How God is Moving in Asheville, NC

This week, hear from Brian Hutton about what our Semesters by World Race squad is up to in Asheville, North Carolina! Brian and his squad are experiencing Christ-centered community and hands-on ministry while witnessing signs and wonders in the mighty Name of Jesus. Check it out!

THE COMMUNITY:

After three days at training camp, we said goodbye to the other teams that were there and made our trip to Black Mountain, North Carolina. We have been staying in the community at Excel College and I have been blown away by the things that God is doing.

From the very first night here, I could tell that God is the main focus of everything that goes on around here and it has been an absolute privilege to be able to be here.

Before coming on this trip, I had never heard of Excel College, but basically it is a community of people who do life together. The students that go to college go to class Monday through Friday from around 8:30a-12:30p, but it is so much more than just an education. The students (as well as some people who are not in the college) literally all do life together and it has to be one of the coolest things that I have ever seen. Each Tuesday and Thursday, they have this thing called “All-Team”, where everyone comes together in their community center and eats dinner together. After having this time of fellowship, there is a time of worship and then a message. On the other days of the week, all of the girls in the community eat together and the guys do the same. When I say that the people here do life together, they actually do life together. The community here is exactly what I think of when I think of the church in the New Testament. 

THE MINISTRY:

In addition to being in an amazing community, we have had the opportunity to be serving at the Black Mountain Home for Children Thrift Store during the week!

This has been such a great experience as well. During our time there, we are able to serve the community in such tangible ways: helping sort clothes, tag clothes, take the trash out, clean the bathrooms, sweep and mop the floors, work in the cafe, move furniture around, work the registers, or even help with landscaping. It has been so cool to serve in such practical ways and be able to make a difference in the lives of the people here in North Carolina. 

A MIRACLE-WORKING GOD

I am still trying to process just how good God truly is. One of my teammates has a chronic illness called POTS. This is an illness that deals with blood circulation and is a form of dysautonomia — a disorder of the autonomic nervous system. This branch of the nervous system regulates functions we don’t consciously control, such as heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, and body temperature. In addition to this, she has severe neck and back pain. One example of the effects is that during worship she is unable to raise her hands for more than a few seconds because she loses blood flow to her fingers.

Now, I am still processing what I am about to say next, but I fully believe that God performed a miracle and COMPLETELY HEALED her from this illness. I saw it with my very eyes. And I don’t say this lightly because I have never seen anything like this before and whenever there is a story of healing I have always had a hard time believing it myself. But I witnessed this firsthand and I genuinely believe that it was the power of God that healed her.

Here’s what happened: After spending some time worshipping and singing around a bonfire, someone shared a story about how she was healed of leg pain and then my teammate courageously asked us to pray healing over her. And let me tell you, I have never felt the Spirit of God move in such a way before. Immediately after we finished praying, she told us that the pain in her neck disappeared and that it was the first time in over a year that she didn’t feel any pain. I was literally in tears.

The next night, we had a worship night and guess what? She was able to raise her hands the entire night! She never lost blood flow to her fingers and she was able to jump around and praise God. NOW ISN’T THAT AMAZING? I am still in complete awe of it and it’s now four days later and I am still learning that God is a lot bigger and better than I could ever imagine.

It’s crazy because at Training Camp, I talked about how I was skeptical of healings and different things like that, but my leader didn’t tell me what to believe or force anything on me, she just told me to ask God to help me and to seek Him to find answers. And … well … He gave me answers. God is so much greater than I ever imagined and I am only beginning to understand His power, His love, His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness.

Do you think there’s more than what you’re experiencing with your relationship with God right now? Do you want to grow with God as you serve others? 

There’s still time! World Race January 2022 route applications close August 20th! Apply now!