United Nations/New York Trip Report – September 2007
Dearest Friends~
Thank you for your prayers for me….for what turned out to be one of the most life changing ministry trips that I have ever been on. Following is a very brief sketch of all that went on. Thank you for your prayers.
We were invited to attend meetings in New York where we prayed at the United Nations and also for the city of New York. My travel partners/friends & comrades in ministry for this trip were Joyce Smith and Sue Rebar.
Saturday, September 8
This was a long day of travel…but the Lord was faithful in giving us mercy and helping us to make our connections, with peace, all day long. We were able to pray for the leadership team of the IPC and for the meetings enroute.
Sunday, September 9
We arrived at the New York School of Urban Ministry and had an initial welcoming and introduction time. John had all those that were representing different nations stand up. There were over 47 nations represented (ranging from a few to a larger group of 10+). There were also around 15+ children intercessors who had come to be a part of the UN Initiative. A multitude of people groups, age and gender were present and it was beautiful to behold the body of Christ, together in one room, praising God together. Afterwards, we were given further instruction regarding protocol at the UN. After this meeting, we all boarded buses and went to Manhattan to take a City Cruise Tour via boat. We boarded the boat and cruised around Manhattan where we were led by City Pastors and Prayer Leaders on specific prayer points for the many “boroughs” of New York. It was an encouraging time to see the nations come together to pray and bless the greater city of New York. We returned to our hotel after a full day and began to prepare ourselves for the next day at the United Nations.
Monday, September 10
After security procedures, we were settled in our seats at the United Nations by 9 a.m. and the procession of flags and banners began as part of the welcome ceremony. It was quite awesome to behold. For the rest of the day, we met and heard from various ambassadors and also prayed for different countries that were having major conflict. We also began praying for the 8 Millennium Goals of the UN. This was followed by a tour of the UN where we gained further understanding of the various levels of authority and involvement of the UN in various nations. We ended our day back at our hotel, where we prayed about various issues in our room and the Lord gave me additional clarity about returning home and shifting back into some ministry areas. This time turned out to be very pivotal for the rest of my trip.
Tuesday, September 11
We took buses to the UN again for our second day of meetings and were very prayerful as we entered into the city, knowing it was a major day of remembrance from 9-11, especially for Manhattan…and we prayed for God’s mercy and healing over the city as we drove over the bridge to enter Manhattan.
The Lord directed us to sit in a different place on this day and as a result, we met 2 city prayer leaders that we went with at lunchtime to pray over the city. I also met a prayer leader from Malaysia who I discovered had been using my articles posted on my website to train some of the prayer networks in her country, which was very encouraging to know. After the UN service, we attended a service at a church near Ground Zero and prayed for the area. From there, we returned back to the School and had dinner a wonderful leader from the UK. He shared amazing stories with us of how God is healing great divisions between people groups. After dinner, we began our debrief time from the past 3 days. It was a wonderful time to hear of all that God did. We ended the night with praying for one another's countries, especially the USA.
Wednesday, September 12
I traveled home and was reflecting on the importance of our trip. It was a privilege to attend such gatherings with others who had come from so many countries. God did an awesome work. And now, one week later, I still find myself in a place of quiet gratitude and tears as I reflect on this trip. God has given me grace to go back to my job.
Right now, I am praying about several trips for next year. I have been invited to go to Thailand, Israel and Uganda next year. I am in prayer about all of these trips and would appreciate your prayers as well. Thank you for your support and encouragement. It is an honor to serve the Lord in these assignments.
Love and grace,
Lynn
http://www.prayercommandpost.org/
