LED BY THE SPIRIT

Before we left for the trip, we spent some time praying for our time, the team, and for the people we were going to meet. One member at The Well prayed for us and felt that when we got to the city we were going to pray for, we should take our time being with people and to not be afraid to spend our time slowly while we were there. This wise word really characterized our whole trip and helped us to be led by the Spirit.

The Prayer City

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We went on this trip as part of a vision to cover all of the county seats of the country in prayer in preparation for the work the Spirit will do in those areas and were the first team to pray over this city as a part of this vision. We were one of the few teams that chose to go without knowing where we would stay.

We arrived in the country and left a day later for the prayer city. After two hours of driving, the driver pulled up to an office near the middle of town where a woman (I'll call her B) was standing in the doorway. B asked the driver what we were doing there and immediately invited us in for tea with her son and parents. She introduced everyone and told us her son's name meant "hope" in English.

We talked for a while and she tried to find lodging for us, but the local inn was closed. So, B invited us to stay in her house and interrupted her work day to take us up to her apartment to clean it and show us around before leaving to stay with her mom. Her son really liked Hot Wheels, which we had brought a few of, which was a really cool thing. We gave him several before we left.

We told her that we were Christians there to pray for the city and the people there and asked if there was any way we could pray for her or her family. She told us about her mom's upcoming knee surgery and took us to go pray for her. They both were very thankful and we got to pray for her several times during our three days there.

Later on, she took us to eat at her cousin's restaurant, where we would end up eating every meal minus one for the time we were in the city. This was the first of many free meals they provided us with despite us trying to pay many times.

Praying for the City

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We spent much of our time walking around the town praying, having walked the circumference of the town by the time we finished our time there. We prayed for the hospital, the tea shop, the restaurants, the fields, the soccer field, the schools, the graveyard, and all four mosques in the city praying for the people we saw along the way.

Along the way, we met many people and were invited into tea and snacks several times. We were even given a ride around town on a tractor and taken to a couple spots outside of town with good views. Every day was spent just being with God in his Word every morning while praying for our days and reflecting on what the Spirit had led us to.

We hiked up two mountains on the outskirts of town and prayed that God would build a foundation there for the salvation of the surrounding area and that God would pour out his Spirit like the rain storms we could see in the distance. Later on we were told by B that we came to pray and then the rain came. Being an arid climate, it seemed that rain doesn't happen often there.

We really spent a lot of time connecting with the locals, especially B and her family. We were even invited over to her cousin's house (the restaurant owner) for tea and snacks one evening and were so welcomed by them.

We got to have some very intentional conversations about Jesus and the Bible with the restaurant owner (I'll call him G) and B as well as with two others. B and G were very open and asked many questions which were difficult for us to answer over Google translate, so we asked if we could give their numbers to the long-term worker for the kingdom in the area which they agreed to.

We later were able to give out Bibles to all four of those people and their families. They were happy to receive the Bibles along with the little gifts we had brought from Austin and told us many times how we were good people who really care. The Spirit really spoke through us and our actions and led us to connect to these people specifically. That is very obvious to me.

Leaving town was very bittersweet, but we felt confident that we had covered the whole town in prayer and had done all that we had been sent to do. All the people we had gotten to know during our time gave us the traditional goodbyes and B and her son even splashed water as we left (a very sweet traditional gesture for those leaving).

We left choked up, but I was so amazed at God's provision for us and the open hearts of the people there.

I then experienced a 12-24 hour period of food poisoning (which I'm so thankful didn't happen during the time in the prayer city), and we toured another city in the country before we left.

Once we got back, we heard from the worker there that he met with B and G and the others in the prayer city and said they were very open and discussed the Bible for a long time in their language! I'm so joyful to hear that God is working in this city. I will be having English lessons with B and her son, so I will be able to stay in touch. Praise God! Thank you all for your prayers! He is really moving and it's amazing to see.