In my last blog, I shared some crazy stories about what God has been doing in and through our team during our stay in Kasama, Zambia. I’m glad to share that God has continued moving in powerful ways!
On Tuesday, October 13th, our group headed to a nearby village Mwika to see the people in the bush; we went with one intention and one intention only –to share the message of Jesus Christ with everyone we met. That was our duty and we were excited to see how Jesus would show up and move.
We begin by visiting the head village leader to get her blessing for us being there. She said that if anyone had good news to share, then we were more than welcome! So we gathered a group outside of her home and Ralph led us in some songs of praise. As expected, a crowd began to form and our opportunity has presented itself. So, I stand up and begin sharing the creation story, how sin entered this world, how each of us needs Jesus, how He has changed my life, and asked if anyone wanted to accept this Jesus.
About 20 people stood up and prayed to receive Christ.
Then we asked for those who needed prayer to step forward. Three people came—one woman, the head village woman, and a little boy. We began to sing and the first woman who came forward with an injured leg began to manifest. For those of us with little experience with the demonic, this means she has demons inside of her and she began to shake, scream a little, and say a whole lot of “no, no no” to the things of God.
So we began to pray for her deliverance and after a few minutes…a few demons were cast out, she prayed to receive Christ and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Not only that, but she also received complete healing to the injury in her leg. We prayed for the village leader and the one request she had was for Godly wisdom to lead the people. Finally, we prayed for the young boy Matthew. He was born completely functional, but after visiting a neighboring village at the age of 5, he returned home mentally ill. Throughout the whole time we were praying, he smiled up at us with a glazed, confused look. We prayed for full healing… yet nothing happened. Nada. Zilch. Cero.
Afterwards, a woman called us to come to her house to pray for her daughter named Esther; Esther has been mentally ill for 10 years. All of the neighborhood kids call her crazy and pretty quickly, we were able to see why. We went into her room to pray with her and she couldn’t focus on anything. She would talk to the wall, scream randomly, talk about her (imaginary) husband, and laugh out loud when no one was talking… it was some weird stuff. At first, we all began to prepare for deliverance, but the longer to talked and prayed, the more we could see that it was a mental illness –probably schizophrenia.
For three days we visited Esther. And gosh did we pray. We sang, we cried, we screamed, we fasted, we pleaded with God to have pity on her and touch her. We were desperate to see God move because only minutes before we saw Him touching and healing other people. But sometimes God says no. And I have no clue why.
Before we left, her mother told us how encouraging it was for us to return each day. Because of her daughter’s condition, she hasn’t been able to leave the house or attend church and she began to feel depressed by the situation, but God restored her hope and faith. We didn’t see her fully restored, but her mom shared that since we began praying, Esther hasn’t attacked her or been violent in any way.
Last blog, I talked about how two prophecies were spoke over my time in Africa and one was absolutely fulfilled. As we sat in their home on the last day, I realized that the second one was as well. Someone told me that I would pray for the needs in Africa and never be the same. And I can promise that we prayed for so many people like never before. I shared this with her mother and promised her that we would continue to pray for Esther and await the day that we get an email saying that she has been fully restored.
From the past week alone, I could tell you story after story of how God showed up in a miraculous and powerful ways. We prayed “Holy Ghost Fire” healing over a woman’s leg (her words, not mine) and her pain completely went away. We prayed for a woman with stomach pains…boom, instantaneous healing. Not only was God in the business of healing this week, but He was in the business of saving. I have never seen so many salvations in one week. The Spirit of God went before us into each place. I know it’s not about the numbers, but as a team, we saw about 55 come to Christ this month in Zambia.
This has most definitely been a month of growth, stepping into the authority I have in Christ, and having confidence in sharing words with others. I have seen so many things, experienced so many things, and can say that I know my God so much more personally. Yet sometimes, I don’t understand Him. I don’t understand why He didn’t heal a few people. I don’t know why Esther isn’t whole, but I know that my God is good and His ways are higher than mine.
