Hellooo from Minnesota!
My team, and the several other Trek7 teams have been in Minneapolis since Monday for orientation. We have had the opportunity to meet students from all over the U.S. that have the same passion for missions work as ourselves. As you keep my own trip/team in mind I ask that you also pray for the other Trek7 teams as they take God’s word to a variety of places including Tokyo, Zambia, Berlin, New Orleans, here in Minneapolis, Thailand, parts of Europe, India, and many others. Prayers for safety while traveling this Friday, and prayers that God will equip each of us for the work he has prepared.
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During our short time here in Minneapolis I’ve already seen and felt God at work in big ways. A cool story I wanted to share happened earlier today. We began our day with worship and devotions, followed by a session on what “prayer walking” is, and how we can utilize one of the strongest weapons we as Christians have. After our session we had the opportunity to take Minneapolis head on seeking out ways we could put prayer into our experiences in the city. Because the city is one of the most diverse areas in the country, we were sent out to immerse ourselves into other cultures before we head out to our main mission field on Friday.
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My Costa Rica team is composed of two other girls, but here at orientation we’ve been grouped together with two girls going to Zambia. We’re known as Zambarica. As part of our time in the city we were given a check-list of different cultural stores to check out and were encouraged to talk to the owners of the stores and the customers and ask questions to really begin to understand their way of life.
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As the five of us got off the train into the city, we prayed that God would open our eyes to the people we came across that may be in need of prayer. God not only opened our eyes but actually threw people at us within minutes. We closed our prayer and continued walking, a minute later a woman began walking with us and started going on and on about things so quickly it was sometimes difficult to understand. She walked with us for a block or so before she sat down on a bench and began opening up about her life. Her name is Jonnie and she explained to us how she lost her daughter, Stephanie, at two years old after she was hit by a car. As Jonnie continued to talk, she expressed a lot of brokenness in her story. There were points where she broke down crying, and asked us why we were even listening to her anyway. When we asked if she would be okay with us praying for her she quickly brushed it off saying that she didn’t need prayer because she grew up in the church.
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As she continued talking, another woman named Risa came up to Jonnie and asked her if we were praying for her. At first the tone of Risa’s voice was almost angry, and we weren’t sure where this was going. However Risa suddenly sat down on the bench and said she wanted to join in on the fun, at this point Jonnie stated that she doesn’t do “group things” and got up and thanked us for our time and went on her way. Risa quickly began telling us a bit of her story; she is homeless, she has a 5 and 7-year-old son who have been taken away from her, on 6/16/16 she overdosed and was pronounced dead, her family is unsupportive and told her they wish she would have died that day. She also said that she came up to us because we “looked nice, and she needs prayer”, Risa said that she understands Christianity but feels hopeless. She told us she is young and wants a new start in life. We were able to connect Risa to a local church and prayed with her right there on the bench thanking Jesus for the hope we have through him.
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It once again broke my heart to see so much brokenness right here in a city in the U.S. but was encouraged to see answered prayers right before my very eyes. The power of prayer and Jesus are beyond human understanding. I have full confidence that Risa asking us to pray for her was no instance of coincidence but the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. God is good, even in the brokenness. I ask that as you pray for myself and my trip, that you will also lift up Jonnie and Risa.
Prayer requests:
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Continued learning for all Trek7 teams
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Continued Safety
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Jonnie’s family situation, and a softening of heart to begin/continue a relationship with the Lord
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Risa- that she follows through and attends church, for her two sons, that she can accept herself as worthy of love through being a child of God. That she finds a new source of hope through Jesus’ work on the cross and his unique plans for her life.
Trek7 