Miraculous Assignment and Organized Chaos

Monday-

The first full day of ministry is over and it was truly an eventful day filled with blessings and the usual challenges of a first day where we are adjusting on the fly as things change quickly. 

Only God Could Have Arranged This!

We got to Joyful Baptist Church early this morning and met with our translators to get organized and receive our assignments. The Pastor and our IMB Missionary Jeff Lowe got us pointed in the right direction and we were off to share the gospel. The very first house we went to was one of the saddest situations I have ever encountered. At first we addressed one lady on the front porch and asked if she had time to visit. She said yes but just as we started sharing with her an older lady appeared from inside the house and insisted that we come inside. I was almost annoyed because I had already began to share the gospel but the lady would not take no for an answer so we climbed the stairs and the lady on the porch joined us. Once inside we say a lady in her 50’s laying prostrate on the floor so weak that she could not even pick up her head. We shared that we had come from America to talk about the hope of Jesus. The lady said that there was no hope left here and went on to share that the lady on the floor had just lost her husband who was the only means of survival for the entire family. She shared that they had no food in the house and that the lady had lost all will to live. Claudia and Libbie and I shared how much God loved them and shared that God wanted to restore them and give them eternal life. I don’t know how I missed it at first but a miracle suddenly dawned on me…we had Claudia on our team who had just lost her husband a year ago. Claudia comforted this lady in a way that no one else on our team could have possibly done. God orchestrated this in perfect fashion and before we left that house three generations prayed to receive Christ as Savior. The grandmother, who was completely crippled by disease, the mother, who had lost her husband, and the granddaughter.

One of our teams was sharing Christ with four women seated on a mat made of reeds. These ladies listened intently to a story of a rich landowner who wanted the orphans outside of his gate to come and live with him as long as they would allow his son to wash them. This is a story that one of our team member’s wrote last year to explain in a culturally relevant way the story of how God loved us and sent His son to cleanse our sins. The ladies were listening intently and one by one stated that they wanted to trust Jesus for eternal life. It was not until the group leader began to lead them in the sinners prayer that they realized a group of about 20 children had gathered behind them and listened. Many of them also prayed to receive Christ. Afterward Libbie gathered the children together and explained more to them about trusting Jesus and encouraged them in this decision.

Over 100 the Very First Day!

After our morning evangelism we had lunch and returned to the compound for Vacation Bible School. As we walked down into the compound children seemed to appear out of thin air around every corner. They squeezed with joy to see so many Muzungus (white people) walking down their street. Many of them followed us to the church and on the first day we had over 100 children. I was very proud of our team because at the last minute one of our meeting areas was inaccessible which required a great deal of shifting on the fly. Our team was excellent and somehow amid the organized chaos we managed to sing fun songs, do crafts and help them act out a story in full costume.

Little Things

One thing I will never get over is just how much we take for granted. At one point we handed out coloring sheets for today’s story and gave each child 3 crayons. For many of them this was the first time they had ever seen a crayon and we had to demonstrate how the worked! Some were amazed that when their color broke that all we had to do was peel back the paper and there was more crayon! Little things mean a lot here.

Pray for:

• Our translators- that they will have clarity and follow the Holy Spirit's leading
• Safety as we travel Daily back and forth from the Guest House to the Compound
• The health of team members with asthma- the dusty roads are proving to be a challenge
• For boldness for each team member that is sharing Jesus