Fervent, Gut-wrenching Prayers

Bertha – The men had nicknamed the temperamental, old-timey concrete mixer. It seems that missionary Ron had the perfect touch – just enough pressure on the engine pull to get her to “turn over” just right. Bertha would hum along contentedly, calmly rotating as the workers poured in heaping shovelfuls of strained dirt and buckets of water. Churning, turning – the mixer worked well – until, all of a sudden, she’d stutter and stop. No amount of coaxing, not the right pressure, overheating, flooding the engine – so many little issues could occur in a matter of seconds – leaving Bertha still and construction halted for what could be minutes or hours or days, God forbid. It only takes a few tries at hand-mixing concrete for workers to realize the true importance of Bertha being active at work. So, yes, Bertha’s positive momentum became prevalent in all our minds.

          Frustrated efforts on the men’s part began that first full workday. It seemed the minute Ron would slip away to get other business accomplished - no sooner than he’d exit - ol’ Bertha would sneeze, shudder and die. Men – of course, those independent men we brought – not wanting to disturb Ron – would mimic what they’d seen him do, to no avail. Several times, with heat beating on their backs and sweat beading on their brows, the men would circle around Bertha and lift a prayer of helplessness – knowing other recourses were not really available. Shortly thereafter, she’d rally back. A cheer would echo from the site and work could continue.

          Once, Maria came through the gathering room above the school where sorting of school supplies, sweeping of floors and translating of Bible stories for the Missionettes were ongoing. “Bertha’s down again. We’ve got to pray!” Exasperated sighs, shaking heads, huddling up and holding hands, we lifted our cries to Jesus. “God, you know we can’t do this without You. We’re miles and hours away from any store. We can’t even speak Spanish. We are helpless. Show Your power and get that Bertha rolling again!” We opened our eyes with tears and sighed, knowing we’d left our prayer at the feet of the Only One who could do anything anyway. Smiling, we returned to the tasks at hand. The next time someone opened that second floor door, we heard the roaring of Bertha’s engine. Another cheer.

          Fervent petitions of all kinds were lifted to God from the beginning of the trip to the end. On the very first day, my gung-ho husband had been taken to a nearby village, searching for clinics to pop his dislocated shoulder back in place. Several hours later, a phone call actually came through. Although they had stopped four times (at a closing clinic, at a bolted and locked clinic, at a hardware store - ?!? – and at a clinic that just wouldn’t treat him when they saw the extent of the injury) they were backtracking to the capital city to a hospital there. Although I remember praying for a clinic to be open earlier, God knew what Eric needed most was a hospital visit.

          What did I need? So many problems ran through my mind – not knowing the language, seeking hospital care for my husband who was being sedated (twice) in a third-world country, not knowing when I’d see him again, being literally hours away should anything major go wrong… I began rethinking what I should have done. God knows, I needed prayers. He needed prayers. We all needed prayers.

          So, as became our custom from then on, we huddled up, held hands, and gut-wrenchingly cried out to God.  Prayer needs multiplied – health, Jason's arrival, concrete mixers, power outages, chicken pox, the missionaries and children, several pairs of new tennis shoes (for children whose feet had grown more quickly than expected), trucks to run, the 100 homes who received food at the feeding brigade, a pair of size 11 men's work boots, the team, the whole mission itself. These issues, we came to realize that we had absolutely no control over. But, thank God, we serve the One who does! Time and again – we’d huddle up, hold hands and pray, knowing we were totally dependent on the Holy of Holies. …And He answered – clearly and abundantly – giving us greater things than we ever imagined or dreamed – every single time.

“God can do anything, you know – far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams. He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us.” Ephesians 3:20 (The Message)

“Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 (New American Standard)