Several times this past month my team and I did ATL prayers, which are a kind of prayer walk. If you want to read about a great one, please read Jennifer Boeve’s blog. She and her partner Debbie relied on God like how we would rely on a GPS with really neat results. The afternoon that they told us about this story, I remember feeling a little disappointed in my own walks.
One walk I remember feeling the need to buy something that had the Disney princess Ariel on it, and giving it to a little girl and telling her that she is a princess of God. I ended up buying Disney princess stickers and giving them to a tiny girl named Kimberly ( which means from the royal forest, royal fortress, royal meadow, etc. ROYALTY!) and telling her mom that she and her daughter were loved my God and were His princesses. The mom grinned and hugged her daughter to her chest.
Several other times we talked with people or just prayed. God revealed or reminded us a lot of His characteristics or parts of the Bible. But I have been praying for a few months to see miracles, to see God manifest Himself in ways I haven’t seen yet. Not for entertainment, not to prove Himself to me, but just to see more of Him. He said to ask, so I am!
So when I heard about Jennifer and Debbie’s story, I remember for a brief moment saying in my mind “Awe, man. I want to experience something like that.” And then almost immediately that moment passed and God reminded me that:
1) I have experienced Him in a lot of unique ways.
2) This journey is not over yet! It’s not even over when the race ends.
3) A simple touch, eye contact, or an encouraging word is just as impactful for the kingdom as miracles. Jesus told us to lay hands on the sick, but He also said that without love (1 Corinthians 13:2), even those actions are worth NOTHING. Loving people is the number one priority. God reminded me of this later on that week.
We met two young men from Ghana, Africa, while walking down the street after church. They were ecstatic about finding people who could speak in English so they walked with us all the way to the park. On that walk, they told us their story.
These two young men were immigrants, trying to get to America. They flew first to Brazil and lived there for a few months, working and saving up money. They didn’t have the right paperwork for entrance into any country, so they crossed borders illegally, living in jungles, where a lot of their fellow travelers “were lost” by animals or by people. I’m not sure if that meant being killed or not.
Others in their group went on ahead of them, while the rest got arrested. These two men were arrested on the border of Nicaragua and put into a refugee camp where they have to stay from 1-3 months. They are only allowed to stay in the public park before they return to the Internment camp in the evenings.
Later, I met another young woman who traveled in their company named Dorothy. She left her son in Africa to get to America where her bother lives. She is hoping to reach him, and while she is working on getting her citizenship, she will ask her brother to adopt her son and bring him to the States so that she can be close to him.
These men kept talking about their journey and how God must have a plan in it. They are Muslim, but were excited and interested that we were Christians. They wanted to meet us again and we told them that we were having an event at the park that upcoming Tuesday.
Our event consisted of inviting people to add their thumb print (dipped in paint) to a poster we made of a city outline with children letting go of balloons (or Chinbombas in Spanish). Their thumb prints would make the balloons in the sky. At the bottom of the poster it said in both English in Spanish “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We also had a speaker and danced the cha cha slide and other songs, inviting people to join in. Many of the children did!
I looked for our friends that we met on the road, and saw one of them, Adams, in the shade with other men who looked similar to him; dark, worn clothes, looking exhausted. I went to him and said, “Hi friend.”
Adams, looked up from his seated position and grinned at me. He jumped up and shook my hand. “Friend!” he said loudly, and I took him over to the rest of our group. We talked a little more and we prayed for him. Adams said that he knew God was following him and that His hand must be evident in his life, even if it is hard to see. After we said that Jesus loved him, Adams beamed at us and said that He likes Jesus Christ and will get to know Him more. We shook hands again and he returned to the rest of his group.
Adams and the refugees are still very heavy on my heart. And even though what happened between us wasn’t spectacular, I felt that our meeting was ordained by God. Just to encourage them and pray with them. Getting to shake their hands and smile into their eyes. And now they also have a group of people who will remember them and lift them up to God in prayer.
I was going to write a completely different blog than the one that is written here. I have many great and interesting stories from this month, but this is the one that decided it wanted to be written. And I think it’s because God wanted you all all to know, like me, that we can be missionaries and shake the kingdom wherever we are by loving people.
Sometimes, simple acts are remarkable!
But also to let you know about Adams and Dorothy as well, and instead of just having a handful of people praying for them,they will have a whole army! 🙂
Thank you everyone for your prayers.
