We were walking through the market in Downtown Livingstone. The African sun was beating down and the shade of the market’s tin roof was a welcome refuge from the heat. I was there to browse shop after shop of handmade souvenirs. It was a hodge-podge of animals carved out of wood, paintings on canvas, handmade jewelry, and articles of clothing. At every step there was another local calling to me:
“Mam… Mam… looking is for free,”
“come see what I have in my shop.”
“Where are you from?”
“Please remember me! Shop number 38.”
“The more you buy the lower the price”
It was overwhelming. But this is the setting of our story and the place where I first met Clement. It was Jess who first saw him. He was sitting in the market crafting the goods for his shop. He had one eye that was not fully developed along with several other visible physical impairments. Jess asked him if we could pray for him and he said yes but not in the market. So we followed him to a bench behind the building. As we began to pray for him I prayed harder than I think I ever have. I was ready to see a miracle, to see this man healed. I had been on the World Race for almost 3 months and I was certain that this was the moment. We prayed World Race style (which just means everyone prays out loud at the same time) and as we prayed I heard Clement begin praying with us. When I opened my eyes I felt a surge of disappointment. God hadn’t healed this man.
But isn’t He a God who is good?
Doesn’t He want to heal?
I was so certain I was going to see a miracle that day. As we said our goodbyes to Clement I felt a heaviness settle on my heart. How can God be a caring compassionate God with the power to heal and then not heal this man? Did I not pray hard enough? I felt an uneasiness and a restlessness in my spirit. We walked on, headed out of the marked and on to our next destination. I began to discuss the events that had just taken place with a couple of my squad-mates. I shared about the struggle that was rising up within me between knowing God’s truths and character but not understanding His mysteries. I didn’t doubt His goodness, but I wanted more than anything to understand. Jess shared with me a piece of wisdom that I had somehow forgotten in the midst of my frustration. She reminded me that praying for him and being obedient in what God was calling us to may have done more than we know and that God might be working in Clement in a way we were unable to see. Clement started praying with us and maybe that was all he needed… To be prayed for and to have the space to enter the throne-room himself. Barely satisfied but somewhat reassured I went on with my day, however this man still weighed heavy on my heart.
A couple days later the guys on our squad stepped out of our ministry at the play park and did A.T.L (Ask The Lord). This is an exercise that I have grown very fond of on my race. Basically you set aside some time and you literally ask the Lord what He wants you to do. To make a long story short, the guys ended up at the market. They met many of the same people we had met only two days earlier. One of these people happened to be Clement. They talked with him and shared Jesus. They found out that Clement has a relationship with Jesus but is very new in his faith and hadn’t been baptized yet. He shared with them a deep desire to get baptized. When they left the market they set up a plan to baptize him in the Zambezi River that weekend. They shared with us about their ministry that night and we put together that they had met the same man we had.
When Saturday came we ended up not being able to reach him at the number he had provided so he did not get baptized. But God still kept him on my heart and our time in Zambia was coming to a close.
I made a point to go back to the market and find him. When I did he informed me that his cell phone had not been working but he still really wanted to be baptized so we scheduled to come back on our last day there.
I began packing my bag early to ensure that we had enough time and just after lunch Jess and I headed back to the market to find our friend Clement. It was our last day in Zambia and as always the market was a busy place. We found Clement where he always was, making things to sell in his shop. We asked him if he still wanted to go get baptized and if he knew of a place we could go. We walked with him to a hotel near by and got to use their pool to baptize him.
When we met him I was so disheartened because I didn’t see him healed. I didn’t see the miracle I expected God to perform. When we had left him that first day in the market, Clement was no closer to being able to see than when we found him. God didn’t heal his eye that day, but God healed his heart and his spirit. That day a man with one eye taught me to see God more clearly. God heard our prayers for Clement’s physical healing, but in His sovereignty, God knew that Clement needed a different, more eternal and life giving healing than the one we had asked for. We got to be a part of Clement beginning his journey with Christ that day. Sometimes God chooses us for influential moments that we may never see the fruit from, but our obedience opens doors and allows us to be tools that God uses to change lives!
