Lessons from the Side of a Road (Part 1)

Hello from Hong Kong! Wow! What a time it has been, and it’s crazy to think that it is already almost over! Last month, my team was in Toucheng, Taiwan a small and beautiful coastal town just about two hours away from Taipei. We have done a variety of things: cleaning a classroom out at a university for the purpose of prayer and worship meetings, attending a prayer meeting at a local church, speaking in front of youth groups, playing with kids at an after school program, spending some quality time as a team, and interacting with the people we meet in the day to day.

Releasing Prayers

And since coming to Taiwan, my friend JD had been wanting to attend the Pingxi Lantern Festival, an night event that draws thousands of people from around the world to a small Taiwanese village, where people release lanterns into the sky. But it isn’t just a beautiful spectacle. Nowadays, the people use this tradition to write prayers and wishes on the lanterns, for the gods to see them and answer them. (You can read more about that HERE.)

We arrived in the small town of Shifen, early in the morning before the majority of locals and tourists arrived. However, people were already releasing lanterns into the sky hours before the event that would take place that evening. I saw prayers for money, test scores, business ventures, family, relationships, and so much more. And then, my team decided to release our own lantern into the sky, but filled with praises to Jesus and scripture references. We know that we don’t have to light a floating lantern for the Lord to hear our prayers, but what a powerful prophetic act!

Releasing our Lantern!

 

We released our lantern, we prayer walked, we shared a packed lunch, and then we made our way to find a spot where people would walk by and see us holding signs that said “FREE HEALING”.

 

 

Wait.

As we stood on that roadside for about an hour, with people passing us on the street, I began to doubt our purpose for staying there. No one was stopping, and I felt I could do “more” on my own by walking on the street. Plus, in all honesty, I was really feeling a coffee at that moment. And to be real with y’all, when holding a sign that says, “FREE HEALING”, there are a lot of things I was wanting to go do instead. But God told me to wait.

 

So I waited.

And before long, a man came up to talk to us. He asked us if we could pray for healing of his heart, and wanted to take us to go and pray over himself and his girlfriend. Unexpected. But, my friend, JD, and I went and we prayed over them both. It was a short and sweet moment, and as weird as it was, it was also cool to be able to pray over a relationship. People need healing y’all, and it extends way beyond the physical.

Power in the Simple Words

So we returned to our spot. I see this energetic little girl in a red dress walking with her mom. She asks her mom a question about us, but they continue walking. It was about 10 minutes later that they both returned to our spot and asked us what our signs meant. My friend, Brandon, explained that we were there to pray over anyone who wanted prayer and/or healing. She smiled and asked if we could pray over both herself and her daughter, that they would “walk in the love of Jesus”. How sweet! So we gathered in prayer and I spoke a very simple prayer of blessing and peace over the both of them. I finished the prayer, and to my surprise, I looked up to see the mom in tears. She thanked us over and over again, and then they went on their way.

And it was in that moment that the Lord reminded me that there is power in the simple prayers. Prayers don’t have to be dressed up or eloquently spoken. All they need is the heart of the Father.

Keep Saying Yes

We continued with our day, and eventually moved to another spot nearby. My team a couple of cool encounters with people there. Brandon got the word, “juice box” earlier that day, and he was able to give a word of encouragement to a girl who was carrying a juice box!

And as we were standing there, I kept hearing the words, “donut lady”. I kept brushing it to the side, but the words kept coming back. Remember that couple that we had prayed for earlier that day? Well on our way to meet his girlfriend, we passed a lady who was selling donuts. And I felt very strongly to go and give a word to this lady.

So I Said yes.

I walked over to her stand, picked out a donut, and we began having a conversation. She spoke pretty good English, at least until I began explaining why I came to speak with her. As I tried to explain the word that I felt God had given me, she just looked confused and our conversation did not extend much beyond that. I left, honestly a little disappointed. Why did I feel so strongly that the Lord wanted me to meet this lady if she wasn’t going to understand me? I was so tempted to walk back with this defeat mentality, only to pass another lady who was selling donuts.

I felt Holy Spirit say, “what if she’s the one I wanted you to go to?”

I looked over at her, and if I’m being real here, her English didn’t seem to be as well developed as the woman I had spoken with earlier. And if that lady didn’t understand me, how would she? But I felt strongly to go.

So I said yes.

I began a conversation and asked if she spoke English. She got a little red and said, “very little”, but I began speaking to her anyway. I wrote “wonderfully made” on a small card and went to hand it to her and explain why I wanted her to have it. I kid you not. I was less than two words into my explanation when these two girls walked up and offered to translate for me. They translated everything I wanted to say, and before I could even say a proper thank you or ask to pray, they went on their way. And the woman kept telling me “thank you” as I bought a donut from her as well and said my goodbyes.

On the way back, I thanked God for providing a translator, even when I was filled with so much doubt about the whole thing. I also felt bad because in my shock, I had forgotten to ask if I could pray for her. In that moment, Holy Spirit say, “You did everything I asked you to do.”

All He asks of us is to say yes to what He’s asking us to do. Even if it doesn’t make sense. Even if you’re discouraged. Just keep saying yes. And He’ll equip you and provide everything you need. He’s always faithful.

 

It’s Always Worth It

The enemy is always quick to discourage. He is always quick to tell us that our efforts are worthless and that we are wasting our time. He always looks for ways to point out our flaws and insecurities. But when that happens, it most often means that the Lord is going to do something amazing. So when the Lord tells you to wait, or to go, or to speak, and you have no idea why, choose to listen to that still small voice rather than the one speaking out of fear and insecurity. God isn’t seeking to embarrass us in our obedience, but he is actually inviting us to be a part of something that we ourselves could never ask for or imagine.

How do I know that? Because the Lord wasn’t done showing us his provision for that day.

And I’ll get even more into what that looked like on the next blog!

 

Also! I am still in need of roughly $10,000 to continue on with my squad and share even more cool stories with you! Please consider partnering with me that I may continue to follow God on this journey He has me on currently!

Love you all!

Meghan