New team. New country. New continent. New language. New culture. New ministry.
Me and my new team (we call ourselves “The Fun Bunch!”) have been assigned the ministry of “ATL” or “Ask The Lord”. Every day we get up and ask God what His plan is for our ministry. Where to go, what to do, who to talk to, etc.
In this, we’ve been asked to specifically seek out ministry among the Oromo people here in Ethiopia. They are the largest people group in Ethiopia. Only about 1% of this people group is Christian. They are mostly Islamic and live primarily in villages secluded from other cultures and people.
As I was telling my parents about this, my Mom asked if we would be plugging in with some of the Christians to uplift them and be helping hands in their ministry. I told her we were wanting to try, but we didn’t know how (or even if) we would find some of that 1%…a needle in a haystack…
After only about 14 hours of being on Ethiopian soil, a man approached my teammate Zach on the street. He wanted to know why we are here, and after Zach told him a little bit about what we are doing, he invited us to come over to his house the next day.
Long story short, we ended up going to church with him, and have spent the majority of these past four days with him. He told us that he is actually of Oromo descent, as are all the others from his church we’ve become friends with.
Now, this amazing man of God is COMING WITH US for the month as our translator and to team with us in our mission to spread the Gospel. He’s leaving his house and all his responsibilities behind for the month at the drop of a hat to travel with strangers to a foreign people (while he’s Oromo, he never lived in their culture) to tell them of the love of God. Why? Because “we all serve the same God and have the same job-to further His Kingdom”, and he refuses to pass up such an opportunity to do so. He didn’t have anything specific planned for these next 3 1/2 weeks yet, because he waits for God to make His plans known-plans bigger than he could have ever made for himself.
We had some plans for these past few days. We were going to spend the time in coffee shops, researching and praying about where to go, where to live, how to get there, etc. But instead, God sent us someone who has already been an irreplaceable contact, source of knowledge and advice, and ministry partner. So we let go of our plans, and have had so many God-ordained encounters. Possible places to stay and ministries to work with are falling into our laps. Seriously. Just an hour ago, a man approached us in a coffee shop because he’d overheard our conversation. Turns out he’s from Seattle, but moved here a few years ago to plant a church. So he gave us a list of possible places to stay and/or partner with for the month in the city we’re headed to tomorrow. God provides to make His plans reality. And this is just one example!
It’s okay to have an idea of what to do with your time/life, but never hold it so tightly that you aren’t willing to walk away at the drop of a hat to follow the unimaginable plan God has invited you into.
…So that 1%…impossible to find, but it’s inevitable that they’ll find you if that’s what God has planned.
