Getting out there.

P and I have been working in Sao Miguel for just over a year now. We have spent the past year getting to know the people, the area, the language and the culture. The needs in this area are so vast it is difficult to know where to begin or what to do, so our hope for this next year is that, as a congregation, we will discover together God's vision for our church.

On Saturday 21st August a group of 10 members of our church met together with Major Joan Burton (Territorial Projects Co-ordinator) to discuss how we can engage effectively with our community. Our action plan at the end of the day was to, 'look for open doors by prayer walking the area around the hall'. We were inspired by the testimony of Major Estelle Blake (Kings Cross, London) who prayer walked her area and after many months she was able to extend her ministry as new doors opened up to her.

So now, every Tuesday evening, while our regular prayer meeting is taking place between 8 - 9pm , two people go out and prayer walk the immediate area surrounding the church building. Tonight will be our third night out and I am looking forward to it. Our eyes are being opened to what is happening in our local area and we have had many opportunities to pray into different situations. On one evening we passed a long bus that had a window smashed in. The driver and conductor were filling in accident report forms and my prayer partner, N, spoke to them both and prayed for protection and blessing for them and the bus in the future.
There is a hospital with an emergency department at the top of the road where our church is located and this is often a focus of our prayers. We pray that God will guide us and give us wisdom as we get out there and look for ways to engage with the needs of our community.