Don’t judge a book by its cover. Too late- that’s how I judge books. I wander through the aisles, stopping at whichever ones catch my fancy, occasionally reading the back but mostly letting the title and the pictures do the talking. I always promise myself not to buy a book based on the jacket, but time and time again I do, and I’m not usually disappointed.
But this expression was never meant for books, it was always meant for people, and unfortunately, I all too often judge them the say way I do literature: their names and appearances. While that works out in the written world, in the land of flesh and blood it always backfires.
At 4’11’’, maybe 85 lbs., and little- girl- fitting jeans (complete with sparkly thread), Lovemore wasn’t much of a powerhouse. Introduced as out translator, I was a little concerned that a gust of wind might knock him over, and when he opened his mouth his softly spoken words merely served to confirm my worries. How was this little guy going to walk with us into the hospitals, the churches, the prisons?
Every day, we would meet him and ask, “Lovemore, how are you?”
“Oh, I am blessed,” was the answer we always received. Later we would learn that while he was indeed blessed, his treasures were in heaven, as his earthly life was difficult at best. At 28 years old, Lovemore was barely a high school senior, struggling to get to school several miles away on a bike and often no food. He was caring for his mother whose health was rapidly declining while pastoring a small church and running multiple ministries through Iris. When he said he was blessed, he wasn’t saying it as a sarcastic Christian answer, he genuinely believed from the bottom of his heart that the Lord loved him and was providing for him, even if it was hard to see sometimes.
Our first day in the hospital, Lovemore wouldn’t let us pray for some of the babies. Shocked and slightly annoyed (wouldn’t you be?), we asked him why- it turns out many of the mothers had put strings on their children from local witch doctors, and while they were allowing us to pray for their children, all of their hopes were in the charms they had paid handsomely to cover their children in. Lovemore wouldn’t let us pray until the mothers themselves had removed all traces of witchcraft and then he personally burned them.
Can God work around witch doctors? Absolutely. But Lovemore wasn’t going to allow the mothers to think for even one second that it was the work of the witch doctors that healed their children- he wanted them to see the miraculous healing power of God and have no choice but to attribute the healings to Him.
And those babies were healed.
Frequently, when we were praying for people, we wouldn’t look around and wonder where Lovemore had disappeared to, often finding him in a corner, looking for all the world as if he had zoned out, but we knew he was in the presence of the Lord. When he came back, he would give us words that always seemed to be exactly what we needed to hear. While we had been stressing that he didn’t seem to be engaged in ministry, he was doing what was needed most: checking in with the One who enables ministry.
Finally, though Lovemore had no Biblical training, he was well versed in the Word, and we frequently came to him with questions (especially as we came face to face with demon possession and exorcisms). Lovemore’s first response was always “let me see your Bible,” and if we didn’t have one on us, he would wait until we got home before answering- and he didn’t just answer our questions, he would direct us to a passage of Scripture and allow us to read it aloud. He never offered his opinion or interpretation, because it was never necessary.
I learned some serious lessons from Lovemore.
I am blessed– even on days when I’m eating corn mush and beans in the heat of Africa, when I haven’t showered and I’m feeling overwhelmed.
Faith, not feelings, pleases God. — Rick Warren
My praises are more powerful when they’re offered because I know that God is true, not because ‘m feeling mushy gushy.
Ministry isn’t about doing what I want; it’s about waiting on the Lord. Sometimes that means not praying over dying children, as counterintuitive as that sounds, in order to be more effective in ministry to the mothers. If I jump in with my American get- in- pray- it- up- move- on, I miss those finer moments.
I don’t need to have an answer to everything. This is probably my biggest lesson, as I love to offer up opinions, suggestions and advice on any topic under the sun. But the reality is that people don’t want Natalie Daché, they want truth, and truth is best from the source.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. You’ll miss out on people like Lovemore, who may look like there’s not much to him, but will knock you over with the power of God living within him.
eating corn after prison ministry with Lovemore, Kerri and Kacie
