Today God seemed to want to focus on people with unusual names! We were visited by Fernice, Consolata, Ephely, Leonita and Devna amongst others. When I look back to the previous week's record of who we prayed for, and see it's made up of people like Jimmy, Thomas, Ruth & Margaret, I have to wonder about God's sense of humour.
Today was busy – we had people waiting again, the first time for a while. After the customary 30 minutes at the beginning when nobody stopped, we then had an almost constant stream of people needing God's touch on their lives - more than 20 prayed for in this week's 2-hour session. It continues to amaze me how some, especially women, will share openly about what in the West would be considered very personal, and usually embarrassing. Today's list included people with stomach pain, high blood pressure, asthma, painful joints, injuries to heads and necks, menstrual problems, hearing, and eyesight. We also prayed for people's employment and their businesses.
About half way through this morning's session, a troubled young man took up residence a little way down the dirty street, speaking out loudly. Not much of what he was saying made much sense, and it appears from what others said that he has been like this since the post-election violence, in which his parents were killed. We sent Godwill to invite him for prayer but he refused and gradually moved further and further away. As he moved out of sight and sound, we prayed for deliverance and peace for him.
I also discovered this morning that a local witch doctor, Ndanu, lives within a stone's throw of our base for HotS. She walked past us a couple of times, and we invited her for prayer, but she refused our offer. In faith we bound the power that she is using to influence people in the neighbourhood, and prayed that the Holy Spirit would reveal His power to her. I was hoping and praying for an opportunity to pray with her, but she didn't reappear – maybe next week.
Last week we prayed for Godwill, who suffered from asthma and nosebleeds. He hasn't had any asthmatic symptoms since we prayed, and no nosebleeds either.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Compelled to grab
After today I've only got another 3 Mondays in Kibera before we go to the UK for our annual fundraising jaunt, and then we have a sabbatical until Christmas. How I am going to miss these Monday mornings!
Every week is different, and this week was no exception. One guy who we encouraged to come and sit down told us there was nothing wrong. Whilst we were chatting I was asking the Holy Spirit what we could pray for, and I felt prompted to ask the guy about his feet. Sure enough, he has a cut on one foot that he got about 1 month ago, and that is refusing to heal up. Then he told us about the pain in his back, the need for prayer for his family, and his need for a job. It was as if the Holy Spirit just needed him to get started, and prompted me with the right question for him.
Another lady was walking past, and although busy with one person I noticed her and quietly said to Em to go and get her. She did, and she was happy to receive prayer - she has a badly scarred face from a burn, and has lost the sight in one eye because of it. Pastor Shadrack and Em were able to lay hands on her face, and the lady could feel heat coming while they were praying. Although there was no instant change, we are hoping she comes back to see us next week and to report improvements, and that healing is on the way.
But that's the first time I've felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to actually grab someone for prayer, rather than just waiting for them to stop.
There were other sight issues today that we were able to pray for, and one young girl who came with pain and soreness behind her eyes, and left pain-free after the prayer. It was another great week of seeing God's heart for the poor at work through us. This week we had Godwill on the team again, and next week we hope that Florence will join us once more, which will mean a team of 6.
Roll on next week.
Every week is different, and this week was no exception. One guy who we encouraged to come and sit down told us there was nothing wrong. Whilst we were chatting I was asking the Holy Spirit what we could pray for, and I felt prompted to ask the guy about his feet. Sure enough, he has a cut on one foot that he got about 1 month ago, and that is refusing to heal up. Then he told us about the pain in his back, the need for prayer for his family, and his need for a job. It was as if the Holy Spirit just needed him to get started, and prompted me with the right question for him.
Another lady was walking past, and although busy with one person I noticed her and quietly said to Em to go and get her. She did, and she was happy to receive prayer - she has a badly scarred face from a burn, and has lost the sight in one eye because of it. Pastor Shadrack and Em were able to lay hands on her face, and the lady could feel heat coming while they were praying. Although there was no instant change, we are hoping she comes back to see us next week and to report improvements, and that healing is on the way.
But that's the first time I've felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to actually grab someone for prayer, rather than just waiting for them to stop.
There were other sight issues today that we were able to pray for, and one young girl who came with pain and soreness behind her eyes, and left pain-free after the prayer. It was another great week of seeing God's heart for the poor at work through us. This week we had Godwill on the team again, and next week we hope that Florence will join us once more, which will mean a team of 6.
Roll on next week.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
God loves sausages
I wasn't there this week - I was unavoidably detained at the coast! So this week's update comes from Emily.
