History Turns to Healing
“Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.”
These words were spoken by Corrie Ten Boom, a woman remembered for her unwavering faith and love as a prisoner in the midst of one of the darkest of concentration camps during World War II. After living through such a dark reality, Ten Boom was able to see how the Lord was redeeming and transforming the memories and experiences formed there into a future of healing, hope, renewal and wholeness. In the same way, this story begins in a very dark moment of the past…in memories held within the very cobblestone streets of one of the oldest neighborhoods in Richmond, Virginia: Shockoe Bottom, formerly the epicenter of America’s domestic slave trade. But it doesn’t end there.
On a warm day in August of 2025, 15-year-old Luke was walking the same cobblestone streets that many slaves had tread a little more than 100 years ago. He was listening intently as the man leading the tour described the pain these streets had seen. These were his ancestors. Having just gotten back from a little under a month-long trip of serving the people of Peru, Luke had been thinking about what his purpose was, and what his place was in this world. He was invited to MAPS Global’s Annual Gathering conference upon returning from Peru, and this tour of Shockoe Bottom was a part of his trip to Annual Gathering. As the pastor leading the tour described the division of the nation that was born out of those early days, Luke was deeply impacted. It was like he had picked up an old treasure map and was following the dotted trail through history. But where “X” marked the spot, there was not buried treasure, but buried pain. But…could there also be treasure there? As they walked, the pastor began to share what the Lord was doing with the ashes of the past. From the same cobblestone streets where chains of slavery had held Luke’s ancestors captive, the Lord was raising up a Black Missions Movement. From pain, purpose was blooming and spreading not only across America, but across the world. The Lord was truly transforming it into treasure. Black men and women were finding their purpose, identity and calling. They were throwing off the chains of the past as they walked in powerful authority and carried the Lord’s love for the nations. Luke stopped in his tracks. The Lord was answering the questions of his heart.
After the tour, the group went back to the Annual Gathering conference at MAPS Global. Luke was excited to be able to sit in the room and listen to the African American Missions Panel. African American believers who had hearts burning with a love for the Lord shared the story of redemption the Lord was writing. Luke’s heart was gripped as he listened. He had finally found the true treasure. The memories of the past and the beauty of what the Lord was doing in the present had led him to the One who spoke purpose over him. Jesus. He decided it was time. He was giving his life to Jesus. He spoke to his group leaders, and they gathered around him and prayed with him as he confessed Jesus as His Lord and Saviour.
Today, Luke is growing in his faith and being discipled as he sets his sights on the far horizon. He desires to go into full-time missionary work in the future and add his name to the Black Missions Movement.