We have such a gift day after day to be on the road with Vans Warped Tour. Our outreach team has met hundreds of young people and heard stories that you wouldn't believe. Our goal is to provide a safe place for these young people and we are certain that is exactly what these teens are feeling when they stop by our tent this summer. Check out some special stories from our team from this last week."As the day came to a close in Holmdel, NJ a specific girl came to my attention. I could tell by the look on her face and her body language that something was troubling her. After Carrie said "Hi" to her it was obvious from that point on that she took interest to our tent and she lingered in the area until she then decided to come in the tent and read the cards on the board and we were able to share with her what we did out on the tour. She had a very short response to it something like, "this is really cool, I like this" and then we asked if she wanted to fill out a card and when she did, it was quick and she handed it to Carrie as she quickly exited the tent and walked off with a sense of shame and embarrassment. Her card indicated that she felt that it was all her fault and that she was to blame for something. After she walked off I knew God wanted me to go find her. So I walked off to track down a young teenage girl in a mass crowd during Pierce The Veil, which for anyone who knows about that band, I had my work cut out for me trying to locate this specific girl in a sea of girls in almost the same outfit as her. I searched for about 10 mins and then began to feel like I missed her and she had made off by now. Just then I stumbled upon her and went up to this nervous girl and before she was able to make eye contact with me I asked her why she felt like she was to blame. I knew that someone had done something to her that was out of her control and I told her that and right then she began to cry. I shared with her how I sensed her shame and embarrassment and I knew God sent me to find her and it was no mistake that she stumbled upon our tent today. I asked her to come back to the tent where I knew I had the girls back there who would be able to assist further and more comfortably for her because I had a feeling it was a situation involving sexual assault of some kind. When we got to the tent Carrie was able to immediately sense what was going on and took over the conversation. After the conversation she came over to thank me for seeking her out and coming back to find her. I still sensed shame and guilt on her and I once again told her she had no reason to carry those burdens anymore and that she can walk with her head up. She then cracked a smile, walked away and then stopped and turned back and took one last look at us and the tent as if she was wanting to take a mental snap shot of us so she can be reminded of today in days to come when she is troubled with her emotions. This summer has been full of stories of rape and sexual assault. It's a very real and prevalent thing in our generation. I am honored to be on the front lines this summer encountering these stories and speaking life into these kids. "- Blake Gederberg-Outreach Volunteer "So today a girl came into the tent acting a bit curious but hesitant, so I told her about SKAD and encouraged her to write a card if she was dealing with anything. She seemed eager to write something down, so I waited and when she was done she handed me her card and left off in a hurry before I could talk to her. Her card said something along the lines of "It's all my fault." A lot of the times kids just aren't ready to talk about what they write down, whether it's because it hurts too much or they're embarrassed. So before I could ponder her reason I was distracted by another girl. By the time I was done talking to her I noticed Blake talking to the first girl and she looked extremely shaken up. I felt immediately that I needed to comfort her and came over to hug her while Blake talked to her. He pursued her because he knew in his heart what she blamed herself for and by the time I got over there they had established that someone hurt her and he was asking what had happened so they could talk about it, but she was hesitant. I don't know if it was the Holy Spirit or the fact that I've seen this guilt many times before, but I knew in my heart what she blamed herself for as well. So I asked her if she was sexually assaulted and she nodded and I asked if it was a family member or a friend and she whispered to me who it was. I noticed she was having an anxiety attack because she was scratching her side raw, so in that moment I felt like it was time to have girl on girl time. She told me the story of what happened and why she blamed herself. She was taken advantage of in a time of vulnerability and had to learn the ugly truth about how us girls can almost never let our guard down. It's tough for a girl to know she's not the one at fault in that situation when others tell us we are. Guilt plagued her to her core because her best friend blamed her for what happened. The amazing thing though, was watching the tension melt off of her as we spoke. After having a good one on one I closed with three points I wanted her to remember when she left. 1, Talk to a counselor. 2, The only thing he took from her was her choice and it undoubtedly was not her fault. 3, Temporary things give temporary peace but our eternal God gives eternal peace. Three of the most important things I have learned from my own personal experience or experience with working with sexual assault victims. The smile on her face as we hugged and departed was priceless. The way God used Blake and I very harmoniously in that situation was really cool!"- Carrie Miller-Outreach Volunteer "Everything happens for a reason. I do believe in this statement. This week we had a guy come into our tent just asking if we knew anyone that sold sunglasses and took cards as payment. Apparently everyone around us only took cash. Of course I responded "hey we have sunglasses and take cards!" He told me that he had been watching a band and someone knocked off his prescription sunglasses. As I grabbed the sunglasses I heard the Lord tell me to give it to him for free. So I obeyed and said "hey brother God told me to give these to you, it's on the house." He was shocked. He asked what we were all about and I shared our info with him. He asked to fill out a card and it said he didn't feel good enough. As I started to talk to him I felt the Holy Spirit promoting me left and right in ways only could be special and mean something to him. As I was talking with him I noticed Arthur praying. Then God instructed boldness, he told me to help lead this guy to the Lord, I called Arthur to come pray over him and I lead him. Arthur had a huge smile on his face because he already knew what was going to happen, the spirit had been prompting him too. He gave his life to the Lord and the coolest part was we kept telling him God had a purpose for him that it wasn't by chance he walked into our tent. It was emotional and amazing and sometimes I can't share the tiny details because they are too precious and special for the people that we're involved "- Avery Whitsett-Outreach Volunteer "I can't express what an honor and privilege it is to be doing outreach on Vans Warped Tour. Almost breaks my heart that it ends in about two and a half weeks. I want to personally take the time to continue to ask for prayer. If anyone that is reading this would take time to specifically pray for the outreach team, it would be highly appreciated. The Lord is moving so much in the ministry tent and in our own lives.About two days ago, we witnessed another young person come to know the Lord. There was this young man that Avery was talking to. I saw him put his card on the board and it expressed how he doesn't feel good enough. As Avery was talking with him, I felt led to just sit and pray for this guy. I was praying for the conversation between him and Avery and for his heart. During my prayer I started to ask God to draw near to him. After repeating this prayer a few times I heard Avery call my name and I knew what was happening. She called me over to join a prayer with this guy. I briefly got to meet this incredible person and we started to pray. He repeated a prayer asking the Lord into his heart. I was almost left speechless. He was genuinely letting God into his life. What an honor it was to witness. After prayer, we chatted a little bit and he pointed out his card to me. I had already known what it had said which is why I started praying for him. And I was able to tell him that he is worth an abundant life. God didn't need us but still chose to love us. He expressed how emotionally moved he was by that sentence I said. God was already working on his heart.I can't wait to see what the Lord does for the remainder of this tour. "- Arthur Yepez-Outreach Volunteer What is so unique about these stories is that these guys shared different perspectives from how the Lord is using them together to reach teens on the road. It's so very exciting to see how He speaks to our team in unity and they're working together to make His name known. We hope your heart is touched, just as much as ours are through these stories in this blog and previous blogs. There's so much to share and it's so hard to choose which ones! Special thanks to our friend Rachel who came out and shot some photos for us. These photos speak a thousand words. We still need your help fundraising.We still owe a little over $11,000 for our bus and merchandise, so we are asking that you consider giving. Every single dollar helps us reach our goal, so please pray about it and if you feel led, give. Of course, please continue to pray for us as we finish out the next few weeks. We are confident that provision will come, but we're asking you to help us continue making a difference in the lives of the teens we come in contact with at Warped
