I am beautiful – Pray for Belgium

Brussels isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think about serving. But it is here, in the capital of Belgium, that an extraordinary movement of serving and volunteering has started. And you’re invited to pray for it!

In 2005, Carlton set up Serve the City – a global movement of volunteers passionate about showing kindness in practical ways. From partnering with homeless shelters to refugee centers, orphanages, and other associations, Serve the City creates events that mobilize many volunteers to serve in simple ways – sports, music, arts and crafts, meals, friendship and more.

Activate International has the privilege of partnering with Serve the City – supporting its dream of everyone serving and for every person to be known by name, not by need.

An encouraging testimony

So what is one of Carlton’s favorite memories from all the years of running Serve the City?

“I remember setting up projects several years ago and I went to a homeless shelter I’d never been to before. Around 100 to 150 men were staying there. I walked in and met the directors of the center and said ‘We’re Serve the City and we have this Big Volunteer Week. Can we help in some way?’”

They said ‘Sure. In fact, let’s take you down to the other center we have, where we really need some painting to be done.’

So we walked down to the other centre and went upstairs. At the top of the building, there were five homeless guys who were living there. They had been helped off the street so they were in transition in this center before they could move onto something else.

Their room was way up at the top of the building, and when you walked down the hallway, you couldn’t stand up straight because the ceiling was on an angle. The rooms hadn’t been painted in many years, they were dirty and really unappealing.

And you could just feel that if you were in that space, if that was your life, then maybe it would start to negatively impact yourself. You know in the way they think about themselves, in the way they think about life and the hope they have.

So we agreed to help and I was starting to imagine the impact of a fresh coat of paint, the newness and so on. As we finished the planning, we headed back down the four flights of stairs. It was a really broken-down building, all cinder blocks.

But as we went down, just before the front door, something caught my eye.

I am Butiful

Imagine for a moment, this broken-down building was your home. Imagine you were 13-years-old. And at the place where you come down the stairs, just before going out the front door, you would place a mirror so you could check your teeth or straighten your shirt.

Right at this place, there wasn’t a mirror. Instead, someone had written in pencil, these words – I Am Beautiful.

It was spelt Butiful. I Am Butiful.

To this day, I have no idea why it was there, who had put it there or why it was in English. It doesn’t make sense.

But I could imagine those guys – that is the message they needed to be able to take out into the world with them.

Our job would have been to repaint their room. Something really simple. But we weren’t just repainting a room for some homeless guys in transition. We were helping them recover this sense of beauty in their lives.

Because they are beautiful. Because they are made in God’s image.”

Pray with our Global Prayer Community

Join us as we pray for Carlton and Serve the City from the list of prayer needs below. Our hope is for Christians all over the world to activate the body of Christ through prayer and intercession. However you pray, know that your prayers have power, and you’re part of a Global Prayer Community, standing in faith together.

Pray for Serve the City Brussels

• Please pray for Nathan, who is taking over the leadership of Serve the City Brussels. He is fantastic and he’s already been on our team for two years. He’s young, he’s enthusiastic, and the perfect choice.
• Pray for the transition as I hand over Serve the City Brussels to Nathan.
• All the ongoing projects which are supported by Serve the City Brussels including serving migrant, refugee and homeless communities.

Pray for Serve the City International

• Support us in prayer for wisdom on what opportunities to follow up on.
• Pray that we really hear the voice of the Lord, guiding us on when is the right time to be here in Brussels and when is the right time to go somewhere else.
• Pray for us as we focus on building Serve the City International.

Prayer for volunteers

• Please pray that the experience is meaningful for the volunteers. That there would be people around to be interpreters of the experience.
• Pray for more volunteers to take part.
• Pray for each team which is a mix of people from different backgrounds, cultures, different faith backgrounds and so on. It’s so much fun when there is a mix of people to talk about the spiritual side of what they are doing.

Pray for Brussels

• Pray for real transformation to take place. We would love to see real progress and transformation made in cities and are standing in faith for this to happen.
• Pray for the social problems we’re facing including Park Maximilian, where many migrants are sleeping in the open.

The difference volunteering can make

“One thing I believe in, is the impact of serving or volunteering on the person who volunteers,” shared Carlton. “I think people encounter the presence of God when they are serving. Even if they don’t have the type of vocabulary for that or they don’t think that’s what it is.

“But you often hear people say ‘I got out of this more than I gave’. I think they are experiencing God’s favor or blessing because ultimately this is how Jesus lived His life. I always love it when someone connects, maybe for the first time. You can see it really land in their hearts. That’s when they are ready to take the next step.”

Looking for more things to pray for? Read how the inspirational Pastor Jag and his congregation are creating prayer and serving movements in their community.

By Roz Walsh, Activate International