This week my team and I went out to a village where we were told we were going to plant a church. I’ve never done this before so I wasn’t sure what to expect but it’s actually a really cool thing to be a part of. Each day we split into two groups and went hut to hut talking with people, sharing the Gospel and encouraging messages, praying with people who wanted to accept Christ, and inviting them to this church we were starting.
Going into this week I was nervous. I had never walked to people’s homes and openly talked about my faith and shared the Gospel. The first couple times I spoke I tried to plan out my words as quick as possible because we weren’t given time to plan out anything and I found myself stumbling on my words and I just didn’t feel very good about it. As the first day went on I kept jumping at the opportunities given because I knew if I didn’t keep trying I wasn’t going to get any better. And then I heard a soft whisper say “listen”. I knew this was God nudging me and I knew exactly what He meant by this word. I needed to stop trying to plan out my words and simply listen for His words. Let me tell you, the next time I stood up to share an encouraging word with the people in front of me, I listened. It was the most incredible thing. The words that were said to the people weren’t mine. They were from God. It’s like the verse says in John 14:10, “The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.” This verse had become so relevant to my life this week. I was God’s messenger to this village. I’ve never been in a place where after I spoke to a group of people I could sit down and confidently say that Jesus spoke through me and the words were not my own. But this week, it has been just that. Each time I felt the nudge to share something I wasn’t nervous. I wasn’t ashamed to speak up. I wasn’t too scared to open my mouth and start speaking. I was confident. I knew that Jesus would come through. He has told me the same thing over and over every day, “Don’t doubt Me. I will always come through.” So, I knew I didn’t need to question whether or not He was going to give me the words because He faithfully came through every single time. It was such an honor to be used by God this week in ways that I never thought I would be.
Sunday morning we were able to go and join them in the opening service of this church. It was so beautiful. Including children we estimated that there were about 100 people there. They had a big mat that they laid out at the top of the hill (the view was incredible) and that’s where they had church. It was a beautiful picture of what the church really is. The church isn’t a building. The building is actually worthless (sorry if that offended anyone). Church is the gathering of God’s children in one place. It doesn’t matter where it happens because like Jesus says in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I will be among them.” So, on top of this hill in this village in the middle of Malawi, Africa, God is present. It doesn’t say, “In the beautiful building with the steeple on top where people gather, that is where I am”. It says that wherever two or more gather in His name, He is there. I love that. **I’ll post pictures next Monday of this church and a few other things we’ve done!**
At the end of the service we had to say goodbye to Pastor Daniel, one of the pastors that helped translate for one of the groups all week. For only meeting a week ago, it was a sad goodbye to say. We were blown away when he told us that he wanted our team to pick a name for this church that we had just planted. First we get the crazy opportunity to plant a church in this village, and now we get to name it?! We were so caught off guard but so honored to be able to do this. It took us a good day or so to think of a name but we finally came up with Rooted Baptist Church. Our meaning behind it is something along the lines of, they met under a tree so roots just seemed fitting, but also a reminder to them to stay rooted in Christ even when times get hard. When the crops aren’t growing, when there isn’t food for their families, or whatever it may be. The reminder to be rooted in Christ and trust that He will provide for all their needs.
Throughout the week Jesus reminded me of all the things I take for granted; sometimes they’re things so small that I don’t even notice. Two simple examples are, I take my Bible and my church for granted. I met tons of people this week that just heard about Jesus for the first time and accepted Him and would have done just about anything to have a bible in their language so they could learn more. I’ve never thought of it as a privilege to own a bible but after this week, it is something that I thank Jesus for. And the same with my church. The people we invited to church were so anxious to come and were willing to walk sometimes a mile or more to go and when they got there, they weren’t mad that they had to walk but they were filled with joy. And then there’s me. I’ve had my church less than 5 minutes from my house my whole life and I’ve always gone. I don’t know where I would be without my church family and my youth group and God has blessed me with such great people from there. But I often took it for granted and seeing the joy in these people when they came to their new church for the first time made me rethink how I view my church. Do I view it as the place I go to each week so people see me as a good person and think I have it all together? Or do I go because Jesus calls us to meet together and spur each other on towards greatness in Him? That’s a question that hurt a little but it was Jesus’ way of catching my attention and making me aware of the things I take for granted when I should be thanking Him for blessing me with these things.
Sorry this was all over the place but I’ll admit, I wrote it in a little bit of a rush. But, Jesus has grown me so much in this past week alone and I have noticed so much more confidence in myself. I’m more confident in who God made me to be and I am more confident now when I talk to people when we go hut to hut. I’m looking forward to all that God has in store for my remaining two weeks here at this ministry! He is faithful.
Prayer Request:
I am half way through my Race. How insane is that?! I can’t believe it. It has been the hardest thing I’ve ever been through but also the most rewarding. My prayer request is that I would continue to stay present and continue pressing into the growth and joy that God has for me here. The time from now until the end is going to fly by and as much as I miss people back home, I genuinely don’t want to wish my time away. This is an incredible experience and I have grown so much. I’m so grateful for where God has me right now and I know even in the hardest days, He is right beside me.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support!
Blessings,
Julie
