Village #3
During our stay in this village, I felt like we were part of the Pastor’s family! It was so nice being away from my family to be apart of us for the time we were there. The pastor at this village was a character and even though there was a language barrier, he loved getting to know us! I also fell in love with the kids at this village and we were able to help with a youth party and were blessed to teach children’s church at this village. We also went around with the Pastor and visited with families- some part of the church and others were not. These people were so joyful and happy to have us come and visit with them. We prayed for some and encouraged others and it was during one of these visits that God completely wrecked me and showed me a glimpse into His heart!
It started like any of the other conversations we had during our stay here- the normal where are you from, how old are you, are you married, what is snow like. And like any of these conversations we have had it is hard to follow through a translator and you know that you are not being told every thing she is saying. And the pastor is having a whole other conversation with her and you only get told bits and pieces of what is going on. Then the conversation took a drastic shift- she told us that her husband drinks and abuses her (she has kids but I am not sure if they get abused as well)- physically and I am sure emotionally as well. Right then God started to get my attention. I was wondering if I should say something to her and if so what to say- was God putting anything on my heart to say to her? Then DJ gave some words to her and then I started to finally get the courage to say something when our translator said it was time to pray. As we were praying for her I was in tears and I knew that what was on my heart was from God and she needed to hear it. So I gave her the words God gave me and as we were leaving I was in tears and ready to loose it. I have no idea what that was all about still but I know that God did something to me during that moment and He gave me a glimpse into His heart about what He felt for her. Later that day when I was processing through what had happened and why He let this happen, God spoke again to my heart about her: I know that in all of this God, You are there. You are there holding her hand. You are there catching each tear and holding her broken heart. You are there God fighting this battle for her and with her. You have NOT forgotten about her and no tear she has cried has gone unnoticed.
Please be praying for this woman and her family! For this woman, pray that she would know how much God loves and that she is not alone in this- that God is right by her side and is fighting this battle for her. For her family- pray for safety and protection and that their dad/husband would see Jesus through them and their actions. For the husband: pray that he would no longer drink to fill that void in his life that only Jesus can fill, pray that he would see Jesus shining through his wife and family and would turn to Jesus and be the man that God is calling him to be!
