I love it how God drops opportunities for evangelism and prayer into my lap sometimes.
Three days ago was one of those days.
It was Saturday, the day before the main church service, and instead of doing house to house evangelism, we were reminding those we had spoken to the previous two days to come to church.
We were only supposed to be gone for about 20 minutes.
It was only meant to be follow up.
So, Tender, my Ugandan translator, and I headed out into the community of Nateete, Uganda, ready for this short session.
We reminded several women about the service and were about to walk to the next place when we came across Tender’s little sister, Amena. We had just led Tender’s mother, Jen, to the Lord a couple days earlier, so I took a chance and asked if Amena believed in Jesus. Tender told me that no, her sister did not believe. She was a Muslim.
“You can preach to her,” Tender told me.
So, I shared with her the gospel story, and by the end, she wanted to receive Jesus as her savior.
Wow, this is EXCITING!! It isn’t often a Muslim wants to come to the Lord!!
We prayed with Amena, and by the end, her face just looked brighter.
After talking a bit more to her, we started to walk away, and I asked Tender if Amena had a Bible. She said she did not, so I asked her if we could get her one. That turned out to be a definite yes!
So, we turned around, and Tender told her sister we would bring her a Bible next time we visited.
You should have seen the look of pure joy that spread across her face!!! She ran over to us, said “thank you,” and gave us the HUGEST smile! She was SOOOO HAPPY!!!
Well, no more than ten seconds later, a woman and her children approached us. By way of Tender, I found out the woman wanted us to pray for her son. He was seven years old and had a problem with his eyes. His eyes had a lot of pain, and he could not see very well.
Leaning down, I asked if he believed God could heal him. He said, “yes.” I placed my hand over his eyes and prayed. I prayed that he would not only be healed physically but healed spiritually as well.
After praying, I asked if he felt any better, and he said he was okay. THERE WAS NO MORE PAIN!!
THEN, I found out, through his mother, that this little boy also wanted to receive Jesus.
Wow, this is EXCITING!! It isn’t often a child wants to receive the Lord in the days of our house to house ministry. AND, it was really awesome how fast my prayer had come true. He had been healed physically and now wanted to be healed spiritually too! He wanted to make the decision to pass from death to life, which is the GREATEST decision anyone can ever make!
We prayed with the boy to receieve Jesus and invited the family to church.
After reminding two other women about church, I noticed another little boy that had a weird looking eye. His whole demeanor was odd. He seemed sad and confused, like something just was not right. Tender told me he lived in a house where witchcraft was practiced, so I decided to pray for him. As I did, he closed his eyes tightly and shook a bit. By the end, he had a HUGE smile! Had he just been set free of a demon? I was not sure, but it was clear some type of spiritual battle had just been going on inside of that boy.
GOD IS GOOD!
Even in the times you aren’t looking for something, HE SHOWS UP and comes to you!
This Sunday, the little boy whose eyes had been healed came to church. It was so exciting to see him there with his mother and brother and to know God was making a difference in their lives. He kept looking at me with his newly healed eyes, and I could barely contain my joy. Pastor Joseph even told me that before we came to church, the boy had shared with the whole congregation what God had done for him. Wow!! Even on Monday, this little boy showed up during house to house. He grabbed onto my hand and followed Tender and I to several houses. Even when we met up with the rest of our team after ministry, he returned to stand by my side. I had the chance to talk with him a bit, give him a banana, and just be Jesus to him. I almost wonder if that is how Jesus and His disciples felt? The sick would be healed, and they would follow Jesus and his crew wherever they went.
“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son to Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So, they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” IMMEDIATELY HE RECIEVED HIS SIGHT AND FOLLOWED JESUS ALONG THE ROAD.” -Mark 10:46-52
Like the blind man, this little boy experienced the healing power of God firsthand. His life was changed and because of that, he wants to follow us wherever we go!!!
Since we have been in Uganda, I have had the chance to lead nine different people to Christ.
The man with the hat received Christ. He said he is willing to give up his old lifestyle for Jesus.
Tender’s mom, Jen, became a Christian last week!!
These two women, Betty and Tulo, accepted Jesus last week as well.
This woman was saved during the church service when I preached on patience!
This man wanted us to pray for him to give up smoking! Well, he didn’t just throw his cigarette into the ditch while we spoke to him, but he also received Jesus!! He is truly a NEW MAN! 🙂
Fiona came to Jesus on Monday! 🙂
Our team as a whole has had the opportunity to lead nearly 50 people to the Lord!!!!
Five of these people were Muslims!!
AND, this is only in FOUR days of ministry!!
I know it is not about the numbers, but it is just incredible to me what God is doing.
It is CLEAR He is working.
And because He is working, Satan is busy trying to attack.
Many of us have felt nauseous, dizzy, and overly exhausted ever since we arrived.
I have also felt that deep fear try and grab ahold of me two nights ago while I was trying to sleep.
BUT, OUR GOD IS GREATER!!
He IS working!
He is healing people physically and spiritually.
The country of Uganda is being touched and so is my team.
YESU YEBAZIBWE!!! (Praise the Lord!!!)
