God loves Germany and Germans!!! I know that I am not telling you anything new. You and I always knew it, but what happened in the past two weeks only gave life and a new dimension to these words.
I have to admit that I had a lot of prejudices when I went
to Germany. I knew how secular the church is in this part of the world and I
was wondering how it is going to be. I also knew that it was going to be
different than other events I went to. Nevertheless, I was not prepared for the
challenges I was going to face.
First session of united prayer Friday morning |
Friday morning. First session of united prayer. I was
surprised to see that we had a good turn-out (I did not count them, but I think
that there were 30+, almost 40 people). There were only a few who prayed, but
it was something and we were happy.
Friday evening, at the end of the first day of the Youth in
Mission (YiM), something was very clear to me: Germans are very afraid to
pray with other people. They are so afraid to be vulnerable and open their
hearts before other people and God. I came here to pray with people, but it
seemed that they were too shy and to scared to pray in a group setting. They
would come to the prayer room, but they would refuse to pray with us. They
would pray by themselves. My heart was heavy and I cried out to God: "Lord,
what can I do? How can I help them see the importance of united prayer?" I
went to the evening devotion and the Lord showed me that He cares so much about them. Dwight Nelson preached that night about prayer. His sermon was so timely.
At the end of the meeting I was convinced that I need to wrestle with God in
prayer, to stay on my knees and intercede for them until
God gives me peace that He will answer. And so I did. "Lord, give me
Germany or I die" was the prayer of my heavy heart that night. Around
midnight He gave me peace so I went to sleep.
Next morning we had the next morning prayer session. Not
only did more people pray, but the prayers were simply flowing. If the previous
morning there were some pauses between prayers, Sabbath morning things were very
different.
Some of those who chose to pray during outreach |
There was another young man who came to the prayer room with
a heavy heart. He and Arlaine started to talk and when he heard that Arlaine was
from Indonesia he started to cry. He explained to her that last year he and
his wife were suppose to go on vacation to Indonesia, but they never got to do
that because she left him. She also cut any communication with him
and with their common friends. They had a very close friend who was trying to
help them with their marital struggles, but she refused to answer her emails
and phone calls. He came to the prayer room and Arlaine prayed with him. The
next day, he came back with a big smile on his face. The very same day he prayed in
the prayer room, their common friend who had no idea he has been praying,
called his wife again and this time she picked up the phone. She agreed to meet and
talk with him.
"What is it with the prayer room?" I was asked by
a young man. "How is it that there is so much power there?" He is
just one of the many young people who discovered the power of prayer. One of
the many who had a special encounter with God and whose life will never be the
same.
Wendy, Arlaine and I |
I could also feel the power of prayer when I had the United Prayer workshop. When I saw that there were 17 more workshops in the same time and
that the two main speakers (Dwight Nelson and Martin Probstle) were among the speakers, I told the Lord that I was content with just a handful of
people and I asked Him to bring the right people to the workshop. When I got to
the room and I saw that there was no video projector, I knew that Satan is
trying his best and that God has big plans. But I still did not expect too many
people to turn out. God surpassed my expectation again. Not only did I have a video projector, but the room was full of people and because there were no more seats some of them had to sit on the floor and on the window sills.
Remember about my prayer on Friday night? Oh well, when I
prayed: "Lord, give me Germany or I die" I thought that He will bring
people to the prayer room and make them willing to pray in a group setting.
This is actually what I was praying for. But the Lord answered this prayer in a
way I never expected He will. At the end of the congress I was invited to come
back next year to coordinate the prayer room and have again the workshop on united
prayer and I was also invited to another youth congress on the Northern part of
Germany (Northern Germany is much more secular than the Southern Germany
were YiM was held). How's that for an answer to prayer?
After Youth in Mission was over I spend one and a half more
days with Lukas and Arlaine and enjoyed tremendously the Bible study, united
prayer and sweet fellowship we had.
Than I went to Frankfurt where I finally met Melody. She was
invited to speak over the weekend at the Christian Advent Center and I joined
her (if you want to know how it all happened, you can read it here). God showed
me again how much He loves Germans, that He can touch hearts and that He has
His people even in this very secular country. We had a full weekend and were
able to see God at work in a might way. My prayer has been one more time
answered. I am very excited about the AFCOE program that they are going to start this summer in the very same church we visited. Germany needs something like this.
We also got to see the Cathedral from Worms and Wartburg Castle, places where Luther had been and who are very important in the history of the Reformation. What a blessing it was to be able to see all these places. Mel and I were really spoiled by Gerda and Reed who have been more than wonderful to us. In case you don't believe me, here is the proof (in case you still do not believe me, you have to check my facebook pictures):
Wartburg Castle |
In front of Luther's room in Wartburg Castle |
Downtown Frankfurt |
In front of the Cathedral from Worms |
Standing in the very same sport where Luther stood before the Diet of Worms |
View from Shonburg Castle |
Lunch at Wartburg Castle |
It was an honor to be able to witness all these miracles that
God performed in Germany. I know now why He did not want me to go to our ARME
Bible Camp in the UK and I am so happy that I stayed the whole time at YiM. God
showed me one more time that His plans are far better than mine.
So, yes, God loves Germans and so do I. I went there having
a lot of prejudice against them and I left having a special burden on my heart
for this special nation that was once the birthplace of the Reformation. So, thank you, God, for showing me that Germans are hungry for the
Word just as much as I am and that they are not that impossible to love after
all.
LOVE IT!!!! As my favorite verse goes, "As for God, His ways ARE PERFECT!" Ps 18:30. Now….. I need to write my own review of this amazing trip and experience!!!
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