Above: Annelise gives a tour of the courtyard in the Sanctuary.
By Annelise Jagitsh
I was discouraged. I had worked on my tour for hours to no avail. Stephen, a friend and fellow tour guide had given me millions of pointers but for some reason, I couldn’t get the words out in an organized manner. I was done. I sat down with my head in my hands. I hated learning the tour. I wasn’t getting anywhere and it was so frustrating.
Stephen looked at me. “Annelise, let's pray. You are working hard and I know it’s not easy so let’s pray. It will help.” Praying wasn’t the first item on my agenda right then. Nevertheless, we knelt and prayed. While Stephen prayed, I listened but didn’t pay attention. He prayed that sometime that day I would have the best tour I’d ever had. I sort of sneered at that. How was I supposed to have a good tour if I couldn’t present it smoothly?
Right as we finished praying Anthony came in and assigned us the next tour. After Anthony returned to the waiting area, Stephen commented, “Annelise you can do this. I believe this is going to be that amazing tour we prayed for.” I just walked out to get ready for the tour. While Mr. Leinneweber was announcing the tour to the waiting people, I realized that more than half the people on the tour were deaf. They had a translator with them. I looked at Stephen with a question on my face. He whispered, “Go with it. You have a translator. You will be fine and I will be in the back in case you need me. I’m praying for you.” With that, the tour began.
The translator was a nice, young, bubbly character with a huge smile. She made me feel comfortable right away. As the tour progressed, I forgot all about my troubles. It was fun. The deaf attendees were very interactive, answering all of my questions and asking questions of their own. They wanted to know everything.
In the Most Holy Place, Stephen took over because I was still learning that script. I did the final presentation and then stood beside Stephen at the exit to thank people for coming. As we walked back to the prayer tent I couldn’t help but smile.
Stephen smiled and said, “Annelise, that was a good tour! Your cheerfulness makes me happy, but what makes me happier is that God answered our prayer, and He answered it almost immediately.”
I had forgotten Stephen’s prayer that I would have the best tour of the entire summer sometime that day. It’s amazing what God will do if we simply ask. I hadn’t been in a mood to talk to God earlier but Stephen prayed for me. God will never leave you hanging. His answer may not be as immediate as it was for me, but He always answers. All you have to do is ask.