Expectations couldn’t even begin to come close to preparing me for what I have been experiencing on this trip so far. I know my last update began much like this as well, but God continues to exceed my expectations time and time again. Last Thursday, we left Capetown, South Africa and headed towards our adventure that waited in Mozambique. After a 12-hour layover in Johannesburg we flew to Maputo. When we arrived to the airport we grabbed our bags and headed to the bus ticket booth. Unfortunately, we found out that the next bus didn’t leave until a week later. Now you may be wondering, “Why didn’t you arrange that before hand?”, but things just don’t work like that in Africa. Normally, if you just head out on a missions trip everything is taken care of, however, we all know that the real world doesn’t always work that smoothly. God has really been teaching me about that. Sure, its great to have things arranged etc, but that isn’t always God’s plan. If we get so caught up in our “strategy” and the “plans” that we have made, we wont be free to be moved by the Spirit. I’m not saying that planning is wrong, I’m just saying that sometimes the Holy Spirit wants to blow you like the wind. I am so thankful that He is teaching me this, because this truly adds to the adventure of following Him. Getting back to the story, this whole bus deal threw us for a loop, so we really started to wonder what we were going to do next. We decided to get a place to stay for the night, and arranged for them to come get us. As we were walking to the bus stop, where our ride was going to pick us up, a young boy approached us. It was pretty obvious that he wasn’t in the best of shape, and that he probably was asking for money. He was speaking Portuguese, so we barely understood anything that he was saying. There was a horrible wound on his leg that flies were constantly landing on, and with desperation in his eyes he pled with us and we understood none of it. I’m not saying this stuff to gross you out, I just want you see and feel what I was feeling. To be completely honest, I didn’t know what to do. I have a 4-year ministry degree, have studied missions at the University of the Nations, and have been involved in inner-city ministries for the last 4 years, and none of those “credentials” had prepared me for this. The reality is, you can’t be prepared for a situation like this. In this moment, I was completely vulnerable, and had no clue what to do next. That is exactly the place where the Lord wants us to be everyday, desperate and completely dependant on Him. We are called to be like children, in dire need of a loving Father to show us the way. I was armed with only one weapon, and that weapon was simply that of love. As we thought of his possible needs, we grabbed a left over muffin and some un-opened bottles of water that we had. We lovingly handed them over, and he downed them like he hadn’t eaten in days. We prayed over his wound and hugged him several times to try to communicate that he was welcome among us. His spirit seemed like it had been lifted and he just stood around and smiled. I can’t tell you what happened within him, but I know that at that moment, he felt loved. Shortly after this, our ride showed up and took us to the backpacker’s lodge that we found for the night. Not knowing what to do next, we prayed and felt that the Lord confirmed for us to find another bus to Pemba. Pemba is at the opposite end of Mozambique, so it is quite a drive, and most buses don’t go that far. As we asked around, we heard about a bus depot nearby that would possibly have a bus going to Pemba. So with a word from the Lord, I left with Katherine and Haley to find a bus. We grabbed the first taxi we saw, and headed towards the depot. As we arrived at the depot, we were in awe of the scene before our eyes. Multiple buses were scattered between street vendors, in what looked to be a dump. Ill have to admit, at this point I’m thinking, “How are we going to find a reliable bus here?” Then I remembered that the Lord had told us to find a bus and this was where He had taken us. We pulled in and the first bus we pulled up to said: EXPRESS PEMBA on the sign. Still a little weary, we get out and jump on the bus to check it out. There was some guy speaking English, so I told him that we needed 10 tickets to Pemba. To make a long story short, we eventually booked our tickets and headed to Pemba Sunday morning at 5am. Arranging it couldn’t have gotten any easier. The bus ride was, without a doubt, one of the craziest things I have ever experienced in my life. We ended up being on the bus for over 40 hours with over 20 stops at least. The majority of the time we were smashed in a seat with our knees barely fitting, while the bus went over numerous potholes in Mozambique’s scorching heat. There was constant rap, 80’s love ballads, and various other