Recap: Dominican Republic
My squad spent the month of May together at a base called Mission of Hope. We partnered with this organization to work towards bringing “life transformation to every man, woman, and child.” If you’re interested, you can find out more about this organization here: https://missionofhope.com/
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, the majority of our time in the Dominican Republic was spent going door to door to share the gospel, bringing hope to the hopeless. Every day, we would split up into smaller teams, each with a translator, and hit the streets. Sometimes we’d find ourselves talking with a family for up to 3 hours, while other conversations may have lasted 30 minutes. Without fail, however, the Lord continuously demonstrated His faithfulness. Every time one of us began to speak, we were reminded, by the Holy Spirit, of all the things Jesus has taught us (John 14:26). The trick was simply this: opening our mouths. It’s easy to get caught up in waiting to hear from the Lord before you move. When the Lord is waiting for you to move before He speaks at the same time as you’re waiting for Him to move before you speak, you’ll be stuck at a standstill. So, I’ve found that it’s usually better to go and to trust that you do, in fact, know His will for your life when you let the Spirit do what He does best (Romans 12:2). Just remain in His will for you.
A dear friend of mine recently shared an enlightening perspective on the will of God. God’s will is like a playground surrounded by a fence. You can play on the swings, go down the slide, and climb on the monkey bars. He has given you free range within the playground to do whatever your heart desires in order to glorify Him. You begin to step outside of His will when you see another playground across the street and you start trying to jump the fence. Here’s my point in saying this: there is no need to stress so much about saying or doing the right or wrong thing. Trust the Spirit guiding you, and just go (Isaiah 30:21)!
Here we are in Panama. This is a month of ATL (Ask the Lord). What that means is we have no given host and no given plan. We got off the plane in Panama City, and we were left with just our team and the Lord. My team went straight to a hostel in the city called “Casa Los Monstros,” which translates to “Monster House.” We walked in and were led to our room. Sure enough, the name of the room where we were to sleep was “Diablo Rojo.” I’m sure you can figure out what that translates to.
Needless to say, we were a tad bit unsettled with our stay there. Nonetheless, we called this place home for three nights, and the vast majority of the time was spent in prayer, as we wondered why we were there and where to go next. What we did not realize, until the last day, was that we had made a friend. Our new friend shared a little bit of her story with us. It did not take long for us to understand that we were in that city for her. We got to pray for her and watch the Lord bring her to tears as she was met by love. God can meet you wherever you are and in whatever circumstance you may find yourself. Whether you lay your head to rest in the “Red Devil” room, or in the comforts of your own home, nothing can separate you or anyone else from His love (Psalm 139:8). He meets us where we are.
Here was our initial vision for the month: press into the Lord and press into the team. On our first morning in the city, I spent 3-4 hours in a coffee shop prayin’ and chillin’ with the Lord. He spoke to me in a way that I had not heard Him speak in several months. The voice was crystal clear. He confirmed what I already suspected: I was not to “seek out” ministry in people this month, rather, I was to seek His face and to let the ministry come to me. This is exactly what I’ve been doing. In the process, He has been faithful to put people in our path to share His love with.
We are in the city of David, and the darkness here is thick. Walking the streets in prayer, we are engaging in a spiritual warfare that is too deep and too heavy to be explained in this blog. Our assignment here is to pray. The entire team feels the weight and the effects of the enemy’s relentless attacks. Prayer is our weapon. We are speaking directly to the only One who can really change anything, and we are speaking with the authority given to us by Jesus Christ. We walk the streets daily wielding our weapon in prayer, praying truth and Scripture. We are out here fighting from victory, exhausted and drained, but the Lord is good and He has given us everything we need. We lack nothing, for He is our Shepherd. We press on, for He renews our strength (Isaiah 40:31).
There is power in prayer, and we can seldom see the fullness of it. I don’t see what happens in the spiritual realm, but we all experience the spiritual realm whether we know it or not. So, I’ve found that it’s best to pray on all occasions (Ephesians 6:18). Trust that when your deepest prayers, unfiltered thoughts, wildest imagination, and authentic voice meet the Father, they are shaking the grounds of the spiritual realm. How could they not when we are sons and daughters of the Supreme Being, God Almighty? When we are so dearly beloved to the Creator of the universe?
“My name is Zachary Johnson, and I am a child of the One True King, beloved and entrusted and clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Ask me about my Dad.”
Our work here has shifted from the typical “World Race ministry.” This month has not involved leading in churches, evangelizing door to door, feeding the hungry, or any other tangible ministry. The Lord chose our team for an assignment in the spiritual realm. He sent us to a citywide spiritual battle, and we are on the frontlines.
