Hold the Ropes

Hold the Ropes is the name of the New Tribes' prayer ministry. HTR for short. The term comes from a quote by William Carrey ( a missionary to India around the turn of the 18th century). The story goes that once, while he was asking a church to pray for him, he made a comparison between missions and the then-famous pearl trade of the eastern oceans. You see, pre-scuba geer- divers had long tube things that went all the way up to the surface. to keep the tubes from falling in the water, and forcing the air down the tubes to the divers, there had to be people on a ship above holding the ropes/tubes things. William Carrey said the people who prayed for him were like the guys on the beach that made sure the diver has air.Here maybe this picture borrowed from Google will help:

This is a poem, based on the story I just told, that is shared with the missionary students at the start of each semester to remind them how important it is that they will be praying for other missionaries. Maybe it will help encourage you too. 

Hold The Ropes

Down beneath the mighty ocean

Divers plunge for treasures rare.

But men hold the ropes above them

So they breathe the upper air.

Seeking pearls of richest value

Braver hearts have dared to go.

But our hands must every moment

Hold the ropes that reach below.

So amid the heathen darkness

There are heroes, true and brave,

Shrinking not from death or danger,

Bearing all to help and save.

But they cry, “Oh, do not leave us,

“Mid these dreadful depths to drown,

“Let us feel your prayers around us,

“Hold the ropes as we go down!”