Walking through a squatter camp and I get waved down by a woman. Her English is broken but we start conversation while I stand on the opposite side of her gate. I ask her what she is doing with her day and she says nothing just resting. So, I ask if she wants to hang out, she answers yes and welcomes me into her ‘front yard’. I sit in the dirt next to her, we chat. We small talk for a little, then the obvious is addressed when she asks why I am in Eskom (Her neighborhood squatter camp in South Africa).
“I’m just walking around making friends, helping with chores, and telling people about Jesus”
Jesus;
His name carries power and it was so clear His presence was pursuing her in the way her demeaner changed.
She said, “Jesus?”
I answered,” yeah, do you know?”
She said, “I’ve heard, but I don’t know Him, one can’t know Him.”
I immediately responded, “of course you can.”
Our conversation progressed with her asking how. She told me a story of a little boy who apparently saw Jesus. She continued that apparently this little boy also received a bible from Jesus and people witnessed it, then she questioned, how can someone see Jesus?
I told her all about how omnipresent God is. How Jesus will reveal Himself in any way He intends to. How I fully believe that little boy saw Him. How you just have to ask the Lord to show Himself to you, whether that’s through Him physically, a whisper, another person; He always shows up when we turn to Him.
She looked at me hopeful and said I think I just need a sign from God to know He’s here. I looked back and said, “sister, just ask.” I told her I had full confidence that He would come to her. Right when I said that God laughed at me. He said, “Ris, are you serious?”
A little caught off guard I was like, “what???”
Then He asked me why I was in Eskom- I laughed with immediate revelation.
This woman had called me over in her squatter camp to her front gate. She didn’t know why, and I didn’t really either but I was willing to spend time with her. There is no bone in my physical body that would place me in Eskom. Sure, I love experiencing the world and travelling, but these squatter camps are a close second to Hell. They are dirty, they reek, they seriously smell of death, they are horrendous. They are the last place I would recommend someone to go when visiting South Africa.
Or so I thought.
The Lord has quickly turned them into the first place I would recommend someone to go. They are full of life and individuals searching for ways to feel fulfilled with their circumstances. They are hungry for the truth. They’re so hungry they search everywhere.
This brings spiritual warfare, and man, it is dark here.
Sangomas, or so called ‘witch doctors’. These ‘doctors’ are generational and access demonic spirits to heal others. They claim they are talking to their ancestors, but they are the enemy wearing faces. If one wants more to life and turns away from the profession, the get extremely sick (blind, deaf, deathly ill), up until they result into going back to being a sangoma are they healed. These people don’t know the truth. They are blessing their children to these forces because it’s their culture, but they are unaware they are asking demonic spirits to ‘protect’ their offspring, marked by string bracelets on all of their limbs (including their necks). Its insane and heartbreaking.
In the heartbreak, there is truth. God has called people before me, He called me, and He will call people after me to continue to show up in these camps and bring real and true hope.
Back to my new friend…
The revelation that I came to was God was so right (duhhh). There was no bone in my body that would place me there, but that’s how radically He has changed my heart. He called me to travel all the way from Georgia, placed me in that camp, on that dirt road, passing her house at the exact moment for her to wave me down. Placing my story aside, God was pursuing her. He has worked on my heart for 22 years to use me to pursue her. IT WAS SO COOL. I got to tell her that!! I got to tell her how GOOD He is.
I said, “sister, I am here for YOU. you waved me down, you saw hope through Jesus in me, He is literally here with us, this is your sign… He is revealing Himself to you today, He LOVES you so much and just wants you to turn to Him. So much that He sent me here to hug you, tell you His goodness, and ask you to come home. To find peace, joy, comfort, hope in Him.”
She was so pumped. So pumped with realization that even her, in the middle of Africa, feeling so small and forgotten, was being pursued by her creator. She asked me more questions about Him and we chatted for a while. I told her all about how freaking amazing she is because she is a daughter of the King.
She found Jesus that day. We prayed together and heaven rejoiced because her soul was welcomed into the kingdom. Heaven was throwing a big party because another sister was going to work the rest of her life to bring heaven to Earth; to further the kingdom here on Earth as it is in heaven.
If you feel led, pray for my new sister. Pray people continue to pursue her through Christ.
My prayer for you is that you step back and look at where the Lord has you. See why He has you where you are. See how He is pursuing you right now, and how He is using you to pursue others. I pray you find the ‘yes’ in your spirit and notice those around you who are hungry for the truth. I pray He opens up your heart for more; in the mundane or the radical, I pray He inspires you to live a life of obedience. Wherever He leads you is so good and far better than anywhere you place yourself, I promise. Amen.