music from their country blasting in our ears the entire time the bus was moving, also, about 35 hours in, 4 of us realized that our feet had swollen from being in the same position for so long. Mine were so swollen I could barely walk. Needless to say, I had plenty of time to think and meditate on the situation. To be honest, there were a couple times I thought I was going to literally “loose it” and start swinging at the seat in front of me. I don’t really know what that would have accomplished, but for some reason in our feeble minds we think temper tantrums are actually to our advantage. As I processed my thoughts, throughout this journey, the Lord constantly reminded me of the Israelites. They had EVERYTHING provided to them numerous times, and they still complained constantly. Even though I didn’t voice my complaints. I was annoyed, tired, and constantly reminded of the fact that I didn’t have to be doing this. While I’m having these thoughts, the glorious presence of our Lord rested upon me, and immediately I was reminded that He IS TOTALLY WORTH IT, so I repented and considered it pure joy to be faced with this trial. There is just something about His presence that washes all our cares away, right? I want to be a man that constantly lives in that place. I’m telling you that there is TRUE JOY that can be found in suffering. I know that Jesus, Paul, and other heroes of our faith have endured much more suffering than some swollen feet in an African bus ride, however, when I said that I would follow Jesus, I signed up knowing that I would endure suffering. In 1 Corinthians 13:4, Paul opens up his description of love by saying, “Love suffers long.” You can’t think that picking up your cross daily will be an easy task, so this definitely means that you will endure suffering. The problem is that we take so much into our own hands and protect ourselves from these things. We say, “Well Jesus hasn’t called me to that” or “He wouldn’t ask me to do something that intense!” Sadly, I am coming to realize that we miss out on a lot of what He wants to show us when we depersonalize the scriptures and pick and choose what we want to be obedient to. If you follow the teachings of Jesus, I promise you that you will suffer and you will eventually find joy in that place. Personally, I’ve started to look at my life and ask myself, “How am I suffering? If I’m going to bear the cross daily, what does that look like?” I want to walk in the fullness of what God has for me, and I am prepared to endure whatever I have to endure to receive it. Since this has become my desire, I have found that my prayers have changed. I have been asking the Lord to take me through the refiner’s fire, so that I will be conformed into His image. And as I have mentioned above, with the fire comes the suffering, so the Lord has highlighted some areas where He is allowing me to share in His sufferings. This brings me back to our journey in Mozambique. We stopped one last time in Nampula, before arriving to Pemba. A lot of people had gotten off in Nampula, so this leg of the journey was way easier for us to endure. There was a guy a couple of seats ahead of me that came back and sat with us. He said that his name was Jack, asked me my name and what we were doing there. So I told him that we were there as missionaries and that we were going to be working with Iris Ministries for the next 2 months. He said that he had heard of Iris and encouraged us in our adventures. Through listening to his story and sharing more of mine, I could tell the Lord was at work. During our conversation, I commented on the cuteness of the little toddler that was sitting near us. Then Jack said, “Wasn’t it awesome when life was that easy?” Immediately, the Lord reminded me about how we are called to live like children, and to be completely dependant on Him. I lovingly explained how we are called to be like children, and how life doesn’t really have to be as difficult as we make it. As I continued to talk about putting our lives completely in the Father’s hands, Jack commented on my faith. He said, “You have one of the strongest faiths that I have ever heard in my life.” So then I asked him what he put his faith in, and he said that he was a Muslim. I was totally surprised, but aware that God had totally set this guy up for a power encounter of love. I showed him a couple of scriptures and he was totally open to hear and learn more about Jesus. Since he spoke English, I felt that I was supposed to give him my Bible, so he could seek and find for himself. I had just bought a new Bible in Johannesburg, so I had a fresh new one to give him. He was very happy to receive it and he assured me that he would read it. About this time the bus stopped in Pemba and we had to get out and meet our ride. I got Jack’s number and assured him that we would touch base while we were in