“Go, tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.”
Growing up singing these lyrics, I never actually considered what it entailed to “go, tell it on the mountain.” Yes, we sing about it. And yes, we know that the world needs to hear about Jesus. But what that means is that someone has to actually GO…to the hard to reach places, on the mountains and over the hills. We can sing the song everyday, but until someone is willing to go, people are still unreached.
It is just as necessary for the people living in the mountains, over the hills, and in the valleys to hear the gospel as it is for our friends and neighbors to hear it. It’s just much harder to get to them. Reaching Africa’s Unreached (Jacob and Carol Lee) seek these people out, and we had the opportunity to GO with them.
Mountain Trekking!
Our journey started in the back of a rugged Toyota Land Cruiser that was adapted for mountain climbing. We drove for a couple of hours on roads that tossed us from one side of the cruiser to the other. Eventually, the road ended, but our journey did not. We parked the vehicle, locked it up, and started the trek down the mountain and into the valley. We walked and walked and walked. It’s not so bad when you’re headed down hill.
The start of our journey down the mountain.
We came to the first community of huts, and stopped and talked with the people. We did this in every community we came to. We gradually grew in number as we walked, and eventually we made it to the place where the church met. This consisted of sturdy limbs that had been cut to hold up a large tarp. There, with the group of people we had gathered along the way, we had church. Three wooden benches lined the walls of the church, and those who didn’t fit on the benches sat on straw mats in the middle. Several people spoke, and the love of Jesus was shared. I loved every second.
The communities in the valley.
By the end of the service, I had the cutest little girl sitting with me. She had a grin that captured my heart, but a story that broke it. After the service was over, two women immediately approached me. They would point to me, and then to her, and then say a bunch of things I didn’t understand. This happened several times, and the only word I clearly heard was mother. I found our translator, and he shared with me this precious girl’s tragic story. Her mother had passed away recently. I am not sure where her father was, but he wasn’t in her life. The step father was trying to care for her, but the last time our translator had visited, he found her in the hut completely alone. ALONE…at such a young age. My heart sank, and I just wanted to scoop her up and take her home with me! (I know I know, not possible. I’m not going home, and she’s too young to join the world race.)
Sweet little girl who stole my heart!
God quickly reminded me that she was His long before I came along, and she would be His long after I was gone. The translator (who is actually a pastor/missionary/local to this area) and I continued to talk as we started the hike back, and I learned that the Lord had placed this little girl on his heart as well. He and his wife had already started the discussion of taking her in to their home and having her join their family. Answered prayer before I even prayed it! That’s how cool God is!
Local pastor and missionary to this area.
This place…these people…all of it, so beautiful and captivating. I remember thinking, “This isn’t so bad. I could do this. We hadn’t hiked so far…a few miles, maybe a little more.” (Insert laughter here because the hike back included…you guessed it…back up the mountain!)
On the hike back I prayed for that little girl! I prayed the family would find the money needed to care for her…to put her in school, to feed her, to clothe her. But more importantly, that God would bless them so they could take her in and love her! My thoughts and prayers and conversations kept me occupied for most of the journey back through the valley.
One of my prayers had been (and still is) that the Lord would spotlight what He wanted me to see, and boy did He. I saw beauty everywhere as we walked. His creation, the mountains, the trees, the plants, the sky, the water, all of it was breathtaking!
And then, as we approached one of the final communities, He spotlighted a man. A man who paced back and forth with his head down, his shoulders hunched over, and his fists clenched. I walked closer and tried to make eye contact without succeeding. I called out to him politely but was given no response. He just paced, back and forth, back and forth. Head still down. Shoulders still hunched. Fists still clenched. Back and forth.
It was odd, and something definitely seemed wrong, but I kept walking and tried to just shrug it off. But. I. Couldn’t. The Lord had clearly spotlighted him. I stopped and turned towards him again, but I was met with the same scene…head down, shoulders hunched, fists clenched, back and forth. As I turned to go, all I heard was “pray for him.” Simple enough. So, I started praying. I prayed for him as I walked, and periodically I would stop and turn around to see him pacing back and forth. I would hear again, “pray for him.” This scene repeated until the man was out of my site. I remember thinking, “he’s demon possessed,” but I dismissed the thought almost immediately. And with that thought, I was reminded again to “pray for him.”
I prayed for him as we started our climb back up the mountain. I prayed for the little girl as I stopped and looked out over the hut where she had been left alone. I prayed for all the people of these hard to reach communities…that they would come to know and accept the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I thanked the Lord for allowing me to be standing in His creation, a world away from home, in one of the hard to reach places, and I thanked Him for giving me the desire and ability to GO and to LOVE!
And then, I STARTED BACK UP THE MOUNTAIN!
Here we go!
My conversation with the Lord was a bit of a blur from that point on, but, if I remember correctly, it went a little something like this, “I need more oxygen! I’m dying…seriously…HELP ME! Could you just carry me the rest of the way? PLEASE? I know you’re capable! Ok ok…I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! Please, just get me to the top! Ok…refocus! I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!” I’m fairly positive that I repeated that verse 50 times while we climbed! That verse and The Little Engine That Could’s, “I think I can, I think I can!”
To those who are called to actually go, tell it on the mountain week after week, I pray the Lord blesses you abundantly! Because people…it ain’t easy!
When we finally made it back to our vehicle, we had water and a woman waiting on us. Praise God for both! The cup of water that day brought new meaning to Matthew 10:42 for me. May God richly bless that sweet family who had it waiting for us. And the woman, well, she was waiting because she wanted TO GIVE HER LIFE TO CHRIST! She had waited over an hour, maybe longer because she saw the vehicle parked and knew the missionary that drove it! It was that important to her! We were able to pray over her and welcome her as a sister in Christ! Totally cool and totally exhausting day, but totally worth it! And that was just the first half!
New Sister!
We had another church that had been waiting on us to join them. And when we arrived, we were welcomed with open arms, huge smiles, and kind words! We worshiped all over again as we sang and shared and ate together!
Group of children at the second church gathering.
By the way, the man, the Lord spotlighted, was in fact demon possessed. Both pastors who were with us noticed him. They were a good distance ahead of me on the way back, so we didn’t see him at the same time, nor did we discuss it until the ride home. I wasn’t sure about what I was seeing, but I knew something was wrong. The Lord told me to pray, so I did.
Uganda, you have my heart!
Taryn
