In June 2009, I attended The School of Supernatural Ministry (SSM). There, I had the opportunity to go “Treasure Hunting” for the first time. The Ultimate Treasure are people who often desperately, and secretly need an encounter with God. They are everywhere around us.

It is quite simple how we get the clues for our Treasure Map. In groups, we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give us words of knowledge. Our Treasure Map is a piece of paper with five categories for the clues – location, name, appearance, things we need prayer for, and the unusual. We were encouraged to write down things that came to mind (which became our clues) and to step out of our comfort zone to look for and approach specific people.

My group and I followed our clues that led us to a library nearby. The moment we walked in, our clues were reinforced that it was the place where God wanted us to start off. We began to weave our way through the aisles, looking intently for our treasures.

After two minutes, we spotted someone with most of the clues (in bold) on our lists. He was an elderly man wearing a green striped shirt, sitting next to a bin, with a swollen ankle. It took us some time to decide who would approach him, but we got around to it and walked up to him smiling. We greeted him and said, “This may seem a little odd, but we are having a treasure hunt and we think that you are the treasure we’re looking for.” He stared at us for quite some time and asked “What treasure hunt? What is this?” We explained to him that we were on a hunt to find God’s treasure. We showed him our list and pointed out the clues that led us to him. After building more rapport with him, we asked how he hurt his leg. He explained that it had something to do with rashes, which was also a clue on my list! I showed it to him and really believed it was a confirmation that God wanted me to pray for him. I then asked if he would let us pray for him and he agreed. I prayed that God would heal his foot.

Halfway through the prayer, God’s presence was so strong I found it hard to speak. At that moment, the man started to cry. He couldn’t stop crying, and I knew God was working in His heart. When we finished the prayer, he explained that he was once a Christian many years back but worldly things derailed him and after a while, he just stopped going to church. His wife left him, and he felt he had nothing left. Still crying, he looked at us and told us he really believed God was working in his heart and that He had planned for us to go there that day and meet him. He asked us if we would pray for his forgiveness, telling us that he really wanted to go back to Jesus. We prayed again and then asked him how his leg felt and if it was any better. He replied, “Yes! It feels better.” And he slowly got up, and began walking back and forth. He was laughing and proclaiming, “Jesus healed me! Jesus healed me!” We then gave him our church’s name card and welcomed him to our church. My group mate also gave him his number in case he had trouble finding our church or needed transport.

As he left, we were ecstatic. We left the library and walked over to the nearby supermarket where the Holy Spirit led us to another Treasure that God wanted us to discover. We prayed for a man’s back pain and he told us that he felt a lot better. In another experience, God used this man’s daughter to lead my group and I to him. Then, we prayed for his family and himself. He thanked us and left smiling. This treasure hunting experience helped me to realise God can use anyone, young or old, to reach out to people around them. I thank God for using me in ways I would never have imagined and pray and hope that He will continue to use me and other youths to glorify Him and reach out to those around us.

Theodora,13, is a student who worships at Rivers Of Life Church in Singapore. She is part of Jesus Generation, a youth group, and is passionate about serving God. She writes songs in her spare time and loves playing the guitar.