The Christian women of Manipur, India came together often to fellowship and play soccer and other fun games. We participated in the games and chatted with the few on the sidelines who spoke English. One of their favorite games involved tying balloons around ankles and stomping wildly to pop each other’s while trying to keep yours from the same fate.
On one of our last ministry days in India, I was blessed to meet this man, James, who showed me what it looks like to work unceasingly for the Lord. We discussed our favorite passages in the Bible, and his questions about the interpretation of certain scriptures challenged me to be more diligent in reading the word. He also graciously taught me how to lay bricks for a wall that surrounds a building used for housing students of a local Bible college.
On one of our prayer walks through Nepal, we met a man who owned several businesses, including the one behind him. We first asked if he wished to be prayed for, but then it led to a prophetic word for one of his granddaughters from Bipin (one of our liaisons who was so on fire for God). It was such a powerful start to a day filled with intercessory prayer and evangelism during a celebration of a god, which involves smoking marijuana and worshiping a certain male sex organ.
Every Wednesday, we would spend a few hours playing soccer, teaching Bible stories, and feeding lunch to the homeless boys of Nepal. Why only boys? Because homeless and/or orphaned girls are usually snatched up for prostitution. Most of the boys belonged to gangs in order to survive, sniffing glue to feel something other than hunger, and begging on the streets for food.
South Africa was a powerful month of inner healing. This young girl lives in an incredible community called Ingane Yami that takes in orphans and places them with mothers. She had just received a makeup kit for her birthday and instead of using it solely on herself, she gladly used it on me and my teammates. She particularly enjoyed painting our eyebrows with bright pink and blue eye shadow. Regardless if she ever remembers me or knows how much she helped in healing my brokenness, I will forever hold her and the other children of Ingane Yami in my heart.
The boys in the middle are brothers from South Africa who live in a hut with their parents and other siblings. They may not have a lot in terms of material things (both parents didn’t have jobs at the time), but they were full of joy and loved the Lord. The older brother (third from left) was close to graduating high school and talked of joining a one-year internship/mission program with Kloof Harvest church whenever the Lord provided the funds. My team met them through a youth service every Friday night that included games and a message. That day we gave them sandwiches and words of encouragement.
These two precocious 8-year-old boys from the El Shaddai orphanage brightened up my month in Swaziland. While most squad mates had one buddy for the month, I was blessed with both Sizwe and Mlungisi. I had a hard time at first relating to them, because I know nothing about boys, but soon I found that reading books and sharing my music with them or playing cards or on the jungle gym was perfectly enough. God really used this month to affirm my maternal instincts and build up my confidence with children.
From the first day of ministry, Mozambique was full of Holy Spirit encounters. We were blessed to serve with two women (pictured here) who were on fire for God and walked with so much authority. This day we crossed over a river in boats and walked for hours in the heat to pray and minister to people in a small village. This woman was part of a religion that involved ancestral worship. I will never forget the tears of peace and joy running down her cheeks after we prayed for her.
(photo credit for pictures 1, 2, and 6: Naz Hagos; all the rest: me)
