Hey guys! I hope you’ve had a great week so far. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you during these next 2 months before our journey begins, so get used to these emails. 🙂
I have been praying for each of you during this time as the Lord prepares you to encounter Him in new and exciting ways in Swaziland. He is faithful and true to all of His promises and He will do mighty things in and through all of us this summer.
One of the things God has placed on my heart for us as a team is that He has called us to be focused wholeheartedly on prayer from the very get-go. This means that above all else…above the paperwork 
that still needs to be completed, above the support raising efforts, above the packing lists, above ALL we do…we will be a team of prayer! What a privilege is it to commune with our Father in intimate daily conversations. I truly believe that it is in this place of prayer that we become more familiar with His heart and thus are transformed more into His likeness.
So what does a team of prayer look like? I want to throw out a challenge for all of us – but it will take all of us buying into this. I would love for us to start sharing prayer requests with each other. This doesn’t have to be some long drawn out thing. Let’s start with this: 1) Share 2-3 things that we as the Body of Christ can be covering in prayer for you. If there are specific prayer requests that you do not feel comfortable sharing on this page yet, please email them to me at [email protected] and myself and your other leaders will be lifting those up. 2) Also, post one thing that the Lord has been laying on your heart regarding our team as you’ve been in prayer. I want to know your heart. Post these prayer requests in the comments section below.
If you have any questions feel free to start asking them on the blog site. I’m not guaranteeing you an answer, but I’ll do my best. And chances are if you have a question about something, someone else is probably asking the same thing. Let the dialogue begin! J
Here’s a verse for you today: The Lord says, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jer.33:3
Have a great day!
Since I put the challenge out there for you guys, I’ll start.
personal prayer requests:
1) I’ll be traveling to Mexico this Sunday and will be there for the next 2 weeks. I’ll be going down to our base to love & serve the FYM leaders & team. I’m looking forward to this opportunity to see what God is doing in and through them there.
2) Please pray for my health. I’m still on the mend from some stuff I got overseas and could use your prayers. I know that God is about restoring me to complete health and I praise Him for that!
3) Pray that I’ll grow more deeply in love with my Father as I pursue His heart and as He pursues mine.
What the Lord has been revealing to me this week about our team:
We will be a team of prayer. If you missed this in the above post, take another gander. 🙂
1) On Saturday I will be leaving for one week to go to Atlanta, Georgia for my school’s annual Service Week. Thirteen other students and I will be challenged by God to do ministry in an inner city setting. I’m really excited about this and have been waiting a long time to get experience in the inner city!
2) Please pray that God would help me fight my personal battles, that he would move in me, and that he would cause me to fall on my knees before him when faced with temptation. I really struggle with lust, and it’s brought so much darkness to my life, but also has helped me to better know the grace of God and how much he loves me. I’m not really afraid to admit it. God gives us freedom in confessing our sins and there is a lot of benefit to having many people hold you accountable and being in prayer for you. And I know there is and will be freedom from this struggle someday, whether it be here on earth or the day I go to Heaven, I just ask for God’s strength to prevail in my weakness.
3) Pray for God to knock down the walls of our personal problems, heal our wounds, and make us vulnerable and open to sharing our greatest fears before we get on the plane to Swaziland, because in doing these things we can unite more perfectly and serve God better when everything is laid out before His feet and for other brothers and sisters in Christ to be praying over.
4) Pray that God would show us all how much he can do. I laid in the grass and looked the sky tonight (I don’t do that often) and was just in awe of the glory of God. If God can hold the universe together, our planet together, give life to our bodies, and even make the internet work, then he can surely take care of you and meet all your needs. Pray that God would give you an attitude of humble dependence on Him for all things, because all things that we have come from Heaven.
I’ll be praying for you all! And I hope to be able to check out this page throughout the week when I’m away! Have a blessed week! -Your Brother, Rob
Rob – Thanks for actively engaging in this challenge. I appreciate your honesty and vulnerability and willingness to share your heart. Great word for our team on unity. God is already speaking through you and will continue to do so as you love and serve those around you. Know that I’ll be praying for you this week, for these prayer needs listed and also covering you as you’re in Atlanta. I can’t wait to hear stories of how the Lord showed up in mighty ways! Have fun in His fellowship.
I am leaving on thursday for a four day trip to Jamaica.
While I am there I wiil be working in the CCCD (Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf) With some children who have experienced injustice of the kind that I cannot even imagine. Some of these children have literally been chained in the backyard with the dogs and had limited human interaction (let alone human affection and love). They also do not know sign language so communication is going to be very limited. I know some basic signs, but I am worried about really being the best ambassador for Christ that I can be to these children without the ability to speak to them. It’s an obstacle that I dont know how I will overcome at this time.
Please pray that God will speak through me.. WITHOUT a language to speak in. So that I can help win these children for Christ and show his perfect love to them.
Thank you!