Ian

Now you might be wondering why I titled this post "Ian," but I'll get to that :-)
Last night we had a show in Corsicana, TX. It was a rather stressful night for everyone, and registration was insane. Being out with registration for the majority of the show, I don't really get to see what's going on inside with the show. If anything, I see the people that leave, or those that left the show but are just hanging out in the hallway or something being rowdy and kinda disrespectful. Needless to say, those kinds of things are discouraging, and because last night was already rather stressful, I was having a rough night.
At one point in the night, I just hung my head and thought "God where are you? You are so big, much bigger than all these distractions. Please show up in this place and change lives; give me some hope to hold on to in order to know that this night was worth it."
God gave me hope in the form of a young man named Ian.
There was a group of 5 guys hanging out after the show, and someone told Missy and I that they wanted rings but didn't have the money. So in order to make sure they were for real, we called them over and started to talk to them a little bit. Missy asked them if they were ready to make a commitment to God to wait until marriage to have sex. Two of them said yes right away, another one was like "whoa...to God?" and left. The final 2 were sort fo him-hawing and saying how hard it would be to wait and they didn't know if they could do that. Missy proceded to tell them that it is difficult, but it is so worth the wait. She was super encouraging and told them how she knew they could do it, but they had to decide for themselves what they wanted to do.
Then I started talking, and as some of you already know, when I get talking it's hard for me to stop...haha. But this time it was different, I could feel the Holy Spirit using me and speaking through me, so I knew I had to talk.
I started to tell him about how this commitment isn't something to take lightly, it's not an easy commitment to make and it's one that takes a heart change. I referred to the starting over story within our show, and he expressed how much that hit home for him. And I could hear and see the sincerity in him...another reason why I felt compelled to keep going. I came right out and told him that this commitment is not possible without being saved and having god by your side. I spoke again of second chances, about how God could restore him, and about God's true and real forgiveness. Slowly as I was talking, one by one, his friends left, but not him. He stayed there. He listened. I knew he was listening, even though he had his tough-guy face and never really looked at me, and more importantly, I knew God was working on his heart. And that is why I couldn't stop. I wasn't going to to pressure him into doing something he wasn't ready to do, but I wasn't going to give up either.
After about 5 or 10 minutes of just talking to him about heart change, being for real, being committed, and most importantly, doing it all with God as his Savior and his source of strength, I asked him that one question that everybody wants to get to in the witnessing process. I asked him if he was ready to ask Jesus into his heart and if he wanted to be saved. I put it in perspective for him, though, by saying that it would mean going to school the next day and looking his buddies in the eye and telling what he did the night before. Saying "Dude, I'm waiting. And I'm not doing it alone because I've been saved and I now have Jesus by my side."
His answer - "Yes" with a smile on his face :-)
WOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO! And you guessed it, this young man's name is Ian! As of September 15, 2010 Ian is a saved young man who is wearing an SRT ring saying he is going to wait for his future wife. And i am privileged to say that I was able to lead him in the prayer of salvation; what an honor! Praise the Lord for moments like these where He uses us to further His Kingdom, even when we are so unqualified for the job.
God is so good! He showed up in an amazing way last night in Corsicana, TX! Along with Ian, about 275 others committed themselves to Christ! And more than 200 people purchased rings as a symbol of their commitment to wait! AWESOME!

So if y'all could be praying for our new brother in Christ, Ian, that would be amazing! He's in a tough community with his buddies and it's not going to be an easy thing for him to commit to this. Pray for confidence in the face of adversity and opposition, courage in times of temptation, and strength to stand up for his decision.

Thank y'all so much for your prayers and for reading this blog. I pray that my story about Ian has touched you and made your heart smile just as mine is. And that you would be rejoicing just as the angels in heaven are rejoicing over those that once were lost, but are now found in Jesus Christ :-)

Love in Christ
~Anna