West Ohio – When Prayer Moves on Hands and Feet

During the West Ohio Annual Conference in June, Bishop Ough wondered what if …we prayed for the West Ohio Conference every day. When we came home, Roger and I pledged that we would pray everyday for the West Ohio Conference and Concord UMC and invited others in the church to do the same. So even in Cambodia, we prayed for Concord and West Ohio and begin to view prayer a bit differently. Throughout the mission we were known as the West Ohio team and we felt graceful pride as we represented West Ohio to Cambodia. We also knew that we represented several churches- Oxford, Antioch, Concord-Englewood, Grace-Dayton,Linworth-Columbus, Korean Grace-Dayton, Milford First, Shiloh-Cincinnati, Church of the Messiah-Westerville, Christ-New York and a host of individuals who made generous gifts so that the mission could unfold. So over and over again, we became aware of the way that prayer of many people can be embodied in the action of hands and feet. We had been sent by the gospel and sent with the prayers of many. In 14 days we have logged 43 hours in the air plus 8 hours by bus to and from Sihanoukville (not counting the daily bus trips). We have seen and experienced more than we can process yet. But these are the things I am sure of: God’s love is beyond understanding, God moves us to reach out to our sisters and brothers, we have a gospel to tell, we are called to live out the gospel we know wherever we find ourselves, the life of discipleship is ever unfolding, prayer and prayers that engage our hands and feet make a difference.