Community grows under pressure

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Medical / Health

Dirk and Nel work in Afghanistan where Dirk is the Executive Director of a registered Christian NGO. Nel supports Dirk and, being a paediatric and psychiatric nurse, also works part time training nurses at a mental health project in the west of Afghanistan. While in Australia they took time to share with GO about their work.

GO: Please tell us about your work.

Dirk: The general purpose of our organisation is to serve the people of Afghanistan. The expatriates in our organisation feel called to work out God’s love in practice on the ground. Because we are a small NGO we focus on the ‘niche’ of finding innovative solutions to problems Afghans face. In partnership with international agencies, we bring in aid funding and volunteer professionals and connect these with local expertise. Innovation happens when Afghan and foreign specialists collaborate to find solutions that are actually right for Afghanistan.

GO: What of the mix of ethnicity and faith backgrounds when expats work alongside Afghan locals?

Dirk: Afghan society has at least 34 (some say 64, depending on how you classify people) different tribes, the major tribes being the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras. In our projects we avoid any perception that we are siding with one tribe. We have about 500 employees, and the foreign volunteers come from all over the world, including Australia, Singapore, Europe, America and Canada. Virtually all the foreigners who work for our organisation have a protestant background, with one or two with a Roman Catholic background.

It is quite a powerful message and example to the Afghans when they see that, as foreigners and Christians with different backgrounds and origins, we are still able, somehow, to work together. Of course that is pretty biblical – through our love for each other people will see that we are God’s people.

GO: What are the communities you relate to in your daily life?

Nel: I relate with the foreigners and Afghan people who work in our organisation, and also Afghan neighbours who live in our apartment block, so I get very natural contact with neighbours and people in the street.

Dirk: For me, there are several communities. First there is Nel and myself as a couple, then there is the management team of six directors and myself – directors for personnel, finance, health support etc. – who I meet with every week. The leadership team involves those directors plus the team leaders of our seven regions. That group meets quarterly to take major decisions in our organisation. The community of leaders of other like-minded agencies in the region also meets regularly.

GO: What difference does it make to meet with other leaders?

We are all members of God’s team here on the ground. We each have our own part to play, but we are working together in a bigger team that has no formal structure, but still it’s there. It’s very enriching to meet because we share similarities but also have different perspectives and contexts. We also very much need each other, just like the various parts of the human body. The hand cannot say to the foot “I don’t need you”.

GO: How has living in a high-risk country shaped you as a community?

Nel: In the wider community, we have a member care network which I am part of. Every spring we arrange workshops such as the ’Transitioning Well’ seminar which prepares the people who leave in June to transition well: for their children in the community, how to say goodbye, and to prepare them for returning to their passport countries.

This year there have been several attacks on foreigners and places where we work and meet. This is a disturbing development because for us as member care people, there is much more to do. We also could not do what we had hoped to do. Actually, in such circumstances we needed each other so much and went through a grieving process together. Grieving alone is much more difficult than grieving together as a community, and feeling the comfort and compassion that comes from the Lord.

Dirk: If you are in trouble together, it is actually very helpful because you can debrief each other in an informal sense. There is a lot said about post-traumatic stress syndrome, but probably not enough about how stress can actually strengthen you. We see that, for instance, in Afghan women. When somebody from a Swiss donor agency visited one of our women’s projects, she commented that our project had strengthened the women and made them very aware and self-confident. Actually those women were already pretty resilient before we had anything to do with them, because they had gone through so much trauma.

Nel: We could call that ‘post-traumatic strength’!

Dirk: That’s not to say that people are not damaged by stress – they are, and irreparably. But that is not the only story.

Nel: It has strengthened them and us. The Afghan people have gone through this so often, and now we as westerners understand them so much better.

Dirk: I think living in an insecure context also corrects our faith, because in many ways we have been influenced by the prosperity gospel and the general tendency of Christians to believe that God will keep them happy and safe. There’s nothing in the Bible to suggest that, if anything there is the opposite in the New Testament; we can expect to suffer. We have worked that out of our faith and our world view, and in Afghanistan suffering is part of our life. Actually our faith is strengthened by it, and our theology of risk and suffering has been adjusted to become more biblical.

GO: What has been your focus as you’ve led this community through difficult times?

Nel: One of our Afghan workers told me that under Dirk’s leadership they felt understood and that he was right beside them as a friend. They also ask me if we could please consider staying a bit longer instead of leaving in September.

Dirk: For me, the overall goal is the long-term sustainability of the organisation, equipping of the Afghan staff, and thriving of the expats. One advantage of working in an organisation that has a long-term perspective is that we hardly ever have to make short-term decisions. Even when we recently drew down a team in Kabul from well over 30 to only 10, the first considerations were the long-term sustainability of our organisation and the wellbeing of the workers. We temporarily withdrew to get through a period of additional risk so that in due course they could return and continue the work. From a western perspective that is counter-cultural. We expect everything instantly but in Afghanistan, where everything takes more time, having that long-term perspective is appropriate.

We often have a shortage of team members, so there is a pressure for newly arrived team members to get on with the job immediately. However, we say, “No, first do six months of language study. If you don’t, then ultimately your work will be hampered. You will not understand or communicate well with the Afghans and our mission will be impossible to implement”.

GO: Over the long term, violence or tragedy or trouble is inevitable, but does it make a difference when they come in quick succession?

Dirk: It does make a difference because from research and psychology we know that trouble and stress add up. There’s even research that assigns a stress level percentage to stressors such as a bad illness in the family, divorce or losing a job. We have been able to cope with quite a lot over the last few years, but we don’t know whether we can cope if there is one more serious incident. We have therefore made sure that there was always backup for us.

Nel: We were recovering from an attack on one of the places where we meet, and then one month later three of our friends were killed at the hospital in Kabul, and that became a bit much for a number of people in the community.

GO: How has your life in community helped you understand yourself and your role in God’s work?

Dirk: The first thing is that it is God’s work, not ours. We only see glimpses of what is going on, but we must be obedient to the call. We are called to this role, and even if there are many things that are not good enough or that are wrong, that doesn’t really matter; we do the best we can.

Nel: The different parts of the body all have input in God’s work in different ways. It is very special being among God’s children from many different parts of the world. We are the family of God and we don’t find that in our home country, not like we have experienced in Afghanistan in the wider community.

GO: How do you see the future for Afghanistan?

Dirk: People in the Global North generally have very negative perceptions about the future. They think that once the foreign troops are withdrawn at the end of 2014 everything will collapse, but that is only one possibility. If the new president negotiates a settlement with the armed opposition, there would be the least civilian casualties and the best future. If the country splits up into regions run by different warlords that wouldn’t be too bad as long as they leave each other at peace. The worst scenario is if the regions and their powerful warlords start fighting each other in a civil war. While that may happen, and in the west the perception is that that’s the only option, it’s definitely not the only scenario.

