“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thes 5:16
We are called to pray and expectantly look to engage others in spiritual conversations. These are my main takeaways from the circles that I’ve participated. Then also take it to the next step and have this attitude and sense of expectation that God is going to bring people across my path with which to engage every day and not just when traveling on prayer circles. Sometimes this is difficult for me as I’m trying to check things off my list and I am missing opportunities. Like today when I took a ripped car seat to get the panel replaced, I took the 1.5 hours to go run an errand and finish a project rather than hang out at the shop and talk with the upholsterer while he was doing the repair. I missed that opportunity. Unfortunately, I do that a lot.
That’s one thing that I appreciate about you, Dave, is that you find people and you are locked in and focused on them. Your stories are encouraging, thought provoking and challenging. The broad reaching undertone is that we are praying for God to show us His kingdom and to engage those we meet with that meaningful truth.
I think that can happen through many varied media.
I remember my first job in South Ga. The guy I worked for was very busy, but he also recognized I needed some help as a new graduate and there was a need for us to talk. I loved it when he would ask me to go with him out on a farm call or to just go for a ride in the truck. It was hard for him to talk in an office, but we get out on the road and we would have great conversations. Someone told me one time that guys seems to talk better if they are doing something together like boating, driving, moto riding , fishing, sailing, kiteboarding, fixing something, watching a game, diving, bicycling, working animals, etc………
Last November Hoang, Kia and myself took a car trip to Mondulkiri. We had great conversations along the road about the church in Cambodia and how things were going in that part of the country. We had many hours to talk about things that I don’t think would have surfaced if we would have been on motos. We had many good visits during our time in that area as well. I think the key thing is being intentional about praying and purposefully engaging people, both the ones with which you travel and those you meet along the way. Sometimes due to personnel participating, it may be best to use a car/van. Something to consider may be to take camping/cooking stuff to stay in a village and maybe cook and share some of the wacky stuff we eat. That’ll start some conversations.
The great thing about motorcycles is that you are engaged for the planning, participating/travel and then debrief. While actively riding you have to be aware of surroundings, distractions, obstacles, milage, speed, waypoints, navigation, hydration, observations, machine reliability/failure, prayer for what you see and what God brings to mind……. Everyone traveling is experiencing similar things and by doing this together it builds a sense of comradery of being in this together and overcoming, terrain, rivers, obstacles, fatigue, sharing tools for moto repairs, sharing medical supplies, food, lights, moto parts, carrying others equipment and overall being better off as a group than we would be traveling single. As a group traveling together there is also a need for us to fill different roles such as planning, navigation, banker, praying, contacts along the road, decision making for travel starting/stopping. Similar to people taking different roles in the body of believers. There are also challenges in getting people on the same page with attitudes and expectations for a trip.
I’ve also thought that training days were best to build up technical riding skills. Do tough tracks and hill climbs during these “practice” days. When we are out on a prayer ride we want to get from point A to point B in a timely manner where we haven’t been obligated to take the toughest jungle tracks so that we have energy left along the way and at our destination to engage people in conversation. We want to conserve energy along the way so that we have enough left in our spiritual and emotional tanks to visit with folks when we arrive.
I think bicycles would be similar to moto trips and would play out a lot of the same ways. I do think the simpler we get with our transportation then the more approachable we are. So we are probably most approachable if we are prayer walking through a village. We also used to do prayer paddling in the floating villages in Siem Reap and we were always waved in for a visit and to explain why we are paddling around. Easier to approach a bicyclist than a moto rider and a moto rider would be easier to engage than a van full of people. (However that’s not always true. Down in Acheh after the Tsunami we arrived in a village and Adele came flying out of the van and grabbed about 3 women and started jumping up and down and making them laugh. Pretty engaging even after arriving in a van)
I remember Trowey in Bu Srah telling us about the trips they used to take “back in the good ‘ol days” where everyone would walk about 30 km and visit with everyone they met and then turn around and go back. That was their church planting strategy. And it worked.
But then someone got a moto. And then others got motos. And then those without motos thought they should not go. Not everyone participated after a while. Trowey longed for the days of a simpler time when everyone walked!
Even so, it comes down to the heart of those imploring Jesus to show up and reveal Himself in a way that people will understand. Humbly begging the Holy Spirit to use us as redeemed vessels to be used by Him to release His kingdom into those he puts before us.