Ministry in Africa is incredible. This past week has been crazy. Something happens every single day where you feel like you’re living in New Testament times. Just today my friend Tyler was able to pray for a woman for her sight to be restored, and when she pulled her hands away, her eyesight improved. He also had about 25 kids following him around to every single house that he went and mothers handing him their crying babies. Granted, he kind of looks like Jesus, but that kind of stuff doesn’t happen elsewhere.
It’s been a similar story for me. As we’re going from house to house sharing about Christ, we are seeing people come to a faith in Christ every day. We are praying for miraculous healings. We are praying against evil things in the spiritual world. We are praying for mountains to move!!
Here are three stories from this past week that illustrate the things that the Lord has us doing here. First, there is Grace. Grace is a woman who is likely in her late 60’s/early 70’s. 
She has a sister named Elizabeth and another who is suffering from a serious illness. We met her while sharing Christ in a village last week. She is already a Christian so we encouraged her in her walk with Christ and offered to pray for her. She eagerly accepted that offer and got down on her knees on the dirt floor of her mud hut. Annie Rose and I prayed for all the requests that she made. As we were getting ready to leave, she insisted that we receive something in return for the incredible gift of prayer that we had just given her. So Grace proceeded to give Annie Rose, our translator, and I each 10 shillings. 10 shillings is about the equivalent of 12 cents. The significance of it was that it was all the money she had. She’d given us everything! My mind immediately went to the story of the widow’s offering in Mark 12:41-44. The widow only gave 2 copper coins, but Christ recognized the value of it because, out of her poverty, she’d put in all she had to live on. It’s hard to describe the emotions that go through your heart when you are experiencing this kind of faith firsthand. It’s life-changing.
Then there is Stephen. I met Stephen while working with two teams from our squad who are trying to get all the kids at a school sponsored so they might be able to afford to continue going through high school. 
I was hanging out with five of the boys during their break. I assumed that Stephen was one of the students until all the kids got up and went back to class while he stayed behind. I quickly found out how unique this boy was. Stephen is a 17 year old orphan from the eastern part of Kenya. His parents owned a store there when he was a child. However, when he was 8, a group of raiders came into the store, stole all the goods, and murdered his parents. His uncle was the only one who could take him in. Thankfully he did, but his uncle just recently died of tuberculosis. This left Stephen with absolutely nothing and nowhere to go. His trip to Kitale was his last option. As I was talking to him, I found out that he’d jumped on the back of a truck and traveled around 17 hours to Kitale. He’d spent the previous night on the street and some random (or not so random) kid on the street told him about a school that might take him in…the school where we were working. He’s likely correct when he told me it’s his last option. He only has the clothes he’s wearing and a school ID from where he went while his uncle was alive. He said if he’s not allowed to attend, he’ll likely live on the streets. Stephen’s faith is amazing though. He knows the Lord and the truth that Lord has huge plans for him. He was telling me those things…not the other way around. He was telling me how he knows that no matter where he ends up, that the Lord is going to use him in big ways. Yes he is. I prayed for him and that the Lord would provide. It’s not a sure thing yet, but it looks as though the school is going to allow him in. Praise God!
Finally, there’s Iren. I met her today while evangelizing in the slum of Kitale. She’s a 26 year old widow who didn’t have a relationship with the Lord. While sharing with her about Christ,
it was kind of awkward at times because she seemed as though she was barely paying attention. That’s unusual in Africa. Whether they want to hear what you are sharing or not, they are almost always extremely respectful and will hear you out. In America, this wouldn’t have surprised me a bit, but here I was very surprised. I just kept listening to the Lord and sharing through the translator. After I finished, she just had one question for me. “Why does God love some people more than others?” After asking her to explain, she said she didn’t understand why God blessed certain people with great families, money, and health while she was left as a poor widow who lives in the slum. Quick side story…I led a Bible study last week at an African church about God certainly being capable of changing our circumstances but often doesn’t because he is much more interested in our character and 
relationship with him than our difficult circumstances. However difficult, our circumstances are as temporary and fleeting as our life on this earth, and he has our eternity on his mind. Actually, it’s often those difficult circumstances that are driving us to wholeheartedly depend on him and not living a comfortable life of self-reliance. One of the passages I talked about during that Bible study was James 1:2-12. The passage talks about considering it pure joy when you face trials because it is going to bring about a number of positive character changes. It also talks about how a brother in humble circumstances should take pride in his high position and how a rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. Verse 12 says, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him”. As she was asking me why the Lord loved some more than others, I knew the Lord was telling me to share this passage with her. That was it. That was all she needed. I asked if she had any other questions that I could answer. She didn’t have any and just wanted me to pray with her to become a Christian.
Yes, ministry in Africa is incredible. I pray for more. I pray the Lord would continue to use us in incredible ways. We’re seeing the Bible come alive, and we want nothing less than to see his kingdom come, his will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