At the beginning of the month, we all knew we were going to end up in the city of David. It’s where the Lord told us to go from the start. We had to make a few stops along the way. After leaving Panama City, we stayed for a week at a YWAM (Youth with a Mission) base. This was a week of refilling, refreshing, and renewing. We prayed, we fasted, we worshipped, and we studied the Word daily. We had no idea how precious the time was. Come Friday, it was time for us to move on to David, our final destination. After much struggle, we finally booked an Airbnb. We took a bus out to the city, Boquete, which is on the way to David. Once we got to Boquete, the Airbnb we had reserved completely canceled on us. There was suddenly no place for us to go.
A few days before this took place, we met a man named Edwin, who had been living in Panama for just short of a year. When we met him, he expressed wanting to buy us a meal and to spend time with us to hear our stories. He claimed to be very blessed by meeting us, yet we were the ones who were blessed abundantly. Not only did he take us to lunch, but he booked us 4 of the nicest hotel rooms we have stayed in, and then proceeded to buy us dinner. He understood our missionary budget, knowing that we could not afford any of this, so he expected nothing in return. The best we could do was pray fervently for him and write him a thank you card.
Here’s why I’m telling you about Edwin and how this pertains to what’s going on in David:
When we were at dinner with this man, the Lord spoke to our team about a warfare that we would be entering in David. We learned of forces of evil that were expecting us to arrive in David that Friday night, the night Edwin booked us a hotel in Boquete. If our plans had worked out the way we wanted, we would have gotten to David unaware of the forces that were against us. The enemy was expecting us that night, so the Lord threw off our plans in order to throw off theirs. That speaks to the weight of the assignment the Lord has given us here. Maybe your plans are thrown off for your own good. Instead of complaining whenever things don’t work out the way you want them to, you better start praising because you have no idea what the Lord may be protecting you from.
We have a week left in David, and this city needs your prayers. We do too. We prayer walk throughout the morning and afternoon, and we pray throughout the night. It does not look like much on the outside, but this warfare is exhausting us. This fight is taking a toll on our minds. We are constantly under attack out here. However, there is no room for fear in us anymore.
I believe the Lord chose this team for this assignment for a reason that goes deeper than fighting a spiritual warfare. We’re here to be pruned by the Lord and to bear His fruit. We are here, being stripped of ourselves. The nearer we draw to the Lord, the more His holy, fiery presence burns us. This has been the theme of Panama: allowing the Lord to refine us, through these momentary struggles, to empty us in order to bear His fruit and to carry the weight of glory that comes from His presence (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). We’re making room.
If you’re going to take anything away from this post, I hope it is a deeper understanding and confidence in the power of prayer. The power of your voice. The power of your words. You don’t have ordinary breath in your lungs. You carry the same breath that breathed the universe into existence. How can we continue to be so ignorant as to think that our words and our prayers do not carry the power to speak light into darkness, to speak freedom into captivity, to speak healing into sickness? HEAR ME. You are sons and daughters of the Giver of life, Life itself! Walk in it.
goodness — “you do not have ordinary breath in your lungs. You carry the same breath that breathed the universe into existence” — that is INCREDIBLE. I love this blog!
So true what you wrote about prayers! I’m praying for you and your team daily. Love this blog, and I love you!
Wow, Zachary! This is so GOOD….we know that you have been warring this good fight this month. We are so proud of your resolve and knowing that you are fighting from a place of VICTORY! I believe you are all in the City of David for such a time as this, the Lord has given you everything you need. The prayer is powerful and the City of David will never be the same because of it! Standing in prayer with you Zachary. We love you!
I will definitely be praying for you and your team during this time!! Remember you have more for you than you do against you always!! It’s so exciting to see the way God is moving though this mission!! I pray psalms 91 over you in your team in the mighty name of Jesus. Every weapon that has been set against you & your team will go back to the sender in the mighty name of Jesus. I plead the blood of Jesus from the top of your heads and to the soles of the feet of your team! Holy Spirit I ask that you be a ring of fire around each & every team member. Any spirit that is planning any kind of attack on this team I bind & render their weapons useless in the mighty name of Jesus. I pray the peace of God that surpasses all understanding to rest upon your entire team! In Jesus name I pray amen!!!!
Zachary, your writing is powerful! Thank you for sharing so openly. Believing and trusting the Lord to protect and continue to guide you. Thank you for the emphasis on the power of prayer. We don’t hear it enough. You have my prayers!! Blessings to all of you!