We prayed for hungry hearts for our prayer hour and bible study here….and God has provided beautiful souls to come together with us to PRAY and LEARN God’s Word together. We weren’t sure if our prayer for a “fruitful ministry” would mean a lot of people to come in fellowship and study of the Word or a few hearts deeply touched by His Word. We see now, as our time here comes to a close, (it looks like we are definitely going…more assurance has come, but still no orders 😉 ) that fruitful ministry here has been a few people to come who were deeply longing for the Lord and His Word. We were graced with powerful stories of God’s grace, love, and wonderful plans for His children! As our study began, we saw a connection of hearts and a base of support and encouragement built between our precious neighbors and us, as God moved our hearts to base our study off of our local church’s sermon (where our neighbor preaches and their family serves) instead of our far-away Victorville church. At our bible study, a sweet woman with a son our son’s age and another on the way, with one year left in the Army…a similar path and similar story to ours…longing for that time together as a family…longing for God’s grace and strength as they wait for that time to come….a wonderful sharing of stories and struggles, and precious insight from the Lord into how to pray for one another and to depend on God’s saving Word. Another precious soul came–a woman and her baby who were more hungry for God’s Word than anyone I have ever met yet in my life…struggling to understand salvation…longing for God’s presence and Word to direct her path, to show her God’s Truth amongst all the other voices and religions…we had a deep and penetrating conversation about Jesus and salvation…into the late night…and then the next weekend, we embarked on a journey together to our blessed church in Victorville…complete with over 3 hours of driving there and back, 3 littles in the back seat, the service, and a stop to eat! Both of our eyes were filled with tears after the sermon…her heart had been deeply touched and so had mine. God had crossed our paths many times. And still is. We are so thankful for the opportunities of ministry God has given us in our bible study. God has begun to so beautifully unite Brian and my heart in ministry together…
The prayer hour has been so incredibly fulfilling. I came to know two ladies about 6 months ago now…Deborah and Leigh Ann…who were powerful prayer warriors with a passion like mine for prayer…God united hearts for prayer. It spread like wildfire..the group grew wonderfully. I LOVED getting to know these precious hearts…and wonderful mentors of mine. They taught me to soak up their wealth of wisdom and understanding, to fall in love with the desert ;-), and I was able to witness a beautiful friendship in the Lord blossom before my eyes between Deborah and Leigh Ann…I was so blessed! I LOVED praying together with them…whether in another’s house or mine…I LONGED to pray with them each week. It was my favorite time of the week. We brought our burdens to the Lord, prayed together, prayed over one other, with genuine, loving hearts. And God gave us His gift of peace and joy afterwards…every time. What precious memories I shall take of this group of ladies, of our hour of prayer together each week…of His gift of fellowship and deep love of prayer, that united hearts to come together and present our requests to Him and see Him answer them so mercifully.
As we enter into our last 2 months here..less than starting today…so many memories flash through my mind….I am treasuring them tonight deep into my heart…the wonderful gifts God has given me…and wondering what the last 2 months will bring here in our serene desert home….
Walking in Faith 