RVA: How God answers prayers

In high school (ECS Class of '98) I read the book, "Too Busy Not to Pray" by Bill Hybels. I'll be the first to admit that I don't pray enough, and my wife can confirm. My desire is to pray more, I wish I could pray more. My heart heals the more time I spend reading scripture and in prayer. Life gets in the way sometimes, and by life, I mean 5 kids and working a full-time job. I rarely have 15 mins to sit and pray, but I rarely go 15 minutes without praying. Isn't that the beauty of prayer, our God is always there for us? We need prayer, a time where we confess our sins and short comings to give it all to Him, again and again so that we can make it through each day?

The view from our roof in Zambia at sunset. I would sit up there after long days working on the jobsite to marvel at the grandeur of our God and King. It was a great time to reflect, pray and be rechanged.

When to opportunity came up for us to take the Nkhoma Surgical project; we thought, " What about the kids schooling?" God how can you be calling to serve again at such a pivotal time in our kid's lives? We had heard of RVA (Rift Valley Academy) We were 6 months late in the application process to school with a 3-year waiting list for 2 kids going into high school. They had never even heard of our mission agency before. God said sit down and watch this. Next thing we knew we were filling out class schedules, medical forms, looking for a guardian, and trying to figure out how to buy school supplies in Nairobi.

The network we never knew existed from the RVA came to light. Everyone from my carpool drive in elementary school, to friend's college roommates, to the kids of the family who now lives in our old house at Mukinge, to the bush pilot who flew us across Zambia many times and even Marcela's college roommate coworker at the Apple store in Germantown, TN. It just seems like everyone we know, knows someone who attended RVA. What a beautiful example of the network in the Body of Christ. We now feel such a comfort and peace about following Him in the next steps.

The Psalmist says, "Abide with me and I with you." When we open our hearts and minds to be in the presence of the Lord we submit to all authority and rely wholly in Him. We can remove all doubt to listen and know that the Lord is good. Our prayer of recent has been "God what do you want us to hear from you today, and what do you want us to do?" The kid's acceptance into RVA is just a microcosm of how God answers prayers wanting us to be in tune with Him in every step of our life.

Our God is amazing, all powerful, all knowing, beyond measure. He is able to do above what we can ask or imagine. When we confide in Him; He provides our needs. We are never too busy to pray, listen to or hear from the Lord. We just need to pay attention.

~ Mark