We waited a full hour before anyone stopped for prayer today but once one had sat down, several followed. We prayed for people with chest pain, coughs, very swollen glands and skin diseases as well as for some businesses, there were more guys this week than usual including one man who had cut a finger off! It did not grow back but we prayed for the pain to go.
One guy came back to say hi, last week we had prayed for his sausage selling business and his wife and family. He reported that his wife is fine now and he sold all of his sausages, not only that day but everyday since! Before last week he would only sell a few here and there, he said his faith is strong now so we prayed together again that God would keep showing Himself.
Godwill, the Turning Point football coach, stepped up to take Jon's place on the team this week, he said it was a very moving and humbling experience.
We waited a full hour before anyone stopped for prayer today but once one had sat down, several followed. We prayed for people with chest pain, coughs, very swollen glands and skin diseases as well as for some businesses, there were more guys this week than usual including one man who had cut a finger off! It did not grow back but we prayed for the pain to go.
One guy came back to say hi, last week we had prayed for his sausage selling business and his wife and family. He reported that his wife is fine now and he sold all of his sausages, not only that day but everyday since! Before last week he would only sell a few here and there, he said his faith is strong now so we prayed together again that God would keep showing Himself.
Godwill, the Turning Point football coach, stepped up to take Jon's place on the team this week, he said it was a very moving and humbling experience.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Getting better
Saw the Queen again today - Queen Elizabeth that is (see 10th May blog post). Her ankles are completely healed, so she was coming back for prayer for other needs. Other returners today as well, including Maximilla who two months ago had no sight in her left eye, and through prayer is gradually receiving her sight. She can now see distance, and we continued to pray for complete healing - I told her off for not coming back sooner so we could continue to pray - hopefully we'll see her next week for an update.
A massive privilege today was praying for Sylvester. He's a grown-up street boy, probably now 25. Every day he wanders around with a sack on his back, sifting through rubbish and sewage to get anything he may possibly be able to sell. Grown-up street boys are the outcasts of society here - nobody talks to them, and even the dogs are trained to chase them away. In fact Sylvester had a wound on his leg from a dog bite he recieved recently. We were able to spend a few minutes praying with him, for the wound to heal, for him to get work, and for him to know God's love for him, and his worth to God.
I recognised Sylvester as having walked past on previous weeks. Then I had half wanted him to stop, but half wanted him to carry on. If you could mentally picture someone completely devoid of hope, you'd be seeing Sylvester. But today, by God's grace in me, I was able to genuinely feel some of the love that God has for him, and to pray that he would know that love for himself. It was a privilege to lay hands on and pray for someone whom society would rather ignore, or kick down further into the dirt where they have to live. Surely he is the sort of person that Jesus would have spent time with, would have valued.
In fact, a number of the people who stopped today, we sensed needed prayer for more than what they had asked for. Many needed to know God's love for them, and to know God's power breaking through into their lives. We had physical healings too, and no doubt God is continuing to bring physical healing and restoration to many, but today we were able to go deeper than just the physical, and speak words of affirmation, grace and love into people's hearts.
We had Tom with us, who's been involved in HotS in Inverness for a couple of years now. It was good to speak with him and to compare how we do it differently to them, and he enjoyed the experience of praying in the warmth (!), and of experiencing people just coming and sitting down with their needs, and openly sharing them.
Another great week. Like the people we pray for, it just keeps getting better!
A massive privilege today was praying for Sylvester. He's a grown-up street boy, probably now 25. Every day he wanders around with a sack on his back, sifting through rubbish and sewage to get anything he may possibly be able to sell. Grown-up street boys are the outcasts of society here - nobody talks to them, and even the dogs are trained to chase them away. In fact Sylvester had a wound on his leg from a dog bite he recieved recently. We were able to spend a few minutes praying with him, for the wound to heal, for him to get work, and for him to know God's love for him, and his worth to God.
I recognised Sylvester as having walked past on previous weeks. Then I had half wanted him to stop, but half wanted him to carry on. If you could mentally picture someone completely devoid of hope, you'd be seeing Sylvester. But today, by God's grace in me, I was able to genuinely feel some of the love that God has for him, and to pray that he would know that love for himself. It was a privilege to lay hands on and pray for someone whom society would rather ignore, or kick down further into the dirt where they have to live. Surely he is the sort of person that Jesus would have spent time with, would have valued.
In fact, a number of the people who stopped today, we sensed needed prayer for more than what they had asked for. Many needed to know God's love for them, and to know God's power breaking through into their lives. We had physical healings too, and no doubt God is continuing to bring physical healing and restoration to many, but today we were able to go deeper than just the physical, and speak words of affirmation, grace and love into people's hearts.