Nel: The Afghan people are fed up with the years of war. The younger generation particularly have this longing for change. Many people voted in the first round of elections. We saw on TV that it was a rainy day, and they stood in line for a few hours in some places – many women in burkhas, even a 69-year-old woman who had come on a donkey to the polling station. Though many people have given up on Afghanistan, the Afghan people have not. They are very resourceful, very resilient, and humanly speaking that’s one of the most hope-giving aspects of the country. Of course we believe that God does not give up on any people, on any country, and He’s at work and He’ll continue working there.

GO: What is your prayer for Afghanistan?

Dirk: Firstly, the biblical prayer, that there will be Shalom and everybody will enjoy the fruits of their own labour, and live in their own house. Or, to use the words in Micah 4:4: “Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig-tree, and no-one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken.”

Secondly, over the last six years, I have realised how much our work on the ground is often in the limelight, but we are actually part of a much bigger family, which includes our international partner agencies. It’s only together that we can do this work. We may get all the attention, but without the folk at home we could not do our part on the ground. God’s work is the work of the whole body of Christ. Everyone needs to play his or her part. Many are doing that. My prayer is that all God’s people will realise that they have a contribution to make to God’s work!

The hard work of life together

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Other, Other

Ian and I met as idealistic young adult Christians in an inner-city church located near a community of people living in a high-rise area of Melbourne. Despite living in close proximity, people struggled with isolation, discrimination and issues of broken trust. Our understanding of what it means to walk alongside people who fear violence and injustice in their immediate neighbourhood grew as we shared with troubled teens and their families.

Then, like many baby boomers during the 1970s, we travelled and studied overseas before settling to work in children’s homes in southern England. The team of care givers and their own children lived and shared their lives with 20 children from different cultural backgrounds including Africa, West Indies as well as UK, who were in long-term residential care. I remember scornful onlookers when pushing a well-sprung English pram containing a nine-month-old Nigerian baby, accompanied by two pre-schoolers from Nigeria and the West Indies when I was in my 38th week of pregnancy! What a contrast to the 20 wonder-filled faces of children who had experienced traumatic personal family lives when I brought my newborn home. Crucial to our ministry was the ordinariness of giving time and self to establish trust before we could effectively share our message of hope and reconciliation.

We later spent three years living in Christian community at theological college on the outskirts of Morpeth, New South Wales. This experience equipped us both pastorally and spiritually for parish ministry. As a community we shared gifts from God’s people on numerous occasions. Living by faith, we had just enough materially and so often a food parcel provided what we needed just in the nick of time. I learnt about grace in giving and dignity in receiving. However, issues of unrealistic expectations of fellow Christians and lack of clarity about the role of sending churches proved painful.

Community is defined in the Macquarie Dictionary as “a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government and have a cultural and historic heritage”. The church is a body – a community – not a business. The model in Acts 2:42–47, the life of Barnabas, the ’one another’ verses of the Epistles, and the relationships reflected in the book of Acts and the apostles’ writings give us basic insight into the task before us. The same love requirement is incumbent upon the church of the 21st century with our own complex and ever-changing challenges. But what is the cost of striving to live in Christian community?

It seems that in Christian ministry and overseas mission work the biggest pain reported by members is in connection with Christian community living. Our experiences parallel similar issues for Interserve partners as they prepare to serve cross-culturally in places far from family and friend supports. From the experience of Paul (check out his listing in 2 Corinthians 6:4–10) we see that anyone practising true, biblical community life will experience much pain. We all fall short and fail each other. When we love deeply we also hurt deeply. We could choose to protect ourselves from much of this pain by staying at a safe distance from others and not committing ourselves too deeply to them. Alternatively, we could lower our standards and expectations to avoid much of the pain. However, Paul reminds us that Christianity is lived out in community. Attitudes and behaviours such as we read in Acts 2:42–46 and 3:32 must have been difficult to achieve and perhaps that is why Paul urges the believers in Philippi to work hard at achieving community (Phil 2:2; 4:2–3).

The Great Commandment to “love each other as I have loved you” is the essence of what we are to teach, how we are to disciple, and the way to develop Christian community. In many ways, though, it is when we share our vulnerability that Jesus opens doors for the community to minister with us.

Since Ian’s ordination for the Anglican Church in 1983 we have lived and served in several Australian towns: Bendigo, Kerang, Yackandandah and Heathcote as well as the Mornington Peninsular south of Melbourne. Our ministry and work has indeed been a family affair. Ian’s pastoral and teaching role, children at school, and community nursing assisted us to relate to locals in practical ways. Over time, opportunities arose to share God’s power for healing and translating the message of the gospel to reach people who had felt estranged from the church. The message of Jesus needed to be heard in new ways. The church congregations were often tiny and isolated from village culture but God’s people began to explain their faith and adjust worship styles and ministries to assist new members to understand the gospel message. The Great Commission is not complete until we have made disciples, ”teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”.

Both of our daughters, together with their husbands and families, live their lives as incarnational ministers of the gospel. Ruth, David, Abby and Josh serve Jesus in South East Asia. Our second daughter Naomi and son-in-law Chris lived in South East Asia last year on a short-term assignment and are looking to serve cross-culturally in future. Ruth was ministered to by her local Christian community last year when she was very ill. David was away and she had sole responsibility for the children. The people in their slum neighbourhood rallied at her bedside in prayer. Children were fed and cared for by trusted church friends.

Currently we are transitioning from pastoral parish ministry to serve with a new community of believers through Interserve and related missionary organisations. As this unfolds we are honoured to partner with others who have the courage and conviction to serve Jesus in His global village in the community of faith.

From our experience, it would seem that the way we interact with the issue of suffering and pain in most churches and the way we ‘sell’ missions today do not always adequately prepare missionaries for life on the mission field. So often we highlight the excitement at the expense of the reality. Churches in the West may teach people how to respond to suffering but often fail to teach them about the indispensability of suffering – a doctrine clearly taught in the New Testament. If missionaries are truly going to identify with and become servants to those they serve, they will face severe frustrations, along with what initially looks like failure and fruitlessness.

As member care workers we want to encourage you to bear in mind constantly that suffering is an indispensable feature of discipleship and hence community life. Hopefully, then, when it comes we will not be so surprised and we can respond to it in a Christ-like manner. May your community life be enriched by the love of God as you grow in the ways of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Risk Suffering

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Administration, Other

See attached PDF

Splashing Over

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Medical / Health

Sometimes discipleship happens in the context of long-term relationships. At other times, brief encounters give us the opportunity to share God’s love in meaningful ways. Being disciples of Jesus means allowing His love to fill up our lives, so that whatever the situation, we are ready to let that love splash over on those around us.

