**written on September 25:)**
I feel lost. There is no way I can go up to random strangers and just talk about Jesus. What if people get offended? What if people laugh? What if we aren’t received well? What if what I say points people away from the love of Jesus? The bus on the way to Matata is smelly and crowded and we still have 30 minutes until we get there. Why do I feel like this? I feel so unequipped to speak to someone about Jesus. I don’t have a ton of scripture memorized, I am not eloquent, and I definitely don’t view myself as being good at conversation. (The devil is really attacking me right now). Nevertheless, here I am. My leaders have blessed my team with this opportunity and I trust that God will work no matter how I feel.
The bus pulls up to Matata. When we get out, I look around at where I am. Behind me is a strip of stands where ladies are selling fruit, candy and some other little knick-knacks; almost like the farmers market back home. In front of me is a shopping square. Oddly enough there are multiple furniture stores. There is a gas station, a few hair places, a health clinic, a general store and a grocery store. Most of all there are people. Men and women trying to sell us stuff. All just trying to make ends meet.
The first thing we do is pray. As I pray about the day, and basically have a panic attack about the day, God gives me the color pink. It kind of shut my mind up because I was confused. Anyways, after we prayed it was finally time to start evangelizing.
Brooke, Olivia, and I start walking around. Thankfully we had our squad leader, Jill, with our group for the first half of the day so we kind of followed her lead. We approach a lady who was selling all sorts of clothes, wallets, and toys out by her car. Oddly enough, her shirt was pink. As I talked to her I found out she goes to church and knows Jesus but wants to know more. We answered her questions and I asked if we could pray for her. We prayed over her and I finally felt like today could actually be a good day. I still felt uncomfortable but I wasn’t terrified anymore. And the only reason I was uncomfortable was because of the men.
It’s one thing to hear about how women are viewed in other countries, and it’s another to actually experience it. Throughout the day, my teammates and I had many men catcall us, ask us to marry them, say ‘I love you,’ take pictures, and boldly check us out. I know it is part of the culture for them to be so intrusive, and I definitely stand out with my blonde hair and blue eyes, but it was still weird. One time when I was checking out at one of the general stores, the manager saw me and said I was going to be her new daughter-in-law. She showed me a picture of her son and took a picture of me to show her son. I guess that’s not directly about one of the men but I thought it was very funny. However, in the midst of that I never felt unsafe. I was always surrounded by people and the guys from our squad were always close by. I felt uncomfortable, yet safe in God’s protection.
Anyways, as the day went on I got to talk to two more ladies with pink shirts. We also had some good conversation with female shop owners, and women just sitting outside. I got to pray over so many people, answer questions, and just get to know the people who spend their lives at Matata. God really worked through those conversations and I am so glad I got the experience of pure evangelism.
As stressed out as I was originally, I was equally excited and at peace by the end of the day. I can’t wait for the next time I get to go talk to people about my best friend.:)
I never knew evangelism could be such a beautiful thing, and also a day to day lifestyle. I have always been told that we are to spread the gospel, but I never knew what that looked like. Turns out, it’s as simple as having a conversation with someone at the grocery store. Instead of going about your business, you turn day to day outings, into chances to represent Jesus and talk about him. I encourage you to try out this mindset. Maybe, instead of walking by the lady buying peanut butter, or the person at the post office; stop and say hi, ask about their day, get to know them and watch how God moves in a simple conversation (no matter how uncomfortable or awkward you may feel!)
Love,
Kate:)
(lol, there is probably a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes, whoops! Good thing God loves us in our imperfections:))
