because of church on Sundays. We challenged them to read the book of John and pray and ask God to reveal Himself to them personally.

Then, we met T.J., who accepted Jesus after getting stuck in his car in the alley because of a road block. He believed that God brought him there and placed the road block there for a reason. He signed his name on the wall, too.

This experience showed us that there are so many people searching, wanting and ready to be engaged and talked to. The harvest is truly plentiful, but the workers are few. Something so simple as a painting on a wall, letting the Holy Spirit draw people, and being ready to talk and speak words of life to others is impactful. We also learned to not be frustrated if people aren’t ready for Jesus yet. We learned we should be personal with others and show we care. We’re hungry for more! We saw God make a space for Himself and what He can do in a sanctuary. It amazed us that we can sanctify a space and God will work supernaturally and do things that are just not normal.”  -Daryl and Dianne

Today our teams had opportunity in multiple areas of ministry. In the morning, a group spent the morning cleaning the facilities of Calvary Chapel Community Church where we stay. After a few days, we’ve certainly gotten comfortable and we hoped to bless the folks that normally do the maintenance for the building. As the beautiful afternoon rolled on, we were able to go into the communities and invite them to the Parking Lot Outreach this Saturday. We then moved to some downtown coffee shops where we were able to buy a nice cup of coffee for who ever crossed our path, offering them prayer and encouragement along with it.

In the morning, the rest of the team headed to the Cornerstone Rescue Mission where we were blessed to lead worship for the group, as well as share a gospel message as an HSE 2 student, Chris was able to share his testimony. The Mission serves families in need in the area and so the team was also able to work on the daycare center for the Mission beatifying the outside and inside, making it a safe and comfortable environment for the children. Finishing out the night was CCCC’s Wednesday night service as we were blessed with an amazing dinner and an encouraging message in Proverbs 13.

Here’s some testimonies from our students…

It was Lydia’s first time doing a coffee shop outreach where they would offer to buy customers coffee to bless them. She was unsure of how to approach people in that way but Jason and CJ were with her and encouraged her to just pray. Soon after that a young lady named Cheyenne walked in and the guys encouraged her to go and talk with her. So Lydia went to her and asked if she could buy her coffee. She accepted and Lydia told her why she was doing what she was doing and about the Calvary Chapel she was ministering with. Cheyenne told her that she had just moved here and was looking for a church to go to! Lydia prayed with her and after a big hug invited her to the Saturday outreach and she told her she would go.

“At first it felt weird that she was hugging me so strongly, but then I felt warm towards her need and hugged her back. I’m more confident and trusting of God working through me. If God asks you to do something do it! When I was talking with Cheyenne I feel like she felt loved and reassured that she would find friends, and a good church.” -Lydia

May 3rd marked one of Dani’s most difficult days in HSE. She was beaten up spiritually and lack of sleep was starting to take its toll on her body and mind. Though Dani has been a Christian most of her life, her walk with the Lord lacked tangibility. She believed everything her classmates believed and read her bible and prayed like them but she was at a point in her life that she needed more than head knowledge of her creator. That morning she got to her knees and prayed for God to reveal himself in a tangible way. After receiving a text from a girlfriend back in California asking her to pray for her mother, Dani gathered her prayer warriors Jan and Sunny in the fellowship hall. The prayer was more fervent than any other prayer they had experienced. Sunny began to speak in tongues (Heavenly language from God) and for the first time able to interpret what she was speaking. After she would speak in tongues she would pause and translate it into English. This went on for about 25 min and the whole time God continued to speak to the three women. When it was over they wiped their tears of joy away and embraced each other in a new dimension of unity. Sunny and Dani exchanged their cross necklaces in celebration of the miracle they had just been blessed with.

“Today God proved to me that the only scripture in the bible I did not believe was true. “God is faithful and will not allow you to be tested beyond what your strength, but with your testing He will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.” God saw I was nearing the end of my rope of faith and made Him self present to me in a way I had always hoped. He strengthened my faith in an undeniable way and I look forward to continuing to draw closer to him and experiencing the freshness of his love daily.”  -Dani

“Jan, Sunny, and I went to the Corner Stone Rescue Mission’s child care program. The children’s parents are in programs to recover from substance abuse and provide safety from domestic violence. Most of these children were Native American. We got to assist the staff in caring for the kids. We played with them, helped prepare lunch, while they took naps we reorganized and cleaned rooms.

During the second shift, we had been there all day, a new teacher came into work named Shawna. For some reason she decided to start opening up to me about how God had repeatedly protected her from accidents. She was in two plane crashes and missed both flights because she was sick-one being the World Trade Center. As the day went on she didn’t open up with any of the other girls, but was drawn to me and poured her heart out to me. She told me that she struggles with the question of why God allowed her fiancé to die on his last tour to Afghanistan.