“May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you just as it does from us to you.” 1 Thess 3:12,13. The Message.

I see a glass, full of water. As more water is poured in, it splashes over onto the tablecloth, the cutlery, the serviette and whatever else is around. A glass that is empty will not splash over; but a full one can’t help but splash over! The splashed water runs over hard surfaces and it is also absorbed into soft, dry things like cloth, carpet and soil. Its impact can be far-reaching and can bring about change in that which absorbs it.

The part of the country where I work in has less than 0.05% Christians, so this has become my prayer for myself and other staff of the hospital where I work: That the love of God would fill us and splash over to the people around us. Only a few expatriates work with the hospital team. Most of the Christians working here are cross-cultural missionaries within their own country. They come from the south and north-east—the more Christian and richer parts of their country. They leave behind family and well-paying jobs to come and serve in a place that is called ‘backward’ and very poor, so that they might share the love of God with the people in their care.

Government Medical Officers completing extra training in Family Medicine (General Practice) come to our hospital for the clinical part of their course. They stay with us for a period of ten days at a time, three times over two years. They get to see us at work and at home, so they get to observe all the aspects of our lives. They say things like this to us: “Your hospital is different. The hospital is clean”, “The doctors talk nicely to the patients”, “The doctors are willing to share their knowledge with us”. They often ask why we have come to work in this ‘backward’ place, and then we have a chance to share about the love of God that compels us.

Some of our doctors go to visit the Government Medical Colleges in our area. They seek to encourage the Christian medical students and also build relationships with other students there. In the Diwali holidays, the medical students are invited back to our hospital for a retreat. During the day there is a clinical training program to supplement their college training. In the evening there is a spiritual program including testimonies, discussions and messages. Now we have some of these students coming to us on other holidays just because they feel at home with us. They want to learn more about God’s love—the love that they have experienced splashing over to them.

Raj was a 20-year-old young man who came to us after eating rat poison in a suicide attempt. Unfortunately, the rat poison he had eaten was one that we cannot reverse and so this young man would die, probably in the next 24-48 hours. Olem is one of our nurses who has been changed by the love of God. During her duty she was able to share with this young man of the difference God’s love made in her life. Raj’s case is just one of over 400 suicide attempts we see in our hospital each year. Many of them come to our hospital because it is known in the area as a place that deals compassionately for people who attempt suicide. God’s love is splashing over again.

I first saw Beryl when she was left screaming and scantily clad on the ground outside the Outpatient Pharmacy. We guessed she must have been about seven months old but she was just skin and bones unable to sit up. She ended up in our Children’s Ward where the staff gave her the name of this precious jewel. Within a week she was smiling and responding to anyone who came to give her a cuddle. I often finished my ward rounds by going in and playing with her. The hospital carried the cost of caring for her, since her family was never found. Today Beryl is a healthy little girl, thanks to “super flour halva” and the care of the staff in the Children’s Ward. (Super flour halva is a porridge made from local grains and pulses that provides a great source of carbohydrates and proteins). Beryl has also gained the love of a family: in the home of a couple who were not able to have a child of their own but are full of the love of God.

Pari was one of our nurses who came in to visit me and ask for advice with her crocheting. As we worked with the wool, she shared with me the challenges she faced regarding her family who were not following God’s ways and wondered what she should do when she had to leave the hospital and return to her home district. Now I get text messages from her from time to time. She is working in a remote part of the country where she has no phone, no electricity and she is both the doctor and the nurse. I thank God for the chance I had to splash over some of the love of God to her, which she is now splashing over to others.

Some years ago, after facing public transport in the heat and humidity of Darwin, Denise and I bought a big, cold, refreshing milkshake. As Denise sat down, she managed to spill her drink, and what a mess it made! Before it completely spilled, she managed to catch the drink with about three quarters still in the cup. What amazed us was how far the spilled part had spread. It covered a large area of the table and the cleaner had a big mess to clean up on the floor too. And that was just one quarter of the drink!

And so I keep praying: that the love of God would fill my colleagues and me to overflowing. We have seen some of the impact as God’s love has been absorbed into dry and thirsty lives around us—but we long for more. Just like with Denise’s milkshake, sometimes we are amazed at how far the splash spreads. I think that we will be even more amazed when we reach heaven, because God has promised that His love and His Word will not return without making an impact in the world around us.

The author is an Interserve Partner in India

Pressing on toward the goal

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Education, Arab World

A good football coach understands that they are not just coaching a game, but coaching life. They recognise the need to develop the whole player. As in the journey of discipleship, what we learn on the football field touches all areas of life and community.

An Interserve Partner and football coach reflects on his role: shaping young players into people who can receive, apply and spread love and grace in every aspect of life.

In 2011, I was fortunate to be able to attend a 2 week coach education course in Spain, along with 30 other coaches from Australia. We had lectures from coaches involved in the youth programmes at some of the biggest and richest clubs in the world – clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Espanyol, Malaga to name a few. And without exception, these coaches all started their lecture with the same line: that they “first develop the person, then develop the player”. The biggest football clubs in the world know that having players with good character and behaviour, who can work well together in a team and be role models to the community are a valuable asset to the club. They are beneficial both for its on-field success as well as for its reputation and economic success off the field.

Can we also develop people as we develop players?

More recently, I attended another conference in a nearby country, this time for like-minded young coaches of many sports. The focus of this conference was not just on improving coaching ability, but on how coaches can become role models for the young people in their care.

At this conference, some recent research was presented which showed that sport itself has a neutral effect on players. It can be used to positively influence a person’s life, but it can also be detrimental. If the coach adopts a “win at all costs” attitude, then sport has negative impacts on the moral fibre of the players. Their behaviour off the sporting field is eroded by the messages they receive at training. When winning is everything, being honest, respectful, loyal, humble and fair are disregarded. When winning is all we focus on, self-centredness, greed, pride, violence and bending the rules all take centre stage.

But, as the teams in Spain prove, it is possible to adopt a winning attitude without abandoning our moral accountability.

Combating negative influences

There are many negative influences that we need to counteract as we strive to teach our players positive personal characteristics and attitudes. After all, we live in a fallen world. I will highlight two:

Firstly, there is the lack of positive role models for youth, especially fathers. This applies especially in the countries where we serve. Due to many factors, fathers are absent from young people’s lives. While coaches can’t become a new father, they can certainly become a new positive role model in the players’ lives.

Secondly, there is the effect of poverty. A newspaper editorial about World Humanitarian Day this year stated that, “poverty kills solidarity and dehumanises people. When I have less and feel insecure, I am less inclined to associate or support others.” In poor communities, it said, people have “lost the mechanical sense of cohesion where people help one another without thinking.”

