Last summer, I went to Swaziland on a one-month mission trip with AIM. God used that experience to teach me so much, and he also used it in part to call me to the World Race: Gap Year. In Swaziland, God changed my life through a man named Mark. Here is his story.
In Swazi, my team and I visited a place called the Hope House several times a week. The Hope House was basically a place for people to stay while recovering from injury or illness, because the hospital didn’t have room to hold them during their recovery. My team and I went excitedly, ready to encourage and pray for people. Yet, we were also nervous, unsure of what we would encounter.
The first and second time we went to the Hope House, we had trouble making meaningful connections. Most of the patients spoke very little English, making it difficult to communicate. Nevertheless, we prayed for every patient there, asking God’s healing and blessing on them.
Right before we were about to leave the second time, I passed by a room I hadn’t been in and I saw several caretakers through the door. They called to me and asked me to come in, so I did. Inside, lying on a bed was a man who seemed to me to be at least 55 years old. I soon learned he was only 39. His name was Mark. He spoke excellent English, and we quickly connected.
A few months before I met him, Mark had been in a terrible car accident that left him with several broken bones and severe problems with his internal organs. Since, then, he had been constantly in and out of the hospital. Just a few days before I met him, he had important surgery that was going to leave him in the Hope House for 3 months. Mark was a Christian, and he trusted in Jesus to be his strength through this difficult time.
I went back to the Hope House a few days later, and Mark was out of bed, in his wheelchair, and even outside of his room in the open air! I shared with him 2 Corinthians 12:9.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
I will never forget what Mark said next.
“I agree completely. I am suffering right now. But God has a reason for letting me go through this. I don’t know what His reason is, but He does. And he will get me through it.”
The last time I saw Mark, he was not doing as well. Some of his treatment had some nasty side effects, and it was difficult for him to talk. One of my teammates suggested that we sing. Three of us sang How He Loves over Mark. As we sang, I could see peace, thankfulness and blessing on his face. I prayed for him again, just as I had every time I visited him. I prayed that Mark’s faith would never falter, no matter his circumstances.
We said goodbye and I had to leave. I don’t know where Mark is now, and he doesn’t know where I am. But I know that God used Mark to be a blessing to me, and He used me to be a blessing to him.
This is the kind of blessing you receive when you are willing to follow Christ to uncomfortable, unknown places. God loves to bring people together and bless us through each other. This is the kind of blessing I want to be to people on the World Race Gap Year, and for the rest of my life!
If you want to help me go on the World Race Gap Year and continue to minister to people like Mark, that would be a huge blessing! Just click the “Support Me!” link on the left side of this page!
