When I (Jesse) arrived in Cardiff this summer, our JSI prepared us for what to expect at our ministry site. He told us about the team that was in “B” area the week before us. Apparently they hadn’t been able to share with anyone so he was talking to us about the importance of prayer walking.

The first day we arrived at the ministry site and began prayer walking. Thirty minutes later everyone on our team was engaged in conversation with people. We built a lot of relationships that day. Some of our new friends invited us to a youth center in the area and we played soccer with them and had a lot of great conversation. Our JSI was so pumped. He figured we would be prayer walking the whole time we were there. Instead, we only prayed for about 30 minutes. The rest of the time we were engaged in conversation!

For dinner that evening, we visited a small Somalian restaurant in the neighborhood. One of my trek members started talking with the owner. While they were talking, I was praying that God would give us a way to connect with the people in the restaurant. Pretty soon, the men playing dominoes in the back invited us to join them. We began playing dominoes and we got to know those guys really well. Our JSI nearly freaked out when he realized where we were. Apparently, in a year and a half of focusing on that area, no outsider had been invited to play dominoes or to even go in the back room.

The restaurant soon became our biggest focus of ministry during the week. We continued playing dominoes and having conversations with the men in the restaurant. Our trek was continually sharing the gospel with people. We even got to share with the restaurant owner. The people were so open about spiritual beliefs and would ask us to explain Christianity to them.

People would ask us “You guys are from America? You guys are Christians?” Many times we didn’t even have to turn the conversation toward spiritual things. They were asking us questions.

One guy even asked me to explain the Trinity to him. That guy had so many questions. “Why did Christ have to die on the cross?” he asked. We talked for about three hours. I explained who Jesus is, how he died and why he died.

Another time, we were prayer walking through the park and I began picking up trash as we walked. I was praying and asking God to send more people I could share with. Several kids were playing and one girl turned to me and asked why I was picking up trash. The conversation immediately turned to Jesus. “Who is Jesus?” she asked. For the next 15 minutes we shared with those kids. Soon their parents came over, wanting to know what we were talking about. We got to share with them as well.

No matter who we were talking to, each time we would answer a question you could almost see the seed being planted. They would pause and realize the truth of what we were saying. We were excited to know that they were really thinking about the things we were sharing with them.

The day after I returned to the US, I was at Falls Creek volunteering on their decision team. We broke up into small groups to pray and I went and sat by a guy, Nick, who I noticed, had the same iGo Make Him Famous notebook I had gotten at Base Camp prior to my trip. We prayed and then before we even started talking about our trips, I asked, “You were in the “B” area, weren’t you?” Somehow I just knew that he’d been in the “B” area prayer walking the week before my trip. Sure enough, he had. It was so amazing to share with Nick how God had answered his prayers through my trek. He had prayer walked miles each day, without getting to really share the gospel with anyone. My trek had gotten to sow the seeds of the gospel in the lives of so many people that we only spent about 30 minutes each day prayer walking! We were on different trips, but God used each of us in the life of the other – to further his kingdom and to grow us spiritually.

Read Nick’s story (Part 1)!

This summer I (Nick) went on the Falls Creek A trip to Cardiff, Wales. While there, my trek served in the “B” area, which is predominantly Somalian Muslim. Our all-guys trek spent the week in that neighborhood, prayer walking, playing “football” (American Soccer) with people in the park, and trying to have spiritual conversations.

There is one tiny little hole-in-the-wall Somalian restaurant near the park where our group would go. This was the “hang out” spot for the men of the neighborhood. They would sit in the back area of the restaurant and play dominos for hours. We were allowed to watch them play but never invited to join. We got to know the owner and his sons, and even tried to share the gospel with him, but he wasn’t interested.

Everywhere we turned we were hitting walls. No one was interested in hearing the gospel. No one wanted to stop and talk with us. So we prayed. A lot. We prayer walked an average of 5 miles every day. We plowed, asking God to move in that neighborhood, to break up the hardness of the people’s hearts so they would be receptive to the good news.

However, we were frustrated. We hadn’t really gotten to have any great spiritual conversations with anyone. I returned to my room the last night, disappointed. I’d been asking God all week for an opportunity to share the gospel and it felt like God hadn’t answered my prayer.

That night I noticed one of the security guards at the place we were staying had a guitar. I love music, and so I approached him and asked if he had been playing long.

“I’m just learning,” he replied.

We began a conversation about our love for music and I taught him a few new chords. While we were talking, it hit me. I’d been asking God all week for an opportunity to share and here was my chance! I kept trying to turn the conversation to spiritual things, but the guard seemed more interested in the guitar and music. I kept praying, “God, help me turn this conversation toward you.”

Soon, my friend Regan came over and began talking with us. Regan began playing “The Power of the Cross.” The guard was instantly captivated. As soon as Regan finished, he began asking questions: “Who were you singing to?” “What were you singing about?” “There’s something different about you guys, what is it?”

“Well, we have a hope that won’t die or fade away.” Excited, we began explaining the gospel – who Jesus is, the issue of sin, the penalty Jesus took on our behalf, and more. It was obvious that this guy wanted to know more. When we asked him what he thought about all that, he said, “I need to know more, but I don’t have a Bible.”

I instantly thought of the extra Bible I had brought. For some reason, while I was packing I sensed that I needed to bring along my old pocket Bible. It was a well-worn; I used to carry with me everywhere. I’d made notes in it and underlined things. What an incredible and exciting moment it was to hand this Bible to my new friend! I showed him passages I’d underlined that he could read to learn more about Jesus. God had answered my prayer – I’d gotten to sit down and share the gospel while in Cardiff!

Two weeks after I returned, I was serving at Falls Creek on their decision team after evening worship. Another guy on the decision team, Jesse, approached me and asked if I’d like to pray for the students. As he set his Bible down, I noticed he had an iGo notebook just like the one I’d gotten at Base Camp!

“Did you go with iGo this summer?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Let’s pray first and then talk about our trips.”

After we prayed I found out that he had just returned the day before from the second Falls Creek trip to Cardiff. Not only that, but his trek had served in “B” area, the very same area I’d been two weeks earlier!

“So, did you guys do a lot of plowing (prayer walking)?” I asked.

“Man, EVERYONE was wanting to hear about Jesus while we were there” he exclaimed!

He proceeded to tell me how the men in the restaurant had invited them to play dominoes AND how they’d gotten to share with them! They’d even gotten to know the restaurant owner and his son really well and share with them too!

I was shocked. While I was there, we had done miles of prayer walking without really getting to share with anyone. Then I realized we had done tons of plowing – asking God to break up the hardness of the people’s hearts so they would be receptive to the gospel. While there, I felt like God wasn’t really answering my prayers. Instead, he answered them in a bigger way than I had even dreamed!

That night I was so excited to call the other guys on my trek and share the news with them. We were almost in tears as we celebrated the joy of the plower and God’s amazing plan! I was so thankful that God sent Jesse to me, to share how our prayers were ultimately answered and to reveal to us His greatness!

Read Jesse’s story (Part 2)!