TESTIMONIES FROM LAST 2 DAYS IN DC

Sorry, I forgot to post this last month.

I have shared with a number of you that my days in DC are going to stretch to three. There are just so many that I now have contact with, I need to make the stretch.

• For those of you who contribute financially, thank you for that. I am very pedantic about making sure your money is stretched as far as I can. I never rent a car anymore, using the METRO Rail for my transportation. And now that I’m aware of the MARC Train into DC, I fly in and out of BWI for far less money. So again, thank you.

Most of you know that I leave a prayer card with men and women there. I do this so they can see how I pray for them. One of the Congressmen saves them and pulls them out of his desk to reread them.
You can find all my recent prayer cards here. . . https://markmirza.com/printprayercards/

Some Brief Thoughts from July 18-19, 2023:
Leaving Washington DC this visit I texted the following to a friend. . .
Another good visit to DC. Thank you for praying so deliberately with me about this part of my ministry. I still find it amazingly draining.
–Before I went back to DC on April, he and I prayed about my ministry there. Was it over? Was I to return? What was the Lord’s will for this part of my ministry.

EVERY SINGLE visit I am reminded of ONE THING:

The overwhelmingly large majority of the people that I get to talk to, elected officials, their staff, service workers, even visitors to Capitol Hill are genuinely grateful this ministry exists.

The day before I went to DC, the verse to meditate on in my daily devo was James 3:18 (HCSB).
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.
This verse codified my various thoughts on DC and the role I play, being there. . .

• I’m not there to fix the way anyone thinks.
• My struggle is not with flesh and blood
• The evil one’s ability to deceive is GREAT.

I believe the way in which I can “cultivate peace” is by sharing hope with these men and women. I suspect many of them know deep down in their heart, that there is nothing they can do which will give LASTING HOPE to the people they are there to serve.

Pray for additional open doors for me.

Let me tell you of some of my DC meetings.
These are not in any particular order. . .

1] Briefly, VERY BRIEFLY, stopped a few Congressmen/women in the hallways, these are the 3 responses I received:

• Sincerely grateful I pray for them.
• Stated gratitude but it felt to me like the “politically expedient” thing to say.
• Shunned my words and refused my prayer card.
  –If You equate party affiliation to my comments, YOU’D BE WRONG.

2] I met a woman who works with the computer & cell phone services in DC. I commented on the cross she had around her neck and was able to give her my brochure and prayer card. The next day I saw her again. It was good to encourage one another, just by a simple passing of each other in the hallway of a House Office Building. Imagine the encouraging you could do in your City Hall or County Courthouse.

3] Again this visit someone saw my National Day of Prayer lanyard and used it as a means of reaching out to me.

4] I met a staffer in the hallway who had a cast on his foot. After we talked for a couple minutes I told him I’ll pray for his foot, and as he was walking away he hesitantly said, “I’ll pray for you too.” Something told me that was the first time in a long time he has said those words. Pray for him. You don’t need to know his name, God does.

5] Speaking of casts, when I went into the Congressman’s office with the woman who last month was in a boot cast, it was no longer on her foot. I asked her about her vacation and her eyes lit up! She said, “The boot came off before our vacation and it didn’t hurt at all.”

6] I walk in the stairswells of all 3 House Office Buildings, and WITHOUT A DOUBT, the Rayburn House Office Building has the BEST air conditioned stairwells. A number of times I would just go into one such stairwell, just to cool off. Walking in to one such stairwell I saw a young man who turned out to be a former staffer and now represents Texas farmers in DC during the week. On the weekends he is the worship leader at his church. Pray for him and his wife as they want to start a family.

7] The Cannon House Office Building may not have the very well air-conditioned stairwells, but I did find a sofa out in the hallway where I could rest my bones. I was purposely early, so I could cool down after walking from one HOB to another and then walk up 6 flights of stairs. At least, I thought I was up there to rest. When I sat down I met a woman who goes to DC periodically to tell the US officials about persecution in China. We had a great time together, as I was cooling off before my next appointment.

8] At one of my congressional appointments I met a pastor and wife who used to hold weekly Bible Studies on The Hill, before Covid. Now they connect with world leaders, praying with them and sharing Christ with them. Pray for him and his wife.

