MX3 Blog #9 – Joy and Duck, Duck, Goose
By: Tyla Pankraz
This trip has been a wonderful experience. Not just because of the places we have been, but because of what I have learned, the people I have met, and because of the joy that is present despite hardships. Everything reminds me that God knows and He designed perfectly. I have seen and heard how beautiful prayer is and seen the beauty of the children and people here. It has been an experience of learning and growth in what I thought I already knew.
I have witnessed that prayer is real, it works, and it is so powerful. There have been times of prayer during this trip when I have found it difficult to pray or sense God’s presence. But He has shown himself in ways I never thought He would. On our first day someone who was giving us a tour prayed, “God speak to them the way that You designed them to hear and listen.” This idea has stayed with me throughout the entire trip. It has been a reminder to me that if I do not hear what someone else hears that is okay because God speaks to me in other ways. What I have learned is that I need to be obedient in what I hear from Him. When I am obedient in praying what Jesus is already praying, that is when the power of prayer is seen.
Yesterday we got to spend the morning at a preschool and teach kids in kindergarten and preschool. Through the teaching, reading, dancing and games, the laughter and smiles on the kids’ faces brought joy to my day. I have never heard a child laugh so much while playing duck duck goose. I saw the loving hearts of their teachers by how they comforted and spoke to their students with patience. Through the many people we have met I have been encouraged to see the kindness of the locals as they welcome the workers who live in their cities into their lives. I can see God’s beauty in their hearts and smiles.
I have loved this experience and being able to join with the workers here in prayer. Seeing God’s beauty through people has been even more of a blessing then I could imagine.
