Well, we are in Malawi for another month! Our entrance into Mozambique was prevented at the border, try as we may (and we did for 4 days), three of our teams were unable to enter. Our official visas and letters of introduction from the contacts to the government worked for two teams. So three teams found themselves back in the capital, Lilongwe, for another month in Malawi, surprise!
Honestly, for myself, I knew I would not be going to Mozambique and had been praying to that end before we left the ministry at Butterfly Space. God answered my prayers for safety and a month out of Mozambique, but what a ride it would be.
We would be working with churches in various areas around the city, going door to door visiting with people and praying for them. In these walks around villages we have prayed for people to accept Jesus for the first time, prayed for healing, for the blind to see, the lame to walk, the sick made well, and comfort for those in pain. This type of ministry is called evangelism by many.
For most of my life I’ve not enjoyed and even avoided this type of ministry for many reasons. In my limited experience it consists of making conversation out of thin air with people I’ve never met before, tell them I was a Christian, and ask if they were believers or do they know Jesus, then talk about Jesus in a way as to convince them that they too needed him.
Not any real communication or relationship, just to convince with the fear of hell, with heaven as the happy reward for those who accept.
Jesus is about relationship, he wants one, there is no more. That is the way of love. The only people he was direct with, or condemned, were the religious leaders who claimed a relationship with God but in their hearts did not know him. God is all about love and his offering of love to us. The problem is my acceptance of his love is an act of humility. To admit I need it, more than the breath in my lungs, is swallowing my own idea of independence. My desire for perfection and to be ok only when things are good, well, that’s ugly pride. There is more to be unpacked about the struggles of this month, but that’s for another blog. 😉
Our team has had the freedom follow our own direction in executing evangelism here and it’s cool to be able to work out what ministry looks like. The tension of pushing into the uncomfortable while keeping our personal conviction in mind can be a real struggle some days.
So, we walk and talk with people, ask them about their lives, listen to their stories and if they want us to pray for them we do. Many times they are very specific about what needs they have. Sometimes it is vague like faith, or marriage, but Jesus knows what’s going on. We faithfully pray for them and ask God to bless them. He wants to bless us all, maybe not in ways that we think are best but he promises to hear us and when we seek him he will be found.
