Life is still tough, but it’s slowly becoming amazing. We’ve been sharing Jesus with people, going hut to hut most of this week and we’ve seen many people accept Jesus! The work often isn’t easy, and yet I have good reason to hope that God is really choosing to work in the lives of these incredible people, allowing us to watch Him work in their hearts as we share His message of love.
Yesterday, we had the had the opportunity to visit the local “bar”. As we walked into the mud and straw hut that I was tempted to walk by, we were greeted by about eight people communally partaking of the local warm brew using yard-long bamboo straws placed into a clay pot in the center of the room. We were invited to speak, even though most of the guys probably thought we were about to judge what they were doing. As we shared, two men pondered everything that was said; one guy listening intently as he stuck his head in from the outside, and the other quietly sipping. And as we were answering questions, both shared with us that they had just chosen to accept Christ. The leader of the group noted no man or woman of God – whites or blacks – had ever been willing to share God with them without judging them. He continued saying that the very fact we were willing to sit with them while they drank was an incredible testament of the love of God flowing through us. I kinda wanted to partake myself, but we’ve chosen not to consume alcohol during our time in Africa. But it was so amazing to be able to say to them that we just simply want to share with them Jesus; judgement was not on our agenda.
And later that afternoon, I found my new favorite tree – the mango tree. You can climb high almost right up to the canopy and disappear into a lush, green world. And I did. Just below, African worship music blared out of the speakers, and almost the entire town sat below. And even though I couldn’t understand what was being sung, nor was the audio quality that great, I was able to dance in my own way as a small peephole opened up to a group of dancing children below. I was able to be myself in front of them – because they didn’t seem to care how I looked; they only wanted to have fun themselves. And so we danced together – me in the tree, and them in the front of the crowd on the ground. And I think all the adults below saw was a dancing mango tree.
Above: My favorite mango tree so far!
