My team and I spent month two of the race in Gaborone, Botswana. We partnered with a local church, Gaborone Community Chapel, to reach the community about who Jesus is and the life he calls us to. Pastor Lamaz and his wife Maki welcomed us into their home and what God is calling them do for three weeks. For the month we had two volunteers to take us around Gaborone to spread the word and build relationships. Kevin, had worked for the church for a while now and has a real heart for children’s ministry. Luda, was the church tech guru who loves to DJ. He told me he is going to come to America and make it big like Skrillex, be on the lookout.
Evangelism looked different from day to day. There were days our team would go to the local college, Botswana University, to speak with students our age about what God was doing in our own lives. As I was walking around I couldn’t help but notice how nice these students looked. Everyone for the most part seemed to wear the latest fashion trends. Which back home in the U.S. this wouldn’t be out of the norm but Gaborone isn’t a wealthy community. Walking around before stepping onto campus was the difference of night and day. Later, I asked Maki why this was and how students could afford such nice things. She told me that everyone gets paid to go to school and they spend the money on the latest fashion. People want to look as though they are doing well for themselves and have wealth. The truth is that it’s a struggling community. Everyone that I came in contact with on campus were nice and friendly. It was a large campus and we were pretty much the only white people around. Which opened up doors for us to talk with students about why we were there in the first place.
Other days we went to the mall to talk with people who we felt God lead us to. Before leaving the house my team and I would spend time with God in prayer for the day. We would ask who he wants us to speak to. To one person he might tell them a word, to another a color, to another a name, to another a cast on a body part. God speaks in different ways and however He sees fit. One by one someone on my team would get a sign for the day. Out of the seven of us two had a hard time getting things, I was one of them. It was very frustrating but my team kept encouraging me to pray and wait for the Lord. We would spend the next four hours at the mall ministering. This was the first time for most of us to do evangelism like this. I was nervous to talk to people about Jesus more times than I care to admit. I looked at all of this as practice and my nerves settled. Everyday we went to the mall the Lord showed up. Spending the mornings with my team in prayer had meaning and purpose. What the Lord would speak to our team would come true in the conversations we had with people. I met a lot of people in that mall over three weeks; I was blessed to hear there stories and pray over them. Many asked for prayer and blessings of wealth. It was hard to hear so many people ask that when Jesus has so much more than that for them. It is just apart of the culture they live in.
Our hosts, Lamaz and Maki, are two caring people. They have such a love for their community and people in general. They help wherever and whenever they can. Luda and Kevin are volunteers but were offered a job opportunity to help us World Racers for the month. One day Kevin was talking with us racers about his finances. Kevin was in a place of frustration. He was getting paid but he wanted more money than they were giving him. The church was graciously given Kevin more than what he was working for. We didn’t understand why he should get more. This left a few people frustrated at Kevin. He had been complaining for sometime now about the situation and how he deserves more.
This whole issue got me thinking, that’s how I am with God. He blesses me in so many ways and gives me far more than what I deserve. Yet, I always want more. This month I wanted to hear from God in a different way than what I am used to. I wanted a lot of thing but what was I doing to get there? I’m not saying that God is works based and will give you more of Him when you do more tasks. However, God does want a relationship with each and everyone of us. Relationships are hard work and fruit is produced the more work put into it. We have to fight for more of God not just hope more falls into our laps. God was speaking to me just as he was speaking to my team but i didn’t know it. I didn’t know what God sounded like. What was I doing to get there? I wasn’t in the word hardly at all, I wasn’t spending time just me and the father, I wasn’t patiently waiting to understand more, but I was spending my time doing other things. In America we are on the go all the time and I had forgot how to sit still and be okay with silence. He wants to speak to us all but are we giving Him the time to do so? I know I wasn’t. Like Kevin, I was getting way more than I deserved but I wanted more because I thought I deserved it. I wanted more without putting in the work. We were made to work hard and not be lazy.
Genesis 2:15 it says, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.”
The Lord gave Adam a job and a hard one at that. When I started seeking God with all of my heart I started receiving more of Him. I started to hear Him more clearly. I started giving Him more of my time and it changed me completely.
