After the longest travel ever, we
got to rest for two days, and then we were told that we were going to split up
into a few groups, and be gone for 3 days for a local mini missions trip. We found out that we were going
to hop back onto another bus and travel for another”3 hours”and head somewhere… Where exactly was not really mentioned. So Josh, AJ, and I hopped on the bus with
Clara, our translator, and headed towards who knows where.. In that moment, the
only thing I could think of to praise God for was the fact that we weren’t on
this particular bus for our four days of travel.
7 and a half hours later, with
an intermission of a popped tire on the side of the mountain,
we ended up in this little town called
Mgoli. Nothing but dust…
Needless to say
our start to this adventure wasn’t the most exciting..
When we arrived the sun was
setting, so we met Pastor Francis, we were shown where to put our things, and
then we were served tea or coffee. As
they poured the hot water into our mugs we realized that the water was grey and mirky,
and later learned that the water came from a pond near by..
I wasn’t surprised because the tea tasted funky, and smelled like a freshly mowed lawn. Josh kept talking about how
delicious this instant coffee was so I decided I’d give it a try, a few times
actually, because every time he drank it he’d rave about it.. Although every
time I tried it I would ask myself why I kept doing this to myself.. It tasted
like mud! But every time Josh would talk about it I’d hope that maybe, just
maybe, this time it would taste good to me. That never came to pass, but thank
the good Lord that He kept us healthy and none of us got sick. (Trust me, we
were making sure to pray for health!)
The next morning we got up, ate
breakfast, and then went out to begin street preaching, and evangelizing. I
found myself just hating it~ I thought to myself, “door to door evangelism just
isn’t my thing.. It’s awkward, and uncomfortable..” But as I heard myself think
I cried out to God~ “God, please change my heart! I mean after all, spreading
the Gospel is the reason we came on this crazy trip! We wanted to tell the
world about Jesus, and about His amazing love… So why am I hating it? I don’t
want to tell people about You out of obligation or because I feel like that is
what I am supposed to do.. I want to be so crazy in love with You that I can’t
help but tell people.. Please change my heart God.”
The beginning was hard for me. I
felt like I was walking more out of obedience than anything, and I tried not to
sound monotonous as I spoke. But then there was this one crowd.
After I got done sharing Jesus with them we asked if anyone wanted this new life He offered. Silence.. And then,
suddenly… There was one! His name was Clarence. He was probably about 13 years
old, and he looked around at first, but then he decided that he didn’t care if anyone else wanted it. He did! And his hand shot up. We told Him that we would
pray with him, and he stood up immediately, came to the front and got on his
knees and then prayed out loud. It was beautiful.. And in that moment I heard
God whisper, ” Isn’t it worth it? Even if it were only for this one?” I
couldn’t help but agree, and I felt my heart melt a little. Clarence is the
tall boy to my right..
As we continued on I felt God
COMPLETELY change my heart. Josh, AJ and I took turns preaching the good news,
and the next time it was my turn to share I felt God give me a genuine love for
the people. It was no longer forced, it flowed. I wanted each person to truly
know God’s love. The best love! And man did God remind me of His amazing love!
These people were no longer just blank stares looking back at me; they were
souls that needed to know of a better way, the only way!
And this my friends,
is what it is truly all about. I was reminded of how easy it is for us to fall
into a “works mentality” and go through motions with out putting our heart
behind it. And the sad truth about this reality is that it is empty and often
times unfruitful. But when we truly give
God ALL of our hearts, and seek to love others out of His love, not obligation, it
is then that God is pleased and we bear fruit! He doesn’t want vain actions, He wants us..
