Together 2016

This past summer, my mom, sister, and I traveled to Washington DC for what was expected to be the largest Christian gathering in US history, called Together 2016.  The goal was to get a million people to #FillTheMall as we all gathered on the National Mall in DC, inspired by the March on Washington led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  July 16, 2016 was the day, and it was nothing like I expected it to be. Let me explain.

This event was going to be a 12 hour event from 9am to 9pm with some of the biggest names in Christian music like Hillsong United, Lecrae, & Passion.  Along with some of the most famous speakers and preachers such as Francis Chan & Ravi Zacharias. It was going to be a humongous prayer and worship experience.  2 problems: It was almost 100 degrees out, and my sister was in a wheelchair because of her ongoing knee problems.  The heat led to the event being shut down early around 3pm, My sister being in a wheelchair led to what I took away as one of the most powerful experiences I've encountered.

After waiting about 2 hours in line, let's just say we weren't too enthusiastic.  My sister being in a wheelchair didn't help much, but it brought attention to us, and I'm not saying that as to brag, here me out.  Right when we got through security, a group of guys saw we were struggling a bit and decided to come over and pray with us.  That right there, turned our day around.  That isn't where it ended.  Throughout the day, we were prayed over, and throughout the day this occurred.  Long story short (this is a very long story, my apologies) I have never experienced that amount of help, support, and prayer in my entire life.

 We talked a little about the importance of prayer in class, and that is why I'm writing this. Again, I'm not trying to brag, that's not what this post is about. This post is about how powerful prayer can be.  At the end of the event, we realized that we did indeed #FillTheMall, we were then sent on a mission, to #FillThemAll.

-Charlie