We arrived in Balaka early morning Tuesday morning, and made
our way slowly via dusty road to Binoni village. Nestled roughly an hour
outside of town, this village is decorated with traditional grass + mud huts,
mango trees, and friendly curious smiles. All around the colors of brown, tan,
beige, and green consume my senses. We’re here…we’re finally here! Trees stand
amidst acres of brownish black mud, thick, thick mud. It feels like I’m in a
movie.
When I agreed to preach at this crusade, the only words the
Lord spoke to me were: REMAIN and LOVE. This led me to the passage in John 15
that speaks about Christ being the vine, while we are the branches. Through this, the Lord called me to a
place of totally trusting Him to be the words in my mouth – and that God would
speak through me, without any comfortable planning on my part. This was a pretty exhilarating and
terrifying moment for me – but the Lord came though and moved even my heart
with the message of hope He had for these village people.
I preached in a giant soccer field. Whistles and brightly
colored uniforms danced across the field as we began our crusade. We were later
informed that men in the village had strategically scheduled a game to begin at
the exact moment of our service in an effort to destroy the crusade. They’d started rumors in the village
that we were satanists coming to cause trouble and wreak havoc among their
people – and told little children we were vampires coming to eat them. (No
wonder so many of them wailed and screamed with fear when we smiled or came
near them.) The enemy had prepared this soil long before we arrived with lies
and his wimpy traps.
He failed to realize WHO would be speaking this particular
evening. The Holy Spirit had prepared my heart long before I arrived in this
village with a message of LIFE, HOPE, and TRUTH. I may not have known the words
I would speak in advance, but He’d called me out and set me apart for this very
moment – to be a voice on the frontline. A bonus is that I LOVE soccer and it
provided the perfect illustration for the message I’d be speaking.
As I stepped forward before the people, the Lord told me
three additional things (along with the passage John 15) – 1) someone will be
healed tonight, 2) I have something to tell someone specifically and I want you
to tell them, and 3) pick two branches – one dead, and one with some leaves on
it, you’ll need these for later.
So there I stood before 150 village people, 300 eyes
watching me, and very little clue about what was going to happen next – but
excited to open my mouth and find out. “Tell them your story Christy.” I wondered what this meant. I
knew my well rehearsed 2.5minute testimony from college chorale was not going
to cut it, so I simply responded, “Alright Lord, but you’re going to have to
tell me what you want me to tell them, and weave it together with this passage to
make sense, because I’m not seeing it. Here we go!”
From the moment I started, I wanted to cry – not because it
was horrible, but because the Lord was unlocking a treasure box of revelation
for me about my life – and the journey He’d taken me on. He used the branches
to illustrate what my life looked like without Him – dead and ugly. The village
people clapped when I reached this point…it was humbling…it was moving…it was a
growing experience. When I sat
down, some of our African friends asked “where did you get the words for that
message?” I laughed and thought to myself “Jesus”.
The reality of this experience is…I preached from my
journal. I had no notes. My teammate Megan’s eye was healed during the service.
I met Patricia + Miracle (the person God had to speak to) and the branches
provided a tangible example even the children could understand. All it took was
trust and opening my mouth. Worrying would have gotten me nowhere…but God came
through, just as He always faithfully does. He spoke through me undistracted,
to the point, and shared my story of seeking perfection and fruit of my own
apart from the true vine, Christ. He brought me to a place of teaching like Jesus
today – using the environment around me. I’m pretty stoked to preach again
sometime…and to see what else the Lord has to say here in Africa!
