"i saw what i saw, and i can't forget it."

"i saw what i saw, and i can't forget it.

i heard what i heard and i can't go back.

i know what i know and i can't deny it.

something on the road, cut me to the soul.

your pain has changed me,

your dream inspires,

your face a memory,

your hope a fire.

your courage asks me what i am afraid of

and what i know of love.

we've done what we've done and we can't erase it.

we are what we are and it's more than enough.

we have what we have, but it's no substitution.

something on the road touched my very soul.

i say what i say with no hesitation.

i have what i have and i am giving it up.

i do what i do with deep conviction.

something on the road, changed my world."

sara groves / "i saw what i saw" / tell me what you know

i have no words to describe last night.

it broke me to the core.

it was everything i have been speaking about.

how the Lord was preparing me for something.

how He is here and He is getting ready to move. 

i went with selfish intentions of being blessed by sara,

but quickly found myself so overtaken.

the artists sang of hope. renewal. redemption. callings. brokenness. fear. newness.

and i could identify with every single one.

i wish that somehow i could go back, and relive that night because it

was such a healing process in which I saw my Father.

as i have grown in the Lord, my heart has become more tender,

as i was shown that last night. i can usually hold my own when

they talk about poverty and such. but the Lord has done a good 

work in me. unexpectedly last night, i was full of sadness and tears.

i could not keep speak.

i could not breathe.

i was completely broken.

the stories from last night and everything that will be said concerning this concert

last night comes from the heart. 

i saw what i saw, is the perfect song to describe how i am feeling.

i hope you can understand the deepness of this conviction.

it is real.

i want to tell a story, it is about a girl named Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is a fifteen year old girl originally from the Philippines.

She attended a local church with her family and felt as though

God was calling her into the ministry. After looking into education

options, Elizabeth discovered that in order to afford the necessary 

schooling she would need to get a job. An older woman from Elizabeth's 

church convinced Elizabeth and her family to allow the older woman to 

take Elizabeth to one of the neighboring cities and help her find a job. 

Out of her parent's safety, Elizabeth was taken to a foreign country,

with a different language and sold to a sex trafficker. 

The sex trafficker took Elizabeth to a youth hostel and sold her for 

a high price. Elizabeth found herself surrounded by other prostitutes

telling her of her God's inability to save such a dirty human.

As she prayed at night on her knees, they would call out to her 

saying "Your God does not hear people like you." 

"He is far from this place, very very far."

 "Stop praying, it is not doing anything." 

But Elizabeth would continue to pray, and cry out to her 

Lord saying "All I ask is that you save me, Lord. Please, please save me!" 

After months and months of receiving cruel treatment Elizabeth 

was saved during a bust on the brothel house. As the leader of the 

investigation, a man walked through the brothel looking for anything

he could find that would assist the prosecutors.

As he walked into the girls room, he found Elizabeth's mattress. 

Above her mattress written in her own handwriting and own language was:

"The Lord is my light and my salvation -

 whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life -

of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 27:1

If Elizabeth is not afraid, then why are we?

Thats only one of the very many stories that was shared last night, and here is the thing guys.

There are over 26 million slaves in this world. 26 million.

i just believe i am called to something more.

this is not right, not right at all.

we are called in Isaiah 1:17 to:

"seek justice, encourage the oppressed.

Defend the cause of the fatherless,

plead the case of the widow."

i have to go.

i have to set these people free.

they are in bondage to so many chains,

and hardly anyone is trying to break them free.

i really feel like this is it.

"sell everything you have and give to the poor,

and you will have treasure in heave.

then come, and follow me."

Luke 18:22

that is exactly what i intend on doing.

i said i wanted a ministry for girls.

i said i wanted to set captives free and break the bondage.

i said i wanted girls to feel their worth, and be renewed.

i said all these things with the intent of fixing the US' girls - but i had it all wrong.

orphan girls in the philippines, who were previously sex slaves

were asked what they were afraid of and they answered:

• no one will want me.
• i will appear as "damaged goods"
• the dark
• touch
• people's eyes

those are the girls i need to be working for.

those are the girls who need to know of Jesus and the 

way He loves them.

someone has to speak up. someone has to stand in the gap.

"If anyone would come after me,

he must deny himself and take up his cross

and follow me."

Matthew 16:24

i have never wanted to go.

i am convicted.

i truly believe this is it.

 

i am wasting money, time and words.

i can't live like this anymore.

i know to most of you this sounds absurd,

and like a foolish decision, but i have to go.

i can't waste my life, i have only got one 

and i have got a story to tell.

"i want to add to the beauty. i want to tell a better story,

oh and shine with a light thats burning up inside.

and this is grace, an invitation to be beautiful."

sara groves / add to the beauty

i could not sleep last night.

i stayed up for sometime.

it haunts me, and i believe it will until 

i start making an effort in trying to fix it.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is one me,

because the Lord has anointed to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness

for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor

and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow 

on them a crown of glory

instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, 

and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair! 

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."

Isaiah 61:1-3

consider getting down on your knees tonight before the Lord,

and pleading with Him on behalf of these

children for freedom to come their way.

help carry their burden, they can't do it on their own.

"Childhood runs across the meadow, taken in the night

and told that you'll be working in the city for awhile.

It's peering from the windows, its leaning in the doorway,

flickering like on a candle lying on the floor.

Say a prayer, say a prayer in the night.

Say a prayer, say a prayer in the night.

Childhood working with your papa, chained to your mom.

This is all your live for, debts that linger on.

Bearing all the glory, bearing all the weight.

Knowledge of such hardship, at such a tender age.

Say a prayer, say a prayer in the night.

Say a prayer, say a prayer in the night."

sara groves / "say a prayer"

for now, that is all i can say.

i have so much more going on in my head and heart.