It has been a very long while since my last blog post.. There is much to be said so let's get started!
We are on a 28 hour train ride going from Cape Town, where we spent the past month in ministry, to Johannesburg, South Africa. We are on our way back up through the country toward Nelspruit to meet up with all the teams on the squad for month 2 debriefing. But before we get into what has happened here in South Africa, this blog will catch you up on what went on in Zambia..
The meat of our ministry was two week-long expeditions into the bush.
The first was in Arthur's sector, a super sarcastic and hilarious South African. Sector managers devote 5 years of their lives to a 60 mile by 60 mile plot of land in Zambia. Each sector manager's goal is to completely reach every village within their sector with the gospel message by discipling leaders within the native communities. They are first able to develop relationships with the natives through the avenues of a water well drilling unit, farming and agriculture education, and other forms of aid.
During our first expedition, we went with our guides Fred and Wezi, 23 and 24, to the villages of Chonga and Mukuni. Hours away from civilization, we bring everything we need for the trip – jugs of water, food, camping equipment, etc. Everyday we filled up our bottles, packed our lunches, and walked to the surrounding villages in the area to spend time with the people and talk to them about Jesus.
Zambians are such incredibly respectful and welcoming people. When we came into the village, they would always offer us water from the river to drink, and the wooden stumps to sit on as they took the floor. As we would talk, they would show such eagerness and hunger for the gospel. They yearned for prayer. W prayed for their families, their illnesses, their marriages, their faith..
One thing we learned was about prayer and the authority given to us by our Father in heaven. We learned to pray with faith and authority as children of the Almighty God. When we prayed for healing, for release from evil oppression and witchcraft, we wouldn't pray how we normally would.. "Lord please comfort this woman and heal this woman of her illness.." Jesus taught this disciples to pray with authority. When Paul encountered a crippled man who was lame from birth and had never walked, he saw he had faith to be healed and he said, "Stand up on your feet!" And the man got up and walked. (Acts 14:8-10)
Our second expedition was to the village of Katubya, 6 hours away offroading from the nearest paved road. We had to cross riverbeds, and cut down trees to get there. I remember about 5 hours into the trip, I was looking down the road ahead, it had become dark in the night and the headlights only reached 15 meters or so. Other than small vehicles and dirt bikes, we were the first vehicle to reach this village in a very long time. Thorny tree branches would reach out in front of us like hands to stop us from going further. I remember seeing this has a physical representation of the oppression in this remote village. So far from civilization, darkness had its grasp on its people. But we were determined to enter even the darkest of places to bring the light of the gospel. Nothing would stop us from reaching the ends of the earth with the Good Word.
In Katubya, we went on day trips into the villages and invited people to come to open worship sessions. Almost every village we came to, we saw people wearing strings around their necks and hands. They told us the strings would heal them of their sicknesses and protect them from illness. The local witch doctors had tied these around them. As we began to speak truth into their lives, we told them these were lies around their necks, that these strings had NO power, and that only Jesus had the power to heal, that Jesus was the ultimate authority over all things. We could see they were thirsty for something real. They had worn these strings for years with no improvement, rather these demonic instruments had only oppressed them more. We told them if they wanted to trust in Jesus as their Savior, that they should take off these strings. And as they ripped them off themselves, we prayed for them. We commanded the oppression to leave in the name of Jesus. I saw a man who had back pain for 12 years, be healed as we prayed for him. I saw a woman who had chest pain for 3 years feel no more as we prayed for her. I saw the power of Jesus working right before my eyes. We even met one of the witch doctors and spoke truth into him. As we guided him through the bible to trust in Jesus, he saw the miracles Jesus was doing through the healings, and he himself ripped off all his strings from his neck, his wrists, and his ankles. As we walked to the next village with him, he told us he would take all the strings off his entire family, and everyone he had ever tied strings on. Praise Jesus. You are AWESOME.
We also had the opportunity to speak to many people in the villages when we would invite them to come to our campsites. We would hang up a bed sheet on a tree and hook up a projector to the truck battery to show the Jesus film. Sometimes there were crowds of up to 300 or more that came out. Then our expedition leader, Jack Mututwa, would say, "OK Jo, go preach." And with that, we would swallow our fears and nervousness, and pray to God that He would give us the words to speak. And we would speak truth. The Holy Spirit would be moving in that open field, changing their hearts. We would pray over them, cast demons out, heal them, and bring people to receive Jesus as their Savior. One night, after I spoke to the crowd, I remember a young boy come up and hand me the string he had just ripped off his neck. We prayed for his faith and he received Jesus in his heart.
That month in Zambia, I learned about the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. I learned how awesome it can be to see God working so powerfully and so tangibly when we have faith in the power of His name. At first I was scared and nervous about speaking in front of a huge crowd of people. But after a couple times, and seeing the fruit that comes from it, it started to become exciting and fun. I wanted to preach more and more. Faith is empowering and as children of God, God gives us the ability to access that power through faith. PTL.
