We made it to Africa! And due to lack of wifi and a bout of Malaria, we are getting ready to leave Cote d’Ivoire before I actually get a chance to post this.
This month my team and I are serving with a ministry that evangelizes to truck drivers. When I first heard what we would be doing I laughed to myself because it sounded a bit ridiculous. In my mind we would be waving down truck drivers on the side of the road and asking them if they have ever heard about Jesus. This is the picture I was playing in my head…
I mean this isn’t totally inaccurate, but my mind was blown. God is moving here. He is working, and after racking my brain I still don’t have the words to describe it. First off, living in a city with a massive port, I thought I would have some idea of what to expect. I was wrong. I have never seen anything quite like it.
It is a city of trucks parked every which way with men living next to and under them. The smell alone would knock you off your feet. It was dirty. It was hot. There was soot and trash everywhere. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I didn’t know what to do. The little French that I do know wasn’t helping me here among the many dialects spoken in this melting pot of people from villages and cities all over West Africa. They looked almost as confused as I did at the sight of a white girl wandering through the place they have made home for the time being. Some of them have been there for months, others have just arrived. They sit and wait, hoping the powers that be will give them the “okay” to continue on their journey.
The language barrier is definitely an obstacle, or so it would seem. But Jesus is bigger than differences in language, culture, or skin color. He is moving here. He is alive and He’s changing lives.
We would simply walk through the rows of trucks looking for people to start conversations with. We would introduce ourselves, ask them about where they come from, and what their interests are. Then we would ask them about their religious beliefs. A majority of the men we’ve met are Muslim. We would then ask them how their sins are forgiven and how they know they will enter paradise when this life is over. Their answers were heart breaking, and after a while they were predictable. Most of them
would say that they pray 5 times a day and try to live a good life, but ultimately they don’t know if that is enough. There is no security. There is no confidence.
They live in fear because they do not know if what they are doing on this earth is enough to earn their place in paradise.
That is when the conversation changes. That is when we present them with the Gospel and the hope we have in Jesus. Traditionally, sacrifice is an important part of
many West African cultures. Sacrifice is necessary to appease the gods and atone for one’s sins. Sacrifice is a concept they are very familiar with. Many of them have
also heard the story of Adam and Eve so that is where we begin.
We share with them how God created everything, the earth, the trees, the birds, and eventually He created man. He created man in His own image and provided him with everything he would need. In the garden God walked with Adam and they lived in relationship with one another. There was one rule in paradise, do not eat of one tree. This rule was not put in place to punish, tempt, or prevent Adam and Eve from experiencing life to the fullest. This rule was there to protect them. God loved them so much and He knew what would happen if they ate from the tree.
Ultimately, Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan and fell into temptation. They believed the lie that God did not have their best interests in mind and was keeping them from living life to the fullest. As soon as they ate from the tree, their eyes were opened and they knew they had disobeyed God. They were filled with shame knowing they had sinned and for the first time were aware of their nakedness. In their shame, they tried to hide from God. They tried to cover their sin with leaves. They were afraid of what would
happen.
With one bite, perfection was ruined. Sin, shame, fear, and separation from God were thrust into the world. Death was the only outcome of this now broken world. Thankfully, we serve a gracious and loving God. He came to them in their brokenness. He loved them despite their mistakes. He offered a sacrifice to cover their sins and their nakedness. He did not abandon them. This was the first sacrifice. From that time on, men offered sacrifices–the shedding of blood–to atone for their sins. This was a temporary solution to an eternal problem. We are broken sinful people. Despite our best efforts, we will continue to fall short, mess up, and make mistakes. We will never achieve holiness on our own, therefore getting rid of the separation between us and God on our own is impossible.
God knew this, and in His immense love for us, He created a way for us. This leads us to the second sacrifice. God sent His only Son to be born of a virgin and to offer Himself as the ultimate and final sacrifice. God humbled Himself, and clothed Himself in humanity so that He could atone for the sins of mankind.
Jesus was born, and grew up into a man. He faced the same temptations and knew the struggles of being human, however He never stumbled. He lived a perfect life. The only man in history to never sin. He performed many miracles during His earthly ministry to show He was in fact the Son of God and to show people the way of salvation. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, fed thousands, and raised the dead. He loved those who society had forgotten, and chose the lowliest to be His disciples and witnesses to bring hope to all.
When the time had come, He willingly offered Himself to be crucified, just as the scriptures had foretold. He willingly took our sin, our shame, our brokenness, and pain
upon Himself so that we would not have to. For the first time, Jesus was separated from the Father. He sacrificed His perfect communion with the Father for us. He knew
that taking our sin upon Himself would result in being seperated from the Father, because where there is sin, God cannot be. He did it anyway so that we would never
have to know a life separated from the Father.
When Jesus died, He spoke the words, “It is finished.” That was it. In that moment, the price was paid for our sins. We no longer have to live in fear or uncertainty because Jesus paid the price. He was our perfect sacrificial lamb. After His death, He was buried in the ground, but that is not where the story ends. On the third day, He was raised from the dead. He appeared to His disciples. They touched His flesh. They ate with Him. Jesus defeated sin and death once and for all. This is what makes Christianity different from other religions. It is not about attempting to meet an impossible set of rules in hopes of
eventually reaching your god.
Christianity is about the one true God loving us so much that He came to us in our brokenness. He created a way for us to be in relationship with Him, and gives us assurance that our sins are forgiven and that we will spend eternity with Him when our time on this earth comes to an end. It is about recognizing that we are sinful and broken and there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. We need the Father to save us.
All we need to do is believe that Jesus is the Son of God and confess that He is LORD and Savior of our lives. If we simply confess our sins and repent, God is faithful to forgive us.
We are no longer in bondage to our sins and we no longer have to live in fear.
We get to live in relationship with the Father. We get to live a life of freedom in the loving embrace of God the Father. We are forgiven and washed clean by the blood of the Son. We are restored, transformed, and empowered by the Spirit.
We can finally tap into the incredible purpose we were created with and boldly approach the throne of grace knowing that there is nothing we can do make God love us less or to separate us from His presence.
It is amazing to see the Spirit work as these words are spoken. I could not believe how many people had either never heard the story of Jesus or had never heard it in
this way. We are seeing people give their lives to the Lord daily. They are so hungry for the truth and in a place that is recovering from civil wars and is shrouded in darkness, the light of Christ is shining. There is healing. There is hope.
If you look at a map of Africa you can see how everything is connected along these truck routes. It is believed that through them HIV was spread throughout the continent, but now God is using them to bring Jesus to a lost and hurting people. He is taking something the enemy used for evil and is using it for His glory!
Please keep this ministry in prayer. Pray for the faithful men and women that share the love of Jesus with these men and pray for the seeds that are being planted. Pray for those who believe what we are telling them, but are afraid to give their lives to Christ because of family obligation or tradition. Pray for those who have chosen to surrender their lives to the Lord that they would grow in faith and be lights for Christ wherever they go. Pray that the hope we have in Christ would continue to spread through this broken and hurting place.
