Today for ministry we were sent on a “treasure hunt”. AIM calls it A.T.L or ask the Lord. We were told to get a partner and pray for half an hour. We were then told to simply follow as the spirit lead based on any pictures, colors, words or feeling the Lord had given us.
I snagged Mackenzie Tritt as my partner for the day (she’s the coolest, go check out her blog if you haven’t already.) We sat outside and prayed for some guidance from the Lord. Going into this I was excited because I have started to experience the Lord through pictures (some people call them visions, but I am not really comfortable calling them that yet) since the race. So I was already in my element. I was also excited because I know Mackenzie is super in tune with the Holy Spirit and also super open to growth and discernment as we both have no idea what we are doing.
I got the word tandoori (a type of Indian food I have yet to try) before we even finished hearing about the days ministry. In further prayer we came up with a pretty good list of things to start with. We had the colors blue and turquoise, Thamel (a neighborhood in Kathmandu we have stayed in), tandoori, a bakery where there would be a man we needed to talk to, left hand turns, praying for healing over a headache and comfort for a recent loss.
We made a game plan and set out. We didn’t even get to the top of the hill before the Holy Spirit changed it. Mackenzie felt pulled so we turned left down a street marked by a turquoise building. We I felt the need to turn right down an alley leading to two identical turquoise houses which tuned out to be nothing, but as we came out of the alley I felt pulled to keep going right down the alley. As we rounded the corner of the street we saw a lone taxi sitting in the bend of the road. There was no logical reason for that taxi to be there. None at all. That was the one we needed to take to Thamel.
As we climbed in I noticed the interior was the same color blue I had seen during prayer. We were a little disappointed when our driver didn’t speak english because we wanted to hear his story and share ours too if we were given the chance. As we arrived in Thamel the Lord said “pray for him.” I ignored it. (I really don’t like approaching people and asking if I can pray for them. I can’t really explain it, but I just don’t.) Again, “Pray for Him.” As I started to scoot across the backseat to get out I hear again, “Mags! Pray for him!” So we did. Turns out he is a Christian! Jai Messi!We wandered around Thamel, turning left, looking for a tandoori restaurant not knowing what would happen when we got there. We found one, wandered in and immediately knew that was not the place. I can’t really explain it other than I just knew that’s not where the Lord wanted us right then. So we left and went to the bakery I had seen and waited. As we waited the Lord led me to Joshua 3. It is the story of the Lord going before the Israelites at they crossed the Jordan. We sat for a while and waited for the Lord to prompt us.
We asked the owner of the bakery if he knew someone who owned a tandoori restaurant. Nope. We asked if he had lost anyone recently. Nope. We asked if he has any pain that needed healing. Nope. But he did direct us back to the tandoori restaurant we had just come from. So we left and went back to the restaurant.
We stood outside and prayed for the Holy Spirit to lead us. As Mackenzie was praying the Lord said “Wait.” I also saw the colors green and yellow. So we waited. We stood there in front of this tandoori restaurant between a bunch of motorcycles, simply watching the world go by and waiting on the Lord. We probably stood there for a good 15-20 minutes.
Suddenly a man walks up to us and starts talking and asking questions. We had a brief conversation after which he handed us his card. He was the owner of a hotel a street over and invited us to come have coffee with him sometime. We thanked him after picking our jaws up off the sidewalk. We looked at each other speechless. (I should add that he was wearing a green sweater vest under his sharp, hotel blazer, accessorized by a tie with a yellow geometric pattern. We paused and prayed again asking the Lord what we were supposed to do. I prayed asking the Lord for a color, direction, activity, or guidance some sort. Mackenzie got the time 3:30, and a cerated edge. It was 3:00 so we decided to wait and see where the Holy Spirit took us. He ran us right into two long term AIM Missionaries who had just landed and were trying to find their hotel.
We started walking (left again) down the street trying to discern if we were supposed to meet with him today or another day. We stepped into another alley to pray and ask for guidance. As Mackenzie prayed I got a picture of a building and the time 7:00. I drew it in my journal. We took it to a tourist office about 20 feet behind us to ask if it was something they recognized. He took one look, and pointed at a poster on the wall behind me. Turns out I drew one of the most famous temples in Kathmandu. Okay God… That didn’t end up having any bearing on our afternoon but I will be visiting it sometime soon.
We sat in an alcove opposite the hotel trying to figure out what to do. We both felt pulled when we walked in but when I prayed whether we should stay or go we both felt the pulling stop when I prayed about staying. So we sat there for five minutes until we both felt a pulling again. So we got up, and made our way to a cluster of red chairs directly in the center of the Lobby. Turns out this man runs a fancy joint!
A welcome desk man came and asked if he could help us with anything. After showing him the business card he informed us that he had left for the day and his hours were from 7:00-3:00. Again…Okay God.
After that we left to go home. Still not having found the people we were supposed to pray over or a cerated edge (thinking it was a plant like a aloe). We got a cab back to where we are staying. As we talked to our cab driver, Shree, we learned that he loves farming mangos, avocados, and oranges, but he has to live and work in the city because that is the only way to make any money. We also learned that his grandmother passed away recently. Jesus does it again. (Remember we had been told we were going to pray for healing and for loss.) We prayed for Shree and thanked the Lord for an amazing day.
As we walked back to the house we both wondered why we didn’t do this more often. We also came to the realization that we had to be completely vulnerable about what we were getting and what we were feeling in the moment for anything to work. There were plenty of things we thought we were getting that didn’t come to fruition today. But there were so many that did!! Today was so so cool and I can’t wait to do ATL ministry in the future. I challenge you to do an ATL with some of your spare time and see what kind of adventure the Lord takes you on! Who knows what kind of stories you’ll learn! Don’t rationalize ‘coincidences’ that happen. Simply have a child like faith and thirst for adventure. The Lord WILL deliver.
