Two years ago, I was sitting in a little living room talking with a sweet couple that was allowing us to stay with them for the weekend. The other interns and I had come to Livingstone for a mini retreat before our camp season started up in Zambia. Mama, then the director of Every Orphans Hope, had put us in contact with Sanderson and his wife Lweendo.
After a long day of safaris and elephants rides, we all sat down exhausted for a meal and to get to know each other. Little did I know what the Lord was about to show me. Lweendo’s husband, Sanderson, started to tell us about his ministry called J Zone. A ministry built on the power of Christ’s love, and propelled by a community of believers to reach the lost. The Lord gave them a vision for the orphans and widows of Africa that have been neglected and a calling to the hopeless and broken-hearted. As we sat talking about his ministry, I had a supernatural feeling. Chills begun to run down my spine and the world sort of took on this golden glow. I really cannot explain that moment, but I knew it was a moment from God.
Fast forward two years later. I was in Bulgaria talking to one of my squad mates about how excited I was for Zambia.
“Did you ever think you would go back there?” she said.
“To tell you the truth, my heart hoped for it, but I was never really certain.” I said. And cue a memory from two years previously. The same exact feeling flooded every part of me. Immediately, I had a sense that this was a fulfillment of his promise. A promise that I had thought was meant for someone else the first time, but now I knew it was for me.
So the weave of my life is slowly being woven together. So beautifully. So powerfully. With only a testament to the goodness and faithfulness of His majesty. I wish I could explain to you how incredibly joyful I am to finally be reunited with my heart. When the plane touched down on Zambian soil, I literally felt it jump back into my chest. Since being here, that feeling has only grown stronger within these dry bones. Giving me strength on the days when ministry is hard and I am exhausted. Giving me hope in the day when all things will be restored, because the little girl holding my hand is not there yet. In fact she’s abandoned, and doesn’t understand why. It provides tickles, when laughter is needed. It brings out a song when praise is flowing, and a dance when joy is being poured out, and its source is the Faithful One.
I am still not fully funded yet In order to stay out in the field, I have to raise $2,200 by July 1st. Your prayers and support goes a long way. To donate, please visit christinacates.theworldrace.org and click on the “Support Me!” link under my photo.
I know that the Lord has called me to this beautiful life for this season. To these moments where the weaving of His hands is seen so clearly and so distinctly.
