This
man accepted Christ yesterday into his life.
He
came to church today.
I
was shocked.
Thank
God that people’s salvation is not based on my belief.
Yesterday
was quite an incredible day. It was an unusual morning because as I was doing
my quiet time that morning by the church reading Psalm 119, God told me to go
talk to a man that passed by and was staring at me (this is very normal in
Africa where people just stare at you). I refused. Here I was reading Psalm 119
all about obeying God’s law and decrees, but in my mind, I was kicking and
screaming like a stubborn child, unwilling to obey what God was telling me to
do. I finally repented and said, “ok God, I will do whatever you tell me to.”
As
we were praying into our day as a team before going out to do street evangelism,
Hope told me that she got a word for me that God is saying to not be afraid to
use my voice and speak whatever He gives me. And so we started the day off by
praying and listening to what God has to say about today and then we set
off.
The
first stop was a few Catholic ladies selling vegetables by the roadside. Next,
we saw a young teenage girl sitting on a tree log. As we passed by her, I
remember Vanessa’s vision about a lady sitting there waiting for someone to
talk to her, and I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to just go and talk to
her. This time I obeyed.
As
we were there talking to her, more and more kids came around us. Soon enough,
we had about 20 kids surrounding us so we decided to do a spontaneous children
program. Hope read the story of the good Samaritan, I then got the kids to act
it out. Then we led some songs, played
some games and then asked if any of the kids wanted to receive Christ. Most of
them raised their hands. And so we prayed for them right there in the middle of
the streets of Africa. That was super cool.
Spontaneous kids street evangelism
Kids praying to receive salvation
We
left feeling really good and stopped by the side of the road to say a prayer of
thanksgiving to God. God then led us to a poorer part of town called Dark City
and we walked up to 3 women who were sitting outside of a little grocery shop. Halfway
through sharing, a few men came and sat down at the booth right next to us
drinking beer. They started listening to
us and one of them began questioning about Christianity. Another man came and
sat down right next to us and listened closely to what we had to say. Hope
shared her testimony about her father who is an alcoholic and how she just
wishes that he will come to know Christ’s love. She then asked if anyone wanted
to accept Christ and the man who was listening closely said he wanted to. So we
prayed for him and went to visit his house because he really wanted to show us
where he lived.
When
we reach his neighborhood, some of his neighbors said they wanted to hear about
Christ too and so we sat down with them and shared. After that, we showed him
where the church was. He straight away went to the front of the church, knelt
down and prayed and cried out to God. I was completely taken by surprise by
this act but kept thinking: Is that an act or is it real? We then told him that
there was a service going on the next day and invited him to come.
Kneeling before God
Next
day when I arrived in church, I saw his children whom we met the day before and
my eyes were wide with surprise. Then I saw him sitting at the front of the
church. Skeptical old me had not expected that. But God showed me that day not to
judge people because salvation is God’s work, not mine. Thank goodness it’s
God’s work, otherwise nobody will ever get saved because of my skepticism.
Haha.
Hope and I and 2 of his kids and a friend. Apparently his house was burnt down by his young son and he is now living in a rented room.
Psalm 119: 1-7
1Joyful are people of
integrity,
who
follow the instructions of the Lord.
2Joyful are those who
obey His laws
and
search for Him with all their hearts.
5Oh, that my actions
would consistently
reflect
your decrees!
6Then I will not be
ashamed
when
I compare my life with your commands.
7As I learn your
righteous regulations,
I
will thank You by living as I should!
