A little over 12 years ago I was in full-time ministry in California. As our ministry time in California was drawing to its close, there was a powerful conference called, "Generation of Youth for Christ," (GYC) which was happening in San Jose California, about 6 hours from where our ministry team was stationed.

My team members were getting prepared to go to GYC when I told them that I was not going to attend because I wanted to go back home to Portland. They were trying everything they could to encourage me to come to GYC with them. "Just come to GYC, it will be a blessing," they told me. I told them that I didn't have any interest in going, I just wanted to go back home to visit my family because I haven't seen them in a few years because of ministry and traveling around.

A few months before I was sent to California, I was in full-time ministry in Chicago and a car was donated to me. While in California the tags expired on the car. So I got in contact with the person that donated the car and said, "Can you please send the tags to me because they're expired."

We were communicating through email. And he said, "Sure I'll send the tags to you, just send me your address." So I asked the person whose house we were staying at his address and he gave it to me. Then I sent the email to him and patiently waited for my car tags to come. After about 3 days we started looking in the mail every single day to see if the tags came.

I remember after the mailman came, the person who lived at the house would open the mailbox, look at the mail, and then look at me, and shake his head saying, "Your tags haven't came yet." "In my mind I'm like, "Cool they'll be here tomorrow."

The next day after the mailman came, we would go right back out to the mailbox to look for the tags. This time I'm praying that my tags would be there. My team member would open the mailbox, check the mail, and then shake his head again saying, "Nope your car tags still haven't came."

Then I was thinking, "I don't know what's going on, but for sure they'll be here tomorrow." And again we would go out to the mailbox the next day, my friend would check his mailbox, and then he told me again that my tags were not sent! By this time I'm getting kind of anxious and frustrated because its been about 5 days since my tags should've been here.

And also the GYC conference was coming up and if my tags don't come I will be forced to go. My intention was to get my tags sent from Chicago, place them on my car, and then drive back home to Portland. Also one of the main reasons I wanted to hurry up and get back home was because when I visited I saw a girl at my church that I was attracted to, and I wanted to talk to her.

By this time I'm begging God in prayer to send my tags so I can go home and not be forced to go to gyc. Long story short, my tags never came in time and I was forced to go to gyc. Although I didn't want to go I made up my mind to just enjoy myself there because it's a conference of over 5000 people and this is something of the Lord.

I still remember like yesterday, when we first arrived to the GYC conference and got into the area where they do the preaching, a few rows ahead of me and slightly to the left I saw a very beautiful young woman. It didn't make me want to ask God if she was the one I should approach because a whole lot of young people were there and my mind was locked in on Christ.

That same night after the meeting, me and some people I used to be in ministry with went out to eat at a Thai food restaurant. I remember one of my ministry partners and I chose not to eat our food at the restaurant because we wanted to hurry up and get back to the meeting. We didn't want to miss Randy Skeet, a powerful speaker. So we got our food to go.

I didn't eat my food and chose to save it. When I was hungry the next day, I got my food, went down to the lobby to see where I could warm it up at, and saw that same pretty girl that I saw the night before.

Then it was as if the Spirit of God gently pushed me towards her and I said to her, "Do you know where I could heat up my food?"

Want to know what happened next? Keep an eye out for my next post on this subject.

To be continued...