By: David Schuurman

On the evening of Friday, October 14 about fifteen different Redeemer students from different years, dorms, and programs set out downtown to hand out hot chocolate to strangers. This is all part of a weekly student-run program called Deedz.

Half of us were handing out hot chocolate at one location, while the other half were based elsewhere downtown. One location was not too busy that night so two of us embarked on a prayer walk. We stumbled across a man who was curled in the shadows and unconscious. We stopped for a bit to decide what to do. I kneeled down and gently touched his shoulder but got no response. I informed the lifeless figure that we were about to call in an ambulance and get help, and got no response again. Before dialing 9-11 I laid my hand on him and prayed for him. I prayed that God would work powerfully to provide this man with physical and spiritual healing.

As soon as I finished praying his blood starting flowing, he lifted his head and looked at us. He was just 18 years old. We talked with him for over an hour and he explained that today was his first day off of hard drugs in a long time, he was living on the streets, and he hated himself. He felt that God had been speaking to him a lot lately but also felt he wasn’t good enough for God.

We explained the gospel to him and got to introduce him to some of the other Redeemer students that were with us. We prayed for him, and finally read the story of the Prodigal Son to him. He resonated with that story and told us “I’m that son. I’m God’s son”. He acknowledged that God was welcoming him with open arms and gave his life to Jesus. We had a big celebration and are still in touch with him.

For reflection:

1) Who do you sense God is leading you towards?

2) How might you encourage, pray for, or bless this person?