A few weeks ago, my team and I found out some really upsetting news: the ministry contact we had made for Uganda was no longer going to host us. There had been a recent case of ebola a few hours away from where we were supposed to lodge, so for safety reasons we had to relocate.
So, you might ask, what kind of ministry are we going to be doing this month? I don’t actually know.
That’s right. The plan for this month is “THERE IS NO PLAN.” We are doing something called an “ATL month.” ATL stands for “ask the Lord.” We sit in prayer and ask the Lord to reveal to us (through spoken word, visions, and so on) what He would like us to do for the day. It may sound a little silly, but this month has only just begun and I am already LOVING what we have seen the Lord do!
For starters, we didn’t even have a “home base” in any of the cities in Uganda. We were given three options: Kampala, Jinja, or Entebbe. My team was originally a little conflicted. We all had different desires for where we would like to live for the next month, but the Lord had different plans. One by one (individually), the Lord revealed to all of us in one way or another that we were meant to stay in Kampala. So off we went.
To start off our first day of ministry, we decided to do a “treasure hunt” with a Holy Spirit twist! We sat in prayer together and asked the Lord for visions and words of knowledge (AKA “clues”). And we got quite a few of them, too! We heard a couple of things and a few of us saw visions. I saw one of an “asian lady wearing green,” and believed it even though the odds of finding someone to fit the description was slim (more on this later). But the three I want to focus on are “pizza,” “brick,” and “yellow.” Jon, one of our squad leaders, heard them.
After we compiled a list, we felt the Lord lead us to a very specific mall we had never been to. We then went in and try to find the people the Lord wanted us to talk to and encourage. The only problem was that they were remodeling the mall, and almost NO ONE was there. We were a little bit discouraged at first, but after walking for a few minutes, we found something that blew us away!
A pizzeria made out of yellow bricks!
What?! How awesome is that!
We spent a few hours in the mall, and we eventually ended up having a conversation with a pastor selling “Good News” news papers in between this pizzeria and a book store that sold a lot of Christian literature. We prayed for him and his coworker, and all of us left feeling excited and encouraged. We really could hear the Lord after all! And He was faithful to us because we stepped out in obedience!
A few days later, I felt the Lord put a certain clinic on my heart, so we went to check it out. And you know what it was? A Chinese clinic. And you know what was on the wall inside that clinic? A green poster with an asian lady on it! And not just that, but there were green crosses EVERYWHERE. Maybe you think this was a coincidence, but the way the Lord provided for us after my team walked in was UNBELIEVABLE.
I walked up to the receptionist and started a conversation about what kind of patients this clinic typically sees. I told her I was a nurse and that my team and I were traveling around the world. Within 2 minutes, we were escorted to the back, where we talked to the attending physician in his office! And if you have ever been to a doctor’s office before, you know how long it takes to see and talk to a doctor. But the Lord provided for us to talk to him for a couple of minutes. He gave us a tour around the place. Then we offered to pray for him. We didn’t get to pray with him, but we were able to pray with the ladies at the desk.
Now there were three ladies at the desk. One of the was a Christian, one was a Muslim, and one of them did not identify with any religion. I immediately started to talk to them and tell them of the love of Jesus. The boldness that struck me was unreal, and my mouth practically started moving on its own. It was like it was second nature. You could tell they were all listening intently. We were so well received. They seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say. The one who didn’t identify with any religion, J, was impacted. My teammate Katy was even able to give her a copy of the gospel of John! Such an incredible moment!
This is only the beginning, too! The Lord has so much more in store. I just know it.
In all things, be blessed!
AG
EDIT: since I first wrote this blog post, we have gone back to the clinic to find that “J” has officially accepted Jesus into her heart as her Lord and Savior! Praise the Lord for this!
