by Ann Hutchison

This year, God has done something newly joyful in my life.

It's not exactly related to spiritually mismatched marriage, but my time in a spiritually mismatched marriage has definitely equipped me for it. We get equipped through our SUMs for all sorts of things. Anyway, here's what's happened:

I lead the prayer team at church, and this year we decided as a team that we would try holding a weekly prayer meeting on a Wednesday lunchtime at my house.

We only have a little church of about 70 people, so this felt a cozy thing to do. An announcement was duly made -- "All are welcome at Ann's house on a Wednesday lunchtime to come and pray." Then we waited to see if anyone would turn up ....

Would anyone turn up? We hoped so, but we committed that at least the prayer team would be there. 

Well, blow me down, since that time in February I've been getting a different bunch of people turning up each week at my house, and they're all young people in their late teens and early twenties! Some are not even in our church. Somehow they seem to be arriving through word of mouth.

What a blast! 

What's more, these young ones who are turning up at my house are on fire for God. They come to my house, and by the time they leave I feel a thousand times stronger for having prayed beside them. I'm supposed to be the older one here but I feel stronger because of them. 

Where did you find them God?

It's been a curious adventure. It's got to the point where on a given Wednesday, I do not know what the prayer meeting is going to look like. "What mix of people will be there?" I find myself wondering. I've learned I have to prepare for it spiritually: Pray for the conversation, pray the right mix of people will be there, and pray those who need it get ministered to.

I also bake in preparation (being poor students they like the baking!), play worship music in the space before people arrive, and bless the space with my words so that we're all ready for it spiritually.

Then who arrives?

One week I had a lovely boy with Down Syndrome turn up (a boy I didn't know). He sat amongst us and prayed prayers from the depths of his heart, Spirit-led prayers. He said to me afterwards, "I'm a prayer warrior". "I can see that," I replied.

Another week I had all boys turn up. A room full of boys. I had seven fired-up young men, age 20-21, sitting in my living room. I said to them, "Today I am surrounded by seven mighty men of valor." And I meant it. After we'd finished praying, these boys started talking about Freemasonry, so I rolled up my sleeves and joined in with that one.

Where did you find these kids God?

We pray for an hour together, and then I tell them afterwards "Stay as long as you like". When they stay we talk about things of the Kingdom. 

Honestly, what a surprise. I am a SUMite, yet this has come into my home.

Perhaps the thing about these kids that I most treasure is they're bold for the Lord. They actively tell people at university about the Gospel, they lead people to the Lord and are bringing unbelieving friends to our church, who then become Christians! Being a withered old SUMite who's had minimal success bringing anyone to the Lord so far, I look at that incredulously. "What's your secret?" I think. "Why can't I do that?" God seems to have given them a secret sauce of some sort ((laughing)).

I'll finish here with a cute photo of two of them climbing up the ladder in my living room. See they're still a wee bit childlike. Grown-ups don't scale up ladders and have a little climb. But look at these two: They're both wearing T-shirts that say 'Jesus Saves', and I think the metaphor of a ladder is a good one. May these young ones scale new heights.

As for us SUMites --

Lord, make our homes houses of prayer!

Ann