Note: This blog was
partially written on 11/17/10 but is just now being posted… enjoy! Oh yea, it’s
pretty long too. You can do it! 🙂
I had another burst
of the Spirit today… probably one of my biggest ones yet. I literally
couldn’t even talk at one point because I was so filled with joy I didn’t know
what to do with myself. I wanted to shout, sprint up a mountain, and cry with
tears of glee all at the same time. Yes, today has definitely been one of the
best days on the Race so far. Let me tell you about it. 🙂
First of all, I’ve been experiencing sweet new levels of intimacy with the Lord the past few
mornings; I’ve definitely been crying more than I have in a while but it feels
refreshing – like I’m fully letting go and allowing myself to be righteously wrecked for Jesus. I’ve had
this intense urge to just draw with the Lord for a while now so this morning I
went outside with my charcoal pencil (yea, I brought one), my journal and my
Bible and went to town. I was sitting at the base of the mountain behind our
house in the midst of God’s breathtaking creation and feeling so grateful to
simply be in His presence. I started praying and different images and
scriptures began coming to mind so I just drew them out. I was out there for a
solid amount of time before I finished the work of art God had placed on my
heart; my old self then began to come out and I thought, Ok, you’re done now. You can go inside and be productive. But I
quickly had to catch myself, captivate that thought, and replace it with TRUTH.
No, there’s nothing else I could do right
now that would be more “productive� than spending time with my King. There’s nowhere
else I would rather be. This is the most fruitful use of my time; this is what
it’s all about. So I simply stayed in that place with Jesus; I read some
scripture, sang a few songs, prayed for people that were on my heart (God has
definitely been growing me in intercession…
good stuff!), did some listening prayer, and just sat with the Lord. It
was a pretty sweet time. Thank you, Jesus!
During my quiet time I was praying intentionally for
ministry that day; I knew we were going to be visiting a disabled center and a
university but I wasn’t too sure what we would be doing in each place.
Sometimes it’s hard to make connections with people when you’re only there for
a few hours but I really wanted to press in and see what the Lord had for us
and everyone we were ministering to. So God put it on my heart to pray
specifically that I would truly connect with at least one person at the
disabled center… just one. Oh man, God
sure is faithful!
The previous day we had made our way to Neema Crafts in the morning but didn’t really know what to
expect; all we knew was that we’d be working with disabled people but didn’t
know anything specific. Well, I walked in the door and instantly fell in love.
This place is so legit!! (Please read my previous blog “Background on NEEMA CRAFTS� to give you an idea of what this place
is all about. Thank you!)
The first day we were there we
took a tour of the shop and all the different workshops; it was incredible to
see the production of all these beautiful works of art from recycled materials.
We talked with some of the workers, tried to encourage them in what they were
doing, and help in any way we could. I LOVE CRAFTS so being able to see them
made first-hand was awesome… I wanted to just sit down and do it with them! We
then went up to the café area and almost had a heart attack when we saw the
menu: lasagna, paninis, brownies?! Whoa. It had been awhile since we had
anything besides rice, beans, and ugali to eat so we were pretty pumped about
that. 🙂 We talked with Mr. Haruna – the manager of the place – and decided to
come back the next day in order to help out in any way we could.
The next day was phenomenal (and it’s
the spirit-burst day this blog was written about). We arrived and instantly
went upstairs to see if the kitchen crew needed any help cooking; little did we
know we would spend our whole time there without glancing at our watches once…
it was SO MUCH FUN! Everyone working in the kitchen was deaf but it was amazing
to realize how much we could communicate with one another without words (it was
a good chance for me to practice my sign language alphabet and learn much more
from them as well!)
B.Cox and I were the first ones
there and upon entering the kitchen and introducing ourselves we were warmly
welcomed by the employees with genuine smiles and handshakes of gratitude. We
were each given an apron to wear (I felt so official!) and I was taken under
the wing of my new lifelong friend Ally
(pronounced Ah-lee). He showed me around the kitchen and instructed me how to
measure, cut, mix, and cook a variety of different things throughout the day
(including BROWNIES!! Being able to lick out the brownie batter bowl and eat
some of the scraps was definitely a highlight!) It felt so good to be in a
kitchen again (not that I even cook very much at home, but it just felt
exhilarating to be there. I loved being able to cook, help out, learn new
things, and make new friends all at the same time. I was filled with JOY!)
I quickly discovered that Ally was extremely intelligent when he
started speaking to me in English and saying my name when he needed to get my
attention. He has not only learned how to speak a few words (he’s 100%
deaf but learned how to form his mouth and create sounds… legit), he knows how
to sign, read lips in both Swahili and English, and knows how to read/ write in
both Swahili and English as well. This is INCREDIBLE to me!
After working for a few hours we were able to sit down
together and start “talking�, which actually consisted of writing back and
forth to one another on a notepad for the next hour or so. I LOVED IT!! (It reminded me of the time I got my tonsils and
adenoids out in third grade and my throat hurt too much to talk afterwards, so
my mom and I wrote notes back and forth to each other in my pink Barbie
notebook. Haha, good times.) B.Cox knows a good amount of sign language (she
studied it in school and uses it with her family so she was totally in her
element here… it was amazing to see!) so she was learning a little bit about
each of the workers throughout the day. She was asking them about their faith
and apparently someone told her that Ally was a Muslim. When Ally and I sat
down and started writing to each other, his first question was why we were in
Tanzania and why our group seemed different than the other mzungus he’d come in
contact with throughout his time working there. Perfect opportunity to share the gospel, I thought to myself. 🙂
I wrote out what we were doing on The World Race and why we
felt called to go on such a trip; I talked about our passion for Jesus and how
much He loved him as well! I then wrote
out the whole gospel on this little notepad, praying as I wrote that the
Spirit would touch Ally’s heart as he read it. I never expected I would be
witnessing/ evangelizing in this way but I loved it… the Lord’s plans never
cease to amaze me!
