This post is a couple weeks late, as it comes from the little village of Bunamwaya, Uganda, instead of the slums of Bangkok, Thailand (where I am currently located). But it is a story I couldn't pass up sharing because it is such a testimony of the TRUTH of Philippians 4:13 which states: I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me. It's another long one. Sorry. So I've posted it as 2 separate blogs in case you need a little intermission. If you want the Reader's Digest version: memorize Phil 4:13, read 1 Sam 17, watch the video at the end, and find an open space to yell Phil 4:13 at the top of your lungs. But I encourage you to read all of both blogs of course and I hope you will be blessed by them 😉 This is the story of how God made the truth of the power of the Gospel known to 150 Ugandan high school students.
Our last day teaching at Cornerstone elementary school, we were asked to do a little "overtime" by speaking at a weekly Christian fellowship at the local high school. I volunteered right away (already out of character for me).
As we walked to the high school, I flipped open to Philippians 4:13. Recently I had read a blog of a squadmate using this verse to encourage her students to pursue their dreams. I liked that idea so I thought I'd incorporate it, along with my own testimony of God overcoming my fear of public speaking, plus the story of David and Goliath. I had only a loose outline of what I was speaking about; no notes (very, very out of character for me. If I'm going to speak in front of people, I need notes and ample research/preparation time).
When we arrived, we found out that the headmaster was so excited to have mzungus (white people) as guests, that he called the whole school together for an assembly, instead of the small fellowship. So I walked with my teammates onto the auditorium stage looking out to the 150 students seated before us –many of whom were Muslim. We started out praising God by singing and dancing to "Trading My Sorrows". Then Kate shared her testimony. Next it was my turn to present the message.
I stood center stage looking out at God's beautiful children for just a moment. My heart broke knowing that many of them did not know their Father. I prayed that God would speak through me to these young men and women to touch their hearts.
I didn't know what to say. I hadn't planned it out. At first, I thought "Oh crap, this is why I need to write down what I want to say. This is why I don't volunteer to just wing it" Then I opened up to Philippians 4:13. I told the students that I really wanted them to know this verse and to know the weight and the truth behind it, so we were going to say it a couple times to help them memorize it.
I've come to realize that whenever I have a message to deliver to a church or even just to my teammates for devotion, that I'm always preaching to myself. It is a message that I need to hear just as much as or, more likely, even more than, the people I'm speaking to. So I tend to get a little fired-up and passionate as I continue to speak out God's Truth and then believe it and internalize it myself. This is what happened in that auditorium.
As I repeated "I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me" over and over, I really believed it. And I so desperately desired each person in the room to believe it. My eyes were drawn to an empty chair. It looked sturdy. I looked out and realized each student had a chair. I glanced back at my teammates as I formulated my plan. "Do it!" Val encouraged, reading my thoughts. So I grabbed a chair from behind me and stood up on it, instructing the students to do the same. (Even the headmaster behind me stood on his chair!). Then I poured my heart out, telling the students that I wanted them to declare this truth and believe it with every fiber of their being, so I wanted them to shout it out as loud as possible, loud enough that the whole village would be able to hear this truth too.
Please watch the short video at the end of this post. Val captured a little bit of what went down that afternoon. It makes me grin everytime I watch it and am reminded of the thick presence of the Holy Spirit in that room.
**Continue reading Part 2 here.
