CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF NONSTOP PRAYER
On October 31, 1998, a nonstop prayer and fasting vigil planned for the remainder of the 20th century began in the Prayer Fortress at King's Castle International Training Center camp in El Salvador.
But when the new millennium arrived, it seemed a natural conclusion to keep praying, so day after day, and year after year, the vigil continued. And on October 31, 2008, many people from around the world gathered at the Prayer Fortress to celebrate 10 years of unceasing prayer.
"After two years, we had developed the habit, and we couldn't imagine stopping it. So many people had been called into ministry, and so many people had witnessed miracles," says missionary to El Salvador Terri Triplett, who founded King's Castle Ministries with her husband Don in 1989.
Since its inception, the main prayer focus has been for revival and a modern day Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit in El Salvador and other nations.
Although the number of Prayer Fortress participants varies from week to week, there is always a minimum of six intercessors on duty who cover a pair of two and a half hour shifts each day. The Tripletts estimate that approximately 12,000 people have participated in prayer over the years.
Ten years of continuous prayer and fasting have had tremendous impact in El Salvador. Thousands of people have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and hundreds have experienced a call to ministry. The Tripletts say the Prayer Fortress has become a spiritual refuge for many in their country.
"Young people who are now pastors and young people from churches will make a pilgrimage and spend one or two days in the Prayer Fortress," Terri explains. "When they have a problem or if they want to shut out the world and focus on God, they come to pray."
But the Prayer Fortress' impact is by no means limited to El Salvador.
"Through the prayer focus, young people have gone as missionaries to other countries," Don reports, adding that powerful ministry movements have occurred in Venezuela and Nicaragua as a result God's work in the Prayer Fortress.
In addition to the young Salvadorans who have been called into ministry, many students from the U.S. have received a call to missions while working with King's Castle Ministries.
Each year the Tripletts and King's Castle Ministries welcomes approximately 1,000 youth participating in AIM short-term missions trips. Every AIM team spends an evening in the Prayer Fortress before they go out to minister.
Stories of Prayer Fortress-related miracles abound. The Tripletts can recall many instances of healing, deliverance and divine protection.
Maintaining nonstop prayer for 10 years has not been without its challenges. On October 1, 2005, Don and Terri left El Salvador to speak at services in the U.S. A half-hour after they left, the country's highest volcano exploded, only five miles from the Prayer Fortress.
At the time, the Tripletts' daughter Michelle and her husband Jon were serving as missionary associates in El Salvador. After the eruption, Michelle learned that the man in charge of the Prayer Fortress had decided to suspend prayer because the entire zone was being evacuated due to the rising threat.
Believing that the prayer should not cease, Michelle called a local Master's Commission leader and explained the situation. When the leader heard the news, she said she would go to the Prayer Fortress with a group of Salvadoran Master's Commission students who agreed that they should persist in prayer. Michelle drove the group to the Prayer Fortress, traveling "against the tide" as others evacuated the area.
Never wavering in their commitment to prayer, the Master's Commission group stayed in the Prayer Fortress for a little over a month, until the crisis was over. During that time, the students believe an angel stood guard between the center and the erupting volcano. Terri reports that when the rest of the area was covered with ash and sulfur, those at the Prayer Fortress were not affected by it.
The Tripletts can personally testify to the impact the prayer focus has had on
their family. Two of their daughters and their families are currently serving as missionaries, while their youngest daughter plans to work in India one day with her husband.
Each year Don takes two eight-day prayer shifts, as a time to get away with God and seek direction for their ministry, which continues to expand across Latin America.
On Friday, October 31, 2008, many people gathered to celebrate the prayer effort's 10-year anniversary, which coincided with the King's Castle Alumni Homecoming. To mark the momentous occasion, 162 people ran 26 kilometers (about 17 miles) from the church where Pentecostalism first came to El Salvador in 1906 to the Prayer Fortress.
"We are calling the youth to remember their Pentecostal roots that date back to 1906, when the revival in El Salvador was started, straight from Azusa Street ‹ the initial outpouring," Don explains.
"We don't want to deviate from the Word or our heritage."
While the 10-year milestone is an impressive one, the Tripletts have no plans to stop the continuous prayer, as it is central to all that King's Castle Ministries does.
"We are not praying for an experience that lasts for the moment,"
Don says. "We are praying for a relationship with God that lasts for eternity."
And thousands have found that relationship with God as a result of 10 years dedicated to prayer in the Prayer Fortress.