Being the leader of a group I am constantly trying to find the balance between doing my own ministry and taking care of my group. This morning I was praying for a bonding opportunity with the girls in my group, that I would have deeper love for them, and that I would connect with others outside of my group. God answered all of my prayers! I had the best bonding time with Sunny and Jan. Also I was used in Shawna’s life. As I was leaving, Shawna even chased me to the car wanting to give me her contact information.” – Stossi

“We had the opportunity to serve at Corner Stone Rescue mission and I shared a message with a group of veterans and homeless from Rapid City. I shared my testimony and the gospel. The coolest thing was prior to me sharing, at noon, there was a prayer meeting. It was really sweet and powerful worship. Me, Jason, Darryl and Jonathan were prophesied over. I got a word about preaching and proclaiming God’s Word from Isaiah 62.

In the message, I told them that God wants a relationship with people and shared my testimony of how I developed my relationship with God. After that, I shared the gospel with them using Titus 3:5-8 which talks about the kindness of God and His mercy which saves us, not our righteous works.

It was cool to be prophesied over before preaching and have confirmation of one of my callings and gifting to preach the gospel and God’s Word, not with persuasive words or human wisdom but demonstration of the Spirit and of power (I Corinthians 2:1-5).

It was only by faith that I know the message affected the people, because there was little visible effect. They gave very little response, but I know that they at least heard the entirety of the gospel: God’s love for them, His desire to have relationship with them, His impending judgment of sin and His redemptive plan for that sin. In faith, God’s Word went forth and I know that His Word shall accomplish what He pleases and not return void (Isaiah 55:11).  -Chris

We apologize for the lack of updates, things have been pretty hectic.  But without further adieu, here’s what we did on day 5…

Rising early, we headed into Wyoming as a whole to view Devil’s Tower. Here we spent some time hiking and learning about the historical monument. Earlier this week, we were offered an opportunity to visit a sheep farm where we would see the shearing of the sheep. This is where we headed after Devil’s Tower and made it just in time to see the last few sheep being sheared. We spent some time here taking in the amazing God given scenery. We were also able to observe other animals and really take note of how sheep truly behave and how they so much need care and direction.

Back at Calvary, we were blessed by Mike and Lisa who provided us a Chinese Banquet!  Finishing a bit early, we decided to head to Dunn’s coffee and use the time to once more bless and engage the people there, and of course get a good cup of French press coffee.

Here are some testimonies from a couple of our students…

“God has brought me to a farm in Wyoming to let me see my sister through His eyes. How wonderful it is to love someone more than you thought you could and I know this is why He brought us together this day this way, so that we could also have a strong spiritual kinship besides just being brother and sister.

God was using my sister to help transform my life through a burden she was experiencing. Being able to lift her to Jesus this day was exactly what He wanted and what she needed and in turn I got to experience my soul being satisfied just by doing what my Savior has done in my life: LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!”  -Bill

“Tonight, we went to a coffee house called Dunn Brothers in hopes of connecting with people. We met a barista named Travis. I explained to him why we are in South Dakota and what we are doing. He asked if we had already or were planning on volunteering at a Native American reservation because he had worked on one teaching kids. I said that we hoped to go to Pine Ridge which is the poorest place per capita in the United States. It turned out that he had also worked at Pine Ridge.

I noticed that he had a cross on his arm, so I asked him if he was a Christian. Travis explained that he was technically Catholic, but really leaning more toward Christianity. I asked him what that meant to him and he elaborated that he was raised Catholic, but during his high school years read the gospels for the first time. He liked Jesus and His teachings.

Travis wasn’t sure whether there is truly a God, but the gospels impacted him to base his value system on two of Jesus’ teachings: first, not judging others and second, loving others. These values lead him to start a non-profit to repeal the death penalty in South Dakota. I got to encourage him in that and told him that what he values is totally in line with God’s heart. It was cool to be able to encourage him and build off the common ground between us, but it breaks my heart that he doesn’t know God even though he is so close to the truth.”

-Shannon

Surely the Lord is in this place! This, the first morning in Rapid City, started off poorly for one of our team. Jan was feeling dejected, confused and ill equipped to do God’s work. This is not what God has in mind for His saints. A fellow student led her through an impromptu Bible study. The Sunday message by Pastor Greg continued on the same theme. Jeff, HSE’s assistant director, came along side her after the service and prayed with her. Afterward God gave her a divine appointment with a young woman in the fellowship hall going through trials closely paralleling those Jan had faced in her life. By Jan sharing and praying with this young woman God lifted and comforted both of them. Having used others in the body of Christ to strengthen and equip her, the Holy Spirit then used her in the afternoon, along with four others, to lead a lost sole to Jesus.

This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit in all its glory! At a local park, Jan was the first in a group of three women to approach and pray with a dejected, depressed man trapped in despair. As Jan prayed out the love of Jesus in her, his heart was touched and they both wept. Daryl spoke to the man’s depression and prayed, giving him comfort and reassurance. Lydia, prompted by the Spirit, recalled the address of Calvary Chapel, directing him to a body of believers that would come along side him in the future. When asked, Jan told the man that this was their first day in Rapid City. A while after the three women had moved away, Rich and Dianne, who had been watching and praying for the encounter near by, came and talked with the man. One of the first things he said was that he believed God had sent Jan to him. Rich used this and preached the love of Jesus to him and led the man to the Lord. The Holy Spirit used the experiences and gifts off all these people to bring a lost soul into the Light that is Jesus Christ. And there is a party in heaven tonight! For Jesus said, “I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of

God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)