“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5-6
After postponements, miscommunications, and just the delayed speed of travel in Africa, team Bling finally arrived in Moralane, Botswana. After setting up our tents and getting settled, the pastor wanted to take us on a tour of the village. This was finally the Africa we all thought we desired to see so badly. We were finally out of all city life in the bush, seeing the real Africa. The village is very spread out with the straw roofed, mud huts in no type of order whatsoever. People were sitting around fires everywhere cooking, trying to get warm, and just sitting with nothing better to do. Everywhere we looked there were children, children with babies, and more babies. All with half an outfit on, no shoes, and everything extremely tattered. We walked around but also stopped, talked, and prayed for a few of the people along the way. Just as our “tour” was coming to an end the pastor asked us if we were ready to truly see the village of Moralane. Of course we desired to see all of where we were so we enter a central area and were utterly appalled by what we saw. All the parents, especially mothers of these many children we had passed were gathered in the center of the village completely drunk at midday. We were mobbed by all of them, excited to see us as they stumbled over to introduce themselves with alcohol stained breath right in our faces. Many of them had babies tied onto their backs as they were still too young to be separated from their mothers. The sight was heartbreaking as all of us became painfully aware of the darkness that swept over Moralane.
In an awkward silence we finished our tour and went back to the land on which we were staying. Unsure of all the mixed emotions I was dealing with I went and laid down in my tent heartbroken and discouraged in a place I had only just arrived. I immediately began to pray and intercede on behalf of the people in Moralane desperately begging the Lord to speak. He led me straight to Psalm 126 and told me this was to be my prayer for the people of Moralane. One of my main tasks while in the village were to sow tears and intercede on behalf of a people who do not yet know Jesus as their Savior in hopes that one day songs, and songs, and more songs of joy will be reaped. Each morning we prayed that the Lord would use us to plant some type of seed whether knowingly or unknowingly all over the village. We were aware that bulk fruit would not be produced in our time there, but we desperately desired to be a part of the seed sowing process.
During the day we ran children programs full of songs and stories while each night we went to a different part of the village holding open air church services for any and everyone to attend. We brought the word of God to this place in the best we knew how praying constantly that the Lord would use us as vessels and speak directly through us: sowing and sowing and sowing; interceding, interceding, and interceding.
Although I have no great story to tell you of hundreds being added to the kingdom, I am able to testify to the goodness of the Lord. Our last night in Moralane as we all lay in our tents getting ready for bed far off in the distance we could hear the faint voices of children singing the songs we had been teaching all week. The Lord was faithful in exactly that which he had called me to pray over the village. I fully believe that the songs of joy we heard that night were just the first of many that will one day be reaped out of the village of Moralane, Botswana. Our prayer is for the many children of the village, that they be a new generation who truly calls down the glory of the Lord all over that place, and desires to know Him and make Him known!
