I Gave It Away

 

We arrived mid-afternoon on Friday, they fed us some lunch, and then we started our trek to the first neighboring village we were going to visit.

 

We partnered up and joined with our ministry host, the chief of the village, and some other awesome people from the village to help us translate.

 

A couple of houses in, and we arrived at the house of a lady named Mahata.

 

She didn’t look too excited to have visitors, but it’s also probably not everyday you see two white girls walking up the hill to your house smiling and waving.

 

Our translators asked if it was okay that we shared about the Gospel, and Mahata said that was fine.

 

I asked if she had ever heard of Jesus before, and she said yes.

 

I asked if she had a personal relationship with Him, and she said yes again.

 

I asked if she could tell me what her personal relationship with Jesus looked liked.

 

She hesitated. She said maybe we could tell her what it looks like.

 

I explained that for me, it looks like a lot of things, but He is my comfort and security. I said that whatever happens in this world, I am able to rest in who I am in the Lord and know that everything is in His perfect plan.

 

My teammate, Marissa, shared what her relationship with Jesus looks like.

 

After standing in the sun for awhile, she told us we could move over into the shade to continue the conversation.

 

I asked her if she had a bible, and she said no and that it was with her husband. I’m not quite sure what her story was, but I asked her if it was okay if I prayed for her. She agreed.

 

I started praying for her.

 

While praying, I heard a still small voice, “You should give her your bible.”

 

…In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

“I have a Bible if you are interested in having it! It’s in English, and you speak a good amount of English, so if you want it, it’s yours!”

 

I’m not really sure what her response was, and I was a little relieved… maybe she will reject my offer, and I can keep it.

 

But I felt like I should make sure she for sure didn’t want it.

 

“It’s yours if you want it, just let me know!”

 

“I want,” she said.

 

“Of course! Let me just get a few things out, and it’s yours!”

 

It wasn’t that hard to offer it up or to say yes to giving it away. It’s just a book. God’s Word is so much more than what I held in my hand. And if giving my Bible with all of my highlights and little side notes was going to bring someone to a closer relationship with the Lord, then count me in!

 

But what was harder than I thought would be was actually giving my Bible away. The one I picked out just for the Race and have been digging into the last 6 months in 6 different countries. The one that I put encouraging notes from my squadmates, teammates, and SQLs. The one that I stuck different minion memes on the front cover.

 

I teared up while cleaning it out.

 

It was a combination of emotions, and that’s okay.

 

I felt guilty that I was sad to give away my Bible, but I was so happy that I knew that’s exactly what God called me to do and that I was obedient to that.

 

I will probably never see Mahata in this life again, but it is my prayer that she will use the Word to grow closer to the Lord and have a relationship with Him, and that I’ll see her again someday praising our God for eternity!

 

Please join me in prayer for Mahata and for the people of Lesotho. This is a Christian country, but it is just a title for most people. Pray that they will come to know the Lord in a new way and see how much he is (literally) dying to have a relationship with them.