Well, here it is. Finally! The last segment of this four part series. Thanks for being patient with me!
As we started back home, it was about
5:30pm. It had been such a great day and we were just looking forward to being
able to sit down and process everything that had happened. But Pastors Helen
and Zephaniah told us that there would be some widows and orphans waiting for
us at the house, so we would give them a word.
Well, we arrived home at about 6:00 to find
more than 150 people crammed into the small church, filling Helen’s house, and
crowded under a tarp. They had been waiting since 4:00, and it had been raining
since 5:00.
Oops.
We quickly jump on things and start off in
the church. We rearrange the crowd so that the orphans (more than 70 of them)
are in the small church where Katie E. gives them some encouragement. Then we
pray over them, get some pictures, and they head home. Quick, but powerful.
Then we go to the tarp, and repeat this
process for the widows gathered there. Unfortunately by this time the wind had
picked up, so now the guys are holding the poles to keep the tarp down, and I’m
trying to hold the tarp so that it doesn’t drip rain on the women gathered
below. Joy and Katie do an excellent job speaking to everyone, and again we
pray for each person there.
After the majority of the people had left
for the evening, the 40 or so that were left were waiting for us in the church.
We gather around them and start praying for individual prayer requests. Of
course, by this time the muzungus had been standing in the rain for several
hours so we were soaked, and absolutely freezing (we didn’t bring our rain
coats – supposedly this is dry season in Tanzania and it wasn’t supposed to
rain). I eventually had to head over to the fire, though. When the woman you’re
praying for turns around and starts praying for you because you can’t stop
shivering, it’s time to go warm up!
Anyway, it was an incredible night. These
women and children were so hungry for the Lord that they stood in the rain,
crowded into a tiny church, or gathered under a tarp like sardines, in order to
hear Him preached. Their faith that God would heal their illnesses, comfort
their souls, and revive their spirits was overwhelming. When we said goodnight
to the last woman we had a quick dinner at 10:30, crawled into our tents, and
immediately fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning was a later start than the
first day. We started with prayer at 6am again, but then got a rest until 8:00
when the crowd started showing up again. We were supposed to leave to catch a
bus by 10am, but people just kept coming and coming for more and more prayer.
It was a humbling experience, to be honest.
It was obvious that they were not coming to see us. They were coming because
they had heard that this was a place where they could encounter the Lord. It
was a place filled with the Holy
Spirit, and a place where miracles were taking place. The people who were showing
up were so hungry for the Lord. There
were even Islamic people showing up, hearing that God was moving in this place
and they were wanting to experience it.
Katie E. and I were praying for one boy who
was completely crippled. By the end, he wasn’t walking, but he was able to kick
our hands when we held them about 6 inches in front of him!!! And that was just
one story of God’s works that day. God was moving in such incredible ways that,
again, we don’t actually have a number for the miracles we witnessed because we
lost track. Eventually, at about 2pm, we left and began the 8 hour journey
home.
This trip was probably one of the most
humbling, exhilarating, exhausting, rewarding experiences of my life. God
allowed me to witness His miracles, and to see Him move in ways that I’ve only
ever dreamed about. And I can honestly say that they are days I will never,
ever forget.