The effect of poverty

Poverty causes people to abandon any thoughts of working together and instead adopt a survival attitude: you must look after yourself or you will go without. No one else will look out for you. Poverty is a very real factor in many countries where we serve.

I had a glimpse of how that plays out in real life in 2004 when I first came to my adopted country and spent some time at an orphanage. One of the activities I did with the kids was to play a variation of baseball, using a football and kicking instead of batting. Sounds simple enough. There was a fielding side. There was a batting side; all sitting and waiting their turn. Well, almost. Whenever it was time for the next “batter”, every one of the batting team was up and fighting for position and I had to pull them apart. Waiting in line wasn’t an option. Was it just because they were naturally self-centred and greedy? Or did their lives condition their behaviour? When you realise that they are amongst the poorest of the poor, and waiting for anything means missing out, then it is easy to understand that they didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to play.

Training to win – on and off the field

When you look at the way a team plays sport – in my case football – you can learn a lot about the culture and society of the players. Football is just a microcosm of life. When I watch the local games here in my country, I see the same problems arising from poverty and lack of positive role models, the problems that hinder community spirit and development in the society, all played out before you on the football field.

So why use sport as the vehicle to combat these effects? Sport is a natural bridge between the coach and the players. As we coach, our focus is not just on making better players, but on making the players think about the concepts and attitudes involved. Concepts like teamwork, serving others, forgiving others, encouraging others, helping the weaker members of the team, helping others to score goals, planning ahead, making good decisions, respecting others, being loyal, humble, working together for a common goal, overcoming challenges, and working hard to improve ourselves are all important for a successful team. They are also all important in a successful and caring society.

By giving the players a tangible example of these principles in action, we hope that they can understand their value and apply them within their families, communities, and their future work. In so doing, they may ultimately transform the communities where they live.
Transforming lives and communities

And there is more. A wise man once said that we only need to do two things. The second was to love our neighbour. How do we love our neighbour? By doing what’s best for them, and putting their needs above our own. We do that in a team environment by doing what’s best for the team;

By serving the team.
By respecting the coach, the opposition, the referee.
By being loyal to our teammates.
By accepting responsibility for our mistakes; admitting them and not blaming others.
By being honest.
By working hard and improving ourselves so we can better serve the team.
By helping others to score goals, especially when they are in a better position to do so.
By being honest, and not stealing from others: not their belongings, their opportunities, or their worth as people.
By being humble in victory and gracious in defeat.

All of the things that we want to encourage in our players go to the very essence of loving our neighbour. As we encourage our players to obey this second command for the sake of their present lives, we ask and hope that it will lead them to understand the very nature of the One who gave the command, and then to their understanding and obedience of the first.

Sport provides a unique bridge between the coach and the players, but it also touches many others in the community who enjoy participating or watching it. It has a levelling quality that gives us acceptance in the community. Because of this, it is also a unique opportunity to reach into and share the lives of the people we live amongst, allowing us to reveal the hope we find in following the One who lets us share in His victory.

There are many opportunities in the countries we serve. Find out how you can be part of His team in these countries. Don’t wait on the bench, but get involved in the game.

The author is an Interserve Partner in the Arab world.

Whole of life discipleship

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Agriculture

Whole of life discipleship

Rod and Helen* have served in Pen Asia for the last 8 years; he as an agronomist and she as a home-schooling mother.
Here, they each reflect on what it means to follow Jesus in the diverse contexts of their daily lives.

Helen’s perspective

‘Whole of life’ discipleship means living a life of faith alongside others and encouraging them in their faith journey. This is very challenging to me because it’s intricately linked with my own faith journey. Discipleship of others feels most natural, and most authentic, when it overflows from my own experience of following Jesus, my own experience of being His disciple.

I’m still learning how to stay aware of His presence amidst my everyday activities and to walk through my days with Him. I’m still learning to turn to Him over and over again in small moments, with thankfulness and cries for help. I’m still learning to put my failings, my hopes, my needs and the needs of others around me into His hands.

As I learn more about how to follow Him, and as I experience His loving care, His provision and His encouragement, then I find myself sharing these experiences in a natural way with those around me.

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

I find it hard to strike a balance between being intentional in discipleship and allowing the Spirit to lead me. I am committed to encouraging others to follow Jesus more closely, but I want to do it in His strength, relying on His wisdom and His timing and not my own. The times I feel a welling up in my spirit, an urgency to share an experience of His grace or an encouragement from His Word, are the times I sense His Spirit touching others through me. I pray for my heart to become more sensitive to His nudges and for more of these moments that seem truly God-directed.

The people I live my everyday activities amongst are the ones I have most opportunity to share with and encourage: my three kids who I teach at home each day, a few local women who I come into contact with regularly, and a few other expat friends in our community. These people, with whom I interact most closely, see the best and the worst of me. Amidst the messiness of my everyday life I hope they will see His strength made perfect in my weakness as I seek to follow Him.

I have the opportunity to live life and faith alongside our house-helper Bee*. She is from a small village in the south of the country but is living in the capital with her husband while he does further study. She works in our home to help support her husband’s studies and they live with us. Bee is a follower of Jesus, but her husband is not.

It is a privilege to walk alongside Bee and we’ve experienced some exciting answers to prayer. She was keen to learn tailoring skills whilst living in the capital; but we knew it would be difficult to find a tailor who would be willing to teach her around her work hours, and who would teach her a wide range of skills rather than seeing her as an opportunity for quick money or as someone to give all the drudge work to. We both prayed about how to find the right tailor to approach and one day I felt a strong urging to take Bee to a particular tailor who had made some clothes for me a couple of times before. I shared it with Bee and we went there that day. To our delight, the tailor agreed to teach Bee for a reasonable ‘one-off’ payment and for an open-ended amount of time—until Bee learnt as much as she wanted to learn. Bee has been learning alongside this tailor for over eighteen months and it is working out so well. An obvious answer to our prayers!

It’s harder to walk alongside Bee when circumstances are difficult and His answers are less obvious. It’s harder for me to trust His timing and His wisdom and to encourage Bee to do the same. Earlier this year Bee’s mother was very sick and so my family and I joined Bee in praying for her. Despite our prayers and our efforts to try and find the right medications for her, Bee’s mother died. Her family is left in a difficult situation with two younger sisters still at home and Bee’s father travelling away for work.

Although Bee’s husband is not a believer, he attends church with her each week and has been interested to read some Christian books and even a Study Bible. He has remarked that Christians really seem to care for other people and he was struck by the difference between the Christian funeral for Bee’s mother and the Buddhist funerals he is familiar with. He hasn’t decided to follow Jesus yet. Bee and I are still praying for him.

