01/20/2017
“Lord hear my prayer this morning. Today will be our first day of village ministry. There is a lot of darkness in these villages and many people who don’t know you. I pray that you equip us with the tools to break down the walls of those in these communities so you can fill their hearts with your love, so they can’t even question that there is something different about us. Lord I pray that today you strengthen and heighten my gifts so that I can serve you more! This year I want to grow in deeper intimacy with you. I want to hear your voice more often and more clearly than ever. I’m ready, Lord. I wait humbly at your feet as your servant and daughter. – Amen”
Today we started our day of by going to the market. We purchased capulanas to wear during village ministry. It was a fun experience and Oscar, one of our ministry partners, made sure we were taken care of. We were also able to purchase MANGOS!!!! They tasted like heaven!!
After lunch we went into the village of Chibuto. On our walk there, I was praying to the Father when I received a vision of a woman who had just lost a baby. Her pain was gut wrenchingly suffocating. I’m glad it only lasted a few minutes because I could barely breathe. I didn’t meet the woman today, but I almost feel like God was sharing His heart and His pain that He feels for His children with me in order to prepare me for what we were about to experience.
The first home in the village only had children at home, no adults. Since there were no adults there we prayed over the children and moved on to the next home. At the next home the woman of the house received Jesus! As the team moved on I felt the Holy Spirit asking me to hang back. I stayed behind with Anontio (one of our interpreters) to speak with the woman further. I spoke with her about her decision to accept Jesus and what walking with Jesus looks like. By the time we were done talking, the woman had a huge smile on her face and I had so much peace about moving on.
There was a lot of darkness in this village. Demons were inside of many of the people (yes – possession is real) and as much as they tried to stay low Ariane, one of my teammates, was receiving the names of each individual demon. However, that’s not the most important part of today. Today I watched a lame woman WALK!
We were almost done with ministry when we walked up to an elderly woman on the ground with a cane by her side. Honestly, I hadn’t heard much of what was discussed beforehand, so as we prayed over her I prayed the Holy Spirit would magnify the prayers of Emedio (another one of our translators) who was positioned directly in front of me. When I looked down, Tabitha and Katy Michael were praying over her hands and feet. Evidently this woman was lame and hadn’t walked in years. Then this Still Small Voice whispered “Tell her to get up and walk.” ??What??
I would like to say I acted on this immediately but I didn’t. I let the team finish praying and again the voice commanded “Tell her to get up and walk.” Again, I found myself too scared to act. I was too scared to step out in boldness for the Lord because I had never seen such a thing happen. I went to walk past her when she grabbed my hand. She looked up at me and her eyes got so wide and she grasped my hand super tight. She began speaking to me but because of the language barrier I couldn’t understand her. She searched frantically for a translator and called Antonio over. She began by telling me her first and last name, enunciating each syllable so I understood. Her name was Maria. She went on to tell me her story and how she hadn’t walked in years. She described the excruciating pain she was in. A third time that Still Small Voice commanded, “Tell her to get up and walk.” A third time I didn’t feel equipped enough to answer. After a few more minutes I shook her hand and began to walk away.
This was when a team member, Bill, walked up to me and said, “Weren’t you supposed to share the gospel with that woman? Did you?” In that moment I looked up and thought to myself … “Okay God I get it!” I turned around to walk back toward Maria and vowed to do whatever the Holy Spirit asked, feeling a whole lot like Peter by this point. When I got to her she smiled with pure joy and her eyes lit up bright blue. I began talking with her about Jesus. She already knew Him and had been saved previously. I spoke with her further about the power of the Holy Spirit and specifically the power of healing. I discussed with her the significance of the gifts of the Spirit and how they work. Then I asked, “Do you believe Jesus can heal you?” In which she responded, “Yes.” Finally, I told her, “In the name of Jesus get up and walk.”
I grabbed one hand and Katy grabbed the other. As we helped her up I prayed continued healing over her. When she stood up we told her to walk, and step by step she took her first steps in years, right before our very eyes. She stopped after a few steps with a face full of pure joy. We rejoiced and prayed over her again. At this time the Holy Spirit commanded me to tell her to walk on her own. I told her to “trust Jesus and walk.” She began walking step by step on her own. Instead of hunching over like before she was stretched upright walking with her spine completely straight. During this time, 6 boys were walking by. They were apprehensive of the white people in their village when I asked Antonio to ask them to come over. After he assured them it was okay, they walked over and I shared what had just happened with this elderly woman and shared the gospel with them as well. I asked them to help me celebrate by proclaiming as loud as they could “God is Good” and “Xiauembo Xiaahle” in Shangani. They shouted this 6-7 times in excitement before Maria walked over giddy as a school girl and sat down.
Our team continued to pray over her and rejoice in the Lord and all of His goodness for healing this woman. As we were praying I could feel tiny fingers on my back. I looked over my shoulder and saw that 15-20 of the village children had gathered around us and were praying with us. My eyes filled up with tears and I continued to pray. After some time the Holy Spirit told me that this woman was completely healed and to tell her to get up and walk but this time on her own. “Okay Lord.” Antonio shared with her the Lord’s request and she rolled onto her knees, stood up all on her own and began to walk. The children went wild with excitement and she began to glorify God and dance in excitement.
When the excitement died down the Still Small Voice whispered “I’m not done with you yet.” I knew exactly what He was talking about and in that moment I turned around and found the 6 boys staring in awe. I asked them a series of questions: Had they accepted Jesus? Did they believe what they saw today? Did they believe that Jesus healed this woman? Were they ready begin a new life walking with Jesus Christ, to start fresh and wipe everything clean? All of the questions lead me to walking them through a prayer for salvation. It was spirit lead, so I don’t remember the specifics for the purpose of this blog, but this prayer and follow up conversation lasted another 30 minutes.
These 6 boys followed us home with smiles on their faces. It was truly a great day. In the middle of darkness, oppression, and even possession God’s light reflected through us and broke through the darkness. Even on the mission field we fight the Still Small Voice inside, but I’m here to say that life is so much better when we answer God’s call and do His will. I know I was personally mind blown by the power of the spirit today. I am grateful for His persistence and never ending love for each of us.
“Your glory God is what our hearts long for!”
Love,
K
