I am so encouraged by the work God has done in Ethiopia. The people are eager to learn about the Gospel. They are drained and tired of doing good works in hope of making it to heaven. Most don’t understand grace, and I believe that is why God brought us to Ethiopia. Most of the people are Orthodox Christian. They believe that good works will get you to heaven. Steeped in a traditional and ritualistic faith, there is no relationship with Christ, only works. Every day, we had the opportunity to talk about Jesus, and He was planting seeds everywhere we went.
On our free day, we walked the streets to see where God would lead. Nat brought his guitar, and as we were singing worship songs, a crowd gathered. Singing was the perfect way to draw people and share the Gospel with them.
As Nat was singing, I had the opportunity to pray with a homeless man who was begging on the streets. He had beautiful blue eyes and ragged clothes. I prayed with him and I could see the joy in his eyes. I truly believe that the Holy Spirit transcends language barriers. Walter had his shoes cleaned by a little kid and then took him out to lunch because he was hungry. Liz and Wanzie were talking to two men about the Gospel, and little did we know that conversation would lead one of them to Christ.
Their names were Brooks and Benjamin. They were excited to learn more about this Jesus we were singing about. Liz and Wanzie did an awesome job explaining the good news of Jesus and how it is through grace we are saved, not the works we do on earth. After a while, we asked if we could pray with Benjamin and he said yes. We prayed for him and let him invite the Holy Spirit into his heart. We could see the look of gratitude on his face. He wanted to know more. He and Brooks both wanted to read the Bible, but they didn’t have one.
As soon as we heard they wanted a Bible, Walter and I began our search for Bibles. We walked for a while searching for a bookstore, and prayed we would find Bibles. Our hope was dwindling until on our way back, we asked a guard if he knew where we could find a Bible. He said the only place he knew was a Protestant church nearby. We ran to the church, and the people there gladly gave us two Bibles and invited us to church the next Sunday. Unfortunately, we were leaving on Friday and couldn’t make it. We told them we would invite our new friends. When we returned, our friends were so excited to receive the Bibles, and after we told them about church, they planned on going Sunday morning!
As it turns out, the man that accepted Christ was an ex pro soccer player. He played for the best Ethiopian team they’ve ever had. He was in a bad car accident that ended his career. Everyone was devastated because he was the captain of the team and had a promising future. Because of his accomplishments, he is well known in the community. That makes the story even more powerful because he has so much influence within his community. He kept telling us he wanted to tell everyone about Jesus. When Jesus talks about having childlike faith in the Bible, he means it. That is what Benjamin had. He wanted to learn more. He didn’t care what people thought, he was just excited to talk about God. He had so much joy in his heart and he wanted to share that same joy with everyone he knew.
We had the opportunity to follow up with him and his friend the next day. Walter and Liz went early to meet him. They went through the book of John together for over an hour. As they were doing the Bible study, a man came up to them and asked what they were doing. He said he wanted to know more about this God they were talking about. So we got him a Bible as well and we all spent the afternoon together.
We aren’t going to be there to see growth in these men’s lives, and we won’t be able to hear stories of people they bring to Christ. Although I won’t be around, I know that God is in control. He is faithful and these men are in His hands. God gave us the opportunity to share the Gospel, and connect them with a church. Now all we can do is pray and trust His faithfulness.
God has worked in mighty ways on days where we don’t have anything planned. In the States, I didn’t have the courage to sit on the sidewalk singing worship songs or even talk to people about Jesus. But seeing His glory shine through us when we step out in faith has given me a new perspective on who God is and how He can work in every situation. If we truly take up our cross, give everything to Him, and pray for opportunities to share the Gospel, then we will start to see Him work through us. This means stepping out of our comfort zone. So the question is do we have faith to let go completely and trust his faithfulness?
