Prayer Requests Pre-Trip

Only a couple more days until I depart for South Africa. My bag sits packed at the foot of my bed only needing the minor details to be packed into it now. Out to run some last minute errands like buying a second camera battery and printing pictures of friends and family to share with people over there. With so much of the preparations completed, and what feels like so much time left before I leave I turn to spiritual preparations for the trip. Through some awesome personal conversations on Sunday, God pointed me to the book of James for personal study this week. While I could write for days on the wonderful lessons God was teaching me from James, the most profound for the preparation of this trip was found in chapter five where James’ exhorts his audience to pray saying, “the prayer of a righteous man has great power as it is working.” Prayer is all I have left to prepare me for this trip. I invite you to join in partner ship with me as I pray over the following issues. Firstly, the anxiety and worry of this trip is hitting my mom much more than it is hitting me. I’m praying that God will comfort her in her apprehensions about my trip. I am 100% sure that I am following in God’s will and have faith that God will protect me as I travel. I am praying for travel mercies. I continue to push to the back of my mind the horrible daylong flight that I will have over the Atlantic. If only traveling from New York to Johannesburg didn’t take 24 hours. May God grant me an uplifting spirit during the long time of travel so that all who I encounter along the way may see Christ alive in me. I am praying for the full time staff members of JAM. During the upcoming week and a half they will be preparing to launch the winter ministry that I will be partnering with them in. We will launch this campaign of outreaches on May 26^th. Pray for the FIFA World Cup. With such a large venue to be held on the stage of South Africa, eyes from around the world fill find themselves on the country this summer. With such a great opportunity come great risks. Pray for God’s hand over the entirety of the country during the event. Pray that God’s heart would permeate the people who travel to the country to follow the tournament. Pray that God would open the eyes of all who travel to the country so that they would realize that while they sit in a beautiful stadium supporting their country’s team, only minutes away disenfranchised youth live in some of the most extreme poverty. Finally, pray that God would refresh my heart. As some may know, I have grown restless in the past months at school. I eagerly await this opportunity to go into the world, to live an adventure with God. Pray for a refreshed passion for finishing my schooling at APU in the fall and for clarity and direction in God’s calling for my life once I graduate from APU. Thanks ya’ll. Keep it real. Love God and love others.

Oh, this was a cool idea thought of by Pastor Chris at FBC Cambria Sunday for how to remember to pray for me. Anytime you see or hear something about the FIFA World Cup on the TV or Radio throw up a prayer for me!