Some say miracles are dead, some say Holy Spirit is not active to this day and there are those who walk with doubt. Today was the start of ministry for us here in Mokhotlong, Lesotho and God showed up in ways we could have never expected. Many of us have prayed that by the end of these eleven months we would encounter at least one miracle. The lame walk, salvations being made, baptisms, visions being fulfilled, blind eyes opened and the like. You know the kind of miracles we read about in scripture. I am here to tell you that within the first five days of being in our first month and first country, God has already allowed for that prayer to be answered for a few ordinary people with an extraordinary Father.
Today, the twenty-one Jesus Freaks split up into groups and headed off to our first ministry site of the month. Two soup kitchens, a hospital, the church and one big God! All with different jobs but one goal: to glorify God in all that we do. I was with a group of three girls and our Pastor. Our ministry for the day was to visit one of the two soup kitchens and serve the beautiful people of Lesotho. We began to plan and imagine what it may look like once we got there. A group of hungry and cold people eagerly waiting out the door to receive their own personal bowl of piping hot soup. Broccoli and cheddar, maybe country potato or chicken noodles…Hmmm…sounds good to me. Women and children clinging to the hope that there will be enough soup for them by time they arrive to the front of the line. People sitting in groups and talking with one another smiling, crying, and laughing while enjoying their bowl of soup.
Fortunately, our imagination is limited and God always surpasses our expectations. Instead of walking into the imagination I just described, we walked into something completely different and much more exciting. What we thought was going to be a soup kitchen ended up being a clinic full of people ready to receive the word.
The five of us walked into something so glorious and spectacular. The thirty to forty people in the clinic were all standing and worshiping the Lord with nothing but their voices and hearts. Within minutes worship came to a close and our pastor began to pray. Immediately following the prayer the four white Americans were asked to introduce themselves, so… we did. Once the introductions had been satisfied, Pastor looked at the people pointed directly at me and said, “Pastor will now give a word.” With a whispered and surprised voice I responded, “What? Me? Pastor? Now? Okay, how much time do I have?” He told me I had about fifteen minutes to deliver a message.
There I am an ordinary twenty-one year old white boy from America making his way to the front of the room with Lesotho eyes on me. What do you do in this situation but pray and ask Holy Spirit to speak through you? The moment I opened my mouth Holy Spirit began to speak. I shared a bit of my redemption story and how God used Romans 8:35-39 to radically change my life forever. I spoke about the victory we have as children of God and then proceeded to invite everyone into the same victory that I have been walking in. Nearly fifteen individuals stood up and raised their hands, ready to receive the victory of Christ in their own lives. “What? Did God already use me to bring salvation to people?” Yes, He did! But that is not all.
After a few minutes of praying for people outside, the five us began to walk to the car to leave. But a small sweet voice pierced the air and reached our ears. Immediately we whipped our heads around and see the sweetest looking old Lesotho woman making her way to us. She started by asking if we could pray for her eyesight because she has been partially blind for a “long time.” Of course we said “yes” and began to pray. The five of us circled around, laid hands and commanded, in the name of Jesus, that her eye sight would be restored. The first time praying, she said she could see a little. Well, what better to do than to pray again?…so we did. After the second time she responded and told us her sight was even better than than first time. “WHAT! Okay God, I see what you are doing here!” Guess what we did next?…you’re right, we prayed again! But this time we prayed with a boldness that we never thought we could muster up. “In JESUS name be HEALED!” Her eyes opened wide and with a smile she said, “I can see much better!”
Of course, being the photographer and story teller I am, I asked if I could get a portrait to share her experience with others. She gladly accepted my request and I snapped the shot of the beautiful Lesotho woman who was now able to access the sense of sight. I stepped out in faith a little further and showed her the photo to test her vision. First glimpse, she smiles with a triumphant laugh after being able to clearly see her face for possibly the first time in years.
So, do I believe miracles still exist? Do I believe Holy Spirit is still active to this day? Do I know and believe without a shadow of a doubt that God is good and He is still in the business of healing? You bet I do!
P.S. The photo will be on my instagram @dylans_mission
