So They Set Out…

So they set out and
went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people
everywhere. Matthew 9:6

This month His word
has really come alive.  Through our
experiences in Kenya, He has really shown me that by our faith, truly ANYTHING is possible.

In the past, it
seems that I have so easily accepted the miracles that are written within the
confines of the pages in my bible- but that I never considered that God would
move on the same magnitude in our present day. His word speaks of barren women who
are blessed with children in their old age. It speaks of Moses parting waters
with an outstretched hand, Jesus who raises Lazarus from the dead and heals
those who have been bleeding for more than 12 years.  It speaks of the blind who see & the cripples who walk.
It accounts for the disciples who were given authority to cure disease, drive
out demons & heal the sick. 

  All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20

If the bible is our
foundation, then why is it so hard for us to believe we would see these things
happen in our present day? Seeing and believing that the things of the bible could come alive
put me at risk for seeming crazy or overly religious…. I had put God in a box-
and expected Him to move on my conditions. Here are some stories of how he has
broken out of the that box….. He is a Sovereign, Living God who is
pursuing us!

When Jesus called
the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons
and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to
heal the sick. Matthew 9:1-2

So we set out…walking through cornfields, down dusty red dirt roads, into the villages far from the city. Not knowing what we would find, we came across Samuel. He had been sick with Malaria to the point of nearing death. After 3 days of consistent prayer, Samuel was completely healed and no trace of Malaria in his system- he was smiling ear to ear and full of joy. It typically takes weeks/months to recover from such an intense strain of Malaria. He recently joined the local church to spend his days telling others of how faithful God has been to him.

  So we set out…
…walking through a village store complex. I had not slept the night before and my partner Jessica had been very ill.  We were both lacking energy & strength to speak with the locals. We were feeling drained and hopeless, we didn’t have anything to offer these people. So we turned to the Him for help & prayed like crazy. We prayed for Him to speak through us; for the Holy Spirit to take over. Right after we prayed a man on the side of the street invited into his shop where we began to share our stories with him. As we began to speak the Lord started to gather people to the the front porch of the shop; the people started to multiply. We proceeded to walk outside and share the story of Jesus with the people…both Jess and I were full of energy, didn’t feel sick, and let God take over. After 1.5 hours Jess & I were acting out and teaching the stories from the new testament, sharing our life experiences, praying with people and answering questions. It was only by His strength that on this day 15 people gave their lives to Christ. The Lord knew we didn’t have the strength to walk very far, so he brought the people to us. What an honor it was to be chosen & used in this way.

So we set out… entering the gates of an orphanage school called Gilgal.
These children have no one paying for their education, have been
abandoned by death & destruction, have only rice or beans to eat,
don’t have a consistent supply of soap to clean themselves, and sleep
with multiple friends packed into one bed. On our trip to the Gilgal
school, I met Linda.

Linda
is from the Bantu tribe and is 15 years old. Her father has two wives
and he died of AIDS when she was 4 yrs old. Her mother had cerebral
malaria and lost her ability to think & communicate clearly. Due to
the disease and a window being left unlocked, Linda witnessed her
mother fall from a 3rd story window, split her head open on the
pavement and watch her life end shortly thereafter. By the time she was
10 she had buried her dad and both her mothers. When her mother died
her relatives came to their house and stole all the material belongings
but refused to take the children. Being less important to your family
than a few household items left her with no identity.  After she was
orphaned, her Aunt told her that the people she buried as a child
weren’t even really her parents. Tears streamed down her face. As I
learned more of her story she mentioned “You are the only person who
has every asked about my life, people know me as Orphan and don’t ask
any further questions.” She spoke of her faith in the Lord’s plans to
prosper her life. Linda’s dream is to go to Harvard business school in
the US. God has redeemed her heart and given her a strength and hope
that I have never witnessed before. It is only by the grace of God she is able to share hope & love with others. Her joy is a testament of how big our God is and how He has won over the most adverse situations.