Hello!
God has been done some INCREDIBLE things this week in South Africa. My team and I did some more evangelism this week in some of the squatter camp communities and man o man did The Holy Spirit move in and through us!
This week some students form Huntington University joined our outreach as part of a short term mission trip, and let me tell you God used the extra numbers to reach MANY more people. This week we had hundreds of interactions, several physical healings, and countless salvations! I got the privilege of evangelizing with several of these students, and the blessing of seeing several people transformed by the Gospel! Here are a couple of the stories:
Roy
As we were walking down the road the first thing I noticed about Roy was his breathing, I could hear him breathing before I could even see him through the gate. As I rounded the corner I saw this little frail man who was just chilling in a lawn chair looking at his flowers. I then kindly asked him if we could have a chat with him, he said yes. When we sat with him he was still breathing heavily and had to fight for every word he spoke. He told us that he was in a lot of pain starting from his head going down to his chest, that he felt very weak, and that he was very ill. I asked if we could pray for his pain and he gladly said yes. After praying he said, “though I feel weak I am strong because of Jesus”. His pain had dwindled away enough for him to continue speaking with us and share some of his story.
Roy shared with us that he grew up in a very rough community that really knocked him down. Roy has been stolen from, he has been beaten, he has been mistreated, and he has even been shot at. He took some time to show us the several scars he has from bullet wounds and showed us where there are still a couple bullets resting under his skin that he couldn’t get out. He then shared that as a young adult he gave his life to Jesus and since then has been ever changed. He kept on saying, “now my enemy has no power over me because I am strong in Jesus!” followed by him smiling and flexing his frail arms. He told us that though he doesn’t have any family to help him, God has blessed him with some neighbors that come to visit him and take care of him. I was truly astonished by Roys story and even more by his joy. Though he is VERY ill, in the hour we spent with Roy I heard him say, “I am SO happy” well over a dozen times.
God put Scripture on my heart to share with Roy as he deals with weakness:
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. After reading this to him he said, “that is my verse!” So I then wrote “Roy’s verse” right above that passage and showed it to him, he was very happy. He told us that he can’t wait to see us again, whether that’s on earth or in Heaven. I will never forget this little man and his BIG heart for the Lord.
Sinah
After leaving Roy’s house we crossed the road to meet a lovely woman at her gate, Sinah. Come to find out Sinah is one of the neighbors that helps out Roy, SO COOL! After greeting her we offered to help her with chores but she had just finished her last bit of cleaning (it felt like I was home asking my mom if she needed help after she was already done, coincidence?). Though she didn’t have any chores for us to do, she invited us in to her home to chat. She was very open to us and didn’t hesitate to share her story.
Several years ago Senah’s daughter committed suicide, she had poured gas on her body and burned herself to death. Though scarring, it brought Sinah and her husband to church. She shared that she knew of God and going to church made her feel happy, but she never had a relationship with God. Last year her husband died and it devastated Sinah. She stopped going to church and reading the Bible. Sinah felt that God was distant from her and she was having a very difficult time understanding Scripture. We happened to notice that on her dresser she had two Bibles, a Zulu Bible and an English Bible. This was no coincidence!
God’s Spirit totally tag teamed on Sinah through my group because we just starting pulling Scripture, after Scripture, after Scripture of exactly what she needed to hear! We shared countless Scriptures, highlighted them in her Bible, and elaborated on everything we read! We shared with her that Jesus died on the cross to pay for sin, that He resurrected to give eternal life, that God wants a relationship with His children, that through Jesus we can have access to The Father, that through Jesus we can receive the Holy Spirit who will help us and guide us, that God provides when we abide in Him, and that He has an UNCONDITIONAL love! Sinah was not only overwhelmed by the power of the Gospel, but she was dumbfounded! “You mean God wants a relationship with me? You mean the Holy Spirit can live in me and help me understand the Word of God? You mean Jesus died for me? You mean I can be free?”. She was SO excited and joyful she began to cry. Without any prompting she said she wanted to give her life to Jesus and asked if we would pray with her…HECK YES!!! PRAISE GOD!!! After praying Sinah literally radiated and you could see and feel the overwhelming joy of the Lord filing the room. She had the biggest smile on her face, tears running down her cheeks, and she jumped on her bed and said, “I feel SO joyful. I have Jesus now. I am not alone. I am new!”. After hugging her we got to take a picture with her and just rejoice for a bit (nothing close to the celebration going on in Heaven). After saying goodbye she told us she was going to spend some quality time with God by reading His Word and Praying. It was truly overwhelming to see such immediate change in one’s life that only God could do, I am forever grateful for this opportunity!