As I walk alongside others I learn so much from the way they live as a disciple. I have been challenged by Bee as she works in our home. She does her work with such diligence and care, always doing tasks to the best of her ability, and never seeking recognition or praise. When I read in the Word about taking the attitude of a servant, I think of Bee. Her example challenges my own willingness and efforts to be a servant.

Rod’s perspective

Eight years of living in Pen Asia have provided me with a variety of experiences related to discipleship and how discipleship might work in this context.

In a broad sense, discipling others is to be available to help shape their spiritual life. There is a sense of this being intentional, and yet also a natural process to help others seek increasing fruitfulness in their lives. Discipleship viewed this way is what we might refer to as sanctification.

As westerners, we usually think of discipleship as taking place during a set period of time, often early in our spiritual journey, a time we set aside to let God do His work. Discipleship may fit into a class at a set time where we form our theological views. Perhaps we ignore the claim that God has on our lives, that our journey of growth should be continuous and ongoing, that God can use chance encounters or even suffering to form and shape our spirituality—that He is orchestrating all things to work together for our good.

Adopting this approach fits my context. Local folk don’t split apart their spiritual lives from their secular lives. Spirituality permeates everything. Discipleship, then, can take place through all sorts of actions, forms and situations. Discipleship is actually a whole lot of life experiences with the key ingredient being the promptings of the Holy Spirit (who, by the way, works so powerfully in us; see Col 1:29).

For some time, I managed a team made up largely of Buddhists. Despite our context (where evangelism is viewed as creating disharmony and may lead to expulsion), there were many opportunities to share Christ gently in word and deed. Some of this was direct: sharing a parable at a training session, explaining my Christian motivation to walk alongside the poor, praying with those in difficult situations, or responding to questions about my faith. But much was indirect: consciously donning a servant leadership approach, respecting others, discussing ethics and morals, or demonstrating love in action.

My current team is made up of believers, quite a different situation. We have been following a Bible study series to explore and discuss passages in depth. The book of Romans, for instance, is not something to be rushed through. Much of our discussion has centred on questions from our staff that have not been answered in their church settings. Discussion of theology has led them to consider life application in areas such as diet and health, raising children, the use of technology, and ethical business practices.

Living as a Jesus-follower means, however, that discipleship stays blurred. It involves a whole lot more than simply sharing scripture passages. It involves showing, demonstrating, guiding, or applauding others as they put Jesus’ words into practice. It may also be listening, crying, or hearing broken stories. Much of this takes place in the midst of the everyday. Note how often Jesus performs an action or provides teaching while he is “on the way” to somewhere else. Am I ready to adopt this view, to be available anytime, to point others to the Jesus way?

Lately, I’ve enjoyed asking our staff about their faith journeys and helping them relive why it is that they follow Christ. I like to encourage them to expand their faith, such as through specific prayer or re-reading small passages of scripture. Attending their church services has also been encouraging for them, giving them a kind of solidarity and me a deeper understanding of the challenges of worshiping in their context.

What about those who are yet to follow Jesus as their Lord? Discipleship can then take on the form of revealing the truth of scripture as played out in real life. Acts of kindness play a role here. When I worked in development, building a bridge with a poor community, a major undertaking for all involved, led to changes in mindset about “Christians” such that some villagers are now working with a nearby Christian business. These are small steps indeed, but as we are faithful in small ways, so God can do His work to orchestrate bigger changes in the future.

Rod and Helen are Interserve Partners in Pen Asia

*Names have been changed

Dear Supporters

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Other, Other

This magazine has a great name; GO. Three years ago, we went. But for many of you, you have not gone; you have stayed to be used by God in Australia. For you who have stayed – but still care about us who have gone – it is to you who I dedicate this letter!

When we were asked to write an article for Go, I was excited. I like to write. When I was told it was on prayer….that made me think twice. That’s because, well…. I’m really not such a great pray-er. As many Mums of young children might identify, I sit down to pray and within a few minutes of quiet I’m either fast asleep or back on my feet dealing with the latest toddler emergency.

I’m really a little embarrassed to admit it of course, because aren’t most “Missionaries” (except me and my husband) pretty perfect? Hmmm. Anyhow, here’s where you come in. Though I strive for a better prayer life, and hope for a great intercessory future, right now, I am a better dish-wiper than intercessor. Yet, we are blessed to have a God who knows our weaknesses and I am eternally grateful for those of you who are faithful intercessors on our behalf.

I know that God hears your prayers for us. I hope you have also seen the evidence of this, and been encouraged, as you read our newsletters, and hear the stories which prove His, and your, faithfulness.

A perfect example was when we needed $10,000 to save the School (for the poor) that we serve at: we asked and you prayed. Two years in a row, at the last minute, we saw God answer these prayers in miraculous ways. Like some of our mission heroes, we now have evidence of God’s providence when we were handed a $10,000 check from an individual we didn’t know, just days before the cut-off. This has not just happened once, but several times. So in the last few years, not only has our ministry been able to continue, but our faith has also grown, through these (character building) waits for God’s answers!

Similarly, when the nation we serve in had some violent and unsettled months, we had to make some tough decisions. Should we stay? Should we go? Would we be safe here? What was God’s will for us at that time? Through those especially scary months, we needed your prayers more than ever. And even when the internet was out for a long while, we knew that you were watching the news and praying for our family. And when it came time to make decisions, God clearly led us into deciding to stay in that nation, despite the uncertainty. But if I had not known that back in Australia there were people committed to praying for us, and upholding us daily, I’m not sure that we would have made the same decision.

There are the simpler things you have prayed for – that don’t make such exciting stories – but are just as important. When you asked on our behalf, for a home for us on home assignment, God answered your prayer. Sometimes I wish God would not wait until it is down to the wire for things, but by now, we are getting much better at trusting in God’s provision! We also saw the provision of a car from a stranger, who happened to email the State Office at the right time, with the right car, and a generous heart – after you prayed. Thanks!
Similarly, we have been aware and humbled that people have been praying for us continually in everyday things, like our walks with God, for our kids settling in a foreign country, and especially for our health and safety. We are happy to share we have not got many exciting stories in that area – a divine answer again.

Individually, some may say these things could be lucky coincidences. They just happened to work out in our favour. But when we look back, over three years, and see the continuous blessing, provision and protection of God on our lives and ministry, we hope you see this cannot be true. There have been countless examples of our family being protected – through death threats at work, in the traffic, and in day-to-day life of emotional strain. As you uphold us in consistent prayer these potentially critical situations have been diffused.

In one situation we were aware that a gang of armed youths were active in our city, and had threatened to come and visit the school. They had attacked churches and other schools, damaging property extensively and slashing and attacking a number of young people indiscriminately, sending six seriously injured youths to hospital. We asked you to pray protection over each child, teacher and the premises. A prayer team from the UK specifically prayer walked the area two weeks before the time of the incident.

