By Juliana Wilson
TENNESSEE WMU

A Tennessee WMU prayerwalking team prays over Kenneth Esterhuizen, a Southern Baptist church planter from South Africa. From left, are Shelby Lord, Colleen Richardson, Yolanda Heuser, and Bobby Turner.
BOSTON, Mass. — A team of Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union ladies recently traveled to the Greater Boston area to prayerwalk. The group, consisting of Bobby Turner, Shelby Lord, Yolanda Heuser, and Colleen Richardson, worked with Sam Taylor, director of missions for the Greater Boston Baptist Association.
Seeking to answer the call in I Thessalonians 5:17 where Christians are called to “pray without ceasing,” WMU emphasizes walking with Christ through unceasing prayers for spiritual and physical needs. Prayerwalking trips seek to fulfill the Great Commission by praying in specific areas where lostness, violence, crime, and drug problems run rampant.
While prayerwalking, the WMU team encountered many people who did not know the Lord. They took the opportunity to encourage some of those people through prayer while praying over residences, businesses, schools, and numerous people they encountered during their time in the Boston area.
The group visited with various church plant sites, missionaries, and pastors including Joe Ramirez and his wife Luz who moved to the United States from Puerto Rico in 2011. Ramirez serves as pastor of Iglesia Casa de Restauracion (House of Restoration Church) which is located in an area with many drug and gang concerns. The ladies took the time to pray for the ministry of the Ramirez family, the church and the mission teams they will work with this summer, including a team from Tennessee.
Later, the group met with church planter Brian Mahon who was highlighted in WMU materials during the month of March. They took the time to pray for Mahon, his family, the church he pastors, Christ Community Church, and took pictures to share with the Girls in Action groups who recently spent the month learning about the ministry of the Mahon family.
While visiting church planters in the area they met with pastor Kenneth Esterhuizen. Esterhuizen moved to the United States in 2016 from South Africa after hearing the call to serve. He has planted Real Life Bible Church in a stone structure that was constructed over 120 years ago. Esterhuizen is seeking a church sponsor so he may obtain his green card. The prayerwalking team prayed for the Lord to meet that need so Esterhuizen and his family can continue their ministry in the town of Marshfield, Mass.
The team visited and prayed over numerous churches, schools, church planters and communities surrounding the Boston area including Lawrence City Hall in the town of Lawrence, Mass., Nashua Baptist Church, Third Baptist Church, Nashua Christian Academy and a new multicultural church plant called New Vision Community Church.
“When the day came for us to leave the Greater Boston area, we were touched and convicted to continue to pray and share about this area with so much lostness and so few evangelical works to share the Good News with those who need hope for today and for eternity,” Richardson observed.
“Prayers continue for all these people and for more who God calls to serve Him in New England; may all of New England turn back to the Lord,” she added.
For more information about the biblical basis of prayerwalking or to learn how you can be involved call 615-371-2038.


