Hillary & her team after installing stoves in the homes of families in need
Last week I had the opportunity to serve in Guatemala with Adventures in Missions. I could not have prepared myself for what God was going to do. Among all the outreach experiences including hospital visitations, spending time with children in an orphanage, ministering in the city dump communities, and installing stoves in people’s homes (picture above), the “Ask the Lord” aka ATL ministry was probably the most intense time of ministry I’ve experienced.
Here is my ATL story…
I had never heard of ATLs before and when I found out what they were (the definition of an ATL is in its name: you simply pray and ‘ask the Lord’ what He wants you to do and who He wants you to talk to), I was not excited. I’ve always felt that there was someone better equipped than me. Before we started, Gabe (a AIM staff member in Guatemala) asked us to pray for a vision or theme for our ATL. I closed my eyes, prayed, and all I saw was a tree far off in the distance. I thought this was weird especially since it was so far away. After prayer, Gabe asked me if I would lead us first. I said, “sure”, but was honestly freaking out on the inside. This was so far out of my comfort zone.
God lead us to a women buying tortillas. She had arm pain and was healed after we prayed for her. We also spoke healing over a man with back pain. Our ATL continued, and we prayed for more people.
As the time to meet the rest of the teams came near, we walked upon the street outside the market when Gabe pointed out some trees in the distance. Since this was similar to my vision in the beginning, we walked over and basically said, “Ok, what now God?” We all felt very pressed to pray for a little old man who had been standing around the area of the tree. He had multiple chances to cross the road while we stood there, but for some reason he did not cross it. We began to talk with him and discovered he had hearing difficulties. Gabe had to get really close and speak directly into the man’s ear in order for him to hear. After talking to him for a few minutes, we prayed with him for healing. When the prayer was over, Gabe stepped back to where he was originally standing. The man responded. Gabe took another step back and spoke to the man, the man responded again. The fact that the man could now hear Gabe when he was standing much further away was the evidence of a miracle!
That day I realized I am fully capable of being used by God even when I don’t know or understand the path. Prayer isn’t something that you have to be equipped for, it’s not about using the right words or even speaking the same language, it’s about speaking truth and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through you. The rest of the trip I was never shy to pray. It isn’t about me, it’s about God.
~ Hillary Daniels
