To the Ends of the Earth

The Germany & Japan teams after being soaked from a rain storm on the
way to and from breakfast. The middle five people are the Germany team.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." -Jesus Christ, Acts 1:8 NIV

I'm sorry I haven't been able to update my blog in a few days. We've been staying very busy and sleeping very little in preparation for our departure today. Tuesday, we learned about the realities of the increased spiritual warfare that we will be facing overseas. (It is my prayer that would proclaim the Good News so boldly upon our return to our hometowns that we would experience that same increased warfare in America!) We also discussed gender relations in other cultures, although this topic did not apply as much to the European teams. At the end of the day, the 120 Edgers were divided into groups and taught different methods of prayer:

• praying with incense while reading the Bible aloud
• meditation on spiritual questions (e.g., "What is God's will for this summer?", "What am I still holding on to that I should turn over to the Lord?")
• writing prayers out
• kinetic prayer (e.g. walking, running. One girl spun around the room like a helicopter yelling her praises.) While I don't have a problem with this method, I found it distracting to do it with about 25 others.
• praying by reading scripture (e.g., praying a psalm)
• prayer mapping, where one lists the powerful things of which God is capable (e.g., saving an entire nation, ending sex trafficking, healing the terminally ill)

Yesterday, we discussed possible security issues and how to handle them. This did not apply as much to the European teams, but there was still information that everyone should know. I then went down to the beach for about 45 minutes and read a book about prayer on the shore. (You can't go to West Palm Beach and not see the beach!) At our final worship service last night, the minister preached about putting our "yes on the table, so God can put it on the map." For the alter call, the minister asked us to write "yes" on a note card and place it on a table at the front of the chapel. Afterwards, we took communion with our individual teams, and the Pioneers staff laid hands on us and commissioned us with a final prayer. The hours that followed that special worship service were filled with an ice cream social, washing my clothes, and saying goodbye to all the friends I've made in these past few days.

Today, I woke up early and packed my bags and said still more goodbyes. Right now, I'm on the train from West Palm Beach to Miami. We will fly out today from Miami and arrive in Germany about 1 A.M. CST. I'm very excited to finally get to Heidelberg and see the great things God has in store this summer!