It’s crazy how your perspective can change after being in a place for over a week. I have been here for almost 3 weeks now and it already feels like home. A home that I have to leave in a week, and I am honestly pretty bummed to leave. I have made friendships and connections that will last a lifetime!
It’s crazy how you can meet people and in just one month they can become family. The pastor and his family, the elders, translators and all the people in the village of Diabo have been so incredibly kind and hospitable. I can see God’s hand in everything and it’s so cool! He has placed us with such amazing hosts and kept us healthy and safe. While allowing us to grow more with Him and make His name known.
We have been pushed out of our comfort zone tremendously this month. When we came to Diabo the first day the pastor asked us what type of gifts and talents we possessed. He also expected us to use our skills and experience of training to help them better their program and grow their new church. To be honest, I sat there drenched in my own sweat thinking… “Uhm how do I tell them I have no specific talents or previous training in preaching, leading people, or putting on any discipleship events?” In that moment I felt a little discouraged and defeated. I wanted to do the absolute best I could to
give the hosts the program they wanted. Over time I learned that it’s not about what I can do, but God working through me. All I have to do is just say Yes and do the thing He is asking us to do! The Holy Spirit will take care of the rest.
Just like the 12 disciples in the Bible. They were just normal people doing their everyday life when God called them to do ministry with Him. Thankfully they said Yes and made the best decision of their lives! God used them for many years after His death and resurrection to preach the good news to all mankind. The Holy Spirit spoke through them and equipped them to share Gods love, heal the sick and bring freedom to the oppressed. Therefore, I have nothing to fear! The Holy Spirit is always moving and active, which gives me confidence because I do my part to share God’s love and let the Holy Spirit plant seeds and take care of the harvest.
Throughout this month I have been reminding myself of this grand truth. I don’t need to be afraid of messing up, the Lord will give me the words to say when I do it with a pure heart and put Him first. We have done a lot of evangelism and prayer walks, which has been an awesome experience. We saw people come to Christ and several of them have come to the church since then! God is waiting for His children to come back to Him and all they need is a little nudge from the Holy Spirit! Last night my team and I performed some skits in the street in a near by village. After the skits our host was asking if people wanted to be saved and accept Jesus into their life. The only person that came out was a lady who was apparently “drunk.” We were able to pray over her and immediately she started yelling and it seemed like she was trying to run away from us. Our hosts kept her sitting and we were able to pray over her some more. We came to the conclusion that she was definitely struggling and being oppressed by evil spirits. It was honestly very hard to witness because it is so normal for people here to see people dabbling and dealing with evil spirits so people were very desensitized to it and did not want to help her after we finished praying over her. Unfortunately we had to leave quickly after that, but I walked away confident knowing that God is working in her and He will free her from the enemy! I am learning to trust God more and more as the days go by. Plans can change, language barriers can be difficult and we could feel a little lost and confused sometimes, but God always stays the same!
That is just a small glimpse of what we get to do on a day to day basis. It’s a beautiful life God has given us and I am so thankful to be living my life in Africa right now!!!
God Bless,
Hannah
