This month has been the most unique month of them all. Four out of our six teams were denied at the Mozambique border. We caused quite a ruckus; we even made their national news! We spent two nights sleeping at the immigration office in the rain until we were told to pack it up we are headed back to Lilongwe. It was hard going back, knowing that we were only going to now 10 countries and not 11 but after going back through our teams listening prayer we discovered that God was actually talking about Malawi and not Mozambique. I had no idea what we were going to do until we were told that this month would be nothing but… evangelism. Evangelism is not my favorite form of ministry, in fact I ended up crying the last time I tried, but I knew the Lord had prepared me for this. It was hard having translators, it was hard being rushed from house to house, but the Lord opened my eyes to His creation.
For the past two weeks we have gone from pastor to pastor. Taking turns going to different villages to go door to door. Our first week we witnessed people turning to Christ, we saw healing, and we also planted the seed. Not everyone wanted prayer but we prayed over him or her nonetheless. Sometimes the translators didn’t translate the things we said and sometimes we would walk into a house and they would say to go ahead and start encouraging. That was really hard for me. I wanted to get to know these women. I wanted to know what they were struggling with or what in life made them happy. Not making these connections made it so hard to just speak but that’s when we just had to fully rely on the Spirit. My favorite is when the translators would make us randomly sing a song to the people. Oh the memory of Katherine and I singing How He Loves to two women in the living room will always make me laugh.
Even though times were hard, there were also many good times. There were days we got to sit around with a family or two for hours. We talked about our families, our lives, and our churches. We would pray together, cry together, and also laugh together. One of my favorite memories is when Kerry and I met these three women. Two of them didn’t want prayer but one woman, Mercy, asked us to come to her home so we could talk. She had gotten birth control implanted into her arm but it was causing a lot of bleeding and health problems. We instantly told her the story of the women in the Bible who had been bleeding for 12 years and that she had so much faith that she believed that if she touched the cloak of Jesus she would be healed. Because of her faith, she was! We began to pour out the love of Jesus to her. Then Kerry and I began to pray. Tears flowed down Kerry’s face as the Holy Spirit moved within the dark, tiny living room. We knew she would be healed and sure enough we found her two days later and she said that things were different. She was better and because it was better her marriage was better! The Lord continues to grow my faith daily and I know He is nowhere close to being finished.
The Lord knows the desires of my heart. He knows the love and passion that I have for His little children. Even though I wasn’t a fan of evangelism, God made sure to start and end my day with the love from children all over the village. They would hear our van, drop what they were doing, and run after us. The moment we stepped out of the van they would surround us and begin to cling to our arms and legs. All they want is to be loved and love I have to give. I got to hold multiple babies for hours and run and play with the kids before we started off door to door. They would also follow us from door to door until it was time to go home. It’s the little things the Lord does for us that gives me that much more strength to continue on.
Life in the village isn’t easy. I saw sickness but I also saw health. I saw death but I also saw life. I saw broken families but I also saw strong families. I saw sadness but I also saw joy. I saw darkness, but I also found the light of Christ and that is what I believe is going to change the heart of Malawi. Today, Jan 25, 2015, was our last Sunday service in Africa. God’s presence is evident. These brothers and sisters sing at the top of their lungs and dance without tiring and the crazy part is that there is no band or music. They pray as if it is their last prayer, down on their hands and knees praying for the Lord to hear. They desire to hear more and more of the word, even when the pastor is done they yell for more. For how poor these people are, they continue to fill their offering buckets up! It’s just amazing to witness this kind of passion and love for Christ in Africa. I haven’t even experienced this in my own church but I know that I want to bring that back to the states with me.
The Lord is so good and He is moving. Christ shines bright in the village of area 23 and I know that that light isn’t going out any time soon. It’s going to spread until all of Africa knows the love of Christ and what our Savior did for us on the cross. The love of Christ is a light that can’t be tamed and can’t be put out. My dream and prayers is that our hearts become so full of God’s love that we speak that out. Tell all your friends, your family, your coworkers, and even the strangers around you. Our testimonies impact people, but we fear judgment from those who hear it. It’s time for us to be bold. The Lord hasn’t given us a spirit of fear or timidness but He has given us a spirit of courage. Be courageous this upcoming month. I encourage all of you to share your stories or just about how amazing our God is to just 1 other person. Lets spread the Light all over the world together!
