Today was a very good day. I mean everything I did today was amazing. Let me tell you about it.
At 7am all of us went to the clinic to say our final farewells and parting words. It was so cool because we’ve been here long enough we could stumble through leading a worship song in SiSwati. I was able to bless and pray for P-wa (not how his name is spelled but that’s how it sounds) who translated for me every time I preached at the clinic in the mornings.
Around 9:30 a few of us attended Emkhuzweni Pre-school graduation at the school I’ve been working with all month. Not only did I get to see Snay-Snay (what we call her) sing songs and be super precious but I also got to see an African traditional dance. The head teacher allowed us to sit up front so I felt as if I was part of the celebration. To graduate preschoolers must tell the audience, in English no less, their name, how many syllables their name has, spell their name, share what their parent’s names are, and what they want to be when they grow up.
After we got lunch Fierce Pursuit had an ATL mission. ATL means Ask The Lord. It’s basically were we sit down and listen to what God lays on our hearts and then we go do it even if it’s scary, weird, or boring. During month one Isaac saw a word but had no idea what it meant. It wasn’t until we arrived at our compound in Swaziland that he realized it was the name of a town in Swaziland! We knew from the beginning of the month we needed to visit this town to see what God had in mind for us there but it wasn’t until yesterday that I finally happened. As soon as we stepped off the bus we encountered a woman in a wheelchair and her little girl. I noticed the little girl had little sores all over her face. I was trying to figure out what skin condition she was suffering from and as we started asking questions we realized these people did not understand English. It was only 30 seconds later that God provided a translator for us at the bus stop. It was in this moment when I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at God. Haha!
Of course you would, God. You must be having so much fun up there.
We prayed for healing but all of us were afraid to lay hands on her because we still didn’t understand what the skin condition was but I really felt like we needed to reach out to her. I believe when God sent us to the least of these he really meant it so I prayed quick prayer of protection and laid my hands on this very sick woman and then I touched her child. We walked away without seeing any radical transformation or response so I felt a little odd. I mean, why would God bring us here if He didn’t have things planned for us to do?
Less than 5 minutes later I was sitting next to 4 men and started chatting them up. We talked about alcohol, sex, drugs, and smoking (typical for a missionary right?) and I was praying for the Lord to direct our conversation so that I could really share God’s love with them. I prefer when conversations naturally fall into the spiritual rather than walking up to a stranger and asking them what they think of Jesus.
It was during this conversation that the craziest compromise I’ve ever created happened. After he smoked a he reached into his pocket and pulled out a match box. I thought that was weird since he was already holding matches but I soon recognized the green stuff that was in the box. That’s right, in the middle of a conversation about where God stands on drugs, sex, and alcohol this man pulled out weed. He begins to roll up a joint with his rolling paper and he asks me if I pray before bed. I told him I sometimes pray before bed and then he asked if I would pray for him before I went to bed tonight. Here’s how the conversation went down.
Me: I can pray for you right now. I’ll pray that God encounters you in a dream since you pray before bed.
The guy: I am not in the right state of mind.
Me: That’s ok Jesus is always in the right state of mind for us. How about this. You wait to light up until I say Amen. It will take about 5 seconds.
The guy: Really only 5 seconds?
Me: Ok maybe 30 seconds to a few minutes. It depends on what I feel like I need to pray for.
The guy: [laughing] Ok. But if I get a dream I wont know how to interpret it.
Me: Well ask.
The guy: Ask who?
Me: Ask God to show you what it means or to show you who to ask.
The guy: Some people tell lies.
Me: That is true. I can also pray for discernment so that you can tell when you hear the truth. God says if we ask we will find. He will only give good gifts to his kids because he loves us. Is it ok if I lay my hands on you?
The guy: [Looking uncomfortable with this idea]
Me: That’s totally ok. I don’t need to God will still listen to me. [Begins praying] Jesus thank you so much for your child. Thank you for loving him completely and fully exactly how he is. I pray that you encounter him tonight in a dream and show him how much you love him….etc etc.
So I’m not entirely sure if that was my exact prayer because I rarely remember what I pray BUT I am hoping that he will continue to ask questions and seek answers because God promises that we will find. I also hope that I helped him break the preconceived notions of what “Christian” means.
But the day didn’t end there and I hope to share what happened that evening soon! Stay tuned!
I need $3,000 more by December 1st to stay on the field so pray REALLY BIG prayers for God to do something crazy! I can't do this without you!
