AskThe Lord. This is our ministry this month. After having a ministry contact fall through on the first month our team has been given without a team leader, we were asked by Adventures in Mission if we would be comfortable doing a month of seeking His Spirit. Our team was very excited to answer the call.
We started our month in Granada, Nicaragua. After a day or two of prayer, a couple teammates shared that they had received the number three. We decided to leave the city after three days. As we began to pray for our next calling, signs began to point us towards San Juan Del Sur. We were advised by a local contact in Granada to wait a few days for Semana Santa to be over, as it would be dangerous to be in San Juan Del Sur during the holiday season.
We had already booked our transportation by that time and wanted to answer the calling we’d received. We arrived in San Juan Del Sur on Saturday before Easter. As we searched for a hostel, we found one that was cheaper than all the others we’d seen. The price was changed after we moved our stuff in. It was still cheaper than any other, but the underhanded change enraged myself and my teammate, Ryan. We resolved to stay there anyway and find a new hostel in the next few days.
Later that evening, the hostel owner told us the price would drop in half the next night because Semana Santa would be over. I witnessed an immediate change in the way our team interacted with her from then on, myself included. We challenged ourselves to practice forgiveness more readily in the future. This was an opportunity that we would not have had if we had come a day later. I believe it was the reason for our calling on that day.
The team responded well to the lesson in forgiveness. Ryan asked if he could buy us all coffee that next morning and surprisingly invited the hostel owner as well. She joined us for coffee and when she heard we were going to Easter service afterwards, she decided to come with us. After the service, she introduced us to her daughter living across the street, whose birthday was on Easter. We prayed for her and her daughter, then returned to the hostel.
A few days ago, while practicing silent listening prayer, it seemed significant that this lesson in forgiveness was revealed to us on Easter. Forgiveness brings new life. As I contemplated this, I thought of my new niece Hannah Grace, who is struggling early in her new life. I prayed for opportunities to practice forgiveness, so that new life may be brought forth and gifted to her. I received my answer to this prayer last night.
While our team sat enjoying a dessert on a dining patio Alison exclaimed, “Leah! Your purse!” We all looked to see her purse on the sand on the other side of the balcony with a little boy standing over it. I perched on the balcony while Katrina walked down the steps to pick it up. The little boy made no motions toward the purse, but rather turned and ran away. Unfortunately, checking the purse, we discovered Alison’s cash and debit card had already been taken out.
There was a mixed air in our team after that. A mixture of anger for the incident and pity that this would be done by a little boy. I felt a conviction to pray and we did. I prayed that Leah would not feel responsible, that Alison would be secure that God and her team family will provide for her needs, and for the little boy; I prayed that God would work in his heart and life so that he may live in a new way.
This morning, as the sun was rising, I prayed in a way I haven’t prayed before. I prayed that God would fulfill His prophecy revealed to me in a dream many years ago, where I picked up a dead bird and it flew away. I prayed that healing power would be imparted today and Hannah would be the first recipient. I spoke to God with confidence, reminding Him that His lesson taught me forgiveness brings new life. That I had asked for opportunities to forgive and that He had answered. I exclaimed to Him that He had spoken into my heart to pray for the boy last night and I had responded in kind. He placed it upon my heart to share the story this morning and so this blog is being sent out now.
I call upon God for healing… as He has promised. I pray for a miracle because I know that You can do it. I ask the Lord not to bring peace during this time of hardship, but rather to bring this time of hardship to an end. In a new way this day, I ask the Lord.
