May 2004

Hello All,
In about a month my oldest daughter Amanda will graduate from high school. Makes a person wonder where all that time has gone. Did we use the time that we had wisely? Most of us would like to think so, but I bet there was a lot of wasted time. It is in 1 Peter 3-12 that Peter writes, "Whoever wants to enjoy life and wishes to see the good times, must keep from speaking evil and stop telling lies. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must strive for peace with all his heart. For the Lord watches over the righteous and listens to their prayers; but he opposes those who do evil." So now some of you are probably asking yourself what that means. Simply stated, do what is right with all your heart and God will listen to our prayers.
So, why should we pray? Because everything that happens depends on it. Jesus prayed all the time; morning, noon, night. And by night I do not mean just before bed, Jesus would pray all night long. For many people praying is hard because they do not know how. It is not a secret, so once I tell you please tell others. Prayer is simply talking to God. Sometimes you talk to Him. Sometimes He talks back. And sometimes God does all the talking. Make sure that you are listening, you don't want to miss what God has to say. Have any of you ever watched Joan of Arcadia? If not, it is about a teenage girl who talks to God and God talks back. Joan does not always like what God tells her, but she is his faithful servant and does whatever it is that God asks her to do. Even if it makes no sense to her at all. God will do that from time to time. You may not understand what it is that he is asking you to do right at that moment, but eventually you will. In Acts 1:7-8 Jesus is talking to the Apostles and says, "The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be. But When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." Prayer will help you get closer to God. You talk to your family, your friends, you may even talk to people that you do not even know. Make sure that you are also talking to God, for even when there is no one else around, God is with you.
The following story shows just how powerful prayer can be.
Rodrigo's StoryFive years ago I belonged to a gang. We would go into stadiums with drums to rally the fans, but outside is where the gangs faced each other. I was responsible for getting the guns and weapons inside the drums and get them to the stadium and the police never knew about this. This went on from 16 until 21. My life was full of violence, drinking, and sex.
One day I went to church, and happened to meet Lenira, Brazil Youth for Christ's National Prayer Coordinator, and she said to me, "We are praying for you." That is all she said, which made me happy because they often talk a long time. It touched something inside of me. I continued to live my life but gradually the parties, fighting, girls did not satisfy me anymore.
One Saturday evening while partying, I felt I needed to leave and I got up and left. On Sunday I felt the urge to go to church and one of the Deborah's (praying mothers) said that they had been praying for me.
Some time later I was attacked by a group of guys and ended up in the hospital and the Deborah women were praying for my life to be spared. My family was not from church and I didn't know anyone from church really and I didn't know why they cared so much about me. I finally understood how God's love works. I understood that I did not have to be someone to be important for God to care for me. There was no evangelism impact, there was no church service, it was a group of ladies who got on their knees and prayed for my life, and I finally understood God's love.
"Everything that you do in life echoes in eternity." If you have to choose between doing and praying, always pray because it is God that will do it and He will rescue those that you cannot reach.
Rodrigo's story is proof positive that God does listen to our prayers. I wonder what would happen if we, as a group, prayed all night long? What if we got kids from all over Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Hiawatha to come and join us and we all prayed all night long? That would be some serious prayer power. There is currently a worldwide effort to get as many kids praying on the same night, at the same time as possible. It is called A Whole Night for the Whole World. This is where I found Rodrigo's story. It is coming up fast so look for upcoming mail as we try to put this together. Start praying now that we can make it happen.

In Christian Love,

Terry and Diane


Thank You Lord
Heavenly Father, thank you for the wonderful day that you have provided. Thank you for the sunshine for which you warm the earth. Thank you for the rain which helps all living things to grow. Many know who you are, but not all know what a wonderful and loving God you are. It is for those that do not know that I pray. Thank you for my family, my friends, and most importantly thank you for your love. Amen.


When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. Acts 2:1-4