As you are reading this post, I am on a plane to RWANDA! I'll be back on the 17th, but until I return to the US, please be praying for me!
Here's how you can pray specifically:
1. Safety. We spend about 4 of our 10 day trip traveling through driving and flying. Pray for safety in flying, traveling in general, and protection of my entire team and our luggage. Pray against flight delays and missed layovers. We are leaving in the tail end of a winter storm, so pray for safety as we have a long drive to the airport, and a couple of long flights to Africa!
2. My team. There are about 20 of us going together (17 of them are girls!!). With that being said, pray against frustrations with team members, for grace and love to be shown in the midst of clashing personalities, and for total unity in the Lord. Pray against cliques and pray that we would be willing and able to work together for the glory of God.
3. Health. Praying that no one catches anything on the plane ride over. Pray that our malaria pills won't cause any sickness (a bunch of us have already gotten nauseous from taking them). Pray against any other disease or infection that could be caught while we are there. Pray that we can all easily adjust with jet lag to the new time zone we will be in! Pray that we would not get sunburnt or dehydrated in the heat!
4. The people we will encounter. Pray for soft hearts to allow us into their lives, and for honesty and openness in sharing their stories. Pray that they would welcome us and would see Christ shining through us. Most of all, pray for healing, restoration, and reconciliation in their hearts against the people who have wronged them. Pray that the widows would trust in God, and that the orphans would feel genuinely loved by Christ. Let them understand the love that the Lord has for them, and be comforted and healed by Him, and not by our presence. Pray that we would listen to their stories with patience, understanding, and empathy. May Jesus work through the people I am going to meet to minister to me.
5. Strength in serving. Pray that we will have the endurance to love on others even through feeling tired. Pray that we would be willing to be Christ's hands and feet - loving the harder ones to love and serving the ones on the outskirts. Pray that our time in Rwanda would be effective for the gospel. Let us leave the legacy in Rwanda that we were loving and kind to everybody because of the Lord we received from God. Pray that we would die to self and to our own comforts in order to be used by God. Pray that I would have an open heart, and a humble heart. Pray for humility, ears to listen, eyes to see, and the heart to love.
6. Growth in the Lord. Pray that me and my team would see God working not only in the lives of the Rwandan people, but also in our own hearts as well. Let this trip be the stepping stone to how God wants us involved in missions, and let us bring home what we see and experience. Let it be a trip that changes us for the rest of our lives. Let my heart be moved.
Listen to this song, and think of me :)
I've been trying to pray for you daily.
ReplyDeletecan't wait to your facceee