As a squad we have seen so much through the power of prayer over the course of our time in Nicaragua. Heck, even my own teammate was healed of a sprained ankle and went on an hour and a half walk with me that same day! So over the course of the past week, we all decided to do a week of 24/7 prayer. We each signed up for one or two hour prayer slots a day, and we had someone in constant prayer in the prayer room/prayer porch for a week straight. Yes, there were some nights when I woke up at 2am to pray for an hour, but the crazy thing is that it actually became something that I started to look forward to. This was my first time being a part of something like this, but man… the presence of the Holy Spirit in that room was so strong.
We had one giant sheet of paper for prayer requests and another for thankfulness and answered prayers. It didn’t take long for both to fill up. We also hung up encouraging truths and scriptures on the wall, and if we had a specific message for another squadmate or the staff at REAP, we could leave them a note for them to find the next time they came to pray. At first I would simply read the prayer requests on the paper and say a quick prayer, but soon I found myself interceding for our friends and family back home and lifting up the people of Nicaragua and the other countries I will be traveling to. It was powerful to just be living in that state of prayer without ceasing.
We also decided to do a corporate 24 hour fast for those who wanted to participate on our final day of week-long prayer. Honestly, I couldn’t think of any other way to finish strong. I’ve never had that experience of fasting in a community; normally I do it by myself or with a few friends. It was really cool to all have our hearts in the same place as we did ministry that day, focused on what really matters. Our fast ended at midnight, so we spent the last few hours together in a time of worship, listening to testimonies, spending time with the Lord, and taking communion together. It was absolutely beautiful, and I’m so thankful that we were able to experience that together as a squad. When the clock struck midnight, we had hot dogs and chips to celebrate! (It was supposed to be around a campfire, but the amount of rain we’ve been getting made that impossible)
God really gave me a deeper understanding of what it means to live in community. These people that I barely knew a month ago have become such an important part of my life so quickly. I’m sad to leave all squad month behind, but I’m excited to see what happens in each of our individual teams as we travel to Costa Rica! Please keep us in your prayers as we go through this transition! I’m so thankful for every moment of this journey and for all of you that have supported me along the way! Be sure to subscribe for updates if you haven’t already as I’m not sure what the WiFi situation will look like next month. I’m so excited to share each moment with you all!
-Catherine Choquette 🙂
