Bodies weary and minds wary, my team and I made our way from the rooftop in Cambodia to a teammate’s room. Today was our first day of ministry on the World Race, and the hearts and minds of our team were all in different places. You see, today was “ATL” ministry, which means “ask the Lord.” This is ministry in which your team gathers together to pray and ask the Lord what He wants us to do with our ministry time. It is a lesson in both listening to the Holy Spirit, and following where He leads. Some hearts were open and on fire with excitement and anticipation. Others (like mine) were full of nervousness and attacks from the Enemy. I was wary of my ability to hear the Holy Spirit clearly, and how well I will be able to follow out his orders.
But as we gathered together to start praying, we could tell that something great was going to happen today. It was apparent in the attacks of the enemy on Abigail, Tiffany, and Sonja. And as we prayed over each member of my team that were feeling attacked, the Holy Spirit was so present and alive in the room. As we were casting out the lies of unworthiness, of tiredness, of homesickness, and of anger, a weight was being lifted off the shoulders of each person on my team. A weight that was being replaced with excitement, and love. A feeling of being called higher. With those feelings, the Lord was giving us something else. Visions of what our ministry was going to be that day. Visions of the adventure He was about to take us on, an adventure that would bring unity to our team. An adventure that would eventually bring more brothers and sisters into the Kingdom.
To me, he gave the vision of a tuk tuk. (A tuk tuk is a metal cart that is hitched onto a motorcycle type thing, and is used as a taxi.) To Abigail he gave the vision of a bridge. To Janelle he gave a Pepsi sign, a boy named Daniel, and his older sister who spoke English. To Hayden he also gave the vision of the name Daniel.
And so, we were off. In search of a Pepsi sign, a bridge, and a boy named Daniel. We didn’t know where this was, or how to get there. All we did was show our tuk tuk driver a drawing of what the Pepsi sign looks like. And then, the metal cart was racing through the heavy rains and across the busy streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia. Every bridge the tuk tuk passed, we would ask Abigail if it was the bridge she saw in her vision. And each time she said no.
But then we passed the right bridge. And then we went over it. And as we crossed over the bridge, I immediately saw a little Pepsi pop-up stand, with a big Pepsi sign on top. And then our tuk tuk driver stopped.
Slack jawed and eyes wide, my teammates and I stepped out of the tuk tuks and onto the noisy street. It was time to look for Daniel. And we had no idea what to do. As we walked up and down the narrow road, getting rejected in our search for “Daniel,” I could feel my team getting discouraged. What if Daniel doesn’t exist? What does that mean? Why did God call us to look for Daniel if he isn’t even real?
Then Hayden and Janelle felt the call of the Holy Spirit to follow an “American” family with a little boy who might’ve had the name of Daniel. Which left the rest of us alone with nothing to do but wait for them to come back.
But then they didn’t.
And so we waited a few more minutes. And they didn’t come back.
Hearts and minds worried, we meandered our way through the streets Hayden and Janelle went down. But there was no sign of either of them. So, the rest of my team and I decided to wait in our central meeting point, hoping the last two would join soon. As we all sat around outside a Hard Rock Café, I could see a loss of hope in each person’s face. And atop of all the discouragement we were feeling, there was a deep sense of worry for our two lost teammates.
Following that, our tuk tuk driver returned, waiting to take us back to the guest house we were all staying at. However, Hayden and Janelle were still missing. That’s when we all saw them. Practically sprinting down the street, Hayden and Janelle were hurtling their way towards us, with humongous grins on both of their faces. In between pants, and some uncontrollable giggles, the two were able to get their story out. It goes a little as follows.
Basically the little “American” family was not American at all, and the little boy was definitely not named Daniel. But somehow Janelle and Hayden ended up in the home of a nice little Cambodian family with a teenaged girl who spoke perfect English and could translate for them. And so they started to talk about Jesus, and all about how the Christian faith works. Janelle and Hayden also explained all that God did to lead the two of them to that little family.
And then the mom said, “Well I guess we have to believe in this Jesus now, since he did all of that to lead you two to us.”
As Hayden and Janelle finished telling their story, my team was filled to the brim with joy. With just that little story, we were all given a snapshot of just what God was going to do within us and through us this year. And we couldn’t have been more excited to become One Body in Christ, to be his hands and feet, and spread the Good News to all nations. Get ready world, Team Junayuh and Jesus is coming for you.
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