Prayer

It feels good to be back. Today Angelina came over and chatted with me for a while.  It is always encouraging for me to hear her perspective on life, and living as a follower of Christ. Even though she is blind I gave her some pictures that my mom took of her while she was here and also a picture of my little 5 year old friend Josie who is in michigan and faithfully praying for Angelina. As she brushes her fingers over the photos and around the edges, she thanks me because now she will take them to church and they will use them as catalysts for prayer. Most of the photos are of our mu.sl.m friends with Angelina, so she is very excited to be praying for them with her church. Then she'll also be praying for Josie. And she requested that I print a picture of just me so that she and the rest of the interceders can pray for a husband for me. She spoke of how they prayed for Tim and Angie to conceive and was happy to hear that Eliana is now a healthy baby. She encouraged me to not give up praying for our mu.sl.m friends as I sometimes feel like doing.
Then later I went out to kamuda for our bible study with the Alive with Purpose group. Many youth have been gathering every saturday while I was gone and it was good to see them again tonight. During the meeting we got a call from one of youth saying that she was in sick and in the hospital. So, we prayed from the bible study for her, then they began collecting money from everyone to give a donation to help with the hospital and other fees. Then they decided to fit as many people as possible into my car so we could go deliver the money and pray for her in person. I think I had at least 14 in my Rav4 and there were 4 on the motorcycle that one of our youth drives. So we reached the place, all packed into the room, which had maybe 4 or 5 beds in it, but only one patient at the time, and we woke up our patient, took turns giving her words of encouragement, worshipped our Lord and then cried out to Him to heal our friend and sister.  After that we all packed back in the car and headed for our homes, dropping youth along the way as I headed back toward town.
Sometimes I can really wonder, that even in the poverty and suffering that is here how privileged i am to minister among such people. It seems like so much of the time I'm the one being encouraged by them. The faith that they have as they turn to our Father in prayer for each and every thing puts me to shame. It is something that I missed while I was in America.
We have drought in the midwest but how many times have we humbled ourselves and prayed? Is it just global warming, or could it be something else????  I was just struck by this verse in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My People who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."