Hi Everyone,

This is the vision and purpose God has put in our spirit for The Oasis. 

God had been speaking this into our lives for about 5 years now but I believe He has been preparing us for this purpose for many, many years.  It started out with God speaking about being an Oasis.  First we started investigating what an "Oasis" really is and how that fits into a "spiritual" purpose. 

The dictionary gave us this information about an oasis:

  A fertile or green spot in a desert or wasteland, made so by the presence of water.

  A situation or place preserved from surrounding unpleasantness; a refuge: an oasis of serenity amid chaos.

  A fertile tract in a desert (where the water table approaches the surface) 

  A shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary, haven

Synonyms:  haven, island, resting place, retreat, sanctuary, sanctum, spot, tract, refuge

God began to speak to us from this definition of an oasis and the vision started taking root.  We saw that God wants to provide a place in the desert of life that is alive and fertile and that it is made this way by the presence of God...a place that brings "life" in the midst of "death" and "destruction".  He also showed us that the oasis is to be a place that people can come that is preserved from surrounding unpleasantness; a refuge; an oasis of serenity amid chaos.  This world and life in general if full of stress and unpleasantness.  God wants people to have a place, an "Oasis", preserved from all of the stress and unpleasantness.  He wants people to have a shelter that serves as a place of safety, a sanctuary, a haven...an "Oasis". 

So The Oasis is a place in the desert of life that is alive and fertile because the presence of God is the foundation of it.  The Oasis is a place that brings life in the midst of death and destruction.  The Oasis is a place that people can come that is preserved from surrounding unpleasantness;  it is a refuge;  it is a place of serenity amid chaos;  it is a place preserved from all the stress and unpleasantness of life.  The Oasis is a shelter that serves as a place of safety, a sanctuary, a haven, an island, a resting place, a retreat, a sanctuary, a sanctum, a refuge.

We went to God's Word for confirmation of what we felt He was speaking.  He took us to Isaiah 35:

"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;  the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the rose and the autumn crocus.  It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing.  The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the Excellency of Mount Carmel and the plain of Sharon.  They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty and spender and Excellency of our God.  Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble and tottering knees.  Say to those who are of a fearful and hasty heart, Be strong, fear not!  Behold, your God will come with vengeance;  with the recompense of God He will come and save you.  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.  Then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing for joy.  For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.  And the burning sand and the mirage shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;  in the haunt of jackals, where they lay resting, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.  And a highway shall be there, and a way;  and it shall be called the Holy Way.  The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for the redeemed;  the wayfaring men, yes, the simple ones and fools, shall not err in it and lose their way.  No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;  they shall not be found there.  But the redeemed shall walk on it.  And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;  they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

God still shows me new things every time I read this Word, even today as I am writing.  The vision God has given us is to reach the wounded, the discarded, the broken with His love and His grace.  God says that the wilderness and dry land shall be glad!  God says that the desert shall rejoice and blossom...that it shall blossom abundantly and even rejoice with joy and singing.  God says the "desert people" shall see the glory of the Lord and the majesty and splendor and Excellency of our God!  God tells us that The Oasis is to strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble and tottering knees - those who are weak and feeble and tottering.  We are to say to the fearful and hasty, Be strong, fear not!  We are to remind them that God will come with vengeance and He will save them.  He says that the eyes of the blind (spiritually, emotionally, physically) shall be opened and that the ears of the deaf (spiritually, emotionally, physically) shall be unstopped.  They shall leap like a hart and sing for joy!  God spoke to us that waters shall break forth in the wilderness and steams in the desert...that He will use The Oasis to as a spout to pour His water thru, that this will be a place that the waters of His presence will break forth.  It will be a place of rest.  There will be restoration, renewal and new life!  He says there will be a highway, a way...the Holy Way and that it will not overlook the unclean, nor the redeemed, nor the wayfaring men, not the simple ones, nor the fools....it is for everyone and no one shall err in it or lose their way.  Everyone has a place at The Oasis...no one is left out or ignored or unacceptable...the door is open to all.  God says there will be no lion or ravenous beast.  The Oasis is a sanctuary, a safe place for everyone.  God says the redeemed will walk on this highway in the desert.  He says that the ransomed of the Lord shall return with singing and everlasting joy and they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.  God just showed me tonight as I was typing this that this is referring to those who are out there wandering, lost and wounded....they shall return with singing and with joy which means they have received healing and they have been set free.  God is so very faithful and it is awesome to see how He works!

Then God started speaking to us about people who are wounded and broken, especially Christians who are broken and lost and wandering.  There are so many of God's people who are out there wounded and broken and lost and wandering.  God spoke to us that He was sending us to them.  We were at a church service and God spoke a word to us that He will be sending many broken couples into our lives and that we would be able to bring healing and wholeness to them because of the things that God has brought us through in our lives.  He also spoke that the very things we were enduring at that time He would turn around and use to help others through us. 

He then began to speak to us intensely about people who have been wounded by "the church" and by "Christians".  And He started bringing those people into our lives in ordinary everyday ways.  A lot of the ministry of The Oasis is done in restaurants, at beauty salons, in the grocery store, by phone, by internet....wherever we are we are constantly amazed at the people God puts in our path.  These people have to be ministered outside the walls of the "church" before they will trust enough to step back inside. 

God began to show us young people who had been left to wander aimlessly, disillusioned by the church and wondering if God really cares about them.  God continues to put these young people in our path to show His love for them and that He hasn't forgotten them.  God wants them to know how special they are and that He has a purpose and plan for their lives.

God showed us that The Oasis is a place for spiritual, emotional and physical healing.  A place of life in the midst of death and destruction.  Just the portion of the vision that God has given us so far is huge!  We can see so many things we have faced, endured, failed in, overcome that has been preparing us for this purpose.  The Oasis meets every Sunday morning for a time of fellowship, to sit in the presence of God together, for a time of celebration and intimate worship but the heart of The Oasis is on the street, at school, at our workplaces, in the grocery store, at a restaurant and the list goes on.  This is where God places people in our paths who are wounded, lost and wandering.  What a huge responsibility and what a blessing that God would trust us with this task.

Jim and I remain very busy as we do what we have to so that we can pursue God's purpose.  In addition to pastoring The Oasis, we both work full-time jobs to support ourselves, and Jim is a professor of Greek and Youth/Children's Education for Ashland Theological Seminary as well as working on the completion of his doctorate.  We are living examples that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.  We are committed to pursuing God, pursuing God's purpose for our lives and working the vision He has placed in our spirits.

People ask us how they can help or be a part of this vision::

Address:        

The Oasis

6839 Hawkston

Sylvania, OH  43560

Email Address:             theoasisatsylvania@hotmail.com

Website:                       www.garrettministries.org/oasis.htm

Phone Number:                        (419) 842-1710

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.  Our plan is to send out an update quarterly.  You all will always have a special place in our heart.  We love and appreciate you and all you have meant to us and to our family.

Pursing God and His Purpose,

Cheri Garrett (and Jim)