“God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even
handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their
illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.� Acts 19:11-12
We went to a school
today for ministry. It was basically a
trade school for young people with disabilities, mainly the deaf and mute. Most
of the students there are late teens/early twenties. The school offers
certificates in carpentry, tailoring and shoemaking. It was really cool.
They sat us in chairs
outside in the shade and then they all gathered around in the grass. I felt a
bit like we were royalty because of the seating situation, but it’s been like
that a lot in Africa. They give us a ton of respect and honor. It’s really
uncomfortable a lot of the time, but on the flip side it’s very humbling. The
respect that I’ve received as a guest in Africa has been mind blowing.
My teammate Carly
shared for about 30 minutes and had two translators. Pastor Solomon translated
our English in the local tongue, and then somebody from the center translated
that into sign language.
Sign language is just
so beautiful to me. I only know a tiny bit but would love to learn more. I
thought about my dad’s mother. She was deaf
and mute. I thought about how I wished I had known her, but she passed away
before I was born. It was just special
to be there and think about her.
We shared Christ and
gave them a soccer ball that the pastor brought. Rachel, Katlyn and I went to the sewing room,
which was very interesting. They had several of the old Singer sewing machines
with the foot pedals. They showed us
clothes that they had made. We tried to communicate with them and took pictures
of them and the clothes that they made.
The LOVED that! They would laugh
and squeal with delight when we would show them the pictures.
We prayed healing
over them and blessings. I kept thinking, “What would Jesus do if He were here?� I
believe that He would heal them.
That question has
come to mind several times on this Race.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t ever remember an instance where
Jesus prayed and healing didn’t come.
I desire to be like
Him, to be His hands and feet, yet I don’t feel like I have the faith to
believe that Jesus would use us to heal them. I think it would be AMAZING if He
actually did. I’ve heard of an entire hospital emptying because a World Race
team had been there and Jesus just healed everyone. I thought about how sweet it would be if
Jesus did that in that instance. What if
the Holy Spirit poured out a thimble of His healing power and all of a sudden
the deaf heard and the mute began to sing??? It would totally blow me away. I
want that kind of faith.
I think I’m on the
right track, but I find myself feeling like the father in Mark 9:
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!�
Mark 9:24b
