Jan 21

I am learning much about prayer right now, and the purpose of prayer. I am here in Noe’s humble yard of rocks and dirt, next to the chickens and roosters, a clothesline overhead, and look at the cinderblock house with a tin roof. As I sit in the makeshift pews of wooden planks and cinderblocks faithful set up by Noe’s young boys, I’m faced with that great question – “What in the world am I doing here?” I can’t speak Spanish and haven’t yet built any local relationships because of that. What can I offer here?

The crowd tonight is mostly World Racers, with only 6 brown faces other than Noe’s family scattered among us. I face frustration at the seeming lack of activity, when the other groups are seeing immediate fruit and more people each service. Jake preaches in Spanish, and the worship is in Spanish, so no entiendo (I don’t understand).

But, I am learning to prayer, to intercede. What else is there for me to do? I have been called here to pray! To pray for the hearts of these people, for each of my teammates as they preach. I feel I am missing so much by not speaking Spanish, but the truth resonates in my mind right now that I am called to pray right now. I have desired to be a prayer warrior and intercede for others, and now is a perfect time to practice. I have hours each service to practice this active intercession for God’s people. The Holy Spirit knows what is going on and He speaks to my heart, guiding me as I come before him behalf of others. So… I pray, and continue to stand in the gap for those who are lost, to approach the throne of God on behalf of my brothers and sisters, learning all as I go.

I am so deeply blessed by Noe and his family. They are a humble family, with 3 young boys 10, 11 and 12 or so, and about a 4 year old girl. These boys are already prayer warriors with their dad, and the girl too! They worship at the top of their lungs and are the most polite kids I have ever seen. They go out into the street to invite strangers to join the service, shake each person’s hand in greeting.

 Noé and his wife.

Noe is a passionate man, who met Jesus Christ about 6 years ago, and deeply desires to share the message of Christ’s love and redemption with the people of Palenque. His home is in a neighborhood that is ridden with alcoholism, drug abuse and some prostitution. Noe’s vision is to visit people in their homes, pray with them, build relationships, and disciple people as they come to know the Savior. It is a ground up church plant with a lot of work ahead, but led by a man who has vision. By the end of the service mentioned above, there were more people at the service, several of whom we were able to pray with for various issues, including accepting Jesus Christ. They are drawn to this place, because Noe’s family radiates the love of Jesus.

  Noé and His Family.