We're halfway through the bag of espresso from Milan, which means it's high time for an update on how your prayers impacted those two weeks!
Instead of going on the mission trip as I have for the past three summers, the Lord asked me to stay here while hubs led the team. When I asked God to show me His plans for those two weeks, I got a clear answer. Pray. Pray with other people.
And many of you did, both online and in the blue living room across from my house.
From my heart--thank you. From the hearts of Italians and Asians who had no idea you prayed--thank you. Your courageous minutes spent in prayer mattered.
Some of you joined the online prayer team, covering each day of the trip via email.
Those moments set aside while you were sitting at those stop lights, brushing your teeth or standing in line at Starbucks to pray--they counted. They rose like sweet incense, doing battle on behalf of real people with real situations who encountered a real God during those two weeks.
Some of you came to the twenty-four hour prayer meeting in College Station.
This was so exciting! I had never done anything like this before. It was humbling, exhilarating, and exhausting.
I want you to know that the sleep you sacrificed to come to the apartment in the small hours of midnight, praying on the curling carpet for people you would never meet on earth--it was seen by the Lord of Heaven's Armies. Your prayers meant the world half a world away.
The team felt the difference.
Thanks to an international texting plan, we were able to send encouragement and get up-to-the-minute news from the team during the trip, especially during the 24-hour prayer meeting. It was thrilling to sit on the opposite side of the globe and pray for a conversation happening thousands of miles away, knowing that our God was working.
Here are some specific prayers you prayed, and the response God gave:
1. You prayed that God would give our team the emotional energy to keep going.
On a team of seven people, five were introverts. For you extroverts reading this, please take my word for it--twelve-hour days filled to the brim with challenging conversations can be extraordinarily draining.
But the Lord gave the energy we asked for! The quieter ones on the team reported that they were surprised at their own ability to keep engaging in conversations long after their reserves would normally have sputtered out.
2. You asked Him to heal one of the girls on our team, who was sick with stomach cramps.
The stomach pains ended up being something more serious than a simple virus, and she has spent much of the past week in the hospital. However, we praise God that the hospital visit was not needed until after she had returned from Italy! Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
3. You asked God for unity, and wisdom for the team leader.
As his wife, this special request for my man really meant a lot to me. He told me later, after the jetlag began to wear off, that he definitely felt the Lord giving him wisdom in some challenging situations. The unity of our team was a key component in the success of the trip.
4. You prayed for students to trust in Jesus Christ.
We have a new brother and a new sister! Amelia*, a Chinese student studying in Italy, befriended our team during the first week. She had heard the gospel in Italian before, but it was not until a girl on our team, also from China, explained salvation in her heart language that it finally clicked. She still has many questions, and we were excited to hear that she met with one of the long-term missionaries just last Sunday to talk about Jesus more.
Marco* decided to follow Jesus as a result of a lunch conversation with two of the guys on our team during the second week. As each of them told about the difference that knowing Jesus has made in their lives, he leaned in eagerly. They sketched a simple bridge to illustrate how Jesus made a way for man to return to a holy God, and he said "yes--I want that."
The team was not just the seven people who got on a plane in Houston. It was also every one of you who prayed. Thank you for being part of God's work in Milan, Italy.
*Names changed to protect our friend's privacy.
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| *Coffee in Milan, not my kitchen. I wish! |
And many of you did, both online and in the blue living room across from my house.
From my heart--thank you. From the hearts of Italians and Asians who had no idea you prayed--thank you. Your courageous minutes spent in prayer mattered.
 |
| Only two of these people knew you were praying for them! |
Some of you joined the online prayer team, covering each day of the trip via email.
Those moments set aside while you were sitting at those stop lights, brushing your teeth or standing in line at Starbucks to pray--they counted. They rose like sweet incense, doing battle on behalf of real people with real situations who encountered a real God during those two weeks.
Some of you came to the twenty-four hour prayer meeting in College Station.
This was so exciting! I had never done anything like this before. It was humbling, exhilarating, and exhausting.
The team felt the difference.
Thanks to an international texting plan, we were able to send encouragement and get up-to-the-minute news from the team during the trip, especially during the 24-hour prayer meeting. It was thrilling to sit on the opposite side of the globe and pray for a conversation happening thousands of miles away, knowing that our God was working.
Here are some specific prayers you prayed, and the response God gave:
1. You prayed that God would give our team the emotional energy to keep going.
On a team of seven people, five were introverts. For you extroverts reading this, please take my word for it--twelve-hour days filled to the brim with challenging conversations can be extraordinarily draining.
But the Lord gave the energy we asked for! The quieter ones on the team reported that they were surprised at their own ability to keep engaging in conversations long after their reserves would normally have sputtered out.
2. You asked Him to heal one of the girls on our team, who was sick with stomach cramps.
The stomach pains ended up being something more serious than a simple virus, and she has spent much of the past week in the hospital. However, we praise God that the hospital visit was not needed until after she had returned from Italy! Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
3. You asked God for unity, and wisdom for the team leader.
As his wife, this special request for my man really meant a lot to me. He told me later, after the jetlag began to wear off, that he definitely felt the Lord giving him wisdom in some challenging situations. The unity of our team was a key component in the success of the trip.
4. You prayed for students to trust in Jesus Christ.
We have a new brother and a new sister! Amelia*, a Chinese student studying in Italy, befriended our team during the first week. She had heard the gospel in Italian before, but it was not until a girl on our team, also from China, explained salvation in her heart language that it finally clicked. She still has many questions, and we were excited to hear that she met with one of the long-term missionaries just last Sunday to talk about Jesus more.
Marco* decided to follow Jesus as a result of a lunch conversation with two of the guys on our team during the second week. As each of them told about the difference that knowing Jesus has made in their lives, he leaned in eagerly. They sketched a simple bridge to illustrate how Jesus made a way for man to return to a holy God, and he said "yes--I want that."
The team was not just the seven people who got on a plane in Houston. It was also every one of you who prayed. Thank you for being part of God's work in Milan, Italy.
*Names changed to protect our friend's privacy.
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