Boom, boom, boom…
Boom, Boom, Boom…..
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM…..
I’ve entered into a war.
Daily my spirit has been at war against the many forces that have compiled into Mongolia. We were going to be facing foes I’ve never dreamed of encountering. Those drums sounded the second our plane hit the runway. These drums aren’t just ambient noise in the distant; they aren’t coming from a nearby parade or a marching band, but are in the mountainous terrain out far beyond the horizon. I couldn’t hear them but my God did. We just entered enemy territory and tripped the alarm to alert the forces against us. As days went by we became more aware of these drums and what the sound from them brought. The drums that cast down curses and hexes upon us.
The drums of the Shaman.
This month marks seven years to date that I have gave my life to Jesus. Though I have known the world longer, these seven years with Jesus have been the best years of my life. They have also been the most challenging year of my life. I have faced many trials and tribulations that have strengthened me to be who I am today. Over the years I have been taught many things, one of those things being spiritual warfare. How we are at war with forces that we can’t see with the naked eye. All around us God is sending angels to combat the dark forces around us. Having grace and mercy over our lives, God grants access to more days for His will alone as the enemy (Satan) comes to kills, steal, and destroy. Sounds scary right? Over time and with sound teaching I have learned not to fear into this but use the God given authority to rebuke this forces away by just uttering the name “Jesus”. There is power in His name and this month I’ve had to recognize and use that power even more.
Week One of Mongolia, 3:43am, Thursday- Wake O’ Sleeper
I instantly awake to a sick teammate nauseated beyond belief. My body acts before my mind and motions to lay hands over him and pray for his health. I then lay back down and roll over to head back to sleep but then I feel this restlessness to stay away and intercede over his life and enter into a time of prayer. I stay up until day break completely baffled as to why God would wake me from sleep to pray for someone else. I was baffled because this wasn’t the first time, not even the second time, but the third time THIS month that God has done this to me. God was waking me up to pray and intercede over different squad mates and I just didn’t understand why. Over time I kept praying and asking God what did all of this mean but God didn’t have to explain himself. He just wanted me to be obedient. So obedient I remained. I later spoke to one of my squad leaders about it because I felt like God was strengthening my spiritual gift of intercessory. The way I pray has always been through intercession for others but God was furthering this and heightening in this gift in me for such a time as this.
Week Two of Mongolia, 4:04am, Friday- Visitor In The Night
My eyes fling open to the sound of a door opening and closing. I lift my head, eyes hazy, to scan a dark room of anyone else in the room other than my two asleep roommates. I didn’t see a thing but I still felt like someone was there. I prayed and then fell back asleep thinking nothing more of it. Morning hit and I mosey my way to crowded kitchen erupted with talks of last night. One girl spoke of feeling a dark force in her room that kept her too scared to sleep. Another recalled doors and windows opening and closing. My roommate abruptly awoke and felt the need to prayer for a girl in the room adjacent to us. So I wasn’t the only one to have an encounter with this last night. I knew immediately that dark forces were a foot. I immediately went to a coffee shop to text my pastor on what we should do. She instructed me to pray Psalm 91, invite the presence of the Holy Spirit, and anoint the house with oil. These were things I’ve seen done by respected mentors and pastors back home but I never thought that I would be the one-stepping up to do this. I knew I had too and God has equipped me capable of doing these things. So I anointed oil and prayed God’s protection around the house anointing the house with oil over every window and door. Having the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues I spoke my prayer language God had given to me by the Holy Spirit. I then return inside and a squad mate acknowledged that I speak in tongues. I confirmed with her that yes I did. That act led into more conversations about the encounters I’ve had with the Holy Spirit and gifts I ‘ve received from the Spirit. It didn’t think in the slightest I would have conversations about this wth several squad mates but God knew it was necessary for what was to come.
Week Three of Mongolia, 3:54pm Adventure Day- I Can Hear The Drums
Its hard to breathe. We as a squad are in the mountain range surrounding the city of Ulaanbaatar for our adventure day. We each receive a horse and are trotting through the dirt plains around. The air is so cold and the sun is hiding its face. My hands feel frozen attached to the reigns and then my face is numb from the cold. I’m having idle conversations with fellow squad mates riding next to me. Then suddenly it happens. A shrieking scream in the distance from my teammate is growing closer. The horse she was riding was spooked and she falls off her saddle and lands on her side to the ground. She continues to scream and her horse strays into the rest of ours getting our horses wild up. I grab my reigns tight and pet my horse to calm him down. People tend to my teammate and she seems fine. She gets into a car and heads to hospital to make sure nothing is broken. We then finish our horse rides and head to dinner. As we rode on the bus to dinner my team leader addressed the rest of our squad about what was happening around us. Our Mongolian host told my other teammate that Shaman were coming down the mountains to cast curses on us. I then remember hearing the drums earlier. Those were the drums of the Shaman.
That’s why my teammates horse got spooked. And moments before that another squad mate had got knocked off twice before finally getting on his horse. The Mongolian workers told us that during their tourism season the horses never knocked any one off. We didn’t want to just assume it was coincidence. We wanted to pray against the curses from the Shaman. We also wanted to pray for our injured squad mate. We arrive for dinner inside our Mongolian tents called yerts. We sat together with an empty chair of a missing teammate. We felt the need to pray for her and also invite our host to pray with us. Our Mongolian host was filling so guilty about everything that happened and so burdened for our teammate. We affirmed her that our teammate was going to come out of this fine and worship louder than ever and that we have to do the same. I realizing in that moment how oppressed these Mongolian people are. That a cloud of heaviness lurked over them. They needed more hope, more strength, more love.
After all of that my teammate came out fine but the way we prayed would never be the same. After hearing the drums we knew what was coming at us. We understood more why the people in the city seemed so distraught. They walked with their heads hung low, the women shrouded themselves with caked on makeup, and smiles were a rarity. They were in the epicenter of heaviness. With only 3 million people making up Mongolia and 1.8 million living in Ulaanbaatar this was the source of much oppression. In the midst of us being here world leaders from different nations were coming together to meet and talk about war against Russia. Meanwhile we were caught in the crossfires of war. Spiritual war. I don’t take spiritual warfare lightly and God had us here in Mongolia to be prayer warriors and call down heaven. To intervene and bring people to know who Jesus is. After all this we had two of our Mongolian friends give their lives to Christ, one Sunday after another. Having only one week left here I will pray to it that Christ will be known more by showing His great love and sharing the Good News.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your mercy and goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
FINACIAL UPDATE:
I am only $1,215 away from reaching my $13,000 finacial deadline to continue on the race! If you could give any amount click on the “Support me” tab. Any amount will help me to God’s work here in Asia. I’ve only had a taste of this and want so desperately to continue my year here doing God’s handiwork and love on His people.
