A Walk in the Park

There are some parts of my job that I struggle with: meeting new people, sharing the gospel with strangers, learning a new language, finding my way around a new city. Then there are some parts of my job that I wish I could do all the time.

Currently, my favorite part of my job is the prayer walks. My team has the privilege of walking around the campuses and the city with the purpose of praying for the people we see and the people we don’t see. I love it. Part of my excitement for it stems from my love for prayer and asking God to reveal himself to people in really amazing ways. One of my teammates pointed out that some of these people may have never been prayed for individually. Wow.

I think another part of my excitement is based on the fact that I can do this without meeting new people. Introvert for the win!

On Friday, my team used our prayer time to do a final prayer walk over the city. Some of my teammates hopped on a bus and went off to a new area. I simply walked to the park. It was a beautiful fall day, and I knew the park would be a quiet place for me to be undistracted in prayer.

The park is near the city center in Rivne, and it’s known as the “big park” for a very good reason. It is HUGE. And in fall, it is wondrously beautiful. It’s a quiet haven in the middle of the small city.

I’m not a picture-taker. I took less than 50 pictures in Ghana. I always stole pictures from my teammates for my updates. (Thanks, team!) I am not a picture-taker. I don’t even use snapchat well. (Sorry, snap friends.)

But this year, I am trying to take more pictures. I want to capture a few moments in each city. My prayer walk was full of marvelous moments that needed to be captured. Join me in reminiscing on my perfect fall morning praying in the park. 

I am praying that this park would be a place where people could know that God is God. When I walk through the park, God’s awesomeness is so evident to me; I want the people of Rivne to experience that. I want families to go for walks and dwell on God’s goodness. I want young couples to go to the park and talk about how God is working in their lives and relationship instead of simply sucking face. 

I pray that the old pain of Rivne would be cut away. That new growth and hope in Jesus would grow in its place.

[In addition to the beautiful park, there is a permanent carnival! It is too cold for it to be open, but it just stays there all year. How neat!]

I want the body of Christ in Rivne to grow like these baby trees. I don’t want them to be content with their attendance. I want them to be concerned about the growth of the Kingdom of God. I want the church to be a place that welcomes growth and helps the people grow like the magnificent trees in the park.

In Ghana, my teammates and I decided that Romans 10:13-15 would be our theme passage:

For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[g]

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”[h] 

I have cherished that verse. It reminded me of my purpose last year even on the hard days. Our last summer Bible study for Young Life girls in Sioux Falls was about that passage, and we even had little magnets to remind us of it. (I pulled off the magnet part so I could simply stick it in my Bible for the year!) At our stint briefing weekend in the Chicago area, we were commissioned to go out into the world. Each region received a charge: a verse followed by some powerful words of encouragement. Eastern European teams received a charge on Romans 10:14-15. I knew it was a sweet little whisper from my Jesus to me. He took me to Ghana and he brought me to Rivne for a purpose: to bring good news. I’m praying that he enables me to do that well this year. 

I want the people of Rivne to take the path that brings them to the feet of Jesus. I want them to walk in the ways of the LORD.

I want the walls of pain and hurt to come down. I want people to let Jesus into their pain so that he can tear down their walls.

Walking through the park praying for God to be truly known in this city reminded me of Psalm 67:2-4; you can see what it looks like in my Bible. The psalmist wants God's ways to be known throughout the earth. He wants God's saving power known among people everywhere. He wants the nations to praise God. He wants to see the whole world sing for joy because it knows God and the way he is governing the nations and guiding his people. I want the people of Rivne to know God. I want the people of Rivne to echo the words of the psalmist. I want Rivne to become a city that sends people out into the nations to tell others about Jesus. 

I want the lies that are believed here to be destroyed -- to fall apart like these former park benches. I long for the people of Rivne to know God as he is. 

My walk in the park just a few days before we leave reminded me that I am here so people can experience the park the way I am blessed to experience it: knowing that God created it and that Creator is a good, good Father.