“Do you want to come to the church
service with me tonight?” Tiffany asked as I sat among my pile of
construction paper. Tuesday nights are the night of the prayer meeting at the
local church we attend while in the village of Zapote. However, at that moment
I was in the middle of working on a project for sponsorship, and I paused and
thought for a moment… I have been struggling with what I will gently refer to
as a digestive indiscretion, and I was not sure about the restroom facilities
at the church. Ultimately, I passed and continued working surrounded by
brightly colored construction paper and contact paper.
Only
a short time later, Tiffany returned. Confused, I asked what happened to the
church service. Tiffany explained that two men had gone missing from our
village and the church service was being relocated to the family’s home to pray
specifically for the missing men. I asked for further details and Tiffany
explained that the two men (in their early 20’s) were working in the fields and
were kidnapped while working on Saturday. This was Tuesday. The family had not
heard anything from the young men since they left for work on Saturday morning.
Due to the lack of trust in law enforcement or even the presence of any law
enforcement in the village, it is not uncommon for people in this area to exact
revenge on each other until it escalates to physical attacks, kidnappings, and
even murder. Disappearances are very rarely IF EVER reported to the police for
fear that the kidnappers will kill the victims or exact revenge on the family
for reporting the incident.
I
immediately decided to brave a potential intestinal attack to attend the prayer
meeting. This is WHAT I LOVE TO DO. I changed clothes, applied copious amounts
of bug spray, and put on my walking shoes (the roads are filled with sharp
rocks that I tend to trip over J ). We walked up the main road of
the village greeting everyone along the way (it is considered VERY RUDE not to
greet someone you encounter in Zapote). As we turned off the main road and
toward the home I heard a gentle hum which grew louder as we continued down the
road. I quickly realized that THIS was the sound of the prayer meeting.
As
we crowded around the front yard of the home, there was barely room to stand. The
porch, home, and yard were PACKED with people praying so fervently that many
were WEEPING as they
were praying. I was taken aback by the sight. WOW!! These
people CAN PRAY!! In Guatemala when people pray as a group everyone prays
OUT LOUD and AT THE SAME TIME. The chorus of voices CRYING OUT to God was INTENSE. Tiffany and I
joined as we prayed for the safe return of the young men, sang praises to God,
and prayed over the family. While praying, I remembered a sermon Pastor Dan (my
pastor in the U.S. ) gave in which he highlighted Acts 12:15 in which the church prays for Peter as he is imprisoned and an angel comes and releases him. As we were praying I kept hearing “BUT THE
CHURCH PRAYED… BUT THE CHURCH PRAYED..” and I realized that this was exactly
one of those situations playing out on the mission field in Guatemala.
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| The Prayer Meeting at the Family's Home |
As
of today there has been no news of the two young men. We continue to pray for
their safe return and hope you would join us in this prayer. Yet, this is just
one example of the POWER OF PRAYER I have encountered recently. In the past two weeks, I
have seen prayer change my own attitude when I was EXHAUSTED AND FRUSTRATED
from the non-stop ash that had been falling last week on EVERY SURFACE of our
home (the volcano put on quite a show)… added to the fact I had not slept in THREE NIGHTS due to windstorms. I have PRAYED when woken
up in the middle of the night being bitten by something I assume was a fire ant
(I have anaphylactic reactions to fire ants) and prayed that I would not have a
reaction and had NO REACTION TO THE BITE! (I do have Epi-pens handy JUST IN
CASE.. J ).. and I have seen hundreds of smiling faces in the
halls of the school that I pray for daily (and by name as I learn them..)
flourishing despite their situations and past experiences.
So,
I have said all that to say.. if you are facing something DO NOT FORGET THE
POWER OF PRAYER. Prayer CAN and DOES CHANGE THINGS. Prayer is by no means a “magic
formula” to get what we want, but I can say that I have seen it work and God is
faithful to His promises!!
I
want to thank each of you for reading this blog. I appreciate each of you. I
appreciate your prayers, love, and support!!
Blessings,
Meaghen
This is awesome Meaghen!
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