Ring of Fire 24-7 Prayer Tour - Duncan

Yesterday we packed up from Victoria and took in a conference session at a church in Victoria. Lots to glean from that. Here are a few quotes: "Favour is a lifestyle - God's favour is a process of becoming more Christlike, loving God in the moment and finding His purposes", "Favour relentlessly concentrates on the goodness of God" and "Whatever God is, He is it relentlessly; relentlessly good, relentlessly kind...." Also, there were a number of paintings that people had painted during the worship times. I'll include my favourite in this post. (To get the rest you'll have to check my facebook pictures.)


Today we got up early and headed out to the Parliament buildings in Victoria before we headed out of the city. We stood on the Parliament grounds and prayed. We noticed two security guards and struck up a conversation with them, mostly about the history of the buildings. We walked around a little, took some pictures and then headed out.



Originally, we had Nanaimo on our radar as one of the 7 cities, but it looks like other plans came together. We were having trouble connecting with anyone in Nanaimo, and had been given an invitation by New Life Community Baptist Church in Duncan pastored by Mark and Cheryl Buchanan. So, we accepted the invitation!

It was a beautiful sunny day and we made a stop enroute on the Malahat (they call it a mountain) for a photo op. We found a place to sit and enjoy the view..and got some silliness out of our system.

Then we headed up to Duncan. Taking a beautiful route through some First Nations land, we finally arrived at the church at 11am.


Cheryl was there to meet us and she showed us around and gave us an outside spot on a patio, just outside a foyer area (close to the kitchen YAY) It getting a little chilly now that the sun has gone down, but we brought along a trusty little heater and they are letting us “plug in” so we’ll stay warm for our midnight watch. It was great to meet Cheryl, a very talented woman and intercessor. She made some huge banners for the church. I like the one called “proclaim” (check my Facebook pictures).

The people here are very busy this weekend with numerous activities going on. One in particular that caught our attention was an “All Nations Walk” that’s happening tomorrow in downtown Duncan at Centennial Park, just of Canada Way. (how appropriate!) Before the tour began we had been praying into how we could connect with the First Nation people in the area. Looks like God has that on his agenda, so we’re excited to do a “prayer walk” in the park tomorrow afternoon after our time here and to top it off, the weather is supposed to be great! We’re totally excited. I’ll add some pictures here tomorrow.

Oh a really cool thing happened this afternoon. We were prayer walking the area, and right next door is a large Mormon church. We walked by it and Karen said, “Hey have you ever been in a Mormon church?” “No”, I said, “but let’s check it out!” So, we walked into this beautiful large building where people seemed to be gathering for some kind of meeting. As we walked in we noticed the foyer was done very traditional, with Jesus paintings and antique furniture. For the most part, it was stark and uninviting. A couple of men came through the door behind us and we introduced ourselves, saying we noticed their beautful building and wondered what it looked like inside. An older man told us they were having a meeting by satelite and it was only open to men. HAHA. Karen made some kind of joke about us not being men so we’d better be going. Humoring them seemed to keep us in there longer. We began looking at the pictures in the foyer again (stalling but not knowing why) and had thought about it being time to leave, when suddenly two young sharp looking men in their twenties appeared from out of the meeting place and started asking us questions. They were insatiably curious about us, and were sincerely warm and friendly. They asked us where we were from and what we were doing. Karen began to tell them about the prayer tour and 24-7 Prayer Canada – about the importance of prayer and praying for our communities and even our nation. The more she spoke the more curious and interested they became. Their eyes became wider and brighter as they commented on how amazing they thought this was. We could have chatted there much longer, but one of the elders sternly walked over and told them it was time for us to go. They seemed rather disappointed, as were we, but we said our goodbyes and headed back. On the way back, we thanked the Lord for this divine appointment and we prayed for them – that they would hunger and thirst for righteousness and truth and that the Lord would reveal Himself in a mighty way in the days to come – that they would find their true identity and destiny in the Father's love.

Our evening was spent partly in the prayer tent and partly in a Saturday night gathering. The worship was awesome - there were no electronics – no mics, no projector, no sound equipment at all. Actually, it was incredibly organic and refreshing. Shane, who is a co-pastor here is from Texas. I loved what he said about services: "We don't do services cuz we don't come to be served ..we come to gather..." Loved the accent and sense of humour ;)

Afterward people were invited to come and look at the prayer tent, or spend some time there. A young woman in her twenties came and we prayed with her – of course, the Lord knew what she needed and she left very encouraged.

Then, just as we were getting ready to have a late snack around 8pm, the janitors arrived to clean the building. We ended up in an amazing conversation with 3 people - a gramma, daughter and granddaughter who do the cleaning together. The spirit about them was so incredible, they were singing and praying the the whole time they were working. It was inspirational just to watch them work. At one point, a young man outside was yelling obsenities and curses at the church and right away we all grabbed hands and began to intercede and pray for him. Its so cool how God connects us when we don't even know each other ;)

Well, time to sign off. Thanks again for praying. We're learning alot as we go. Nanaimo, here we come. Got some business to do there tomorrow, then off to Parksville the next day.

Oh, here is a picture of the Walk for the Nations and also of Mark and Cheryl