Story of Swift Redemption Part 1
It all started at 6 am on a thursday morning. This thursday morning in fact, August 18th, 2011. We had ministry with the boys living at the dump and on the streets early as the sun came up. The plan was to take them bread, and spend some time ministering to them, praying with them, and getting some of them connected with the church. I had no idea what the Lord had planned. On the way we prayed for the morning, for the boys, for divine appointments, and a huge moving of the Holy Spirit. Use us Lord.
We arrived at the dump and were instantly swarmed. There were only a couple of boys, because the night before a large group had been arrested, but in a matter of minutes the word had spread and they were coming out of every nook and cranny. The first boy to approach me and introduce himself was Jusef. He was totally coherent, and understood a decent amount of english. He had such a sweet countenance, and I wanted to keep him by me instantly, so for the remainder of the morning I held his hand most of the time, and he was attached to my hip. And then I saw Rajab. it’s hard not to miss his smile. Even not being cleaned up he is one of the handsomest young men I have seen. There is something about him that just shines.
After handing out all of the bread, we called the boys together to introduce ourselves to the entire group and tell them why we were there. I gave the introductions, and told them how the Lord had called us on this mission, and we just wanted to come and spread that Love to them. “You are so worthy and so loved by the Father.” I told them. Then one of the girls on my team gave them the word the Lord had given her when she was left by her Father: ” I am your father the Lord said. You can depend on my for anything. That same father to me is your father as well” she told them. Liliana began speaking to them next, about believing that the Spirit could really come in and change their situation. “Do you really believe that? like really in your heart, believe and trust him for that?” Finally Sarah, our contact started speaking to them. She was speaking in lugandan, so I’m not sure exactly what she said, but afterwards a large group of them raised their hands and said they wanted to accept Jesus. Rajab and Jusef were in the very front of all these boys with their hands raised up high waving. Before lil prayed to them I explained to them a little.
“ Do you know what this means accepting Jesus in your life? It means you surrender your life to him. It means you declare he is your Lord and savior. It means you are entering into a relationship with him. A relationship that works both ways, you talk to him, and he talks to you. Once you accept him in your life, he will never leave or forsake you.”
Rajab on the left and Juseph on the right
All around an behind this group of boys Liliana was praying for boys were starting to get high. There was one boy who I have no doubt in my mind that he was demon possessed. It was chaos around us, but all I could focus on was these two boys standing in front of me. Something was setting them apart. All I could here in my head was leadership, and I knew there was something the Lord wanted to speak to them, and that I was supposed to pray over them, but I wasn’t sure exactly what yet. I tried to speak with them immediately after but was stopped by the boy we knew was demon possessed. Liliana sensed it too, ands e we began praying for him, trying to cast the demon out. I have not experienced that yet, a demon literally mocking us as we prayed. We prayed for him a second time, and he seemed to have a different peace about him, but before we left he freaked out on us again. Lord set him free. After him there was a line of boys wanting to be prayed for for different things and so we prayed for them one by one. I grabbed Juseph and Rajab and had Steve tell them to stay close that I needed to talk to them both. So for the next 15 minutes as we prayed for the other boys there I held Jusef’s hand and he held Rajab’s. Men holding hands here is a high sign of friendship.
I finally got a break in the crowd and pulled the boys aside with Steve to translate, and the Lord just started speaking. These boys were meant to be bound in brotherhood, in friendship to watch each other’s back. They were marked by leadership, and would bring huge change to this community. The Lord’s plans for them were beyond their wildest dreams, and I knew they were going to be mighty men of the Lord. I don’t know why, but I felt like I was supposed to pray to be used in any way possible to help them. What could I do? I prayed the Lord would open up doors for them to have an education, because they both said they wanted to go back to school as well. I finished praying for them, and all I wanted to do was hug them, I didn’t want to leave. They said they would come to the church on Sunday. We told them we would come and get them to make sure they would be there. I felt so connected to these boys. What’s the deal? We have done street ministry so many times, and my heart has broken for the people, but I have never felt this attached, like our lives are connected.
The question what could I do? Was quickly answered by the Lord. “Be obedient. I’ll do everything else. This is way too big for you to handle on your own. That’s what you asked for though, right Rachael?” I was full of FEAR, and DISBELIEF, CURIOSITY and HOPE all at the same time. Could I really be used at all to help these two boys in any way? Could their stories be ones of redemption? Talked with a couple of my team mates on the way back about how ministry on the race can sometimes be so hard, because we can’t invest for long term. It is just a glimpse of what we can be a part of or feel called back to later. All we can do is assist in the moment and hope for the best. It’s the people who are here long term who really make the difference and can follow through with these boys, and see change in their lives. I agreed for the most part, but i also didn’t want to limit God.
Could you use me God in less than a week to change these boys lives? I believe you for it, so here goes. As soon as I got home I emailed Rosalie. I only know Rosalie through Vintage 21 church in raleigh, NC. We only ever met one another in passing, but when I found out she had been called to live in Uganda for two years helping with the Vintage 21 church plant in Kampala, Uganda I had tried to meet up with her the 2 days we were in Kampala to hear how all was going, and see what life was like for her. She was who the Lord put in my mind to get something started, and so the conversations and prayer began…….
