“Isn’t it incredible what God can do through a small group of His followers gathering together for a prayer night? With just a small group of people he can encourage the weary traveling missionary, embolden children to follow His will, surround those in need in prayer, and create strong bonds with people from different walks of life, uniting the global Church.
A great example of this happened in the week of October 16th, when German missionary Botho Heinz joined Grace Klein Community’s Monday Prayer Night and Taco Wednesday to share about his ministry. Botho is a World Reach missionary who focuses on church leadership development, and leads teaching ministries in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa, while also leading Theologischer Schulungs-Service, a theological seminary developing church leaders across Eastern Europe. God had provided a clearing in his schedule to meet new friends on both of these nights during his month-long furlough in the United States. Many members of the Grace Klein Community family, from staff members to volunteers, gathered together to meet him, to hear his story, to pray, to encourage, and to be encouraged.
Botho came with a slideshow of beautiful images of the landscapes of the various regions he has visited and taught. He introduced us to the churches where he teaches and the schools he helps lead, and described different unique cultural experiences and challenges from each region. He showed us pictures of his family, sharing about his wife whom he loves dearly, his children he’s so proud of, and his sweet young grandchildren. After his presentation, on both Monday Prayer Night and Taco Wednesday, everyone came together to pray for him, his safe travels, and other prayer requests from his ministry, while also praying for various other prayer requests from around the Grace Klein Community family, as well.
God also used this experience in so many unique ways in the lives of those who attended! One member of the Grace Klein family has been searching for a person to speak German with for a long time, and had the opportunity to meet and speak German with Botho at Taco Wednesday. At Monday prayer night, Botho got to meet the brother of one of his long-time donors.
Children came to listen, some who even aspire to be missionaries one day! Botho’s insight led to many questions, and brought new perspectives on cultures that many of us in the United States are not very familiar with. There was laughter, joy, fellowship, and delicious food! Whether it was a friendly conversation, a piece of information God wanted someone to hear, a prayer, or a new friend, God used this time to bless all who attended.
We are so thankful for this opportunity to gather to meet and pray over our new friend, and encourage our brother in Christ, Botho Heinz. May God continue to unite us, and provide us with these divine appointments, allowing us to learn from, pray for, and encourage those in our community and around the world.” – Michael Kline
