The day started out like any other typical ministry day we’ve had this month. I woke up, rolled out of the mosquito net tent that surrounds my bed, brushed my teeth with the leftover water in my nalgene bottle, grabbed my bible and a banana for later, and met with my team to pray for the day.
And we were off to minister to the people in the community!
Each day has looked a bit different, but basically we walk around the village- stopping into schools to lead daily devotionals or play with the kids, or hospitals to pray over the sick, or local businesses to share an encouraging word or pray for the family owners.
On this particular day, our first stop was a local business. We had prayed for a woman who was suffering cerebral malaria the other day, so we wanted to stop in and see how she was doing. However, she wasn’t there. Our translator Seth suggested that we just leave and go to the next business down the road, but Chelsea (one of the girls in our group) stopped him and explained that even though she wasn’t present- we could still pray for her to receive healing. With that being said, we began praying with her husband for healing. As I was praying in the spirit, a drunken man walked into the store and pushed me aside so he could pass through and get his order at the counter. Normally, I would just ignore this…. But for some reason, I couldn’t this time. I couldn’t stay focused. I had tons of emotions boiling up inside, some were even angry emotions. I suddenly felt an intense desire to go over and talk to this man. So, after we prayed for the woman, I pulled Seth aside and asked if he would walk over to the man with me and translate what I had to say.
As we walked over to the man- it was very apparent that he was making fun of us with his friends. Regardless of his attitude, I introduced myself to him and asked him if he was a Christian. In the next couple of minutes, I could easily see that he wasn’t in the right place to receive what I had to say. He started making fun of us to his friends …saying, “Watch. These missionaries are going to pray for me…” So I simply told him that I wasn’t going to pray for him at that moment. I explained that his heart wasn’t in the right place to receive the prayer…. but that God is waiting with open arms to receive him, whenever he makes the decision to leave his old life behind and follow Him. I told him that I would continue praying for him, but that he would need to step up and make a decision to change. That he would need to FAITHFULLY partner with God in believing that God has a plan for his life and has the power to heal him.
After this incident, I was confused. Why would the Holy Spirit lead me to a man like that, only to have it turn out the way it did???? After a couple of minutes, we started to leave- when one of the man’s friends pulled Seth aside. He asked if we would follow him back to his house to pray for his sick father. Seth discerned that it was safe, so we agreed to follow him.
When we arrived- we were greeted with three sweet little puppies!! (I LOVE PUPPIES and always get super excited when we run into them on the race.) After playing with them outside for awhile- we were greeted with such a loving family, full of joy from the Lord. The man’s mother was super excited to see us walking into her home, and she immediately led us into her husband’s bedroom. He was lying in the bed, and it was obvious that he was in a lot of pain. He pulled his leg out and showed us a huge sore on his foot. It looked like it had a bad infection; it was swollen with a greenish/yellowish tent to the middle of the sore. We shared an encouraging word from the Bible and prayed over his leg for a supernatural healing.
However, in the next 20-30 minutes, something happened that completely took me by surprise. He grabbed his bible and started sharing what the Lord had placed on his heart…. for US. It was almost like he knew we were coming or something. He began by reading Revelation 1:1-3 and reminding us how important it is to read the Bible daily and keep what is written in it- for the time is near. He explained that before he was injured, he was a successful farmer. And even after long hard days out in the fields- he would always come back home and read his Bible… because He knew how important it was to know the Word of the Lord. He knew how important it was to constantly put the Lord first and seek Him on a daily basis. He explained that God was full of peace for bringing us there to pray for him. That he was so thankful and full of peace and joy… and even had a renewed sense of hope in the Lord, because of our obedience to come there and minister to him.
WOW. I was completely blown away. This totally hit home with me. Just a couple of days before- I had allowed myself to become extremely vulnerable with my team, admitting that I was starting to feel a bit of complacency happening in my daily walk with the Lord. I felt like I was getting “too comfortable” in this missionary way of life…that everything we were seeing and experiencing was starting to feel “normal.” However, even though it was hard to admit this to my sisters in Christ, I was able to find some encouragement during a time of need.
In my most recent blog, I talked about how one of the ways the Lord speaks to me- is through other people. And sure enough- this day ended up being a CRAZY divine appointment, where God spoke through someone we were ministering to… to remind me of how important it is to continue diving into His word and seeking Him on a daily basis.
If Chelsea wasn’t adamant on praying for the woman with cerebral malaria, even though she wasn’t physically there….. Then the drunken guy wouldn’t have run into me and given me the opportunity to be obedient to the Holy Spirit in asking to go over and talk to him….which wouldn’t have led us to his friend….. Which ultimately wouldn’t have led us to his sick father in the bed. PHEWW 🙂
This just goes to show that God really does strategically plan each step of the way, with such purpose and meaning. That God’s timing really is everything- especially when we remain sensitive to his guiding and listen to His soft, inner voice and/or those gentle nudges from His Holy Spirit.
That’s all for now folks- but once again…. THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT!!!! Tonight, we pack our bags and leave for Rwanda, which will be our 9th month of ministry. Even though I’m sad that we only have three more months left on this journey- I know deep within my soul that the Lord is stirring up some CRAZY AWESOME things, and I can’t wait to experience Him move in MIGHTY ways!!!
If you would like to continue supporting me financially to help cover some of my personal expenses and/or a flight home at the end of this journey- please feel free to make a donation to my pay pal account by clicking on this link: https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/send-money-online (donate to [email protected]).
Or for more details on how to donate directly to my Bank of America account- please feel free to send me an email for more information.
Praying for the old man
THE PUPPIES!!!!
Love these kiddos- we brought church to a small village
