So one week ago today, me and my squad flew out of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and started on our way to Johannesburg, South Africa. Half of my squad had parents coming for PVT, so in the airport we got split into our two groups, one group headed to go meet their parents, and my group (the one without parents here) headed to a hostel in the city.
Coming into this week, I honestly had no clue what to expect…I knew that the other half would be doing ministry with their parents but we hadn’t been told a whole lot of what we would be up to. After a little while our squad leaders told us that our week would mainly consist of ATL’s (Ask The Lord), where we split up into smaller groups, pray and just see what God has in store for us. It’s a lot of listening prayer and a lot of just having God’s eyes and heart for the people in the community.
On Monday we went out and after talking to some people and praying with others, we eventually ended up back at the hostel. We decided we’d just sit and read our bibles and pray and hopefully be able to share the gospel with some people. As we were sitting in the main part of the hostel I started praying, just asking God to send someone to talk to. I looked up in the middle of my prayer and a man was standing above me. Anthony. Turns out that Anthony used to be a missionary with YWAM South Africa, and he wanted to tell me his testimony and just talk to me about the bible. He started calling over to the workers in the hostel, asking if they knew what book I was reading, and then he would tell me to share the Good News with them. Because of Anthony, I was forced into sharing the gospel with 3 people and then praying over them which was really cool.
That night, after supper (and after our ATL was technically over), me, Mackenzie and Josh were going to a restaurant to grab some dessert. As we were waiting for the ATM, a woman came up to us. She was 19 years old and with tears in her eyes started telling us her story. I’m going to tell you that story so you can be praying because this woman desperately needs your prayer.
Her name is Jackline. She is 19 years old, and currently taking care of her younger twin siblings, a little sister and a little brother, who are 6. She grew up in a village about 30 minutes away, and a couple of years ago her mother passed away so she had to drop out of school to work and provide for her siblings. A few months ago both her grandmother and employer also passed away, leaving her to solely care for her siblings without having a job. She took them and all three went to live with her uncle, until he started abusing them. Long story short, he physically abused all three of them and raped her, giving her AIDS. She took her siblings and ran away with them, and they had been living on the street for a couple of days before we met her. Her brother had just developed bronchitis, they hadn’t eaten in days and desperately needed a bit of money for the hospital bills so her brother could get treatment. After grabbing her a bit of food, talking to her for about an hour and a half and praying for her, we headed back to our hostel with her saying she’d be back for more prayer the next day.
And the next day she came. We found her again, except this time her foot was wrapped up and she was walking with crutches. She had gotten hit by a car and the money she had gotten from donations had all been stolen. She had to get stitches in her foot and she had twisted her ankle. We prayed over her ankle and afterwards she told us it wasn’t in as much pain as before, so God was already at work. We prayed over her brother, over her finances, over her safety (she’s terrified her uncle will come after them), over all of her fears and afterwards she told us that she knew God had brought her to us for a reason. She had tried talking to tourists around here but they would all ignore her, keep going on their way and not pay her any attention. She said she had seen something different about us and she had felt like she was supposed to talk to us. She told us that she dies believe in God, she does believe in miracles, she does know that God loves her, she does know that He’s faithful, she’s just frustrated with everything that’s been happening to her and her family lately.
I firmly believe with all my heart that God will provide and heal Jackline. Right now the devil is clearly attacking her, but that what he comes to do to everyone. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10a) but by us talking with her and praying with her we got to remind her that God’s bigger. God already won, he already has the victory, and “Jesus came that we may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10b). God was able to give Jackline some joy (she wrote that in a letter to us) and she knows that this is all part of God’s plan. I pray that even though she is going through extremely tough times right now that She would be reminded of His peace and she would constantly remember that sickness, death, sin and the devil has already lost. God is victorious and has already conquered everything she’s going through.
As you hear this story I would love it if you too would pray for Jackline. You may be on the other side of the world and not know her at all, but know that God does know her and God loves her. Just pray for her situation, and for others in Africa who have similar situations who may not be as blessed in knowing about how much God loves them.
