the last will be first

Sometimes I think the Lord calls us to places that are a bit uncomfortable, but if we would just go where He has called us, He will provide the comfort. I have been on staff with Young Life for only a year, but I have already felt an overwhelming sense of those feelings.
Recently, the Lord has made a particular community heavy upon my heart. Within this community there are a few homes with no running water or electricity, a playground, a “convenient store”, a few churches, high crime, and of course… a high school and a middle school. It took me a whole day to really process the faces, the homes, and the schools I saw. I wept the next day as the Lord told me, “You can’t change their circumstances. You can’t go in and think you can fix and clean up everything. It’s generational. BUT, you can bring them to ME.”
Our area has felt called to start Urban YL, and even though nothing has been set in stone, I feel like He is calling us there. Ironically, this community is referred to as the “Bottoms”. A couple of days ago I was sharing this with a new friend of mine and she brought to my attention, Matthew 20:16, “So, the last will be first, and the first will be last.” I truly believe that He has called us to the Bottoms (or the last) so we can bring Him to them (so they will know Him first).
I share this with you, so you can join me in prayer. Please pray for the development of Urban YL in Shreveport, so more kids will come to know Jesus. To some this may not make sense or may sound unsafe, but I pray that your heart would break for these kids and this community as it has mine.



“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”- 1Samuel 16:7