Côte d’Ivoire. Wow.
What an amazing 11 month journey I am on and it’s only the beginning! One month down and 10 to go … I am loving every moment.
It’s hard to wrap-up the first month of mission in Côte d’Ivoire Africa into words… SO many stories, so many special moments! My team is amazing, supportive, encouraging, faithful sisters in Christ, and we make a great family. In just the first few weeks I have witnessed so many incredible miracled and I have grown in so many ways.
One of the many amazing ways that I saw God work this month was through a blind man named Kouame. From the first day we met him we felt the Holy Spirit moving us, and my teammate was led with the story in the Bible of Jesus and the blind man. Although stepping out in faith might have been uncomfortable at first, she had a “yes” and her spirit. Even though he could not see after that first prayer, he continued coming to our house twice a day for prayer and thanksgiving. Each day we would let the Holy Spirit lead us in this time. Jesus already proved that he can heal the blind when He was on earth so we knew it is possible now through Him.
After several days of prayerful visits, Kouame enthusiastically came to us saying that he could make out figures that were standing in front of him—a huge improvement from the darkness of being completely blind. The pure joy and excitement in that moment flooded over us! We believed that he would be able to see our faces before we left. As the end of the month drew closer though, I was full of mixed emotions. I was so excited for the day that he would see and for me to be there to witness it, however, I was also dealing with discouragement. Time was running out and I wasn’t seeing the results that I wanted to see on my timeline. The final day the whole team prayed our hearts out… but nothing. I was so bummed (for a lack of a better word). My head swarmed with so many questions.
But then I looked up at Kouame, he was smiling. I realized that he truly had rich joy that could only come from Jesus. It wasn’t influenced by circumstances or the ups and downs that comes with life. He would maintain faith no matter what! His faith and love for Jesus isn‘t dependent upon his sight, it is unconditional. His love for Jesus was deeply seeded within his heart and his joy overflows to his family and village.
He has become such a role model for how I want to live my life—with that amount of joy and faith.
Let’s talk about the Holy Spirit.
In today’s society, its easy to think that miracles only happened in biblical times, however, when stepping into faith, you will witness that He is still active today. So many miracles can happen—all we have to do is ask. I don’t have to be a super religious pastor or Jesus freak to possess the Holy Spirit. When Jesus left, he gave the world the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. I like to think of it this way; If God is a Trinity, meaning the Holy Spirit is also God, and if God is all powerful, that means that God‘s power lives inside of me. Through Him and with Him the sick can be healed, the eyes of the blind can be opened, and countless miracles performed. The Holy Spirit is for all believers, Jesus gave us this gift and all the power the Holy Spirit proclaims. God rewards Faith.
This year I will have the opportunity to plant the seed of the gospel. I may not witness the fruitfulness of the seed left behind, but I trust that others will come along their path to water and see the harvest. Still, there are others that will come in the path of my journey that I will see growth.
Life is a journey and I am thankful I am on my life’s journey with Jesus by my side. I pray to be continually open and to hear His call and that I may be a reflection of His light to those who are in need.
Please continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to give my team eyes to see, a LOVE like Jesus, and words to speak so that light can shine where it’s needed most.
I am so thankful for your prayers and support.
DJ (Deej)
Aka Dominique