9] In this same office (see #8 above), the Congressman said to me, “Mark, we need your prayers. We are just holding on by a thread.”
–How are you prompted to pray, when you hear that kind of a comment? BEFORE YOU ANSWER… Let me remind you, 1] Your struggle is not with flesh and blood; 2] Your job is not to fix the way people think; 3] The evil one’s ability to deceive is great. Again I ask you, how should you pray? ANSWER: My prayer for YOU, the one praying for these foks is that YOU would simply trust what the Lord has placed on your heart and then JUST DO IT! PRAY!

10] Many of you know I’m a San Francisco Giants fan, so this signage on this LA Congressman’s office was hard to handle.

11] A good friend of mine works in the “Real-Estate Department” in the Cannon House Office Building. He and I met to break bread together my first day in DC. I have another friend who works in a government agency. He spends his weekdays in DC and his weekends in Atlanta where he is a leader in his church. He and I plan to connect during my next visit. Pray for these two Christian men. They are trying to make a difference where God has planted them.

12] I had the opportunity to sit down with a Congressman I hadn’t seen, eyeball to eyeball for 2 years. And yet, every week, myself and two pastors from his home town pray for him. It was good to catch up. He was the inspiration to my novel, Divided Together (www.MarkMirza.com/Store).

13] I met with a couple freshman Congressman. I got the sense they were both very thirsty for a word form a Christian man who could come alongside them as the Aaron and Hur in their lives. Pray that these two doors remain open.

14] When I travel I always take a few books to give away. I am always amazed at how the Lord allows me to have “one more book” in my backpack to give away. Pray these men and women are blessed by these gifts I give them.

15] I love the relationships I develop with Schedulers, but it requires constant; correction, CONSTANT maintenance because so many of them move from one office to another. Pray for 2 things, 1] That I would be tenacious about keeping my records up to date, and 2] That I would have favor with these schedulers. I never reach out to the Congressman/woman asking for an appointment, even when I have their cell phone. I always go through the scheduler.

16] The relationships I have allow me to engage Congressional leaders out on the street periodically. God is so good. That happened a couple times this trip. I didn’t have a scheduled appointment, but by God’s providence we connected.

17] Two years ago I met with a Congressman who brought his entire staff together. In that setting he asked me to pray for a particular staffer’s wife who had cancer. Due to Covid and then my own cancer, I haden’t seen this staffer again until this visit. His wife is now cancer free.

As you think about these testimonies I have shared, please do not try to put Names or Political Parties together with my words. Just be encouraged. All you ever hear about DC is negative, ugly, mean, etc. But there’s a lot of good stuff happening there too. Including Bible Studies and times of Worship in the Capitol.

When I tell people I go to DC and pray with our elected officials, I usually hear, “They need it.” When I tell Congressmen & women I’m there to pray for them, they too say the same thing, “We sure need it.” And they are ALWAYS grateful, too.

But let me tell you something a Congressman shared with me a number of years ago. He said, “Mark only Jesus can make a difference in DC.”

Pray for me that I can share “HOPE” with men and women when I visit DC.

I am scheduled to return September 19-21.

Thank you for your prayers and your financial support.

Blessings,

MARK S MIRZA
Founder/Author
C: (404) 606-2322
W: MarkMirza.com

TESTIMONIES FROM LAST 2 DAYS IN DC

As I share these testimonies please do not try to put names together with my words. Just be encouraged. All you ever hear about DC is negative, ugly, mean, etc. But there’s a lot of good stuff happening there too.

In addition to the prayer card here, I shared the truth of Psalm 93 over the last two days. And this is how I shared it. . . “Congressman, be encouraged that because the Bible is reliable, you can rest (vs. 5), regardless of the roaring going on around you (vs. 3-4), since God Reigns (vs. 1-2).”

You can find all my recent prayer cards here. . .  https://markmirza.com/printprayercards/

Some Brief Testimonies:

1] There is such an appreciation by those I stop and pray with, elected officials, staffers, even janitors. It is a confirmation to me, that I am called to do this.

2] The staffer who called me last month, needing to pray with someone. And then this month she shared with me her commitment and desire to please God. It was so encouraging to hear.