The gang did come to the school just before students were released one evening. When they came, my husband came out to confront them, dressed in a suit and dress shoes, and without a weapon of any kind. Yet, when they saw him, the entire gang ran from him, so he chased them into the next suburb, where they dispersed into the market. The school students were able to be dismissed safely, and the gang hasn’t returned yet. Why would the gang not do the same thing here as they had done throughout the city in the weeks previous? Why would they fear a slightly crazy foreigner chasing them? My only credible explanation is that some faithful pray-ers were covering him and the school that day. I don’t know why God chose to protect here and not the other places. But we are very thankful that hundreds of kids were kept safe.

I wish I could understand the mystery of prayer. I wish I could be a great intercessor. The hard times have pushed me into praying more passionately but I still have a long way to go! What I am most grateful for is that you have been there praying for us, and your prayers have been answered time and time again.

It is not only our own supporters for whom this letter is written. Every Partner serving cross-culturally could share of God’s faithfulness and answers to your prayers, just like us. On behalf of them all, to each one of you, our faithful prayer partners: thanks!

Love S.T.

The author is an Interserve Partner

And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Isaiah 65:24 (KJV)

Bright neon flashing signs

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Education

Teaching five-year-olds does not often allow for quiet time. They just love to talk! About their families, their friends, their new toys, a wobbly tooth, just about everything! But what I love is when they talk to God. Their prayers are so honest and they are not afraid to ask God to supply their needs and to thank him for what he does for us. I must say it is hard not to smile when they pray for their teacher’s plane to stay away from eagles in the sky, or, “thank you Jesus that it’s summer soon because I can’t wait to have milkshakes.” Their honesty and thankfulness has made me think about prayer and its importance in our mundane day-to-day lives.

Prayer has always been something that I have done, but it wasn’t until coming overseas to serve, that I have found the importance of and daily reliance upon prayer. It started about a year ago when I was devoutly talking to God – nay – pleading with him to show me in “bright neon flashing signs” where on earth I was supposed to go after returning from two years away in an exotic location; England. He had planted Nepal in my heart months before, but I was having an inner wrestling match to properly accept my calling. I think the idea of going appealed to me more than the physical aspect of moving halfway across the world to a foreign, dusty, third world country. However, like many times in my life I have found that when I pray for leading, I imagine him smiling, leaning back and with a flick of his wrist or a blink of his eye, he answers our prayers in mind-bending ways.

So once again at the beginning of 2012, I found myself willing to follow God’s leading but not really sure where that was. But, as in so many instances before, God has allowed these prayers and pleas to be answered when and how he wants them to be. I had been home from London for a few months and things were starting to get a little desperate. I needed an answer, I needed funds, and I wasn’t quite sure which way to turn. However I made a decision to make sure that whatever I decided to do, that I would completely consult God in prayer on every decision I made. So I tried to subside the panic that was slowly brewing inside of me, like a good cup of green tea, and just hand it over to the Big Guy! So I did! And he was faithful.

I remember that day well. I was fiddling on the computer, organising things (not really organising, more agonising over future plans), when my friend Marilyn popped online to answer my questions about Nepal. I had been liaising with Marilyn because she had been in Nepal for two and a half years and it was she who initiated my interest in serving at KISC for the 2012/2013 school year. Marilyn asked if I had done anything in regards to finding funding for the year ahead. I hadn’t. So she said to me, “I will email a couple of my friends because they know how important it is for us to find teachers out here. You can start to write letters to friends and family, and that is at least a start.” We organised to talk again later once her friends had responded.

Not even half an hour later, she called me back and said, “Honey, stop writing those letters; I think you’re covered for the whole year!” A friend of hers had read the email and replied instantly with “I think we should be able to cover that!”

BAM! I was numb with shock, and fear, and disbelief. If that wasn’t a neon flashing sign, then I’m not sure what is! Later, I learned that the staff at the school had gathered to pray for me that very day about my finances and direction for me to come to KISC. My sponsor also informed me much later on that he gets hundreds of emails across his desk every day and doesn’t commit to helping others unless their message speaks out at him. But if he feels led to take it up, he does so without any hesitation and accepts immediately. Even in a season when business was quiet, he still decided to step out in faith and support me financially for the year. God has blessed his faithfulness abundantly with a business year so full that he has had to outsource to meet the demands. I was so humbled to hear this, and grounded in my calling to serve the year at KISC.

Since arriving on the dusty roads of Kathmandu, prayer has been a method of survival, necessity and comfort. Adjusting to a new culture, a new climate and a new school has not always been easy. At the beginning of the school year I had a few significant problems with my class and there are times when the pain of homesickness trickles in and little things like the crazy traffic, or no electricity can almost be the end of you. But I have experienced and witnessed things here that have changed me forever. The school that I have been working at has just finished 40 days of prayer and fasting for the future development of the school and seeking God’s leading. I have enjoyed being a part of a community where if there is a need, a problem, or even success, we turn to God. Sometimes during a lesson or lunchtime, we pray for the needs of a staff member or the school, taking everything to him in prayer.

The mother of one of my students came to me last term to explain her husband’s sudden-onset battle with a brain tumor and to ask if we could pray for healing. After many months of prayer and medical treatment the doctors found no tumor remaining. It was a miracle!
But despite the many miraculous times when he says “Yes”, sometimes God’s answer is “No”, and some sad and disappointing results this year have led me to ask him, “Why?” Yet, despite his occasional “No” answer, I have learned that his plans are bigger, his ways are higher and he is always faithful.

A favorite verse during my time in Nepal is, Phillipians 4:6: “Don’t worry or be anxious about anything, instead pray about everything, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.”

If you had told me when I was a little girl that in 2013 I will be living in Nepal, working at a mission school and sharing God’s love with the people of Nepal, I would not have believed you.

I am thankful that God had a different plan. Stepping out in faith to follow his calling this year has been one of the most fulfilling experiences, and I will not leave the same person I was when I arrived. I have learned that prayer is not just part of our routine before bed, but a constant source of support and comfort, as God cares for us in every mundane and major detail of our lives.

Tara is an OnTracker serving on a one-year placement in Nepal.

Learning the Language of Discipleship

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Community Development

It’s an exciting stage of the journey. Interserve has accepted us as Partners, we know where we are going and have some idea of what we might be doing. We have thoughts about how we might meet people in our neighbourhood, build relationships in our community, engage with the local church and, God willing, see lives transformed through encounters with Christ. Then comes the rollercoaster ride of visiting churches, hosting information nights, raising support, packing up our home and, of course, saying goodbyes.

