Church and Prayer Training

Jared here!  

Sorry for the delay in reports but we were all so tired last night!  

Let me start by saying yesterday was one of the most unforgettable days for me.

Due to transport issues the students do not attend a church on Sundays so when teams come we have the privilege of doing church service together.  I had the opportunity to give the message, which was something I had been looking forward to since we got here.  My message was about suffering and how we serve a suffering savior who came to this earth and experienced pain just like us, for us.  I had planned to speak on this topic already but throughout the past week it became apparent how relevant this topic would be as we had a student lose a brother, another an aunt and another share with me about anger and thoughts of suicide.  The topic was relevant and very sensitive and I began to feel that weight.  Before starting the service the team prayed over me for about 10 or 15 minutes and I experienced the Holy Spirit in a way I never had and just started to cry.  We were already behind schedule so I tried to pull myself together and get the service started.  Worship just made me feel more emotional and as I started to speak and explain why I looked like a mess I started crying AGAIN!  You're probably all feeling as awkward reading this as I felt standing up there.  Eventually, we got to the message and the Spirit really moved!  All of the students were so attentive and at the end we had a response time where about 8 students made either first time commitments to follow Jesus or rededicated their lives!  It was AMAZING!

That great morning was followed by an unbelievable afternoon.  We did a two hour prayer training where we walked through the Rock Harbor prayer model and then practically pray for one another.  We talked through the "Why?" and "How?" of prayer and then before starting the practical we did something pretty unconventional for academy programming.  We told the students that this next portion was completely optional and we only wanted students to stay if they were fully committed to confidentiality and really going for it in the practical.  Thus far this has been the only optional class they've had and the room cleared out.  There were about 5 students left and I was left feeling disappointed.  As we began to circle up students started to come back into the room until there were 25 students (half of the student body)!  The culture here is very private and repressed and no one shares about their feelings or likes to show vulnerability.  We took a leap of faith and asked if there was a student that would like to be prayed for as we go through the prayer model.  Silence... awkwardness... more awkwardness... finally, Unathi, a grade 12 volunteered and stepped into the middle.  We explained that this is not practice or just pretend but we are actually praying for Unathi and invited everyone to participate.  As we started to pray it was mostly just our team at first but then a student shared a very powerful picture.  It was tough to see how Unathi was responding to the different pictures, scriptures and words because she was hiding her face so much but then she just started sobbing.  The room completely changed after that.  Most of these students have been through such incredible hardship and have shared how they don't trust anyone to share this stuff with and it was like hearts were getting cracked open and there was a huge release.  We then split up into groups of three where students and team members took turns praying for one another.  One by one they started to receive and then cry.  It was one of the most powerful times of ministry I've ever been a part of and to know how important it is to them to hide their emotions and vulnerability made their reactions that much more significant.  As we concluded there was such a joy and excitement that filled the room!

Sunday concluded our first full week of ministry and we enjoyed dinner with some of the long term missionaries, the Kamalskis and the Babbs.  We also had today off to stop by one of the local game parks to see some animals - it was a much needed day of rest as our team was really run down.  Tonight as we all reflected on the past week we were all struck by the powerful ways we've seen God move, especially through prayer.  Prayer has been such a significant marker for us ever since we all went through prayer training together and has continued to unite us as a team.  I would ask you guys to please pray against spiritual attack and spiritual warfare in the community of Sweet Home and at Bridges.  I've experienced spiritual warfare here unlike anything I've ever felt before and know that there is a battle for this place.  I can see God softening hearts and I just pray that there continues to be an openness to the spirit.  Back in Sweet Home tomorrow!

Thank you for your words of encouragement and for praying for us!  Your comments make our day!  :)

Here is a team pic from a day off!