These last two days have been the start
of our ministry for the next month. We’ve been working with families
who were displaced from the earthquake in August. To say that
ministry has been intense these past days doesn’t even begin to
describe all we’ve seen and the ways the my heart has stirred.
Day one. We showed up at the refuge
area where 3,000 people have lost their homes, living in places the
size of bathrooms and forced to live on 9 kilos of rice and one can
of tuna for a month. They are without all human necessities:
bathrooms, safety, privacy. Fleas and insects continually infest
their homes. The government has done nothing to help their situation
although millions of dollars have been donated to help them. These
people are seeing nothing and have no hope of ever having a place to
call home again. In fact the woman who owns the land of the refuge
camp is trying to kick them all out. It is heart-wrenching and
devastating. They are forgotten, discouraged, and in need of
anything. They are the ones Jesus came for.
So here we are, on our first day there,
walking through the street when a woman comes up to us and asks us to
come pray for her sick sister. In a moment everything changes.
Hysteria breaks out, bone-shrieking cries erupt and before we know it
the woman who had approached us is passed out. She just found out
her sister died. After getting some alcohol to awaken her, we run to
the house of her sister. Another team is there, having walked in
minutes before the woman died. All you can hear is sobs of family
members and friends as more find out about what happened. It is
utter chaos and all we can do is pray. And so there we are, fallen
to our knees in the dirt street crying out for God to come, to
comfort, to do anything. What really can you pray in this situation
except the very name of Jesus?
It was my first day of ministry on the
world race. I still have ten plus months to go. If it’s any
indicator of what’s to come, then all I can say is that the Lord has
a crazy ride ahead of us. We walked out of that house that day
remembering the life that is brought by Jesus. The woman knew Him
and is now above with the one that brings that eternal life. And we
are here with breath still in our bodies able to shout praises to the
one who promises Living Water. What perfect timing the Lord has in
taking her away, that we were able to be there at that moment to be
Jesus to the people. My heart hurts. It aches at what we
experienced, but it rejoices too at the beauty of His timing and at
the life that is in Him alone.
