All of this happened last month in Montenegro. It’s just taken me a while to get around to writing it down.
I want to tell you a story about our first day of ministry in Montenegro.
First we will all appreciate (or at least see) this beautiful Qwirkle game that Jordyn and I played on one of our last days of ministry.
I hope you appreciated that. I know many of you didn’t. It’s cool. Your gaming knowledge just isn’t as awesome as mine. 🙂
I’ll tell you more about why this game matters after the story of the first day.
On our first day of ministry we started the day with listening prayer. (Listening prayer is basically when you shut up and let God talk. Nothing fancy.) We were asking God what He wanted us to do that day and who He wanted us to speak to. I very clearly heard God tell me to buy the chess set I’d seen the day before and go play in the park. It seemed a little strange but I was totally willing. Some of my other teammates heard to go to the park and speak to certain people.
So we headed out for the day. I stopped at the bookstore, bought the chess/checkers/backgammon set, and headed to the park with the other “park” people. We sat on a bench and waited. I prayed and offered to teach my teammate backgammon. As we sat, prayed, talked, and played we decided to head toward the bridge.
As we were walking toward the bridge we came across an older man sitting on a bench with a suitcase. We struck up a conversation. Well, we tried. He knew no English. We knew no Serbian, Bosnian, or Montenegrin. (All these languages are VERY similar. Anything would have helped but we didn’t have the knowledge.) We were kinda stuck. I saw him looking at the chess board and asked with gestures if he would like to play. He was excited and said yes. We finally figured out he wanted to play chess.
I sat down to play chess with him and prayed that I wouldn’t make a fool of myself. I don’t think I did but there were several times he wouldn’t actually let me complete a move because it was too foolish. Basically I had an impromptu chess lesson in another language. After I lost my game fairly quickly, I asked my teammate Jordyn if she would like to play. She lasted a lot longer and actually made the man have to think a few times. It was definitely better than my game.
The whole time we were with him the man kept trying to tell us things. None of us understood. After the second game we wanted to at least find out his name so we could continue to pray for him. We had spent some time with him and wanted to at least be able to say hi. So my teammate Amanda went looking for English speakers at the nearby benches. Jordyn and I packed up the game and tried to understand what he was telling us.
Before Amanda returned, the man stood up and took my arm and tried to steer me toward the river. I wasn’t having that and promptly let him know. I decided to walk slowly a few steps behind him for a little bit to see if I could figure out what he wanted. Maybe not the wisest decision, I see that. About this time Amanda showed up with a group of students. They asked the man a question, he responded, and they got angry. I don’t know what he said but I can guess at the gist.
I do know this. He wanted to be loved. He wanted to be seen. He wanted to be known. I don’t know if I helped him feel any of that by playing chess but sometimes something that simple can have a huge impact.
Much of what we did last month was what I would call directed wandering. We started with a general idea and listened to the Spirit to guide us to more specifics. One of the biggest things I learned through the month was to practice the ministry of presence. The ministry of presence is basically being there. By being in a place and living your normal life running after Jesus you are being a witness.
One of the ways we did this was to go to the coffee shop and have our normal discussion about the Bible there instead of at home. Another way was to worship in the park instead of just in church. Another way was praying over our meals in cafes and pizzerias.
The picture above was another way we practiced the ministry of presence. We would go to a public place like a park and do something fun that might draw attention. That day we went to a park with built-in chess tables. We played several different games. No one came up to us the whole morning but many people watched and listened. It was a great way to show that evangelical Christians are not crazy or a cult as many believe. We are just normal people who love Jesus above all else, which I guess isn’t all that normal. 🙂
So that’s my story, my explanation, and here’s my question. What does your presence say about you? Are you spreading peace and love? Are you spreading impatience and frustration? Does your presence say Jesus?
Fundraising Update (15 June)
Only 9 of my squad mates still need funding!! Praise Jesus for His faithful provision!
Please join me in prayer for the rest of the funds to come in. Some of them have been given deadlines to fulfill by the end of the month in order to continue. Pray for peace and perseverance during this time of waiting for them. I included how much each person needs because I believe in specific prayer.
Also, if you would like to give click on the link beside their name and Donate!
Pamela Christian ($2,336) http://pamelachristian.theworldrace.org/
Sean Falconer ($3,842) http://seanfalconer.theworldrace.org/
Sally Fallanca ($1,490) http://sallyfallanca.theworldrace.org/
Esther Houser ($2,179) http://estherhouser.theworldrace.org/
Alex Keeley ($3,652) http://alexkeeley.theworldrace.org/
Alexis Leon ($2,983) http://alexisleon.theworldrace.org/
Talia Linde ($1,723) http://talialinde.theworldrace.org/
Ryan Stephens ($5,597) http://ryanstephens.theworldrace.org/
Mike Ward ($435) http://mikeward.theworldrace.org/
