03/02/2008 - Sunday

We were really blessed this morning with the opportunity to fellowship with some believers in Los Angeles. I had come across these people as a result of a God Tube video that Chris Smith from Old Paths had sent us. The video was titled, "The Spiritual Famine in America". I had actually forwarded this on to a couple of folks so you may remember the group that I am referring to. I had pulled the address and meeting time off of one of their videos and we as a family decided to make our trip into downtown LA to meet with them on Sunday morning.

When we arrived near our destination we soon found that we were being blocked from crossing East toward where they meet by the Los Angeles Marathon. Bad morning to choose to come I guess.... However, we did find parking and we as a family ran through the Boston Marathon which I later found out was a bad thing to do. We tried to avoid the people and I think we did for the most part. Hopefully we didn't break anyone's stride. : (

We made our way to the address where they meet about 2 blocks away and when we got there we found a door with the numbers on it but nothing else, no indication of a church meeting there, no name, nothing. It was right in the middle of garment district in downtown and there were all sorts of merchants selling wares but here was this place, or more appropriately a door with a number, that we were going into. Regardless, we went in and up the stairs. Thankfully as we went up the stairs we started to hear conversation and there was a real feeling of safety there so we continued on. When we reached the top of the stairs there they were gathered together, not in a way that we would have normally experienced but different, still blessed. Many people came and introduced themselves to us and we were welcomed very openly. Again, very blessed. We were able to meet a man named Minister Facey (not sure of the spelling) and Pastor Cox (whom I knew from the video, his first name is Justin). This gets a bit interesting now....

Before we left Virginia, Ben had taken a few brothers out to breakfast and when I told him that I wanted to meet with these brothers in LA, he told me that he met a couple of brothers from LA when they went to help out at some meetings in Michigan. He provided me with the number of a man named Chris. I questioned him then wondering if it might be the same group of people but he was unsure. During our time here I had not felt led to call this man, not sure why. I guess in my heart I was pretty confident that he would be part of this group but also really hadn't had the time as we had some other things we set out to accomplish.

So, here we are in the gathering of these dear saints and the Lord starts poking at my heart saying "Chris is minister Facey". So, during a period of greeting I had the brief opportunity to ask and when I asked his first name, he said "Chris". Glad the Lord is right or I would have felt foolish. So, I quickly explained my reason for asking and told him that I had his cell phone number on a piece of paper in my pocket. We both rejoiced for a moment and he went back to let Pastor Cox know who we were. I don't know if I am explaining this in writing but I am so often in awe at how God works in our lives, especially in the realm of bringing people together.

We ended up having a wonderful time of sharing and getting to know these people. It ended a bit too early for me as I had hoped to spend a good bit more time with them but His ways are better than my ways. I would highly recommend checking out some of their videos, specifically the one I mentioned earlier in this post at www.p4cm.com. I would however recommend that you not watch it with children present as some of the things they present are pretty harsh.

I am very thankful to find others preaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ. It seems there are so few out there today and there is so much deception that to see another group is a breath of fresh air. Some people may consider me a bit too strong on this area and say that there are a whole bunch of people presenting the gospel in truth but quite honestly, if there is any watering down, any slight deception in the area of the true gospel, then the enemy will use it to deceive people. We need to stand opposed to that. Strongly. Otherwise people will be deceived and will be led to Hell. The path is narrow and there will be few. We NEED to stand firm presenting the full truth in this day.

Please keep these brothers in prayer that they will continue on and that God's hand of protection will be strong for them. They are a bright light in a dark land. Glory to God!

We ended the day by going to Venice beach to watch the sunset and let the children play in the ocean for a few minutes. They had a wonderful time and we were able to watch a beautiful sunset and watch the tide come in. A wonderful way to spend the waning hours of daylight. Almost seemed as if the Lord painted the sky for us directly. We were truly thankful for the picture He painted for us and all those there.