43 people were packed into 2 van-like vehicles. We started in Middleburg, South Africa and headed to Mbabane, Swaziland. We crossed the South Africa, Swaziland border, drove through the countryside, and on a dirt road traveled up to the top of the mountain where our ministry would be for the month.
We lived and worked at an orphanage called El Shaddai. It is located on top of a mountain and looks out on mountains that go on for days. One can count the number of houses you see on the surrounding mountains. Town where you can go to the grocery store and get whatever else you may need is an hour car drive. We were literally in the middle of nowhere. No internet. No connection to the outside world let alone to others people of the country, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The view was breathtaking and never got old. It is a great reminder of how incredible, creative, and mighty God is. I felt like I was living in a picture or a painting. It was perfect.
The whole squad of 43 people lived and worked together on top of this mountain. In the mornings, some of us did manual labor, others taught the homeschoolers (primary and high school), and myself along with 3 others worked in the medical clinic. In the afternoons after the kids were out of school, we helped them with homework and played with them. Each of us was assigned to a child and we were “buddies” for the next 2.5 weeks.
My buddy was a 9 year old girl named Ziki. She is in the 5th grade and I was available to help her with her homework and to study with her for exams. She is a very smart girl, and does well in her studies. She is diligent and wants to study before we played anything else. Every day we had chapel with the kids. We sang songs together and did a Bible lesson with them. These kids are very knowledgeable about the Bible, but they are lacking an intimate relationship with Jesus. This is something we were praying about for the children…to know what it means to have a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.
(Me and Ziki)
(Siphe, Me, and Ziki)
I was studying one day with Ziki for her Religious Studies class. She was learning about miracles. One of her prompted questions was “What is a miracle?” I asked her the question and she replied, “It is something that cannot be explained. You must have faith to believe it will happen.”
I asked her, “Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe God can heal people today?” She gave a monotone, “Yes.” I asked her again, “Do you REALLY believe God can heal people?” She looked at me with a blank look.
This is how people today feel about miracles. They do not truly believe they CAN and WILL happen. They believe they DID happen. They believe the stories they hear in the Bible about Jesus feeding the 5,000 and healing the leper, and raising Lazarus from the dead, but do they REALLY believe?
Do YOU believe in miracles? Do YOU believe God has the power to heal the sick and feed the hungry?
The stories you read in the Bible did not just happen during those times, they are still happening TODAY. I know; I have experienced it.
The spirit and Jesus that we read about in the Bible is the SAME spirit and SAME Jesus living inside of us, of those who call Jesus their Savior.
WE have the power to heal. WE have the power to feed the hungry all because JESUS lives inside of us. It is not us who do miracles; it is God inside of us, using us as His hands and His feet, as His vessel.
Just in this month alone, God used me to heal. I was working in the medical clinic. About 3 ladies came in during the time I was there with headaches. After I did an assessment on them and asked them all the appropriate questions I asked them if I could pray for them. All 3 of these ladies were healed from their headaches!! Praise the name of JESUS! He healed them, right there in the clinic! Each patient that came into the clinic we prayed over before they left and each one left with a lightness, as if a weight had been lifted.
God has the power to heal. You have to ask him to do it and be willing to let him use you. You are fully capable; because it is not you, it’s Jesus!
Give credit where credit is due and let the Lord use YOU!
Psalm 77:14
“You are a God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.”
John 14:11
“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of miracles themselves.”
Acts 19:11-12
“God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.”
If God can use Paul, God can use you. Paul was just like us.
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