My team and I had been in Haiti for about a week and a half and it had been the hardest week and a half of my entire eleven-month mission trip. From experiencing jet lag in the worst way, to being sick for an entire week, to spiritual warfare, to not wanting to do ministry, it was a really rough week and a half to say the least. I began experiencing the fear of man as soon as we landed in Haiti. During strategic village time, I found myself not wanting to engage in conversations, not wanting to share the Good News of the Gospel with the people of Haiti, and just wanting to stand in the back and watch everyone else do all of the talking. I opened up to my squad leader and let her in on what I was feeling and the battle I was fighting. I began praying fervently for the Spirit of fear to leave me in Jesus Name.
It was May 3. A few of my teammates and I had ended up at a ladies house. We sat and chatted with her for a while, just getting to know her. We talked about Jesus. She told us she had a problem and didn’t want to commit to a relationship with Jesus until the problem was gone. Holy Spirit told me to share the Gospel in full with her, but I didn’t. I didn’t open my mouth out of fear. Ian shared the Gospel with her and told her something along the lines of how we don’t have to wait to have everything in our lives figured out or in order, to receive Jesus. In fact, if we try to wait until we have everything in our lives together, well, we would never receive Jesus, because as long as we’re living on this earth our lives will never be perfect. Holy Spirit moved in her heart and she made the decision to receive Jesus!!! Hallelujah! Ian then looked at me and said, “Madison you should lead her through the salvation prayer.” I responded with, “Uh you can do it Ian! You’re the one that shared the Gospel with her!” But he insisted that I should do it.
* I need to stop real quick and say that I am extremely thankful for friends that are in tune with Holy Spirit, who see when you’re struggling, and who love you enough to not leave you in that place, but push you and encourage you to do the very thing you’re afraid of, in order to experience breakthrough in whatever area you’re struggling with. Thank you Jesus for an astounding teammate. *
So, I opened my mouth. I truly believe Holy Spirit took over and I don’t really remember what all I said to her, but I do know that I explained the Gospel to her more. I shared with her what it means to be born again. I explained the Trinity to her and told her who Holy Spirit is and how He comes to dwell inside of us when we choose to receive Jesus. I got down to her level, held her hands, and led her through a prayer of salvation. You could sense the presence of Jesus in that very moment. She was immediately filled with joy and it was evident from the beaming smile across her face. She didn’t have a Bible, but the village champion that was with us that day had one and gave it to her! Praise the Lord! My new sister in Christ, and I, walked away having both been set free, filled with an unexplainable joy. What. A. Day. Only Jesus!
You see this is what fear tries to do, it tries to keep us silent, it tries to fill our mind with lies, it tries to tell us that what we have to say isn’t important, it tries to tell us we’re not good enough or that we don’t know enough about the Bible, but I have good news! Fear has no place inside of me (or you) as a follower of Jesus Christ. The Lord reminded me of a few simple truths that day. One being that all we have to do is show up with a yes in our hearts, open our mouths, and let Him speak through us. He wants to use us! We just have to step out in faith and trust Him. Second being that we’re not fighting FOR victory, we’re fighting FROM victory! Jesus has won it all!
I want to leave you with two scriptures that the Lord reminded me of that day as I was walking back through the village:
“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
-2 Corinthians 3:17
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” –John 8:36
With love and freedom,
Mads
