I’m going to let you in on a lot in this because partly there is just so many different things going on, and mostly because I want to share the stories of victory, defeat, joy, and sorrow. It’s crazy to think that our time in Asia is over, and we are now in our second continent of Africa. Since arriving in Africa, it’s crazy to see how the Lord is already working. We attended a conference in South Africa for 3 days called the Regional Awakening. Here, we welcomed the Spirit into what the Lord was already doing in the region of Pretoria. We evangelized, practiced intercession, met hosts from around South Africa, and got to interact with 2 other World Race squads that were there for the conference.
On the day when we got to actually go out and share the love of Jesus with community, the Lord definitely showed up. Going into the day, I was pretty nervous about going out because evangelism to me has always felt forced or insincere. What I realized was that I have always thought of it in the wrong mindset, in a way that puts the pressure on me, when in reality it has nothing to do with me. It has nothing to do with how people respond, it’s not my job to “change” or “convert” anyone. I have no power to do that, and to be honest, I wouldn’t want that pressure on myself. My job is simply to love people and to tell others about the free gift that has already been given to them. It is to love them like Christ loves them, and to actually take time to see them. They are not numbers, they are not “people to be converted”, they are people to be loved. To show them how loved they are by their heavenly Father, and to bring freedom in areas that the devil has tried to own for too long. We carry the Spirit of the living God, the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead also lives in us.
I am sorry to those of you who have had religion shoved down your throats. I am sorry to those of you who have felt judged by the church, and even by myself in the past. I sincerely want to apologize. You are so loved. YOU ARE SEEN.I am sorry to those of who have been shown hate rather than love by those who claim to be Christians. I am sorry to those of you who have not been shown the love of the Father by people in the church; if you’ve felt condemned, judged, or even hated: I AM SORRY. I want you to know that Jesus loves you more than you could ever know. In your brokenness, in all that you have done, He loved you. God sent His only Son to be sent as a sacrifice for our sin, for our brokenness. You see, God and sin cannot coexist. Back before Jesus walked the earth, people had to sacrifice a perfect, spotless, animal as a sacrifice for sin in order to be forgiven. It was the pathway in which they were allowed to enter into the forgiveness God has. But God sent Jesus, the perfect, spotless, lamb as the final sacrifice. He literally took the weight upon His shoulders, and took the wrath of God upon Himself. Even in his pain, in his torment, he screamed out “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Guys, that is literally the purest form of LOVE that you will ever experience. To die in your place, to put his robe of righteousness upon you, while you trade your robe of sin. To call you by name, to choose you, and to fully know you and fully love you. That is the most scandalous love I have ever heard of. So friends, my heart literally BREAKS for you. My heart breaks knowing that you are walking in pain, loneliness, and feeling like you’re too far gone. Trying to fill a void with whatever that may be: the drugs, alcohol, sex, academics, money, sports, etc. They are all used to fill some part of us. I walked in that for far too long.
The Lord has set me FREE. Friends, join me in walking in that freedom. Don’t wait another second to say yes. Saying yes to being set free from bondage, pain, and walking alone. He has completely romanced my heart, and drawn me into his deep intimacy. With this transformation, I just want to tell everyone about our great Savior!
In South Africa, we had the chance to go out into town and evangelize. My teammate Clarissa and I started by walking around this shopping center. At first, it was very uncomfortable and we both were very unsure on how to strike up a conversation about the Lord. We first stopped by a book store where we met a woman named Maria, and had the chance to talk to her for a little bit and asked her about her family and job. She was hesitant at first and not super responsive but we remained positive. In this circumstance, it would be easy to give up and say that God wasn’t there, because we didn’t see the fruit of it. Being more comfortable, we walked over to the music store where we met a woman named Betty who asked if we needed help finding anything when we were looking at the gospel music section. She stated that she loved gospel music as well! We had the chance to pray over her and her family. The Lord was there as she stated, “My spirit just feels so full right now! I didn’t expect this at all today!” We left and went to the video store nearby. We stopped in and we were the only ones in there besides the two women working behind the counter. They were chatting as we walked in and meandered around looking at the movies. We finally went up to the counter and asked how they were. They were hesitant at first, but started to open up as we continued talking. Blessing, one of the women, asked “So, tell me why you guys are here!” We explained that we were a part of the World Race and that we were going to countries each month to share the love of Jesus with people. She started explaining how cool it was that we were doing that but wished youth in South Africa were bold in sharing their faith. A lot of people in South Africa call themselves Christians, very similar to America, but are not walking with the Lord in a personal relationship. The people here are very open to talking about God which is really cool and opens up some great conversations. So, we continued asking them questions, Blessing more talkative than Vivian, who was the other woman.
Blessing suddenly goes, “So, do you have something to share with us from the Lord?” Clarissa and I look at each other both thinking, “oh shoot… what can we say…”.
All the sudden, not even 10 seconds later, the Lord goes “Share your story about being healed in Nepal!” PERFECT! So, I start telling them about how my ankles were extremely swollen and in a lot of pain up until Nepal. How I felt the Lord ask me if I really wanted to be healed, and if I did, why I hadn’t asked him to heal me yet. So I asked my teammates and Papa to pray over my ankles, and when we opened our eyes, the swelling had completely disappeared and the pain was gone!
At this point, Vivian was on her phone, not intently listening (or so I thought), and at this point she looks up and yells, “Wait what?! Like it was gone??!” And I laughed saying “Yes! The Lord completely healed me!!” Blessing looked at her friend and said, “Yes Vivian, that’s the living power of God my friend! He heals!!”
We all laughed with each other and talked about how good our God is. We asked if we could pray for them, and the next thing you know, they are leading us to their employee lounge in the back of the store where we are standing in a circle, holding hands, and praying together, praising our God. Blessing says “I feel like I am in a dream! I am so full of joy and my spirit is so alive! If I’m in a dream, please don’t wake me up! I didn’t expect to go into work today and have one of the best days I’ve had in a long time! Thank you sisters!”
We walked away and as uncomfortable as I was at the beginning of the hour, I had completely forgot about that feeling. We walked out with joy, with confidence that the Lord showed up. He always promises to show up and he totally does! How can we doubt His goodness in that?! And as much as I went out hoping to encourage someone else, I left feeling more encouraged than I could have ever expected. I went in hoping to make someone’s day, but they ended up making mine even more.
When we serve out of the overflow that we have been abundantly given, we only receive joy in return. God will show up when we ask Him to. He will do mighty things. What is it to say that ministry has to look like a 8-5 day of “work”? Simply going to the grocery store, at a restaurant, when you’re in the drive-thru for your morning coffee, those can all be excellent opportunities to share the love of Jesus with someone. It’s as simple as just starting a conversation, or asking if they need prayer for anything. The Lord WILL show up, I promise.
