His wife was raped. His daughter was killed. His son was kidnapped. He fled the country with his wife and four other children. Now he’s behind bars.
He was a pastor. Now he’s a prisoner.
This past month in Botswana my team and I had a different month than usual. We traveled all over the country in search of future hosts for the World Race. The Lord continued to show His faithfulness and led us to an abundance of future hosts for the World Race. It was a month of traveling, praying and letting God lead us to places we couldn’t have gone on our own. It was a beautiful month of being completely reliant on the Lord to lead.
After a time of listening prayer with my team the Lord led us to our first city, which was Francistown. After researching and contacting different ministries and churches we had around five meetings set up. Danica and I met with a woman who gave us more leads including a woman named Deb. Deb, her husband and three children lived in Francistown and worked with a few different ministries including a prison ministry, feeding programs in the local villages and working with the youth at their church. We were able to join her one morning and play volleyball and netball with the men and women at the prison.
The prison was for illegal immigrants who had fled their countries for a better life. There were men and women from the Congo, Somalia, Namibia, Burundi and Zimbabwe. They weren’t allowed any contact with the outside world due to safety reasons. This made it almost impossible to be released. Every six months there are hearings where the men and women are given an opportunity to share their story and ask for a release.
I met an older gentleman who all the men referred to as pastor. He spoke softly and was full of wisdom. While we waited to play volleyball we sat and talked about life and how he had ended up here. He shared about how he had been a pastor at a church in the Congo and about his wife and six children. Then he shared about how his family had been attacked by a group of rebels (who had been murdering Christians) and the aftermath. He shared about how he lost both of his eldest children and how his wife had been raped. He decided to flee the country to try and save his family from this torture and find a better life but the Lord had a different story He wanted to write. While in prison he was only allowed to see his wife and two youngest children for one hour a day.
Seeing all of this would make a man go mad. But this man always kept his eyes on the Lord and what the Lord had for him. Every morning he would preach to the other men in the prison. They all referred to him as pastor, which shows that he’s made an impression on their lives. They know what he stands for and what he believes. While I listened to his story I thought about how angry and bitter I would’ve been towards the Lord and those who had torn my family apart. After looking back and reflecting over this man’s story I was reminded of the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16.
“The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.” -Acts 16:22-32
How would you respond to seeing your wife raped? Or your eldest daughter and son kidnapped and murdered? How about being thrown in jail for spreading the gospel?
There’s one similarity I see between “pastor” and Paul in this instance and it’s how they react to being persecuted. I would’ve responded with anger or retaliation. This man and Paul both responded with love. How would you have responded?
This man could’ve lived life in prison bitter and angry with the Lord but he knew the Lord placed him there for a purpose. Paul could’ve ran out of prison and let the guard kill himself but he knew the Lord placed him there in that moment to share the gospel with the guard. And from that the guard and his family became believers.
“Pastor” had experienced a lot of loss and sadness but one thing I could see that was evident in his life was how much he loved the Lord. Keep your eyes fixed on the Lord. Never lose sight of His plan for your life. There’s a joy that comes with knowing the Lord that can never been extinguished. That’s what “pastor” had. It was evident.
He never lost hope. His eyes had seen countless horrific events but the eyes of his soul gazed solely on the Lord.