After an exciting, sometimes stressful, extremely emotional deputation period, we finally arrive at Bangkok International Airport with 3 kids and more than 150kg of luggage safely in tow. In the first few days, the excitement of catching up with old friends, eating favourite foods and revisiting favourite parks keeps our spirits high. And then, when the initial excitement has worn off, we find ourselves living out of quite a lot of suitcases with nowhere to hang our wet clothes, sick children and, something I never thought I’d see, my husband desperate for fresh vegetables! The first few weeks of living at a guest house while trying to find a home, a school for the kids, a school for language and a suitable doctor, are difficult but to some degree expected and thankfully, only short term. But often, after this initial and intense phase of setting up home in a foreign country is over, it is easy to believe that life will settle into some sort of routine and we will be able to get on with what we came here to do.

So why are we here? Well, the official reason is to work in the national church’s Office of Child Protection. But we also hope to use our time here to get alongside the local church. To encourage believers and non-believers in their understanding and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and to be one more light, a witness for Christ, in a country where more than 80% of the population is Buddhist and less than 1% is Christian.

Fortunately for us, when we arrived this second time around, we already knew a few locals; we had experienced, long term missionaries to help us out; and quite a lot of the people at our church speak English very well. This initial transition phase was perhaps easier for us than for some, as we had already done a little of the groundwork, building relationships when we came to Thailand as OnTrackers in 2010. So although we initially thought we could hit the ground running, it would appear life has come to a grounding halt or at least moving very slowly – a lot like the Bangkok traffic! And like sitting in a taxi through three changes of lights and not going anywhere, this has been, at times, quite frustrating and sometimes even disheartening. Dan is still doing full time language study, while I am looking after the kids, doing part time language study and helping out at the kids’ school. Perhaps with the exception of natural linguists or extreme extroverts, language learning is slow, hard work. We often feel like we are progressing at the rate of two words forward, one word back. Eight months down the track, we still can’t understand a sermon at our Thai church, I can read the hymns but I can’t read and sing them at the same time, in time with the rest of the congregation. Even on a good day, I often struggle to converse fluently with my Thai friends in their language. And then of course there is the unavoidable embarrassment of language faux pas. Surely they just cause misunderstandings and offense!

Language learning often seems better at breaking relationships than building them. Dan told a man he had just met to ‘go away’, I told a girl putting on make up that she was ‘bad luck’ and, most embarrassingly, the son of a church elder that he ‘had many breasts’ instead of ‘many turtles’! There are plenty of people in Bangkok that we can witness to in English and Dan could probably get by doing his child protection work in Thinglish. So why put ourselves through the embarrassment, literal pain of fortnightly exams, headaches and sore eyes (Thai script is very intricate!)?

Well for one thing, language learning teaches humility. There is nothing like asking for an extra plate at a street café so that you can share a meal with your daughter and ending up with a whole extra meal to teach you that you are not in control of the situations in your life, even when you think you are. Then there is wounded pride that comes with answering the phone in Thai, and giving what you think are clear directions to your home, only to be told, “I can speak in English”. I am not sure that when Paul exhorted the Christians in Philippi to have the same attitude of humility as Jesus Christ, he had language learning in mind. However, being in a country where you are learning the local language does lower you to the same level (at least communicatively) of a one year old. A fairly humbling place to be! So whilst it is easy to come into a new culture, especially one where the church is either small or still young, thinking you have all the answers and knowledge about the best way to do ministry. Language learning reminds us that we are also learners, mere babes in understanding and in need of help in order to grow. It is also a humbling reminder of Paul’s words to the Corinthians and something the Lord is still teaching me. So often I rely on my own wisdom or my own capabilities to serve the Lord. However, in God’s wisdom, He chooses to work through the foolish and weak things of this world to shame the things of this world. So that our boasts may not be in ourselves but rather in the Lord; so that our faith might not rest on man’s wisdom but on God’s power. (see 1 Corinthians 1:27-2:5)

Secondly, I think language learning demonstrates and often tests the commitment we have to the people we wish to work with and live amongst. As most foreigners living in Bangkok do not bother to learn much of the language, people are often pleasantly surprised to learn that we can converse with them in their own language. I only have to ask a taxi driver how many children he has and how old they are and he usually comments on how well I speak Thai. Unfortunately, at this stage I don’t understand much else of what he says to me, so the temptation to feel proud of my linguistic abilities is short lived. I hope though, that even though I can’t (yet) understand all that the taxi drivers, shop keepers and language instructors are saying to me, that I am demonstrating that I value them and are willing to invest time into learning how to communicate with them in their own language.

I think testing our commitment is also important. As one of the main goals of all this language learning is being able to disciple people and discipleship is not always easy. Like language study, it is often slow, it involves sacrifice of personal time and there are times when results are seldom seen. In times of frustration over the language learning process, when we feel we can’t possibly learn one more exception to the rule, it is easy to doubt and wonder whether it is all worth the effort. It is at these times that we need to look to the cross and the demonstration of God’s love and commitment to us. “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NIV) (If you are not sure how to pray for Partners in language study, perhaps you could pray that we would continue to be compelled by Christ’s love to persevere through what sometimes feels like a testing of our commitment to serve overseas).

Learning the local language also helps with understanding the culture. Apart from all the practice reading exercises about family relationships, religious practices and the news and media, the vocabulary and sentence patterns used in language often gives insights into what a culture values and the way its people think. For example, a common phrase in Thai is “mai bpen rai” which translated into Aussie means “no worries”. This is an attitude I need to develop more of when we invite people over for dinner and they arrive over an hour late because they oversleep then get stuck in Bangkok traffic. Rather than getting annoyed or becoming judgmental, God is teaching me to be more gracious, flexible and understanding of others. This is an important lesson in godliness in any part of the world, but particularly in a culture where relationships are far more important than keeping to a schedule or plan.

Finally, time spent in language study also gives us time to build relationships. While there is a desk and plenty of work waiting for Dan in the Child Protection Office, going to language school and meeting up with the team for lunch most days, has allowed him invaluable time getting to know them before he has to work with them and help manage team projects. It has also allowed him time as an ‘outsider’, to see and understand a bit better how the politics of the church denomination work (sadly even here there are church politics). For me, practising language is an excellent excuse to meet up with a Thai friend for coffee, chat to taxi drivers or sit down and talk with the lady who comes to look after Lilla while I teach. It is only after relationships are built that discipleship can effectively take place. Just as Dan will, God willing, be able to do a better job as project manager knowing how the team works and what they value and prioritize. Hopefully, they will respect his opinions more knowing who he is and what his values are. I believe the same is true for discipleship. I think it goes without saying that we value advice more from people we know and respect. Likewise, we are better able to encourage and advise those that we know well.

