One of my teammates told me,
“Kelli if you think this is good, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
This first month in Cote d’Ivoire, Africa has been amazing,
but……
if we are being honest, I didn’t believe him.
I couldn’t comprehend how God could top what He has already shown me these first 3 weeks of my World Race.
Most days I am in awe of our Maker.
I have never known Him like this.
The Lord has shown me what pure joy looks and feels like.
He has shown me what unconditional love looks and feels like.
He has shown me what it feels like to be poured in to and to pour in to others.
He has shown me what it looks and feels like to rely solely on Him.
He has shown me that people want to feel loved no matter where they are from.
So, when he told me it would get better, I thought there is no way.
How could it get any better?
Wow.
I was wrong.
I have seen some pretty miraculous things these past couple of days.
I wanted to share a couple stories with you.
Story #1
The Muslim Girls
We were in a village called Dabou picking up some wood to replace a roof.
As we were waiting for the wood to be cut, I saw these girls.
I looked at them and quickly looked away.
I felt the Lord say, Look Again.
I did and they were waving at me.
I asked my teammate Stephanie if she would go talk to them with me.
We walked over towards them and all I could hear was laughter.
We didn’t speak the same language, but we had something else to share.
Joy. Pure Joy.
I instantly gave them a big hug (because I love hugs and hugging is universal right?!?) and I prayed over them when I did.
I prayed for them to see something in us that they wanted.
The love of Jesus.
We laughed together, held hands, and gave hugs again.
It was time for our group to leave so we said our Goodbye’s.
As we were walking away, I felt like our job wasn’t done.
Like we should have done and said more.
I wanted to spend more time with them, but it wasn’t possible.
Oh silly me.
With God anything is possible.
As we were walking away, I felt someone grab my hand.
One of the girls came running behind us to walk us out of the village.
She grabbed my hand, and then my teammates.
It was a powerful moment.
A Christian and Muslim walking hand in hand down the streets of their village.
Woah God.
As we got to the end of the road, she said she had to go back.
We all gave her a group hug and showered her in Jesus’ love.
She wanted what we had.
Jesus.
Story #2
The Deaf and Mute Girl
We had spent the whole day scooping poop and rocks out of a building.
We were rebuilding a fertilizer house into a dormitory.
Yep. You read that right.
Our host fed us a delicious lunch of chicken and rice.
At the end of the day we had to return the plates, pans, and silverware that we used.
We drove up to the house that prepared our meal.
As we were pulling up, I saw a very beautiful little girl.
I could tell something wasn’t right with her, but I couldn’t tell what.
So I got out of the car and tried to talk to her.
She didn’t respond and just stared at me blankly.
Her parents then told me that she was deaf and mute.
God said, Pray For Her.
We asked her parents if we could pray for her.
They said, “Yes, of course!”
So I gathered some of my team and I laid my hands on her ears.
I prayed long and hard.
We all prayed hard.
Asking the Lord for a miracle.
Asking the Lord to heal her ears and let her hear.
Asking the Lord to show His glory to grow His Kingdom.
My team and I pleaded with the Lord to heal this young, beautiful daughter of His.
When we asked all of this in Jesus’ name, we took a step back, waiting for a miracle.
Nothing happened and the little girl ran away.
As we were getting back into the car, I heard God whisper,
Trust Me.
So that is exactly what I did.
I accepted the fact that I would never know if a miracle occurred in her.
I accepted the fact that I would trust the Lord in this.
I think God wanted to show off.
He let us see this beautiful girl two days later.
We pulled up to the house to drop off the dishes again.
This time it was a little different.
She RAN up to me and gave me a GIANT hug.
Not only was she smiling, but she was laughing.
Wait, what?!?
Not only was she laughing, but she was mumbling.
WHAT?!?
Not only was she mumbling, but she was making noises.
Ok God. I get it.
You are the Ultimate Healer.
I fully believe the Lord is going to restore her ears.
I fully believe the village will witness a miracle.
I fully believe that ALL things are possible through Christ.
I saw the start of a miracle.
Thanks for showing off God.
Story #3
The Muslim Man
We just wanted to go to the market.
I just wanted to buy some earrings.
That was it.
But God had other plans.
I have learned that I like His plans a lot more than mine.
We got in our taxi to head to town.
I was with the men on my team.
Patrick, Jonathan, and our Translator Marius.
These are some bold men, but I didn’t know how bold until this day.
As we were driving, we had to pull over on the side of the road.
In Africa, men urinate on the side of the road and that is normal.
Our taxi driver got out and brought a bottle of water with him.
I asked why he brought his water with him and our translator explained.
Muslim men must clean themselves off after they urinate.
Muslim.
I think that’s the only word we all heard.
I should have known what to expect being with bold men.
But I had no idea it was this.
Patrick started asking questions about Jesus and if the driver knew Him.
He replied he was 66 and Muslim.
That he had to do good works in order to be loved by God.
Jonathan followed his response with some touching words about Jesus.
Explaining that Jesus died for our sins.
That we don’t have to earn His love.
Our taxi driver freely received.
He didn’t fight, just received.
The conversation kept going until we got to our destination.
When we arrived, we asked to pray for him.
He said yes and we prayed for him to know Jesus.
We prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill him.
We prayed for God to keep pursuing him.
We prayed for him to turn to the Lord.
We prayed for Jesus’ love to overtake him.
When we said Amen, the man was weeping.
He wiped tears away from his face.
Jesus touched his soul.
He was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Because our bold men stepped out in confidence in Christ, this man felt the Lord.
They weren’t afraid of anything, except for one thing.
This man not knowing the Lord.
How powerful!
Amen!
Hallelujah!
Please pray for this man.
Pray for him to come to know Jesus even more.
So I guess my teammate was right.
I hadn’t seen anything yet.
I am in awe.
Complete awe of our Father.
Fundraising Update:
I am $2,000 away from my 3rd goal of $13,000 by September 30th!
That is only 30 days away!
The Lord has been so faithful in providing and I am so very blessed to be able to serve Him with my whole heart.
I didn’t know how much joy every single person I have met would bring me.
I didn’t know how much my soul would feel peace.
I didn’t know I would come even more alive.
I just had no idea what God had in store.
I do know one thing though.
I am exactly where the Lord wants me.
So THANK YOU to all of my supporters for allowing me to see these miracles.
For allowing me to grow His Kingdom.
For allowing me to seek the Lord with my whole heart.
You all have changed my life forever.
THANK YOU!