3] Two Congressmen’s hearts were very heavy for their pastor’s families due to a tragic death for one and a tragic physical mishap for the other. Being there for them is the essence of bearing one another’s burdens.

4] Two other Congressmen had staffers take me to them as they were in committee meetings. When we go there, they left the meeting so they could spend a couple minutes with me. One, all he had was 2 minutes, the other stayed in the hallway of the cloak room for 20 minutes or so talking. He is the one who told me about a prayer meeting they have on Monday nights, when they arrive into town. There they pray for their upcoming week. To the other Congressman I shared Psalm 93, as above. His entire countenance changed, he hugged me and said both he and his wife needed to hear this.

5] There is a janitor whom I prayed with 2 years ago. I have been looking for her and finally saw her again. When I walked up to her and said her name she looked REAL SUSPICIOUSLY at me, until she realized I was that guy from 2 years ago who prayed for her. We had a GREAT reconnection.

6] There was a staffer in the hallway who saw my NDP lanyard. I could tell he wanted to say something, so he said, almost apologetically, “I’m a believer too.” He gave me his testimony and added honestly that he was feeling low. We talked for a good 15 minutes, which is a lot of time in DC, then I prayed Romans 15:13, lifting him to the God of hope who gives peace and joy. He stood taller and said it was from God, that we met.

7] Then there was the woman I met in the hallway because she asked me for directions. Tanya sighed, but was grateful when I explained she was in the wrong building altogether. Then I explained to her what I do in DC and she said, “Well are you going to pray for me too?” It was cute, and I did.

8] Standing atop the steps at the US Capitol I was making notes from my previous appt when a Congressman came up the stairs and I introduced myself. We talked for a long enough time for him to tell me he needed prayer for his two kids, one is living a Godly life looking for a Godly husband and the other is struggling to live out his Christian walk. He was so grateful he gave me his cell phone number to stay in touch with him. Of course, I always reach out to the scheduleres for appointments.

9] Another Congressman, after getting comfortable with me asked me to pray for his two girls, one is living a Godly life, the other is not. This stop reminded me of the Congressman some time ago who asked me to pray for his children who had all called him together and said, “Dad, you’re too controversial, you can’t put our photos on your Christmas card this year.” Two were still in college and one had just graduated.

10] Many staffers were so glad for the “direction” of this ministry, namely, praying WITHOUT an agenda.

11] Another staffer is in a boot cast and praying it comes off before she and her family go on vacation in September. Imagine the weight of all the things she and other staffers are dealing with Ths prayer request should be a reminder to us that they are regular people with regular issues which need prayer. God knows her name, pray she has complete healing and a GREAT vacation, in September.

12] Then there was the staff, about 4 of them in the foyer of the office who stood spellbound (for some reason) by the idea that I’d pray for them too, so I did, in the foyer of the office of a US Representative. I have got such a cool job!

13] There are a lot of elected officials who ask prayer for spouses and extended family. Another reminder that they are regular people, with regular needs.

14] I was surprised by the staffer who, when I asked how I could pray for her, told me she is going to law school in the fall. Then she asked how she could pray for me. That doesn’t happen too often! I was so blessed to have that question asked of me.

15] Privately you can ask me about the influential staffer who knows God has called him to DC to have an influence in his “challenging” office. It will surprise you that Godly men and women are everywhere.

16] There were and are, of course, a few offices I went into where there was, “no love for the pray-er.” But those offices were far and few in between.

17] Finally, I can’t tell you how many Bibles I saw on Congressmen’s desks and staffers desks, or the number of weekly Bible studies and prayer groups that I was told meet every week.

On TV and in social media, you will only see the ugliness in DC, but there is good stuff happening there too!

What does the Lord have in store for the United States, and for Washington DC in particular? I don’t know. I’ve not seen the Lord’s playbook, so I’m not convinced things will get better in the USA, but I have no doubt, God’s reliability (vs. 5) means we can rest, no matter the raging and roaring (vs. 3-4) we see all around politics, because, the truth is, God reigns (vs. 1-2), not the men and women in DC, and not the devil, God reigns (Psalm 93).

Thank you for your prayers and your financial support.

Blessings,

MARK S MIRZA
Founder/Author
C: (404) 606-2322
W: MarkMirza.com