Bonfires have a way of bringing people together. The burning embers and flickering flames create the perfect ambiance for singing, sharing and of course s’mores. One cooler Botswana night, I found myself around a bonfire with 6 girls from America and 14 guys from South Africa. Although different paths led us to this spot under the stars in Botswana sitting around a fire, we shared one common thread, our passion for sharing God’s love.
After lifting our voices in praise, we began to share testimonies. As people started to share stories of gangs, violence, prison, addiction, abuse, illness, loss, abandonment, I saw how incredible God is. God brought these men out of such dark places in order to serve him. Only God could have transformed them from lives of brokenness into lives made whole in Christ.
Fire is used to purify, cleanse and transform. It is used to convert precious metals into beautiful jewelry worthy of kings and queens. This is what Christ did in these men’s lives. Christ purified them, cleansing them of their past and changing them into men of God, beautiful and worthy in His eyes.
I learned a lot from these guys over the course of the month. I will miss every one of them, their laughs, their kind words and their love for God.
