All throughout my childhood I was taught the value and importance of prayer. We always did it together as a family and I was taught to do it privately on my own as well. It was part of my lifestyle but it wasn't until I got to the mission field I really had an eye opener on how big of a role it plays in everyday life. I realized that talking to God was more than just repeating words but it was really just opening your mind and heart and saying and asking what you needed to say.
One experience came when I had been in the city of Salvador for only 3 months. I still felt lost and was pretty fresh into the missionary work. I got a new companion who didn't know the area so it was up to me to show him around and lead the way. Salvador is the 3rd biggest city in Brazil. And like all the major cities in Brazil is was covered with 'Favelas' or in other words, The Slums or Ghetto. Favelas are these giant neighborhoods built in valleys with tens of thousands of people living in poor conditions in a very small area of space. They literally build their houses on top of each other as the houses made of poor brick cover the entire valley all the way up to the top. It is actually quite a site to see. At this time me and my old companion were teaching a very cool woman. We had only been to her house once and I was scheduled to go back with my new companion. He had no idea where to go so it up my turn to walk us there. I realized she lived deep inside the favela and I had no clue where to even begin. As we set off walking I prayed to God that he would help me lead us to this woman's house because I knew we had to teach her about the church. I opened up my heart and felt and used all my feeling and emotions as I asked God to help me do this. As we started to make our way down into the favela I instantly got thoughts and feelings in my head such as, "turn right here", "keep walking up these stairs", "go to the end of this neighborhood and go left", "go to that grocery store and walk down the stairs behind it". We continued for a good 25 minutes or so as we made our way trough the favela. The favelas have no organization at all! There is a mix of crooked streets, stairs and hill that twist all around and houses and stores so close together and connected it is pretty much a giant maze. I know for a fact as we walked I had no clue where we were but just walked by faith and trusted and knew that the Lord had but those thoughts into my head on where to go. We continued to walk and then I instantly stopped as I realized we were on the woman's porch who we needed to teach. We knocked on the door and she let us in. We sat there in our home as we taught and while all this was going on I was in bit of shock and gratitude as I thought about what had just happened. I realized that because of that heartfelt prayer God had just helped me complete nothing short of a miracle. It was from that moment on I really saw the importance of prayer and how it can be used in any scenario no matter how big or small the task may seem.
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