We had Tom with us, who's been involved in HotS in Inverness for a couple of years now. It was good to speak with him and to compare how we do it differently to them, and he enjoyed the experience of praying in the warmth (!), and of experiencing people just coming and sitting down with their needs, and openly sharing them.
Another great week. Like the people we pray for, it just keeps getting better!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Is anybody sick?
What a strange week!
For most of this morning's session we were jokingly wondering if God had healed everybody's sicknesses. People were stopping and asking for prayer, but none of them were sick! Today seemed to be about praying for people who need work - which is probably more than 50% of the population of Kibera.
Towards the end of the time we got a few people who were sick, and after we'd packed up and returned to our centre we had three people over the next two hours come and find us and ask if they were too late for prayer, so we prayed for their illnesses. One had damage to his eyesight, and another had growths in her stomach. The third was really coming to report a healing from the previous week's prayer, but also needed prayer for another condition.
So it was a strange week. As humans we like to rationalise things, and come up with explanations and reasons. During this week's HotS I was doing that, and trying to think of why it was different this week, and where all the sick people were. But then I started to see what I was doing, and realised the futility of it. We don't serve a rational God - at least, not rational in human terms. So why should there be a rational reason for why one week is so completely different to the next.
What will next week hold? Only God knows the answer to that question, and I probably don't want to know, and certainly don't need to. We'll make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit, and see who He brings our way. We'll pray for them, and see what He does.
The lady who came to report her healing today also told us that she now has faith and is praying for her friends!
For most of this morning's session we were jokingly wondering if God had healed everybody's sicknesses. People were stopping and asking for prayer, but none of them were sick! Today seemed to be about praying for people who need work - which is probably more than 50% of the population of Kibera.
Towards the end of the time we got a few people who were sick, and after we'd packed up and returned to our centre we had three people over the next two hours come and find us and ask if they were too late for prayer, so we prayed for their illnesses. One had damage to his eyesight, and another had growths in her stomach. The third was really coming to report a healing from the previous week's prayer, but also needed prayer for another condition.
So it was a strange week. As humans we like to rationalise things, and come up with explanations and reasons. During this week's HotS I was doing that, and trying to think of why it was different this week, and where all the sick people were. But then I started to see what I was doing, and realised the futility of it. We don't serve a rational God - at least, not rational in human terms. So why should there be a rational reason for why one week is so completely different to the next.
What will next week hold? Only God knows the answer to that question, and I probably don't want to know, and certainly don't need to. We'll make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit, and see who He brings our way. We'll pray for them, and see what He does.
The lady who came to report her healing today also told us that she now has faith and is praying for her friends!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Praying for the Queen
Oh yes - it's good to be back!
This morning we welcomed Ashley onto the team. She's visiting from the UK where she's a Children's Pastor, and it was great to have her with us. And it was a welcome return to the team for Emily, back from the UK & India.
Even just setting up this morning,we had such a sense of anticipation at what God was going to do - it was so exciting. Actually, setting up sounds a bit grand - it's really just erecting our sign and placing a few stools on the ground to sit on.
After prayer to claim the time, the ground, and the people God wanted to send to us, we sat and waited. Some weeks we have to wait a while before anybody stops, and today it was about 30 minutes, but once the first had stopped, we hardly had a minute without both teams having someone to pray for.
As on previous occasions, some people were interested passers-by, others had come specifically. One lady walked past and saw the sign, went home and brought her teenage son back with her. He had been experiencing pain and weakness in his arms since the start of the year. Today he wasn't at school because of the pain. After we'd prayed for him he said the pain was less, so we prayed some more until he could say the pain was completely gone. We feel confident that God will restore his strength too, but the relief of pain was immediate.
There was also a lady who came with a rash on her arm, and pain in her arm. She was instantly healed too. And another lady with pain in her ankles whenever she stood up. She sat down, we prayed, and she stood up pain-free!
We prayed for people with back pain, colds, bleeding, stomach pain, gynae problems, TB, and a broken leg. We prayed for people who are out of work and desperately trying to find jobs so they can care for their family. We prayed for healing & freedom for a couple of men who are alcoholics, and who have lost their families because of their alcoholism.
One of the lady's we prayed for introduced herself as Queen Elizabeth - no joke! She was born in 1952 and was named by her parents after the Queen. She went away healed.
Once again we witnessed the love that God has for the people of Kibera in action, and felt privileged to be a part. Roll on next Monday!
This morning we welcomed Ashley onto the team. She's visiting from the UK where she's a Children's Pastor, and it was great to have her with us. And it was a welcome return to the team for Emily, back from the UK & India.
Even just setting up this morning,we had such a sense of anticipation at what God was going to do - it was so exciting. Actually, setting up sounds a bit grand - it's really just erecting our sign and placing a few stools on the ground to sit on.
