that I have not felt anywhere else and all that we really knew to do was to pray. This trip I have learned so much about what prayer truly is. It isn't just a group of people getting together to speak out words of wisdom to God. But it is a direct connection with God and a time in which there is no hindrance between you and Him. It is an awesome thing and I have really come to see how God truly answers prayers. Last week at the Potters house when we went through our prayer walks I really realized that God had his hand in this trip. Every home we went to there was a student who headed up the conversation. And in every house that we had entered the person had been through something very similar to the one they were to pray for. It was no accident or coincidence but purely a God thing. The house that I went into to share with was different in that it was much larger than all of the sorrounding ones. But that wasn't what had surprised me. It was that the woman who lived there was telling us about how she used to be very sick and that her husband had become her caretaker. But whenever we had gone her husband was very ill and had told her that he felt as though he was going to die. It was amazing to see how strong her faith was and how whenever it seemed as if she should have no hope she still looked to the future and was not let down or discouraged by her circumstance. I had gotten to share my testimony with her and it was amazing how much I could relate with her. Not only that but I was able to relate with how she felt the fear of losing someone whom she loved and not knowing what was going to happen and the uncertainty that will follow. It was something that really touched me because I was so unsure about what I was going to say, and then whenever I went into the home I was covered by a sense of calm and it was amazing to get to pray with her. So as I am going through this week I am beginning to realize the true value of prayer. It really is a powerful tool that is going to be answered whether we like it or not. Yesterday in our church service a HUGE rain storm came and was so loud on the tin roof of the church that it was hard to hear the service. So I turned to Phil and we just decided that we would start to pray because so much of what we were doing needed to be heard. By the time I ended my prayer the rain had already begun to calm, and a couple of minutes before we got up to play music for the service the rain had stopped all together. I truly believe that that was not a coincidence but an answer to prayer. That night in our devotion time, we brought it up and found out that a majority of our team was praying for the same thing and it was amazing to really see the answer to prayer.
In this area that we are in, there is a strong sense of community. I really realized that today whenever we went today to paint the auditorium of a school in which we will be doing our vbs tomorrow. All of the parents had come to help, and a job that would have taken our whole team probably two days to accomplish took the whole group that was there all around 3 hours. Everyone was working together and it showed. It was a really great to experience the feeling of such a community. I am excited to see all that God has in store for our team as we finish out this week! It has been a great trip and I am so happy that I got the opportunity to come. It has been a great two weeks and I have learned so much, this trip has really been a priceless experience for me.
Please keep praying for our team as we go out into this community throughout this week and are working with the people. It will be a great experience but we are always confronting spiritual warfare whether here or in Virginia. It is something that we cannot be void of, but it is something we can definitely pray through! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers they really are felt here and GREATLY appreciated.
Love you Mammy, Pops, and Ash! Miss you guys and can't wait to see you!
-Jeremy
Thank you team for the wonderful posts. It is evident you all are making an IMPACT in Guate. Praying for you each day.
ReplyDeletePS Please tell Katie B. we are so proud of her and her sharing of her testimony. Sounds like God is using it for HIS glory. never in vain...we love you!
Jeremy - thanks for the update buddy. I heard a pastor say once, "prayer is the battlefield, ministry is the spoils.". Praying for rich ministry in the days ahead..."we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Rom 8:37). Keep serving. We'll keep praying! Love, Dad.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jeremy. We really enjoy the pictures ("a thousand words"). Continuing in Colossians, "we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be . . . strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience." (vs 11) And being tired is a good thing! :-) Gives God the opportunity to sustain you as He says in Is 40:31.
ReplyDeletePrayers and Blessings!
( This is Gwen) So appreciate the blog posts and prayer requests ! In God's economy suffering is an asset . Never wasted and used greatly by those willing to serve . That is what you all are doing !
ReplyDeleteSince we serve a great high priest..., Jesus the son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess ... let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence , so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:14,16
Love and continued prayers, mammy
Thank you so much for the update!
ReplyDeleteYou've mentioned that there's a lot of Spiritual Warfare going on with the team members, and so I want to share a portion of today's "The Word for Today" as it directly pertains to that:
"Challenges will come. Everybody God uses moves from one challenge to the next...Satan will attack you. When he does, remember, attack is a sign of respect. It lets you know you're valuable to God. It also indicates the level of blessing that awaits you beyond the attack. Satan will attack when God is about to birth something in your life," and Spiritual Warfare happens most when you "have an assignment the enemy has discerned." (the accompanying verses are 2 Timothy 4:7 and 2 Corinthians 6:4-10, in case you wanted to look them up) :).
Keep fighting the good fight and know we're praying for you!!
~Alex
I love how God is responding to your prayers in a real way and so timely! Thank you for the posting Jeremy! I look forward to the Blog everyday! The pictures are beautiful and the people are beautiful. Praying for saftey, unity, health and true connections that will last a lifetime! Sue Agazzi xoxo
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