Over the last few weeks we have been working with our hosts to do ministry at the ports here in Cote d’Ivoire. It has been quite the adventure that has stretched me. I have consistently been taken out of my comfort zone, and thrown into a new life. This new life involves living in a community of people where everything shared, hand washing clothes out of a bucket, walking over four miles a day in the humid heat, sharing more of myself than I have ever shared before. It has certainly had its challenges. Waking up in a pool of my own sweat while sleeping on the floor has never been my ideal lifestyle. Despite all the struggles, I have loved every second of it. I find myself constantly wanting to see what the day has to offer. I find myself seeking God in ways I never have before, and always wanting more. I find myself meeting new people, and hoping I will get to see them again.
I could probably pick from countless stories of people who have touched my heart over the last two weeks, but today I would like to focus on this last week leading up to January 23rd, and my struggle with expectations. We all have expectations on how we believe things should work out or happen. Going into the race I had this image of my head of working with children, building churches, or maybe even tragically getting malaria. Fortunately no malaria as of the writing of this blog, but no kids or church building either. Instead, this month has been going into the ports and talking with hard working men and women who spend their days there. It has been about hearing and sharing stories, and showing how Jesus has transformed our lives, and offering it to them as well.
Now I have no experience with evangelism. The idea of meeting new people is scary enough for me. Sharing my heart along with that just makes it sound much worse. I even have had some expectations over what evangelism looks like, but God has been transforming the way I look at serving, and the way I approach sharing. It isn’t “selling salvation”, or saying all the right things to try to get something out of someone. It is genuinely getting to know people, and offering them everything. Jesus is everything, and has completely transformed my life, why wouldn’t I want to tell people about this? It has easily been one of my growing points these last few weeks.
Over time I have grown more comfortable talking with people, and building relationships, I had this new expectation that I would be able to just spend a bunch of time with them, and really get to know them. A lot of my teammates have met people at the ports that they have seen multiple times, and gotten to build strong bonds with. I was hopeful I would get to also make those strong connections and see new believers grow, but many of the people I have met have ended up leaving the country with loads on their truck. Things rarely go as we imagine them going, and I have had to struggle with comparing my journey and story with those around me. I shouldn’t compare because God is using us all to build kingdom, and our stories won’t be the same.
Leading up until yesterday(Jan 23rd), these things have been floating around my head. Yesterday Matt(That is his real name) and I went down to the ports with our hosts. We were looking for some of the guys who had accepted Christ into their lives a few days earlier. We wanted talk with them and show them some cool videos about what it means to be a Christian, who the Holy Spirit is, and answer questions they may have about Christianity. It was essentially following up with the guys and helping to mentor them a little bit. I had met James and Anthony(not their real names) two days prior when they gave their life to Christ. I really wanted to talk with them some more and hear more of their stories. I went into the day fully expecting to see them again and hoping to build two lasting friendships for the rest of the month and beyond. When we arrived at the port we couldn’t find them, but we got to meet Billy.(also not his real name) We talked with him for a while. Matt and I found out that he was a decently new believer, and he asked for encouragement because he was going through a hard time. Matthew ended up sharing the story of the prodigal son with him, and explaining the beautiful loving nature of God with Billy. Our host translated the whole thing. Halfway through our talk I saw James leaving the port, I waved to him, but didn’t get a chance to stop him because he was too far away.(Also I don’t speak French, which also made it hard to get his attention) I was certain he would come back, so I didn’t chase after him, and kept talking with Billy. In our conversation he began to share about his struggle depression and Matt and I stayed a talked with him for a while and shared some personal struggles as well, and got to pray over him.
Afterwards I shared that I had watched James leave the port, and we went to go find Anthony. We figured he might still be in the port somewhere. We went searching, but we could not find him anywhere. In the midst of searching, we met a small group of guys and talked with them for a while. We got to share with them, and two of them ended up giving their life to Christ. As we finished talking with them, we met Steve(I’m sure you know this isn’t his real name). Steve is sort of mentored by our host. He is also a new Christian. We invited him to watch the videos with us. We headed back to a common area. We generally have to leave the ports at 12 because the sun gets too hot. By the time we got back to the common area, it was already 11:50. We opted to stay later than usual and watch the videos. The guys were beyond excited by the videos, and wanted to learn more. They really wanted to come to church and learn about Christianity, and what it means to be a Christian. They also asked if we could pray over them as they move forward in their life.
I expected the day to look one way, although, God had a much better plan for it. I had it in my head that I would go and meet up with Anthony and James and head back home at around 12, like most days. Instead God put completely different people in our paths and worked within his own perfect time frame. I am learning that when things don’t go according to plan it is often because God has a much better plan for that day. At first I was upset with the way the day panned out. I had one goal, and didn’t even get close to meeting it. I was dehydrated and hungry by the time I was leaving the ports. Beyond tired and a little frustrated. I was in my own head, and didn’t initially see how God had moved. Instead of talking with the people I wanted to, I got to talk with the people God wanted me to. I now have two new brothers in Christ, I got to see how much better things are when our expectations aren’t met. When we relinquish control to God, things end up better than we could ever imagine. Going forward, I hope to leave behind my own plans, and seek out what He has for me instead.
Editors note: Sorry about the lack of photos. The WiFi at this BK in the middle of Abidjan isn’t powerful enough for photos. oof.