After prayer to claim the time, the ground, and the people God wanted to send to us, we sat and waited. Some weeks we have to wait a while before anybody stops, and today it was about 30 minutes, but once the first had stopped, we hardly had a minute without both teams having someone to pray for.
As on previous occasions, some people were interested passers-by, others had come specifically. One lady walked past and saw the sign, went home and brought her teenage son back with her. He had been experiencing pain and weakness in his arms since the start of the year. Today he wasn't at school because of the pain. After we'd prayed for him he said the pain was less, so we prayed some more until he could say the pain was completely gone. We feel confident that God will restore his strength too, but the relief of pain was immediate.
There was also a lady who came with a rash on her arm, and pain in her arm. She was instantly healed too. And another lady with pain in her ankles whenever she stood up. She sat down, we prayed, and she stood up pain-free!
We prayed for people with back pain, colds, bleeding, stomach pain, gynae problems, TB, and a broken leg. We prayed for people who are out of work and desperately trying to find jobs so they can care for their family. We prayed for healing & freedom for a couple of men who are alcoholics, and who have lost their families because of their alcoholism.
One of the lady's we prayed for introduced herself as Queen Elizabeth - no joke! She was born in 1952 and was named by her parents after the Queen. She went away healed.
Once again we witnessed the love that God has for the people of Kibera in action, and felt privileged to be a part. Roll on next Monday!
Monday, May 3, 2010
It's not just for the poor
We were due to start up again today - unfortunately I'm sick and the two Kenyans on our team are a bit too busy with it being the first day of the project reopening after the Easter break. So instead of updating on HotS, I thought I'd update on someone I had the privilege of praying for after church a couple of weeks ago, let's call him Adam.
Adam had been experiencing a lot of pain on the right hand side of his chest and abdomen, and the doctors were baffled. In the ministry time after the service Pastor Doug asked a lady and myself to pray for him. We talked a little first, then began praying. We could sense the Holy Spirit with us as we prayed, and took authority over the condition and commanded it to come out. After a while of praying we asked Adam what he was feeling, and he could feel the Holy Spirit at work. I had a sense that something had to be pulled out from Adam's right hand side, and repositioned myself so I could concentrate on that area. Now it might seem weird - it did to me - but I felt that I needed to mime pulling something like a rope from his side, in a sort of tug-of-war style. I was a little hesitant to do this, especially as we were at the front of church and there were still many people there. But nevertheless, and feeling a bit of an idiot, that's what I started to do, praying whilst I was pulling this imaginary rope from Adam's side. At the end of the prayer time we asked Adam how he was feeling, and he said that the pain levels were coming down.
I didn't see him again till yesterday, and I approached him to see how he is now. He informed me that he's completely better, that there is absolutely no pain, and that God had really taught him some stuff through the sickness and healing process.
It's great that God healed Adam, but I felt a little sad that the healing needed to be justified by God teaching him through this time. And I said, "Maybe God healed you just because He wanted to heal you, not because He wanted to teach you anything".
We do like to rationalise God, but I think the Bible points to a God who is completely irrational, from a human perspective, and does things His own way, for His own reasons - and often just simply because He loves us and we ask.
Adam had been experiencing a lot of pain on the right hand side of his chest and abdomen, and the doctors were baffled. In the ministry time after the service Pastor Doug asked a lady and myself to pray for him. We talked a little first, then began praying. We could sense the Holy Spirit with us as we prayed, and took authority over the condition and commanded it to come out. After a while of praying we asked Adam what he was feeling, and he could feel the Holy Spirit at work. I had a sense that something had to be pulled out from Adam's right hand side, and repositioned myself so I could concentrate on that area. Now it might seem weird - it did to me - but I felt that I needed to mime pulling something like a rope from his side, in a sort of tug-of-war style. I was a little hesitant to do this, especially as we were at the front of church and there were still many people there. But nevertheless, and feeling a bit of an idiot, that's what I started to do, praying whilst I was pulling this imaginary rope from Adam's side. At the end of the prayer time we asked Adam how he was feeling, and he said that the pain levels were coming down.
I didn't see him again till yesterday, and I approached him to see how he is now. He informed me that he's completely better, that there is absolutely no pain, and that God had really taught him some stuff through the sickness and healing process.
It's great that God healed Adam, but I felt a little sad that the healing needed to be justified by God teaching him through this time. And I said, "Maybe God healed you just because He wanted to heal you, not because He wanted to teach you anything".
We do like to rationalise God, but I think the Bible points to a God who is completely irrational, from a human perspective, and does things His own way, for His own reasons - and often just simply because He loves us and we ask.
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