Our past week in the village has been
very interesting. We’ve gone out in groups every morning and
afternoon to evangelize. Some of us have been a little hesitant about
it, since we don’t just want people to accept Christ, but we want
them to really understand what a relationship with Jesus is like.
We’ve really pushed follow-up with the church because we want to see
these people being discipled. Thankfully, they have agreed, and it’s
been a good balance of visiting new homes and evangelizing then going
back to visit homes again and provide encouragement and more Bible
teaching.
At first I thought this would get to be
really tiring, and it has at times, but it’s also very refreshing.
One thing I can’t get over is how open they are to the gospel. The
people here are so friendly and inviting. We walk up to their house
uninvited, and they pull up some chairs in the shade outside and sit
down to listen to us. At many houses, we stay for more than an hour.
Many of them have never heard of Jesus. Many more are Roman
Catholics, so they know about Jesus but they don’t understand what it
means to have a personal relationship with Him.
We’ve had some easy conversations where
people are open to hearing and accepting Jesus. Then we’ve had some
more challenging ones where they have many questions or confusion.
Both are rewarding. It’s exciting to see someone accept Jesus as
their Savior, but it’s also a joy to see people seeking the truth and
really wanting to understand.
View of Lake Victoria while walking to another area of the village.
One interesting encounter has been with
the village witch doctor. First of all, he’s nothing like any of us
would imagine a witch doctor would look or act like. He’s a
middle-aged man who wears normal clothes and loves to laugh. We first
met with some of his family members when he was not home. We shared
with them, and the witch doctor’s wife as well as some other members
of his family accepted Christ. We’ve gone back a couple other times
to encourage them and to visit with the witch doctor. He’s very open
to listening; however, he still is blinded to the gospel. He doesn’t
believe the things he does as a witch doctor are wrong. He thinks
since he is healing people, it’s good. We are slowly trying to
explain that working with evil spirits is not pleasing to God, no
matter how it’s being used. So, we are praying for God to soften his
heart and open his eyes. He has invited us to come back again, so we
will definitely be doing that.
The thing that saddens us most about
sharing Jesus in the village is the lack of Bibles. The church itself
does not have many Bibles, and very few people living in the village
have a Bible. Most who have come to Jesus really want a Bible, so we
are looking into a way to get some for them. We know that is the best
way for them to grow is to read the word of God. So, that is our main
mission for our time here is to get Bibles into the hands of those
who are new Christians, and also to find a way for the church to get
more Bibles that they can distribute.
God has been teaching me a lot during
this time of door-to-door evangelism. I’ve really enjoyed the times
of follow-up where we just share Bible stories and truths from the
scriptures as well as open it for them to ask questions. Some of
their questions are difficult and hard to answer, but it really
stretches my faith and understanding. It’s so cool to have them ask a
question and then look up scriptures in the Bible to provide an
answer. Those times are always challenging for me to remember where
things are in the Bible. I’m good at remembering concepts, but ask me
where it’s found in the Bible, and I don’t have the best memory. So,
I’m working on that. I believe God is teaching me just as much in
this time of evangelism and discipleship as the new believers are
learning.
