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The Bible says in Acts 13:3 "And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." The sent Paul and Barnabas out on that first missionary trip with prayer. The one thing deputation does is help you to build up a greater prospective prayer group. I praise the Lord that we have people that write and say they are praying for us and those that say they will be praying for us when we leave their church. Do I really care about your prayers? Do they make a difference?
I wan’t to tell you this story that I recently read in a book about prayer. It’s about a medical missionary serving in a developing country who had just come home on furlough, and who was asked by the Pastor of his home church to give a report of his work at one of the church services.
This missionary doctor told the congregation about his work at a rural hospital, and how periodically he had to journey by bicycle two days to a nearby city to get supplies. The journey each way required camping overnight at the halfway point.
On one of the trips he encountered a young man in the city who had just been injured, and so he treated the man’s injuries and witnessed to him about Christ. He then journeyed back to his hospital, camping overnight at the halfway point, and arriving the next day without incedent.
The missionary doctor continued the story. "Two weeks later I repeated my journey to the city. When I arrived I came across the young man I treated two weeks earlier. He said to me, ‘ I know you come to the city regularly to collect money and drugs for your hospital. So, on your last trip, some friends and I planned to follow you back to the camping spot where you spend the night and rob you and kill you. So we followed you, and waited until you were asleep. Then as we were about to attack you, we saw twenty-six armed guards standing around you.’"
The missionary said to the congregation: "When I heard that I laughed. I told the young man that I was absolutely alone at that campsite. But the young man persisted. He said to me, ‘No, you were not alone. My five friends also saw the guards. We all counted them, and came up with the same number: twenty-six. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.’"
At that moment a man in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary’s story. He said to the missionary, "Excuse me, but could you tell me the exact day and time that these men were planning to attack you?"
The missionary took a moment to recollect the date and hour, taking into account the change of time zone, and then told the man standing in the congregation.
The man then said to the missionary, "An hour or so before that attack would have taken place, I was on my way to play golf. But the Lord suddenly put the burden on my heart to pray for you. I didn’t know why. The burden was so strong that I returned home, and called some other men in the church to meet together to intercede on your behalf."
Then the man paused, and looking around at the congregation, said, "Will all those men who joined me in prayer that day please stand?"
When they all had risen, there were twenty-six men standing.
Prayer works!
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by
Mike Staley
As we were leaving the Atlanta airport for our destination of Arequipa, Peru we felt as though we had accomplished part of our goal. We had completed basic training and now we were in the real army. We felt our family would adjust easily to the changes ahead, after all, we had lived in England for five years while being in the Air Force, but we would soon find out this time would be a little different. I would like to explain a little about what goes on when the missionary gets to the field for his first term. Brother Austin was a great help in finding us a house and helping us get settled in. There comes a time though when you must fend for yourself. I want to give you a few stories of things we don’t even think about in the states but are major ordeals when the missionary arrives in his new country.
Oh no, we need gas.
For a long time Brother Austin said, "Why is it that every time we’re in the car you need gas?" Do you know what it is like to go to the gas station and pull up to the pump and not know how to ask the attendant for gas? This is something almost every American knows how to do. The attendant doesn’t know if you want your tank full or if you want only two soles worth. He looks at you and you grunt at him and make all kinds of hand motions. Finally you get out of the car and point to the gas that you want.
Oh no, the phones broke.
When our telephone wasn’t working Brother Austin called the phone company for us, but he wasn’t there when they arrived to fix our phone. Have you ever tried to explain what is wrong with your phone to four men that don’t speak English. They watch you, than look at each other with a puzzled look on their face, as if to say "what is he talking about?" Then they rattle off some Spanish sentences and you say to yourself, because nobody else understands you, "what are they talking about?" Finally by taking them to the phone and making a lot of hand gestures you get your phone fixed. I sure am getting pretty good at using my hands to get my message across. One thing about being in another country you must understand is that you know nothing. This is a lesson that is hard to learn and I am still learning.
Oh no, the phone’s ringing.
Now that the phone’s working we have another problem. It rings! For the most part in the states we don’t dread the phone ringing unless you have teenagers, or haven’t paid your bills or your mother-in-law is calling. When you live in a Spanish speaking country most of the calls are in Spanish, this is not a problem if you speak Spanish. But when you are learning it makes it very difficult. It is much more difficult to tell someone they have the wrong number.
Please pray for your new missionaries as they experience things you never even think about. Many have said the first years are just to learn how to live (survive) in the new country and I agree. As a note, I have now gotten gas twice alone and the attendant knew what I wanted. I was even able to tell him what time church started on Sunday. Praise the Lord, we will make the adjustment.