So you know when you text someone something really important and then they read it, and you get the ‘read’ notification, but they don’t respond? That’s kind of how I felt about prayer in Zambia. I asked the Lord for bold things, I asked Him to show up in the small things, and I felt really unheard.
So going into Asia, I felt discouraged. But God was so faithful to show me that He hears me and cares about me even when I don’t feel it. I want to share with you guys a bit about my first month is Asia and ways the Lord shows me that He hears my desires and does answer my prayers, even in the little things.
Human trafficking
When I was in 6th grade, I asked the Lord to let me do something about human trafficking. I grew involved in different organizations throughout high school and college and He continued to grow the desire in me to advocate for victims of trafficking and protect boys and girls from that kind of harm. This past month in Asia, my team and got to go to villages around our community and talk to families about how children are trafficked all over their community. We got to talk to dads about the importance of protection, to moms about the importance of trust, to kiddos about the importance of communication, and to all of them about how valued, worthy, and important they are.
And they got it. They felt the gravity of their children being taken, of strangers promising them better lives, of needing money so desperately that those promises sound very, very tempting. This kind of awareness wasn’t just for statistics or distant numbers- it was a shocking reality that the people in the village were seriously grieved by, and my prayer is that they feel empowered to combat this in their villages. But God saw my desire to work in this kind of ministry and delivered so beautifully and showed me that sometimes, prayers take a long time to see answers and that still shows His faithfulness.
Ice cream
So I was sick as mess last month. I think the enemy has been attacking me through sickness a lot for the past two months, and I was really done with it. I was frustrated, missing home, and asked the Lord to bring me comfort and a reminder of home. My team leader came in like three minutes later and surprised me with ice cream- and while that might seem coincidental or small, it was a sweet assurance to me that my desires are heard.
Babies
One thing I’ve learned about myself on the Race is that when I get stressed and overwhelmed, holding a baby calms me down almost immediately. Being an adult can be so strange. Anyway, I was having a really difficult morning in the middle of the month. We headed to a village in our auto and I asked God to let me hold a baby during ministry. I told Him that I was struggling, and I knew our day had nothing to do with babies, but that I really wanted to hold one. And you better believe ya girl got to hold a baby ALLLL during ministry that day. While my team interviewed women entrepreneurs, I got to hold a sweet little chunkmonster the entire time. What a blessing.
Biriyani party
Every day, my team and I taught English to and hung out with girls from 5-13 in an after school program. I adore those girls, and I asked the Lord after our first few days with them if He could make a way for us to celebrate them and provide a meal for them. Within two days after, God provided $110 to buy throw them a party with balloons and dancing and chicken biriyani.
These answered prayers seem a bit small and fortuitous, but to me, they were all reminders of God’s faithfulness to hear me in the little things even when I don’t feel Him or don’t feel like He’s heard me. They were reminders that God always listens, even if I don’t hear or see the answers.
Thanks for sticking with me and for having grace for my sporadic updates!
Much love,
Amy
