I suppose it would be best if I started all the way back at the beginning.
When we first arrived at our ministry site, the Butterfly Space, God placed it on my heart that our team should lead a Bible Study for our host. Now this alone was a big deal for me because I’ve never been one to “dive into the Word” as Christians would say. In fact, I must admit that before coming on the race, I could probably count on my fingers and toes how many times I have opened the Bible in my free time. But coming into this month, I prayed that my faith would grow in new ways, and one of the biggest ways I have seen this manifest is through a desire to read the Bible. As you can gather from my introduction, I am no expert in unfolding the mysteries of the Bible; nonetheless, an official Bible Study was added to our ministry schedule at 5 pm every day.
Just as soon as this Bible Study was added, God multiplied the number of people interested in reading His Word. I am not exaggerating when I say that people literally flocked to us to talk about the Bible. And it didn’t matter where we were or what we were doing, people came anyway. There were times we were sitting around in our swimsuits, socializing on the dock, and all the sudden someone would come up to us to ask questions about the Bible. Or other times when we’d be eating our lunch and random strangers would sit down with us (try and imagine a group of 5 girls all chatting and giggling with one another. I feel that would be a pretty intimidating situation to just invite yourself into…but it didn’t seem to scare them) and ask about why we were here. So before we knew it, we had more Bible Study appointments then we knew how to handle. I myself was leading at least 3 Bible Studies a day…and that was just at the lodge we lived at!
Once we began our ministry outside the lodge, similar things started to happen. God was introducing us to person after person who already knew about God or who was extremely interested in learning more about Him, but didn’t have access to a Bible. My heart started going a mile a minute when I realized what an impact our team could have if we got Bibles for these people. I mean everything about it seemed planned. Why else would He have us meet this specific group of people? All they wanted was to read more about Him. Talk about divine appointments, right?
So I became a woman on a mission. I was going to find these Bibles no matter what! Even if I had to pay for them with my own money. I was determined and nothing was going to get in my way.
So we set out on the big hunt for Chichewa Bibles (that is the most popular language in this area of Malawi). And a hunt it was. Random passerby’s joined our caravan, trying their hardest to find us Bibles. They took us from store to store but with no success. We spent the entire day searching but nowhere seemed to have Bibles. But I held onto hope. I was convinced that the Lord would make a way for us to find Bibles, it was just a matter of time.
The next day came and my mindset hadn’t changed. I was confident that God had sent us to Nhkata Bay for this exact purpose. So I left in the morning determined to find our Bibles (by this time, there were already 10 people who wanted a Bible).
However after another long day of searching, we still came up empty handed. There were no Bibles in this city AND we got even more discouraging news that the next town over, which is the “big” city where people go to buy all the things not available in Nhkata Bay, was also plum out of Bibles. I was lost.
God why is this happening? I don’t understand. And quite frankly, I'm upset. Why would you have us meet all these people, only to get their hopes up? We had told them we would get them Bibles, but now we can’t make good on our promises. Don’t you want people to know you? Isn't this why you sent us? What are you doing?
And it is then that God hit me with His wisdom right between the eyes.
This is not about you! If my children truly need a Bible, then I will provide one WHEN THEY ARE READY. For now, I want my children to know they can get to know me and build a relationship with me even without having a Bible.
I had made this Bible search about what I could do for the people of Nhkata Bay. I wanted them to have a faith so badly, that I couldn’t even see past my own nose. In my mind, if not having a Bible was the problem, than I could fix that. But that isn’t why God sent me. I am not the solution! God sent me to make God the center of their lives. And more than that, God reminded me that faith doesn’t come from owning a Bible.
The Israelites, the prophets, and the people recorded in the Bible for their acts of faith, DID NOT HAVE THE BIBLE! They HAD to rely on God alone. They HAD to wait and listen for his wisdom and his thoughts. They HAD to pray in order to get answers because they didn’t have a book that told them. So in the same way, our faith is not dependent on the Bible.
“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” Romans 10:8
As we know from scripture, it says that the word was with God and the word is God. So when we read the above verse we can understand that it is saying that both God and His Word (the Bible) are near us. When we accept Christ into our heart, then He literally lives inside of us; speaking through our words and living in our heart. God doesn’t need us to be Bible wizards in order to use us, I mean look at the ways He’s been using me! As long as we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, then we have access to everything we will ever need to know! God intends to use us as His vessel; so never let not having a Bible (or not knowing it that well as is more the case in America) stop you from preaching the Word and spreading the Good News. All believers hold a remarkable power to glorify the Kingdom (I’m talking to you!) because Jesus LIVES INSIDE OF YOU. Don't wait until "you think you're ready" or "you know enough." God can use you exactly where you are, and this month even I had to be reminded of that!
Now you may still be wondering if the Bibles ever turned up. As of now, the answer is no. But this time, I'm not frustrated. I know God is about to do something huge for his glory. I just can't even think big enough to fathom it. God works in mysterious, UNIMAGINABLE ways and I'm telling you, my next blog will be telling you all about it.
God is about to change Nkhata Bay forever…and I have a feeling my team will be blessed enough to witness it!
*Now some clarification. I am of course not saying that the Bible isn’t meaningful or for those of you who have one, to stop reading it. If you are blessed enough to have a Bible, realize what a privilege that is. We have it so much easier than those who have gone before us because we have proof that Jesus was here. We can read hundreds of stories of faith and know God’s character. Read your Bible! It is an incredible tool and I promise you it will be continually encouraging to your faith. If you struggle to understand some of the passages, then pray that God will reveal their meaning to you. PRAY for the things you wish to understand. But always strive to learn more about Christ.
There’s more…
Even though we still have not been able to find Bibles, which I now know is because God wanted to teach me a lesson as well as do things in His perfect, holy, timing…not mine. I still know the benefit that comes from reading the Bible. And as such, our team is still in the process of locating some Bibles to leave with the almost 20 new followers who accepted Christ this month, as well as with other believers who have believed for years without one. So if you feel inclined to donate to this cause, please feel free to do so by donating to my personal account. Unfortunately, we are rushed for time and that is why we cannot do it through our organization. But I promise that all donated funds will go directly towards purchasing Bibles for the people of Nkhata Bay. So if you are interested, feel free to send me an email at [email protected] and I will send you the information.