Humility, commitment and understanding are all characteristics that are refined in us through the process of language study and are essential for effective discipleship, mutual encouragement and the building up of God’s church, in which we are all equal members, still in need of purifying through God’s grace. And of course, none of this can happen outside the context of relationship. So, during those times when we despair at the seemingly countless number of rules required to determine whether the word we are reading is said in a high or low tone, it is helpful to remember that we are not just learning to speak another language. We are building relationships, practising humility, demonstrating commitment and gaining a better understanding of our new culture. So that we ourselves will be better disciples of Jesus and better able to disciple others as followers of Christ.

Rachel and Dan are Interserve Partners in Thailand.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:27-2:5

Grounded in Prayer

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Theology / Church, Other

I’m convinced prayer is the key to the health and vitality of our relationship with God –for the individual, church, community and nation. Prayer is our way of connecting with and trusting in the living God – it is his design and therefore God answers and honours prayer.

Jesus clearly modelled the significance and power of personal prayer as recorded in the gospels. Jesus often withdrew to quiet places to spend time praying with his Father. Notably, he did this prior to choosing the twelve disciples and prior to commencing his public ministry, when for forty days he prayed and fasted in the desert while being tempted by Satan (Mk 3:13-14; 1:12-13). Jesus would retreat in prayer to be alone with God to discern his will and replenish his strength for what lay ahead of him. We see the culmination of this in the garden of Gethsemane prior to his arrest, when he agonised over the prospect of the cross. In a deeply moving scene, Jesus collapses at the feet of his Father and in honest desperation asks if it’s possible for the ‘cup to be taken away’ (Mt 26:37-41). However, he gained clear resolve to go to the cross in knowing God’s will, through honest and anguished prayer (if only the disciples had stayed awake to keep watch and pray, as he had asked!).

In an incident when the disciples couldn’t deliver a boy from demon possession, Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith and in private told them “this kind can only come out by prayer”. With the coming of the Kingdom of God, the disciples were engaged in spiritual warfare, but they had neglected to robustly pray and exercise the faith that would make them effective in healing the boy (Mk 9:14-29). Furthermore, when the devil asked to sift Peter ‘as wheat’, Jesus responded by saying that he had ‘prayed for him’, that his faith would not fail after his denial and go on to strengthen his brothers (Lk 22:31,32). Indeed Jesus’ prayers were effective, as Peter became ‘rock like’ in his faith and a bold leader of the early church. Likewise, Jesus also prays and intercedes for us, and like Peter when we have our struggles with sin and temptation, he prays that we come through the testing – purified and stronger in our faith. Jesus also commended bold and persistent prayer. He taught the parable of the persistent widow who sought justice from a dodgy judge, and the parable of the pushy nocturnal friend who needed bread for his unexpected guests (Lk18:1-8; 11:5-10). Likewise there is a mystery and timing to prayer, and we are to trust in the goodness and purpose of God and persist in praying. Prayer is transformative. It helps us to grow closer to the Lord, it fortifies and strengthens our faith and enables us to listen to God and discern his will for our lives. Through prayer we abandon self-reliance, and bring our concerns to the Lordship of Christ and exercise our dependence on him.

Prayer is also the lynchpin to renewal and revival. In the national revival lead by one of Israel’s few good kings, King Hezekiah is an inspiring example of the power of prayer. After years of spiritual and moral decline in Israel, Hezekiah lead the nation back to God and revival followed. As soon as he was in power, Hezekiah consecrated the temple, reinstituted the law and the sacrificial system, and publically led the people in passionate prayer and worship. On one occasion whilst preparing for the Passover, many Levites had not consecrated themselves, so Hezekiah prayed that the Lord would pardon them and instead see their hearts – to which the Lord answered his prayer and blessed the nation (2 Chron 29-30). When the Assyrians invaded Judah and King Sennacherib threatened to lay siege of Jerusalem, Hezekiah didn’t cower, rather he and the prophet Isaiah took to prayer. God heard their prayers and sent an angel to annihilate the Assyrian army leaving Sennacherib to withdraw in defeated disgrace (2 Chron 32:16-21). Towards the end of his life, Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness and in desperation turned to God in tearful prayers. As Isaiah records, the Lord heard his prayer, provided a miraculous sign (by casting the sunlight back ten steps) and in mercy added fifteen years to Hezekiah’s life (Isa 38:1-8).

What do we learn about prayer in the beginnings of the early church? The early church was born on Pentecost when the Spirit descended upon the apostles during a time of devoted prayer and worship (Acts 2:1-4). Further on in Acts we read that after fasting and praying, the Lord revealed to the leaders of the Antioch church, to set apart Barnabas and Paul for their first missionary endeavour (Acts 13:2-3). Prayer preceded the formation of the church and its first missionary journey.

Dr A.T. Pierson has been noted for saying “There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer”. Behind every spiritual renewal – both personal and corporate – the common denominator is prayer. Preceding the reformation Martin Luther locked himself away in a monastery room to pray and study the word. The Methodist revival in England was birthed by the likes of John and Charles Wesley and George Whitfield who reportedly spent hours in fervent prayer and fasting. Perhaps prayer gave them the courage to boldly preach the gospel to the masses. Historians have suggested that Methodism was so transformative on English culture (particularly among the destitute and working poor), it prevented England from following France into violent revolution during the 1790s. Similarly it was a movement of prayer that sparked the Welsh revival in 1904, spreading onto other nations. In the Welsh revival, hundreds of thousands of people were converted to Christ, alcoholism was halved and violent crime was reduced to the level where police officers were made redundant, leaving the police department to justify their existence. The Welsh revival swept Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Australasia, the Americas and parts of Africa, forever changing history – all ignited by prayer.

At a personal level there have been perplexing and difficult times in my life where prayer has sustained me, and God in his grace has answered. Over the years I have encountered times of intense anxiety, sleep disturbance, immense work pressures, urgent resource needs, and desperation for his direction and guidance. During these troubling times I’ve always found the resolve and peace that God graciously gives through prayer. So I’d like to encourage you to continue to persevere in honest prayer to God, for he hears and answers according to his good purpose and timing.

The Interserve staff meets each morning to pray for our Partners and short termers across the globe, because we believe in the power and purpose of prayer. Interserve also has prayer groups that pray for our workers and the wider Interserve fellowship. Have you considered joining one of these prayer groups or receiving our prayer newsletter so you can pray more effectively for the work of Interserve? Let’s continue to pray for God to touch and transform not only our lives, but families, communities, churches, mission work, people groups and nations – for his good glory.

Matt Walton is Interserve’s State Director for Victoria.

References:
J. Edwin. Orr – Article on Prayer and Revival.
David Yonggi Cho – Prayer that brings revival 1998.