Creative Expressions – Creatively Tapping Into Our Creator
The trip to Guatemala has so many different aspects to reflect on and to remember. We were hosted and led by a team of young adults from Adventures in Missions. This team of four worked together to pick us up at the airport, arrange our serving opportunities in the town of Xenacoj, keep us on time and in the right place, and feed us. They did an incredible job at these important activities. They were also responsible for leading us in worship and in teaching us throughout our time together.
One of my favorite parts of my time in Xenacoj was our nightly times of worship and sharing on the roof of our compound. Each night, Chris Cannon (you should check out his music) led our team in singing and then a time of “creative expression”. The time of “creative expressions” was an opportunity to pray or listen to God in a way that was different from our normal routine of praying and reading the Bible.
For example, one night we used the Korean prayer style to pray. As instructed, we all prayed out loud at the same time. This was definitely different especially for some of our students who had never prayed out loud.
Another night, we prayed blind prayers. This was a moving experience for me. Initially, I was given the opportunity to be prayed over by two people who didn’t know who I was – they were “blind”. It was amazing to have one of these people pray for me about taking a leap of faith. This was a theme for my blog and my thoughts as I headed into this trip, and this person would have had no idea that this was the case. There was really a sense that God was speaking through this individual. Then, I had the opportunity to close my eyes and pray for two individuals who I didn’t know. For one of them, I prayed specifically for their family and the impact of this trip on their loved ones. When I opened my eyes at the end of the prayer time, I received a giant, tearful hug from a student who had earlier shared with me about her challenging family and home situation. I had a clear sense that God could speak through me.
On the last night, the students were given the opportunity to pray (Korean style) over the leaders. I have no idea what they prayed about, but it was a moving experience to hear ~35 people praying for me and the other leaders simultaneously.
In each of these cases, it was a little uncomfortable. But it was also good. I don’t like change. I don’t like to get out of my comfort zone. This trip reminded me that it’s okay and important to get out of my comfort zone. God can speak to me and use me in new ways when I take that step out of my comfort zone. And it doesn’t take a trip to Guatemala to get out of my comfort zone. It can happen right here where I live. The trip was just a great reminder of this fact.
When was the last time you got out of your comfort zone? How did it feel? Have you ever done prayer in a different way? How did that look?