Treasure Hunting 2018

Did you ever make fake treasure maps when you were young and try to find the spot you'd previously planned that the treasure would be? And of course it was marked with a big red 'X' so that you knew that was where your quest ended. Personally, treasure hunts were always exciting as a kid, but they're even more exciting when they're the "real thing" and God is the one giving you the clues! My parents introduced me to treasure hunting and through these weekly outings, I began to recognize the way God works through us.

First, how it happens is a group of us will get together and pray. At this time we're being open to hearing words (aka clues) from God and after a bit we all share with each other what we got. We have a list we follow; Below is a sample of the sheets we use.

We decide on a place to go and then we walk around looking for people who match clues on our lists. There is always that awkward moment of walking up to a person who fits some of your clues, but the interactions are usually pretty amazing. So I thought I'd share a few of my Treasure Hunting experiences from this past year. (Note: bolded words are clues.)

While on my first venture, my dad and I were walking around in the pharmacy of a Kroger and I saw a woman wearing glasses and dressed in all black, with visible tattoos on her arm. Her husband also had tattoos but a combination of both of our clues fit the woman. So we followed them up and down a couple of the aisles as they seemed to be trying to get away from us.

It really is awkward stalking people and trying to decide when is best to approach them.

My dad told them that we were on a treasure hunt and that we thought the woman might be the treasure for whom we were looking. He explained what we were doing and how we came to that conclusion, then he asked if she might need prayer for anything. The woman informed us that she had just found out earlier that day that she had cervical cancer. We prayed for her and they thanked and chatted with us before we parted ways and rendezvoused with the rest of our group.

During another encounter from my second treasure hunt, my parents and I found our treasure in the makeup section in Target. (I've found that I tend to get very specific places to find treasures at various locations.) It was a mother, father and son trio, which fit with our clues of little boy/toddler and the father had a mustache. That was my first time actually taking the initiative to cross the "chicken line" and be the first to talk to someone. And after asking if they might need prayer for anything, the mom started saying things like, "this is so crazy; I'm shaking."

She informed us that only two days ago

she had been an atheist.

Us appearing out of the blue asking if she needed prayer was absolutely mind-blowing to her, as it was for us! My dad, as he always does, said something along the lines of, "Well, God knew you were going to be here tonight, in Target in the makeup section..." And that is what I find truly amazing about these encounters is that, we didn't pre-plan the clues and locations, God did; And that really gets some people.

There is one I'll mention because it is so ironic. I was standing on a strip of stores between a frozen yogurt place and Kroger and I saw a woman walking towards me from the parking lot. I checked my list and saw that she fit at least four of my clues so I thought, "I'm going to talk to this lady." (I was by myself as my parents and other group members were off elsewhere.) As she drew closer and I prepared myself to speak up,

She saw me and said, "Oh hi Olivia!"

Turns out, I knew her! I talked to her briefly before she went into the grocery store; Yet, she happened to mention that her husband's knee would hopefully not need surgery. As soon as she left, I began mentally kicking myself for not praying with her because I remembered that one of the clues on my Dad's list, listed under "What they might need prayer for," was bad knee. That is a perfect example of when a possible treasure slips through your fingers.

However, on that very same day, we went to Walmart and I found a treasure who fit all the clues from the person I knew before. She was a mom with four kids. And she had brown hair and was wearing a green top. As we spoke to her, we discovered that there was a bit of a language barrier;

She was from Turkey!

Her husband was working for NATO, but she had lost her job; And her family had come to the U.S. seeking asylum, but she was afraid they would be sent back. With some explanation, we were able to help her understand what we were doing (treasure hunting), then we prayed with her that her family would be granted asylum.

It's easy to miss a lot of things God does, but when they unfold on a slightly grander scale, like during treasure hunts, it's impossible to deny His presence being manifested in our everyday lives. For me, it's after times like these that I feel His love working through me to others who need to hear His voice.