A shift was happening. Like tectonic plates crashing together, things were being shaken. It was exactly the midway point of the 50 Hours of worship and prayer in East Africa and deep intercession had erupted in the room.

Raphael was struck with a thought. Maybe. Maybe he should try just one more time to reach out to the God that felt so far away, ‘Lord, I will give you another chance…,’ he prayed, unsure if anyone was listening. He then picked up his phone…

“It was just so awesome,” said Anna. “We shared our testimonies with one another - just back and forth to one another- loudly, so he could hear it. Then he came over to our table and asked if we were philosophers. Rayne and I said, ‘no… we just love Jesus!’”

Years ago, this room had one or two indigenous locals lifting their voices to Jesus. Now, the majority of worshippers in the room are indigenous believers. They are joining their song with the new believers in the labor camps of the Arab Gulf and the song of the redeemed in the Levant…

“This is what it is all unto,” thought Gerald to himself.

The screen in front of him lit up with faces from multiple continents. “This is how we know we are doing our jobs. This is something I have read and sung and prayed to the Lord for, for years.”

On a summer day 2,000 years ago, Jesus first shared the Sermon on the Mount. Those words, still living and active, have echoed through the centuries. Fifteen years ago, they pierced the heart of a young Muslim man in the Middle East for the first time.