I got wood.

Just because you have a ministry contact on the World Race doesn't always mean you make contact with the ministry.
 
Let's say you're in Tanzania. You live on the pastor's property and have, for all intents and purposes, been left alone, with no actual vision for what ministry is this month.
 
What do you do?
 
You ask the Lord and play 'make your own ministry.'
 
This month, I got wood.

 
Earlier this month while trying to figure out what we are doing here in Morogoro, we were sent with one of the pastor's friends. We were told that we were going to a market where this guy worked and we could pick up a few souvenirs- instead we saw four, run down shacks, where men carved wood.
 
Little did I know, this is where I would spend my month.

 

We met some of the wood carvers that day. We placed a few orders for  a few items and left shortly after. A few days later there was a meeting at the church. Other than the seven of us, one person showed up to lead the meeting, one person showed up to attend it, and one person accidentally attended it while trying to find us.
 
His name is Magnus.
 

He came to see if he might be able to sell something. I had enjoyed the work he had done on my order and decided to place another. I paid him in advance and the next time I saw him he told me he hadn't had money to buy food that day and was grateful for the work.
 
As our team tried to figure out what to do this month for ministry, other than attend church services, we let the Lord lead us.
 
And he kept leading me to Magnus.
 
So I'd hop on the crowded matatu* with another teammate and get dropped of at the busy intersection and walk towards the little shacks.

 
(*the matatu is a little van that says “14 passengers” on the outside, and in reality, has 30+ people inside; believe me, we counted once.)
 
I visited Magnus whenever I could. I would sit alongside the wood carvers and chip away at scraps of ebony, trying to forge something to take home from Tanzania. I'd sit in awe as the men around me chiseled away at pieces of log to find the elephants and giraffes that were stuck inside.

 
Magnus is one of seven children and within a (less than) one year span he lost his three sisters and his mother. He told me that at a young age, he decided that he never wanted to be a beggar on the street. He knew that he was fully capable to work and earn money to support himself. He is a man of passion, creativity, and perseverance.
 
When asked what his dream is, if money was not an issue, he said, “to go to school.” Magnus is twenty six and wants to go to university for philosophy or business. School costs about $400 a year, but with the inconsistent business flow from carving wood and tutoring several grade levels of students whose parents are reluctant to pay for his services, it seems like saving money for school isn't a reality when you have trouble paying for a room to rent. He tutors the kids anyways because he sees the value in their education. It breaks my heart to see someone of great talent and character essentially stuck in a place where they can't move up.

 
Building a relationship definitely takes time. I had a handful of significant time spent with him before he really opened up to me. We sat upon the piles of wood chips that came from the years of carving ebony into various figurines and souvenirs. Magnus didn't seem like his chipper self and just laid with his head rested on a piece of ebony. I pulled up next to him in hopes of finding out what was troubling him.

 
And so he opened up and shared where he was at in life. He shared how many times he simply appears happy to people, but felt like he has lost everything. He really didn't seem like himself. He shared how just a few months before we arrived, he was helping to run a hostel  for students and would help tutor them there. Due to the inability  of the students to keep up with the payments, he ended up selling his motor bike and some land he had in order to make up for the dwindling number of students. But it just wasn't enough. Magnus shared some other problems and stresses that have been running through his mind; as a result, he hasn't been eating or sleeping much lately and has been having lots of chest pains.

 
I was able to really speak some life into Magnus after he opened up. He really needed to hear some truth and believe it. He needed to stop focusing on the past and where he once was.  You can't live in you past mistakes, failures, or successes. He needs to focus on the season that he is in, and trust God to bring him through it. After all, we serve a God who works all things for our good.
 
The next day when I returned, Magnus was like a new person. He was joyful and kept thanking me for the conversation we had the previous day. He said he ate dinner that night and had a night's rest with peace in his heart for the first time in over a month. He said it felt like he was alive again.
 
It was an awesome confirmation of how much power we have with our words, and how speaking life really does bring life. Each time I see him, he thanks me again for giving him advice and telling him to shift his focus back to God. If God brought seven of to Morogoro, Tanzania just to meet Magnus, then it was all worth it, because God is all about finding the one.