Botswana… *sigh* I just think of all the things I saw the Lord do, all He taught me, all He showed me, the ways He revealed Himself to the local people and to my team and I can do nothing but smile and sigh. There are no words. I try to type words to explain what happened, but my heart just beats faster and faster as I replay memories. How can I possibly explain? We literally saw THE MUTE SPEAK, THE BLIND GAIN SIGHT, CHEST PAINS DISAPPEAR, KNEES HEALED, A PARALYZED MAN WORKED HIS HAND, PEOPLE WERE SET FREE. DRUNKARDS MADE SOBER, CURSES BROKEN…THE NAME OF JESUS HEARD FOR THE FIRST TIME.
FREEDOM.
I would LOVE to tell you detailed stories of each of these miracles. Some happened once, some happened to more than one person, but the truth is there are simply too many to write! (I am NOT EXAGGERATING!!!)
My team and I were taken to a town about an hour away from Ghanzi in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. Now, when I say desert- I mean desert; dry, heat beating down on the thick brown sand, trees that made me wonder how they were alive, freezing nights and scorching days. This was definitely the desert. We didn’t know what to expect… Maybe that’s because expectations would have put God in a box.
Something the Lord showed me through Botswana is that the Spirit realm is REAL. I know we say that, as Christians we know that. But, my time in Botswana gave me a deeper understanding of the truth and reality of the spirit realm. How? It all started the first week, our hosts(who are truly truly amazing!) took us to the Bakwena Cave (I think that’s the right name?) (Background: It is said this cave was where “bad” people were thrown and they would never come back- the cave was said to be filled with evil spirits. Eventually, a man came who was a Christian; he and the chief of the tribe slept in the cave and the chief saw that the power of our God is much stronger than any evil. So, that’s how Christianity came to the Bakwena people.)
Well, on our way up the mountain to the cave, we see an older man walking in front of us wearing a long blue and white traditional “dress”. We were looking at the cave when he bursts past us into the corner furthest away, crouches, places his hand over his ear that is closest to us and starts praying in his language. He immediately begins sweating profusely. We realized this was a spiritual moment of some sort. We were told on our way up that this man was here to draw power from the spirits. The team looked at each other, a bit puzzled on what to do. Here we are and here is this man praying to evil spirits while we are standing right in front of him. It was like a battle for his soul. We immediately began praying protection and speaking truth over this man. He stood up after a while, facing us with arms wide open, and yelling at the top of his lungs. Well, we obviously do the same- our worship and prayers grew louder. The spiritual tension was so strong that my legs were struggling to keep me off the ground.
All of a sudden- it ended. It just stopped. He walked away, like it was nothing. Daniel talked to him afterwards and He knew the name of Jesus. He knew it. Yet, it wasn’t enough for this man…why? A friend I made later that month informed me that when this man stood up and faced us, he was attempting to introduce us to the spirits he was calling to.
That was just the start of it.
Later that month, in the Kalahari- a village called Qabo, this was where I saw God move in immeasurable ways. We saw the reality of the spiritual war going on for souls first hand and saw the way the Lord is pursuing trapped hearts first hand. We saw a 17 year old boy healed from a curse that was put on him, we saw how witch doctors use their deception and how satan entraps people in his plan by paralyzing them with fear and ancestral spirits. We saw people who decided to follow Jesus come to us because their lives were being threatened by spirits, witch doctors and even family members.
Here’s what else I saw: I saw a beautiful people whom the Lord dearly loves. He is pursuing relentlessly. I met people who love so deeply, who love so purely. I made friendships that inspire and stir passions, people who DREAM and who are being pioneers for the Gospel and who know the good news and are sharing it! I will always have a piece of my heart in Botswana and I’m so thankful for the privilege I had to learn alongside so many beautiful, beautiful people.
