Hi Family,
It is so good to be able to communicate and fellowship with you again on this journey after a couple weeks without an update. The last few weeks of our lives have been a crazy time of transition and reorientation. It is wild to believe but WE ARE NOW IN THAILAND. Last week we said goodbye to the continent of Africa after learning and loving there for the last three months of our lives. There have been moments that will we take to our grave and moments in the Kingdom we will take into eternity and we will forever praise God for. So as this season is over for us we want the first part of our 3 part Over/Under blog updates to be dedicated to Africa and specifically the country of Togo that we are departing from. So, here we go!
We know that you can relate when we say that sometimes words just cannot explain fully an experience or emotion. Often when we stare into a sunset or see a field of beautiful flowers or even watch and eagle fly we do not know how to communicate that story to anyone else. We try to tell people about how great of an experience that was but we find glazed over eyes looking back at us. This is because some of the most beautiful things in life cannot be defined or explained without encounter. For this reason, we have decided to launch a short new video mini-series titled “Without Words” that is focused on highlighting a specific part of the Kingdom that we have experienced along this journey that truly cannot be explained in words but must be seen. AND GUESS WHAT?!?!?! Episode 1 is uploaded and ready to view:
Episode 1 is focused on what worship is like in the country of Togo. Togolese worship of Jesus is not far removed from what we have experienced for most African countries but with a good mix of tribal and traditional. Please watch this short video and see how our God stirs the hearts of nations to joyfully praise Him.
Hopefully as you are reading this you have now seen Episode 1 of “Without Words” and have a great picture of what it is like to praise God IN Africa, but as we are transitioning to Southeast Asia, we want to take a moment and praise God FOR Africa. We are both going to share a quick story that will let you in on what God has produced in us and taught us through last 3 months.
Kalyn:
Oh Africa, I am so glad we started with you!! Africa is somewhere I have wanted to go my whole life. My plans were definitely East Africa, but Gods plans were West. Month one in the Ivory Coast I learned so much about the Lords heart through Evangelism and Discipleship through our hosts. So many sweet stories of seeing their interactions with the people they meet with on a weekly basis but also the intentional spirit they had with the new people they met as well. I also learned to listen to the voice of the Lord even if you are scared of the outcome. I felt the Lord putting it on my heart very early on in month one to ask one of our hosts if they were having a hard time getting pregnant and to pray for them. I was nervous because I didn’t know if it was culturally acceptable or if it would be a really sore subject. One day I got the courage to ask and he told me yes they were. They had been trying for 5 years. I asked him if I could pray for his wife and him and he said he would ask her. Our last day with the ministry the ladies of our team were able to pray over him and his wife. I could tell how much it meant to both of them and it was such a sweet, sweet moment for me. There were many tears and hugs and pictures. Jesus speaks to us and He wants to comfort His children, we just need to listen and obey.
Ghana you were hard, but you were a time that Matt and I really grew in our marriage and I am so thankful for that. God showed up in big ways for us and radically changed some things and I am forever grateful. Your food was definitely the best in Africa and you allowed my team to play basketball together. You also brought baby Jake (a little boy who lived on our compound) who we all had a love hate relationship with, but I miss him.
Togo, I can’t believe how much I enjoyed my time there. Matt and I were able to get really close to our host and He had us go to his church several times to sing and speak. My favorite moment was when we were leading worship and the Holy Spirit fell so heavy in that church. We sang the same song for probably 20 minutes because the church didn’t want us to stop. It was amazing. Africa you taught me a lot. You were hot, and I was constantly dirty, but it was so worth it.
Matthew:
When I think of Africa and what God has done in mine life in 3 short months (that really feels like and eternity) two things come to my mind. One is a story and one is a revelation.
One Friday in the Ivory Coast we were doing our Friday day of evangelism to the truckers. As it is the Muslim holy day people are all around us in their best traditional Islam garb and a group of 5 men catching my eye sitting beside their truck together on bench. Myself, two other team members, and our translator Remi stopped to ask them about their faith and culture. As the conversation progresses and the topic of forgiveness is brought up, one man dressed not in holy garments but in jeans and a jean jacket, immediately leaves. He clearly wanted no part of the conversation. I continued and shared the Gospel to the men who remained and they had many questions and listened so intently. As the twelve o’clock hour approached, which is the time when all the Muslims go to the Mosque to pray, two other men left, but our friend in the jean outfit returned and sat silently in the background of our closing talk about Jesus. We left having a wonderful conversation but something deeper happened. The next day some of our team returned to that port to invite the men we had shared with to see the Jesus Film that night. Guess who showed up? That night he ran up to our translator who was with us when we shared the day before and gave his life to Christ. The next day I was preaching at the port Church and he showed up and brought a friend. Even crazier we went out the next week and shared with 2 random (or so we thought) young boys only later to find out that they were employed by our friend in the jean outfit! He was actually and very influential and important man in the ports and God was so after Him and His crew that my mind still cannot wrap around it. God is so good!! I am more than thankful to have been a part of Gods plan in Africa!
Personally, God has taken me on a wild journey. In the very first month I went into a little emotional funk for a day or so and I decided to take it to God and He told me why I have these times. He said, “Matthew, you really love building my Kingdom but you also love to build yours and you cannot build two kingdoms.” I came face to face with my selfishness and how I deeply love the things of God but how so often I love them for me or I do the work of God sometimes for my own glory. This compounded in month 2 in which really saw my selfishness and now that my eyes were opened because of Gods previous revelation, I had to deal with the things I had chosen to keep myself blind to. I started to see that my prayer life was fully focused on me and my needs. My time in the Word was for how it could grow and benefit me. My life and emotions where revolving around how people were treating me. I would worship God but also think about what people thought of me when they saw me doing it. When hard times came I turned to God but only for my benefit and not for His will. Month 2 (Ghana) showed me my brokenness first-hand God graciously reminded me “IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU.” And last but not least, the journey of building one kingdom God told me He was going to take me on, showed up again in Togo. This time it was about fear. For my whole life I tried to hide my fear. “Men aren’t scared. Real men look fear in the face and laugh.” This is what I lived by. I was so afraid of what people might think (or even God) that I could never even face the fact that I could be a fearful person. In my mind there was nothing less manly than fear so I spent my whole life hiding behind my lack of fear for what the world says is scary. I am not scared of heights and love public speaking. I enjoyed skydiving and crazy foods don’t bother me. So, I wore the mask of fearlessness so people could not see what was underneath. In Togo, God gave me this revelation and the courage to honestly take off the mask and look at my fear. My fear that God will not show up if I ask. My fear that I will not be enough for God. Even my fear that I will be seen for who I truly am and where my faith truly is not where I have told everyone it is. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has given us not a spirit of fear but of love, power, and self-control.” God has given me so very much freedom and truth in being real and growing in true spiritual fearlessness. God has built upon the truth of removing my kingdom so that I can be fully surrendered and devoted to His every month. Gods work in my life while I was in Africa will stay with me forever and has created ripples that will never leave me the same. Thank you Jesus!
Thank you so much to everyone who has made this possible. Your love, prayers, and support have unlocked heaven in our lives and the lives of the world! Love you all!!
Though this portion is OVER, PART 2 IS ON THE WAY!!!!!!! Stay on the lookout tomorrow!
