3:30 AM.
The chorus of watch alarm clocks and sleeping pads hissing out air seep through the thin walls of my tent.
Time to go.
We all packed up our few belongings, peed in the hole in the sand with boards around it, and hopped in the truck for the third day in a row. Our spirits were optimistic, though half asleep.
We had no idea what the day was to hold. The past few days had been a whirlwind of unexpected adventures.
And God definitely had bigger plans for the day than we did.
We started out. One hour goes by. My foot falls asleep. Another hour.
We pulled into a town for our usual breakfast which consists of fresh bread and pounded, fried bean things called bagieras. Felito, our contact began to tell us a story of an old man who lived in that town. He said that he had been there 10 years ago doing an outreach and this old man had gotten saved. He was now living in this town as a pastor and he wanted to see him. When he arrived, we watched as they talked, reminisced and then we all hopped out of the truck to pray for him.
We got back in the truck, ready for the next leg of the journey to Chibuto when a skinny, old lady who was missing her front teeth runs up to the truck. She asked if we could pray for her too. We, of course, agreed. She kept asking us if she needed to pay us anything. She couldn’t believe that we would just pray for her for free.
As we were praying for her, a crowd began to gather. Soon, it seemed like the entire town was there. We prayed for healing, for reconciliation, for redeemed hearts.
One man in particular stands out in my memory. He showed us how he couldn’t lift his right arm and then pulled up his sleeve to show the little razor marks the witch doctor had cut into him. He said he had been there many times, but he still couldn’t lift his arm. We prayed for him and watched as he lifted his arm high above his head. PTL!
That was just one of many miracles God performed that day. There was another man who told us we were not allowed to leave until we came to his village. He said he had a burning desire in his heart to see his village saved so he would give Felito land and the materials to build a church in his village.
Amazing.
So we hopped in the truck once more and traveled into the Mozambiquian jungle. It started to rain, but nothing could dampen our spirits. We trudged far into the bush until we came to his house, which had an empty clearing next to it. The land for the church. We prayed over it, and for his family and then we got back in the truck and continued on our way to Chibuto.
As I watched the Mozambiquian country side fly by, I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the day, and it wasn’t even noon.
What is my life?
All day long, Felito received phone calls from people who wanted to know more about this church that prays for people for free. There were calls from people who had been healed, and calls from their friends and family as they witnessed their loved ones finally walking in freedom from their illness.
It truly reminded me that God’s plan is always exponentially better than my own. That day was one of my favorite days on the race, and one I won’t quickly forget.
He really is amazing, isn’t He?