On October 31, 1998, a nonstop prayer and fasting vigil planned for the remainder of the 20th century began in the Prayer Fortress at King's Castle International Training Center camp in El Salvador.
But when the new millennium arrived, it seemed a natural conclusion to keep praying, so day after day, and year after year, the vigil continued. And on October 31, 2008, many people from around the world gathered at the Prayer Fortress to celebrate 10 years of unceasing prayer.
"After two years, we had developed the habit, and we couldn't imagine stopping it. So many people had been called into ministry, and so many people had witnessed miracles," says missionary to El Salvador Terri Triplett, who founded King's Castle Ministries with her husband Don in 1989.
Since its inception, the main prayer focus has been for revival and a modern day Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit in El Salvador and other nations.
Although the number of Prayer Fortress participants varies from week to week, there is always a minimum of six intercessors on duty who cover a pair of two and a half hour shifts each day. The Tripletts estimate that approximately 12,000 people have participated in prayer over the years.
Ten years of continuous prayer and fasting have had tremendous impact in El Salvador. Thousands of people have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and hundreds have experienced a call to ministry. The Tripletts say the Prayer Fortress has become a spiritual refuge for many in their country.
"Young people who are now pastors and young people from churches will make a pilgrimage and spend one or two days in the Prayer Fortress," Terri explains. "When they have a problem or if they want to shut out the world and focus on God, they come to pray."
But the Prayer Fortress' impact is by no means limited to El Salvador.
"Through the prayer focus, young people have gone as missionaries to other countries," Don reports, adding that powerful ministry movements have occurred in Venezuela and Nicaragua as a result God's work in the Prayer Fortress.
In addition to the young Salvadorans who have been called into ministry, many students from the U.S. have received a call to missions while working with King's Castle Ministries.
Each year the Tripletts and King's Castle Ministries welcomes approximately 1,000 youth participating in AIM short-term missions trips. Every AIM team spends an evening in the Prayer Fortress before they go out to minister.
Stories of Prayer Fortress-related miracles abound. The Tripletts can recall many instances of healing, deliverance and divine protection.
Maintaining nonstop prayer for 10 years has not been without its challenges. On October 1, 2005, Don and Terri left El Salvador to speak at services in the U.S. A half-hour after they left, the country's highest volcano exploded, only five miles from the Prayer Fortress.
At the time, the Tripletts' daughter Michelle and her husband Jon were serving as missionary associates in El Salvador. After the eruption, Michelle learned that the man in charge of the Prayer Fortress had decided to suspend prayer because the entire zone was being evacuated due to the rising threat.
Believing that the prayer should not cease, Michelle called a local Master's Commission leader and explained the situation. When the leader heard the news, she said she would go to the Prayer Fortress with a group of Salvadoran Master's Commission students who agreed that they should persist in prayer. Michelle drove the group to the Prayer Fortress, traveling "against the tide" as others evacuated the area.
Never wavering in their commitment to prayer, the Master's Commission group stayed in the Prayer Fortress for a little over a month, until the crisis was over. During that time, the students believe an angel stood guard between the center and the erupting volcano. Terri reports that when the rest of the area was covered with ash and sulfur, those at the Prayer Fortress were not affected by it.
The Tripletts can personally testify to the impact the prayer focus has had on
their family. Two of their daughters and their families are currently serving as missionaries, while their youngest daughter plans to work in India one day with her husband.Each year Don takes two eight-day prayer shifts, as a time to get away with God and seek direction for their ministry, which continues to expand across Latin America.
On Friday, October 31, 2008, many people gathered to celebrate the prayer effort's 10-year anniversary, which coincided with the King's Castle Alumni Homecoming. To mark the momentous occasion, 162 people ran 26 kilometers (about 17 miles) from the church where Pentecostalism first came to El Salvador in 1906 to the Prayer Fortress.
"We are calling the youth to remember their Pentecostal roots that date back to 1906, when the revival in El Salvador was started, straight from Azusa Street ‹ the initial outpouring," Don explains.
"We don't want to deviate from the Word or our heritage."
While the 10-year milestone is an impressive one, the Tripletts have no plans to stop the continuous prayer, as it is central to all that King's Castle Ministries does.
"We are not praying for an experience that lasts for the moment,"
Don says. "We are praying for a relationship with God that lasts for eternity."
And thousands have found that relationship with God as a result of 10 years dedicated to prayer in the Prayer Fortress.
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