Waiting to Say Yes: Las Vegas
In the month of September 2017, my husband and I received a promo for three free days and two nights at a hotel in Henderson, Nevada. The Sunday before our trip, I remember receiving an update on my phone that there was a shooting in Las Vegas. Details trickled in. October 1, 2017 was the Route 91 Harvest music festival where 58 were murdered and almost 900 more were injured. My husband and I took a step back to pray and consider whether it would be safe/wise to go. Not long after, we came to the understanding that people would be hurting and in need of encouragement – so we went to love on, talk to, uplift and pray with the people of and in Las Vegas. It was our first “mission vacation.”
Fast forward to September 2018, we received the same offer. Immediately, I knew we were called to go, and, this time, we knew how to share the “gospel.” No coincidence, the weekend that was available was the first anniversary of the shooting.
Our concern for this trip was finances. But we were confident God would provide. Flights and hotel were covered. That just left the cost of food and getting around. Bonus – we were across the street from a Costco, so we packed a collapsible cooler, plastic baggies and took full advantage of the ice machine.
Over the course of our trip, my husband and I were able to engage 20 people in 11 different conversations. From a bird’s eye view – one gal was comfortable, four were uber/lyft drivers, one man was a mission’s pastor, another was a news anchor, two were Swiss, one was extremely drunk but logically sound and one was a social activist.
One of our first conversations was with an uber driver, “John.” Driving from Costco back to our hotel with 6 gallons of water, a cooler full of food and a nine-minute car ride, we weren’t expecting the conversation to go as it did. We asked how his day was going, and he mentioned he had recently moved from Chicago. We were curious and asked why? He proceeded to explain how his wife had died of cancer, and every time he saw someone that didn’t know, he had to relive the grief of losing her once more – the pain was too much to bear. Before getting out from the car, my husband said thanks and asked if we could pray for him. Mind you, he had already driven circles around the Costco parking lot looking for us, you know how that goes, and we had already arrived at the hotel, but he said yes! After amen, we opened our eyes to a man in tears, embracing both of us with hugs, kisses and gratitude – to God be the glory!
One of our first conversations was with an uber driver, “John.” Driving from Costco back to our hotel with 6 gallons of water, a cooler full of food and a nine-minute car ride, we weren’t expecting the conversation to go as it did. We asked how his day was going, and he mentioned he had recently moved from Chicago. We were curious and asked why? He proceeded to explain how his wife had died of cancer, and every time he saw someone that didn’t know, he had to relive the grief of losing her once more – the pain was too much to bear. Before getting out from the car, my husband said thanks and asked if we could pray for him. Mind you, he had already driven circles around the Costco parking lot looking for us, you know how that goes, and we had already arrived at the hotel, but he said yes! After amen, we opened our eyes to a man in tears, embracing both of us with hugs, kisses and gratitude – to God be the glory!
The second highlight is about Noah. Now Sunday, my husband and I made it to the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign and memorial. There were lots of people there. But what, or whom, rather, caught my attention, was a man in a tank, short pink shorts and rainbow socks pulling an empty wagon away from the memorial to the parking lot – Vegas, right? A few minutes later, he returned with his wagon full of flowers. Immediately, quick to judge, I thought, look at this guy capitalizing and taking advantage of these hurting hearts. Eventually, he was out of sight, but we continued walking. Shortly after, my eyes met him again. This time it was joined by an artistic display of wooden crates in the shape of a heart, and he was assembling the flowers within. Humbled and disgusted by myself, I walked away from my husband letting him know that this was the guy we needed to talk to. I approached him and asked his name and significance of the display. He shared he was from Los Angeles, and that he has a social media account, which I could not find, “you don’t know how loved you are:” where he goes around spreading love and healing to those affected by crises. (Noah and his display debuts in this video around 42 seconds, click here.) He asked our purpose, and we told him our mission was similar – to share with people how loved they are by God. Soon, it became apparent that he was gay and with his “husband.” All the more reason we shared how loved he was and that God has good plans and abilities for each one of us, if we live for him and not ourselves.
The last highlight is from Mr. Joe Dana. He was in my peripherals, and I saw him with a news camera interviewing people. As I passed by, he approached me and asked if he could ask me a few questions. I said yes. He asked the golden question – what is the purpose of your visit? I told him my husband and I were from Southern California and how we came a year ago in the after-math to love on the people and that when the opportunity came up again, we knew we were called to come out and share about the love of Jesus. In his video, he used one line from those questions, ‘…these things cause us to look up.’ (Click here for full coverage, debut at 1:50). No surprise, the parts that mattered about hope and who it is that we look up to for answers were clipped. I’m thankful, however, the anchor, camera-man and editor, all heard truth, at least once.
The more my husband and I have conversations with people, the more similar the responses become. Many believe they just have to be good enough, believe what they want, and God will graciously let all the “good people” in. But how good is good enough and according to whose standards? The second group believes they can earn their way – go to church, pray and give to others. And the third, the skeptic, demands evidence and postulates science can explain everything…with the tiny exception of the beginning.
The bible is very clear – we can never do or be good enough; we all fall short of God’s standard, perfection. Suppose you just finish dusting, vacuuming and tidying up a room with a white and tan color scheme, and a dog that was out in the mud comes in running. Ruined right? That’s the same picture of what happens when we approach God as we are and expect we’ll be able to enter his living room (heaven) without getting cleaned up first. Thankfully, God sent his son to cleanse us from our filth. The price you ask? Blood. Innocent, Jesus took our place and died on a cross and rose from the dead three days later.
Going to church and giving to the poor is good, but it accounts for nothing, if you aren’t cleansed of your grime, first. Like the 58 concert-goers, no one knows when their last day is. But are you ready to die? Do you have the confidence to know you’ll go to heaven when you die? Are you still waiting to say yes to Jesus? Just like you have limitations and standards letting people enter or stay over night in your home, God does too. Why would we expect less? The only way his gates will open to you is if you believe in his son[1].
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