Month one of the Race is coming to an end, and it’s been difficult for me to accurately process all that has happened. Between the traveling, the rain, the ministry, and the constant presence of teammates, time alone has been hard to come by to really sit and reflect on what has transpired. So I will do my best here to paint a picture of what life was like for my teammates and me.
What I learned in Mozambique:
- When it rains here, everything stops.
I’ve come to discover that life is lived mainly outside in Mozambique, so the rain literally cancels all plans. When we arrived, it rained for 3 days straight. Since then it has rained on and off throughout the week, often stifling our plans for ministry and church. However, this has taught my team the importance of ministering to each other. Instead of wallowing in the cancelation of plans, we’ve taken these days to get to know each other intimately and pour into each other’s lives, quickly creating and solidifying a safe, comfortable environment where we can be raw and vulnerable with one another. We’ve also used these days to create a space of love and openness with our hosts, pouring into them as much as they have already poured into us. So although the rain in Mozambique cancels plans, it does not cancel community.
- Spiritual warfare is real.
This is something I already knew before the race, but I had never truly experienced. My team has been mainly staying in Chibuto this month, but for 4 days we were in another village in Zavala. Voodoo is a common practice in this village, and there were many people here who had spirits in them. One night at church as we were praying over people, two teammates and I were praying over a woman who had a spirit in her. One of my teammates tried to call the spirit out. I sensed a change and when I opened my eyes and looked into the woman’s eyes, I knew that we were no longer talking to her, but to another presence. My initial reaction was to turn away, but the power of the Holy Spirit burned inside of me told me to stand firm.
Before the race, I don’t think I would have been in a place where I felt strong and powerful while knowingly being in the presence of a demon. But God gave me a strength that can only be credited to Him (and gave me wonderful teammates to rely on) to relieve me of any fear. When we finally left Zavala, I truly understood and believed that demons and spirits have no hold over me, and that Christ has given me authority over them. I used to be afraid of this, but through God’s loving mercy and power I know that I can fully rely on Him to guide me through anything.
- God continues to perform incredible miracles of healing.
Again, this is something I knew before the race but had never witnessed. While in Zavala, we encountered an elderly woman who had been bound to a wheelchair for 18 years. Her arms and legs were crooked and bent beneath her; she could not move them. One night a couple of teammates of mine laid her on the ground and prayed healing over her. They prayed extremely hard without ceasing. Her arms and legs began to pop and eventually were straightened out. She was then lifted into a chair and started yelling sounds of rejoice, while flailing her arms and legs about, dancing freely at the feet of Jesus. I can honestly say I have never in my life seen a face filled with more joy than the face of that woman wildly dancing in her chair. She had been so ready to receive healing and to receive Jesus that when He heard our prayers and saw her heart, He used us to perform a miracle and bring further glory to His kingdom.
Before the race, I thought I knew and understood a lot about who God is. After a month, I realized that I had been keeping God in a box, limiting His power only to what I had experienced of Him. Ridiculous, I know. I never thought I would experience community, spiritual warfare, or miracles in the way that I have these past few weeks, and I’m still trying to process through it all. This month has been filled with heaviness and struggles, but has also been filled with laughter and love.
My team is incredible and everyday I can see how it has been specifically designed by God. When we do ministry together, we do it well and we do it with all that we have. But we carry this same attitude with us when we have fun. My teammates have helped me grow more into the person I already am, and we have all learned how to bring out the best in each other. If the rest of the race is as challenging and delightful as our first month has been, then I feel more than prepared to fully embrace and fall into this journey.
Things I never thought I would do on the Race:
- Swim in the Indian Ocean with my teammates, and collectively decide that this was the only shower we would need for 4 days.
- Spend 1.5 hours in the back of a truck under the hot African sun, just to go to KFC for chicken and ice cream. (Disclaimer: I never eat fast food or fried chicken at home, but I was all about that KFC trip.)
- Get extremely excited to eat noodles for dinner, just because it’s something other than rice.
- Absolutely love going for runs through the red African dirt and not even caring about how filthy it made my legs.
- Chug soda (which I hate) just because it was the only beverage that was chilled.
- Sit in the bathroom and watch a movie with some teammates, because the bathroom was one of the only rooms with 4 walls and a door.
- Enjoy worshiping surrounded by people who don’t speak English, and deeply feeling their passion.
- Be happy to not have Wifi or electricity for a month.
- Fully embrace the tradition of reading bedtime stories to 6 of my teammates. Yes, we are all adults, and yes, we all still love The Chronicles of Narnia as well as various children’s books. (Thank you, Sam and Natasha, for blessing me and inadvertently blessing my team with my Kindle).
Thank you to everyone at home who is supporting me through this venture. Your continual prayers are giving me strength and helping me experience God in new ways while expanding His kingdom!
