Alice. Nicole. Hope.
There have been many women and young girls who have blown my mind this month. Women who lift each other up, have big dreams, and chase Christ like there is nothing else their hearts desire. The three names above represent three of these women. Three women that I will never forget and who have drastically changed my view on how to walk in freedom and authority.
Alice is the pastor’s wife at the church we attend in Victoria Falls. And she has completely changed my view of what it means to be a pastor’s wife. Upon meeting her, you can tell that one of her greatest passions in life is to empower other women to walk in the talent and authority they have been given by Christ. On our first Sunday in the church, we were asked to come up front and share a little about why we were in Zimbabwe and some of our stories. Afterward, one thing that Alice said really stuck with me. It has been discussed by my team many times since:
She got up in front of the church and said how much she loves to see women on fire for the Lord. The fire that some people in the Christian community think can only be carried by men is alight in women, and she saw that in us. We are just as capable as men of taking the story of Jesus to the nations and serving. And this is something she wanted the women in the church to see and be empowered by.
While she was hoping the congregation would be empowered by us, I don’t think she realized that WE were being empowered by THEM. Alice’s confidence and welcoming spirit fanned the flames of the fire she already saw in us. Because of Alice, I have lived this month out with the mindset that I am not just a lover of Christ, but a WOMAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART. Sometimes we need someone we barely know to give us the mirror and show us who we truly are.
Yesterday was our last day in Alice and her husband’s church. Before the service was over, my team and I were asked to pray with all the young women in the church. As Alice joined our circle, she gave some of the most amazing encouragement I have ever heard that left me almost in tears. She told the girls that they are not inferior because of where they come from. That poverty or difficult family situations don’t define them. That they all have God-given talents and a calling and a fire that is already alight within them. That they don’t have to be from the United States or another first-world country to be on fire for Christ and spread His love to others. The fire that Alice saw in us is present in her one-hundredfold. Although she wanted my team to inspire the women of her church, she is inspiring them MORE THAN SHE KNOWS.
Nicole is a student at one of the schools we volunteer at on Wednesdays and Fridays. On our first day there, she came up to talk to me after the leadership program we put on. She ended up telling me about her passion for public speaking and the opportunities she has to use that passion at her school. I really enjoyed talking to her and seeing so much confidence in a fourteen-year-old. I prayed with her before I left and wasn’t sure if I would get the opportunity to talk to her again.
When we went back to the same school that Friday, one of the teachers came up to me after our program with an envelope. Nicole had written a letter and poem to me, and as I read it I was mind-blown. I had no idea I had had that much of an impact on her. She told me that I inspired her and that I am her role model. That because of me she was even more confident in the fact that she could be a leader despite her circumstances. Her boldness left me speechless and I knew I had to see her again.
This past Wednesday, we were at the school again and, by chance, Nicole was in the class we got to work with. The class was on vision, and how every great leader has one. We all got to come up with a vision statement and then get in small groups and discuss. I got to be in Nicole’s group.
In this moment, the passion and intelligence I had already seen in her was revealed to be ten times what I thought it was. She shared that she wanted to be a lawyer and that corrupt lawyers she had seen in her life have given her a passion for justice. She also shared that she wants to practice law in India someday to work on giving young girls the same rights as young boys. Both of these things she shared with me came along with an insane amount of facts and knowledge she had on both the justice system and women’s rights in India. I wish you all could have heard her talk. I have never met such a knowledgeable and passionate fourteen-year-old in my entire life.
I told her that she inspired me more than she’d ever know. She brought issues to my mind that I didn’t even know existed in this world. And I have full confidence that she will succeed in her dreams – her drive and pursuit of Christ through it all are enough to show that.
This next section was written by my teammate Esther about Hope, a girl we have grown close with this month:
“Beauty for ashes.
In South Africa, we got to be a part of a very special activity called truths from God. Every woman on our squad sat down in a chair while the other women wrote down words on a piece of paper that describe how God views/feels about her. Once we were done writing, we hung them up on a board. One by one, we would read what everyone wrote. It was a sacred and holy moment. Our host encouraged us to take our time and read all the truths that were written.
Yesterday we got to lead the young women of Oasis school in that same activity.
Hope. Since day one, her confidence and love for Christ poured out of her. It was evident that she knew who she was and WHOS she was. It was one of the most special and honorable moments for me while on the race to write down how God views Hope. We couldn’t help but cry tears of joy alongside her as she read each little paper. Later, she told one of us that all the things that were written on her papers were the opposite of what she had been told by those close to her in her life. Words have power. And words from God show truth – always share them because you have no idea how much impact speaking healing truth over someone will have.
These are the moments I prayed for. These are the moments that God breaks my heart like I prayed for. These are the moments that I feel Jesus in the room with us like I prayed for. These are the moments I live for. I will never be the same.”
Empowered women empower women – especially when they are empowered by Christ. Never underestimate that fact.
P.S. – We leave Zimbabwe for Zambia this coming Saturday. My team and I will be staying in Lusaka, Zambia for the next month or so and working with Strategic Impact!
