This month our main ministry has been door to door evangelism and if you know me then you know that is definitely not my specialty. I pretty much have to force myself out the door everyday to do ministry instead of curling up in my bed and begging to stay home. It’s not that it’s awful or anything, but it is so far outside my comfort zone that I just wish I never had to do it.
As we leave the house each day to walk to whichever village we’ll be at for the day I just spend that entire time listening to music and praying. I start praying that I find joy for the day, boldness to speak truth and for the people that God will bring us to each day. God is so good and faithful and by the end of the day when we return I’m utterly exhausted but so grateful for the people that I was able to meet throughout the day. I wish I could tell you all about every person that I’ve met, but that’s not possible but I want to share one of my favorites.
We were spending the day visiting clinics in the surrounding villages and praying for the patients, there was only one problem: they had very few patients. Which in retrospect I guess it’s probably a good thing that people weren’t super sick, but for a group of missionaries looking to pray over sick people, we were out of luck.
The team had just finished praying at our second clinic for the only patient there, an elderly woman, and the nurses invited us to sit with them. Our contacts Ronnie and Dennis spoke with the women for a few minutes and then looked at us, asking who wanted to share the gospel with them, no one said a thing. These situations are always so awkward for us, we tend to prefer the “let’s get to know you” small talk approach before diving right in and unfortunately it didn’t seem like that was going to happen.
I was just staring down at my feet regressing back to school and thinking if I didn’t make eye contact then I wouldn’t be called on, and then I heard Ronnie say, “How about you Jesca?” (every month I experience a new pronunciation of my name, this month it’s Jesca). Fail. I’m pretty sure I shot Ronnie the dirtiest look I could conjure in that moment. Me? seriously? What am I supposed to say? I just started praying, “Please, please, please just give me the words.”
So I started sharing a bit about who we were and why we were there and then I asked if any of them went to church. Two of the women responded that they did, one was Catholic and the other Protestant and then the third woman answered and when she spoke I KNEW why I was there that day, I KNEW why I was the one to start the conversation.
Her name was Teo Pista and she was so pregnant, it looked like she might give birth any day. She said that she was a born again Christian once, but that things got very mixed up. I asked what she meant and she responded that she had just started back sliding and that she had wanted to come back and didn’t know how but that it was a very good thing that we had come. I started sharing my testimony with her, how I had wandered away but that God had welcomed me back, about God’s grace, forgiveness and patience with us, that He had never left her side and was just waiting for her to turn back to him.
I know that what we all shared with her was what she needed to hear, just us being there was proof as to what God is willing to do to draw her back to Him. I don’t know if she has gone back to church but she seemed so relieved to just be able to talk about her desire to come back and to know that she’d be welcomed back with open arms.
Days like that are when I’m reminded of why I’m here. I so easily tend to lose sight and just focus on what it is that I want to do and forget that I’m here for a purpose. I get to tell others just how much God loves them and the opportunity to do that is such an incredible blessing. So every day, no matter how tired, dirty or not in the mood I am I force myself out that door and into what God’s plans for the day and I’m never disappointed.
-Jess
