Prayer Walking

Having just awakened to a beautiful snow fall (the first they had seen in the city in four years), Glenna reminded us that we are whiter than snow. To be honest, I find it very difficult to imagine such a condition. That snow was far too white for anything to be whiter. She made another statement that has stuck with me: "We should be thankful that He allowed us to be a part of that." She was speaking about seeing answers to prayer. We should see it as a privilege--not a contractual obligation--to witness the results of our prayers. God could just as easily keep them hidden from us.

We were praying for safety and warmth. Both were answered. No one was hurt, though a couple of people did fall, and it seemed that we were warm wherever we were, that day. Perhaps we were just numb.

This is a street near where the Bridge is currently meeting in the Observatory.

This shows a lot about the spiritual climate in Vancouver. Where similar sentiments may pop up occasionally here in Knoxville, it seems to be a common theme in Vancouver. We prayed heavily over the car and the house that accompanied this bumper sticker.

"Anything But Christianity!" seems to be the battle call. If only they would try the One, True God, perhaps they would find the peace they so desparately seek.

As Del and I walked, that morning, we noticed that no matter where we went, it seemed the footprints in the snow were always heading in the opposite direction. It was a symbol of what we had witnessed in Vancouver and a reminder that the Christian walk is often lonely by human standards.

Many people see Jesus's teachings on "the narrow gate" as referring to a literal gate. I have a bit of a different perspective. Imagine yourself walking down a crowded street. The people are so numerous that you bounce off of each other as you go. Then, try turning around. Suddenly, your path is no longer the width of the sidewalk, hallway, or even the road. Instead, your path is only as wide as the space between the next two people you meet. That is the narrow gate of Christianity, and that is the sense that we had as we were walking in Vancouver.

What struck me about this open gate was that there were no footprints leading up to or away from it. It was as if the gate had opened itself. This became my vision for Vancouver. I prayed that God would open doors for the gospel in that city, because if we were to try to do it, we would mess up the beautiful snow, and might not even be able to open the gate when we got to it (we had that happen a few times while we were giving out fliers). Only God could work the miracles that needed to occur in Vancouver.

This was a park that we walked by near the sound. I loved the snow-filled trees and couldn't resist a picture.

We met at the coffee shop after our walk, and had time to debrief and denumbify. There were many stories to be told, as God truly worked in miraculous ways, that morning.

This was one of many Buddhas at the second-largest Buddhist temple in North America. Buddhists have a god for every need and want. All you have to do is pray to the right one and your every prayer will be answered. Unfortunately, it never seems to work that way. Still, you have to commend them for their dedication.

We planned to tour this Mosque, but they were having a funeral when we arrived, so the best we could do was to pray and look around outside. What struck me about this perspective were the numerous "One Way" signs in the parking lot. All of them were pointed away from the Mosque. This was especially interesting since we had just passed an Evangelical Free Church with a banner proudly declaring John 14:6--"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through Me." Oh, the irony.

Anita, a member of Cityview, showed us around the temple. She has devoted much of her recent life to getting to know the ladies of the Sikh temple. Just by being willing to talk with them, she has developed friendships and relationships where none existed before. In the process, she has had opportunities to share the gospel with people who would never have listened before. God has blessed her simple acts of kindness with open doors, and she continues to walk through them.

God gave Robin the opportunity for a great testimony, and she took it with flying colors. The Sikhs require you to take off your shoes when you enter the temple. When we returned to pick up our shoes, Robin found that hers had disappeared. Some of the Sikhs began to look frantically for the missing footware, but Robin remained entirely calm. As we were leaving, several Sikhs were amazed by her calm demeanor and wondered how she could be so happy. We pray that God will use those questions as a way for Anita to share more about His peace that passes all understanding.

After a long day of prayerwalking, we welcomed the opportunity to relax for a few minutes.

While some rested up, Del, Caleb, and I went looking around the island that houses the city of Richmond--a suburb of Vancouver. As we walked a couple of miles on the road surrounding the island, we prayed for some multi-unit housing complexes and talked about a whole lot of stuff. It was a great opportunity for fellowship and encouragement.

I had never seen one this close, before.

This was a beautiful tree that we passed during a day of prayer walking and literature distribution.

This was a street where we left fliers for upcoming Easter programs. We later found out that God blessed Cityview, the Bridge, and Towers with several visitors because of the fliers we handed out on days like this one.

Kortney, Sneezing