I know this is a long blog but it is worth the read!
I don’t even know where to start! This month was AMAZING!!! When we first got to Africa, we had some issues here and there… let’s just say that ministry had a late start. First, we had to figure out what our ministry would be for the month then once we had that figured out, we had to figure out transportation (as cheap as we could find it) then we were on our way.
This month, our team had the opportunity to work with Indelible, Koinonia and Manna. We spent several days at our contacts home before heading out into the bush. Our bus ride to the bush was an experience in and of itself only to travel across the river by canoe (something that made me quite happy). We walked for a while then when we arrived, pitched our tents. Finding out only a few hours later, we would be moving. Two days later we are off again to arrive at our final destination. We were FINALLY here!!!
At first, ministry opportunities fell through left and right, only leaving people thinking, “Why are we here?” And to top it all off… we were sleeping in our tents (not fun for all), using a whole in the ground as our restroom, drinking dirty water and taking showers in the river (if we chose to bathe at all). There was a lot of frustration. But God gave me this peace. Someone once told me that we can NEVER escape God. God never says, “How did so-and-so get there?” and I have been living that on the race; knowing that wherever I am, that’s where God wants me and will use me according to His will.
It was interesting because I had been reading through the book of Exodus and seeing how God always provided a way and yet here they (the Israelites) were… frustrated! They didn’t know what God was doing. And I felt as though this was our time in the desert and we were frustrated but God said, “Rest, I have it under control.”
So, then I started to cling to that. Knowing that God was going to do something… but in His timing and in His way. Finally, the opportunity for ministry came!!! People went to the local school and did skits, sang songs and play games. Other people got the opportunity to preach. It was finally looking good. I wanted to play with the kids (that’s what I enjoy) but God said, “Nope… read My Word!” I prayed about teaching and didn’t think that God had given me anything to teach on. So, I ministered in a way I knew I could while reading my Bible… cooking! (Cooking takes a long time when you are doing it over a fire so I had time to study while cooking.) I thought, this is it… this is my ministry this month! I was okay with it!
Now, let me step back… since arriving at this site, I had this repetitive dream. In my dream, I am walking along with my husband (take note: I am single) and ahead of me I see an old friend. But this isn’t any old friend but one I used to “have a thing for”. I run to this old friend and give him a hug only to see my husband jealous. And this dream didn’t settle well with me… it bothered me! Usually, I leave dreams alone unless I feel as though there is some significance.
So… I got my dream interpreted. My husband signified God and this old friend signified the things I put above God and this made Him jealous. Interesting enough, after hearing this, God told me to read the book of Hosea. In this book we find that God is jealous as His people turn from Him and that He pursues them and calls them back to Him. I prayed about it and it was then I knew this message was for the church.
You see, the people of this church come on Sundays to sing and dance but then go home and pray to other gods and their ancestors. Or they come to church to be healed but when they don’t see healing, they go to a witch doctor. And God wanted ALL of them!
The day arrived and I was nervous but knew that I would get up there and just open my mouth but God would speak the words. I walk into the church only to see 3 people in the congregation (other than us racers). I didn’t understand… I knew that this message had to be for more than these 3 people! So, I prayed that all the people who needed to hear this message would come walking into the church and that they would understand (the translator was speaking in Portuguese and these people spoke something else). Right after praying a few more people walk in the door and I am ecstatic! But then the translator says, “These people don’t speak Portuguese and I don’t really speak their language.” So, then I began to pray again that they would understand. The translator then said that he would give it a shot since it was his mothers’ tongue and he knew it a little. THANK GOD!!!
I got up and preached what God put on my heart for these people and then someone else came up and preached. We then had the MOST INCREDIBLE question and answer time. People asked why they couldn’t pray to other gods and God spoke through several racers. I just sat there and prayed and cried because I could just feel God tugging on their hearts. At the end, we had an alter call where they not only said they would serve Christ but that they would serve Him alone. It was simply incredible!
This happened on the last day of ministry… if we waited all this time for that… if we struggled and had to move a lot and all the other crazy things that happened along the way… if it was for that… IT WAS WORTH IT!
