Evangelism started out like every other evangelism day, except it was surprisingly cold this day (can you believe it, cold in Africa?!). I was partnered with Megan and we had a really good day bringing one woman into a personal relationship with the Lord as well as giving a pastor and his wife encouragement in their home.
After we left their house we were so joyful and even felt renewed by the Holy Spirit in their home, when we realized we were running late to meet our group and needed to hurry, but as we got close to where the group was something caught us all off guard and we knew something was wrong.
As we were walking Megan, Pemphero (our translator and friend), and I all noticed a woman sitting outside her house looking scared holding a small boy and he was completely naked. Megan said, “That seems weird, is that weird?” To which Pemphero called out to the women who stated that she had been yelling for help but no one was coming.
We approached the woman who said the boy was very sick and had passed out. We noticed that she was sweating and crying, there was throw up on the ground, and the boy was not moving. We immediately asked if we could pray for him and as we put hands on him, his body was so hot. We cried out Lord please help him please take this from him, and we didn’t see anything happen. We continued to pray Lord please give them peace and take this from his body, and we didn’t see anything happen. Pemphero went down the hill to find someone to help her and as Megan and I are standing with them I kept thinking, “we prayed but nothing is happening….”
Megan and I continued to speak to the woman and found out that it was her nephew who is three and a half. He had been sick since Christmas eve and they had gone to the hospital to get medicine but it didn’t seem to be working. She then, later that day, had found him passed out and shaking uncontrollably. She went to find her brother to tell him he needed to take his son back to the hospital, but he had left to go to town and she was there all alone. During our conversation the boy started to open his eyes and move around a little but there was no big change. We asked her how long she had been there and she had just walked out before we walked up. After a while Pemphero found a woman to come and sit with her, we shook hands with them, and left.
Leaving with little to no change in the boy was hard. Leaving with no sign of hope was hard. Leaving feeling like the Lord may not have heard us was hard, but we continue to pray and believe that the boy will be okay.
It was a moment that reminded me a lot about the Psalms. In many of the Psalms it states a lot about crying out to the Lord and hearing no reply, Lord please hear my call, here my cry and listen to my prayer, but it also says if we feel like the Lord does not hear our cries to continue to give glory to the Lord, rejoice in his presence, and take refuge in him.
I think often we cry out in prayer asking for many things, but yet if he doesn’t answer how we want or quick enough and we begin to doubt his goodness. It says to continue to rejoice in him no matter what.
So far on the race healing has been a big part of a personal and outward thing that I have been asking the Lord for. I have struggled for about 9 years with stomach problems that no one can ever figure out a diagnosis for, and I’ve never seen healing from it. When I started the race I quickly realized that I have never seen healing because I have never actually asked the Lord for it. So I began doing that, and I have seen daily changes. I have prayed that if I see changes I will praise him and that if I don’t I will still praise him for he deserves glory above all. I have also asked that I don’t have to see to believe when it comes to healing others, and that was what I asked for the day we saw this boy.
I prayed that he would be healed in front of our eyes harder then I have prayed in a long time, because I believed that he would be completely healed right then and there, but he wasn’t. When he wasn’t completely healed then I won’t lie I was disappointed, but the Lord reminded me that he hears all of our cries.
What I didn’t notice, but Pemphro noticed, was that after our prayer the woman stopped sweating and crying, and had a sense of peace about her. We prayed for him but maybe we were there to pray for her. We may ask the Lord for so many things, but could miss what he is really trying to do because we are so focused on what we want, not what he wants to do.
Pray big prayers.
Have faith.
Trust in his plan.
Rejoice in him always.
Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