I handed the notepad over to him and began to pray even
more, watching his reactions as he read each word. I had only known this man
for a few hours but I felt like I was already experiencing the Lord’s love for
him in a profound way; I desperately wanted him to be in relationship with
Jesus and for him to know the Lord’s deep affections for him. Ally finished
reading and looked up at me and smiled. He
smiled! At the end of my note I had asked if he knew Jesus and he wrote
back with an emphatic, “Yes!�
Extreme joy, peace,
and relief flooded through my body as I read those words. He belongs to
Jesus! He proceeded to write out that he had been raised a Muslim but then he
developed his hearing problem and had been rejected by many others in society.
He finally found out about Neema Crafts and they helped him obtain education at
one of the best deaf schools around; that’s where he was able to learn how to
speak, sign, read, and write in both Swahili and English. The school was
started by the Anglican Church so they told him about Jesus and it was then
that he gave his life to the Lord. BWANA YESU ASIFIWE! (Praise the Lord!) He
said the Lord has truly helped him out in life and he now regularly attends a
church near Iringa that accommodates for the hearing impaired; he also often
reads the Bible, teaches it to others, prays, sings, worships, and talks to his
friends in the kitchen about Jesus if there’s down-time. Tears of joy welled up
in my eyes as I read about Ally’s relationship with the Lord; I felt so much
love for my brother in Christ and I could literally feel Jesus smiling down on
him. I was so blessed by this divine interaction and I wanted to stay there
talking/ fellowshipping with him all day.
Ally was literally an
answer to prayer. I didn’t realize it until a few days later but I had prayed
specifically that I would make a connection with one person at Neema Crafts…
and he is that person. I am so grateful to have met another brother in Christ
and be able to encourage and pray for him. What
a huge blessing! Since then we’ve gone back to Neema Crafts about three or
four more times and every time I walk in the kitchen Ally greets me with a huge
smile and a big bear hug… I love him! We’ve been able to write back and forth a
few more times, I’ve been able to help out some more in the kitchen, and we
even sat down together at my computer so I could set up an email account for
him. I taught him how to write emails back and forth a few times so he could
get the hang of signing in and out of his account and composing, reading, and
replying to messages; we wanted to be able to keep in touch so I thought that
would be the best way I could continue hearing from and praying for him while
I’m on the field. He was incredibly grateful and it blessed my heart to see the
joy in his eyes. I love the way the Lord
works! 🙂
All in all, it feels like I’m operating out of the rhythm of God in this place. It’s hard
to explain but I feel like every move I make, I’m in His will. It just feels
right, and there’s an overarching sense of peace and deep joy in the midst of
it all. Wow. God is doing big things in
my heart.
Later that day we went to Tumaini University to share a message and fellowship with the Bible
study there; upon entering the campus I was taken aback by the sheer beauty of
the place. It was surrounded by mountains (like most things in this town) and I
could literally see God in His creation. Everyone we met was so warm and
welcoming and it felt good to just sit, talk, fellowship, and get to know my
brothers and sisters in Christ, (it also felt nice to be back in a desk,
discussion circle, and in a stadium-style classroom. Oh man, I guess I miss
school!) I loved it there so much I wanted to attend the college and be part of
the Bible study! (Who knows, it may
happen, haha…)
I ended up sharing a message about the cost of discipleship/ what it looks like to actually follow Jesus
with everything we have – true
abandonment for the Lord. I felt like Jesus was literally directing every
word that came out of my mouth. I was operating in His rhythm again, not my
own. We had a question and answer session/ discussion afterwards and again, God
was giving me words to speak in response to these inquisitive college students.
Ah, it just felt right… I loved it! The whole time I was there I was simply
filled with joy. We all shared a lot while we were there and heard about what
was going on in these students’ lives as well – what they’re challenged with,
how they can be encouraged, what they’re learning, and how we can be praying
for them. I felt like instant, deep connections were made and I had some
significant conversations with some of the students afterwards. We’re even going
to keep in touch, encourage one another in ministry, and continue to pray for
each other. Sweet! More and more answered prayers!
I love it here so much I thought of another life vision,
haha. Who knows if this is actually going to happen but it’s just fun to be dreaming with God. 🙂 I could come back
to Iringa, work/ volunteer at Neema Crafts (make crafts, help cook, build
relationships, learn sign language, and play volleyball with them at the
center! Yup, they play there!), get my Masters of Education at Tumaini
University, be part of the Bible study there, start a school here and teach,
climb mountains all day and experience God’s amazing creation, and go to Pastor
Chacha’s church and have a family away from home. Check! Haha… who knows what
the future looks like, but good thing
the Lord does and He’s a good and faithful Father!
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the
Lord determines his steps� (Proverbs 16:9).
“You will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart�
(Jeremiah 29:13).