Pemba. We got off the bus, grabbed our bags, and headed to the Iris base. Upon arrival, we were shortly briefed, blessed with some beans and rice, and showed to our rooms. We got a good night’s sleep and prepared for our first day. After breakfast we met our contact Katie, and she took us on the tour of the base. It was amazing to see all of the areas of ministry that we would be working in, so our anticipation rose by the minute. After our tour, we headed to the prayer hut for some worship and prayer. We all positioned ourselves for worship and began singing and praying. The presence of God began to thicken by the minute, and I began to be overwhelmed with His love. I realized that we were finally here, and I knew that we would never be the same again. After an amazing time of prayer, worship, and an encounter with God’s love, Heidi came up and greeted us. She hugged each one of us and welcomed us to the base. We were all amazed at her love and dedication to make everyone of us feel welcomed. This wasn’t an act; she was truly excited to see us. Here is a lady that has more on her plate than any of us have even imagined, but she still makes time for the one. She truly practices what she preaches! We then hurried to our lunch of rice and beans, and headed to a birthday party for the kids that were born in January. After having a time of games and fellowship, we entered into the church so the kids could get their presents and their cake. When they handed out the presents, they encouraged us to pray over each kid that was receiving. When I started praying for the kids the Lord really started to move upon me. Heidi pointed to a little girl and told me to pray for her. She appeared to be an infant, but as she explained, I realized that it was a 3-year-old suffering from malnutrition. This little girl had a full mouth of teeth and probably weighed 30 lbs at most. When I laid my hand on her and started to pray, I started to weep. Immediately I felt the Lord’s heart for this little girl and I started to declare life over her. The Lord then revealed to me that He was answering my prayers and He was allowing me to feel His burden for His people. Even though I was burdened, this reminder gave me joy, as I continued to pray for the kids. As I laid my hand on the next little boy, it happened again. I felt the Lord’s heart for Him as well. He was an orphan and it was clear that he was under that spirit. The Lord longs to be in relationship with us, and when we don’t believe that we have a loving Father, He is saddened. When I touched this boy, I knew that He needed to know His Heavenly Father, so I declared that over him. By this time I was a total wreck. The fact that the Lord allowed me to feel just a little bit of His heart for the lost just broke me. Again, I was reminded of my total dependence on Him, and how desperate I was for Him to fill me with His love. If this was my first day at Iris, what else was I going to experience? I could continue to tell you every little thing that happened, but ill save it for my book. LOL. Most Thursdays at Iris, a team of people pack up and head out to the bush for the weekend. They journey out to villages to preach the Word of God, pray for the sick, cast out demons, etc. This is going to be one of the main activities that our team will be involved in nearly every week. So on Thursday we helped pack up the trucks and headed out to the bush for an unforgettable time in. Upon arrival, we started to set up our tents, the audio equipment for the Jesus movie, and greeted those that were there. As the dusk settled, we started the movie. Many people from the village were starting to show up to view the movie. The Jesus movie is the account of Jesus’ life translated into the tribe’s native language. The ministry teams will show the movie, have a time of preaching, and then minister to those that are there. After the movie, Heidi got up and started to preach the Gospel. As the Spirit stated to move, people responded with prayers of repentance etc. As she declared that the Lord was healing, some people came forward, were prayed for, and were healed. As the meeting drew to a close, Heidi called us all over. She directed us to a hut and explained that we were going to have dinner. Since Katherine and I were the leaders on this outreach, she said we were invited to eat with the leaders of the village. Our visit was a very big deal to them, and they wanted to celebrate. Despite their financial situation, they prepared us a meal of goat and maize to honor us. So just when we thought the night couldn’t get any better, we ate goat with Heidi and Rolland Baker, and our new friends from the bush. During dinner the leaders explained how blessed they were to have us come from America and how it was an answer to their prayers for Mozambique. They then expressed how they wanted to pray for us. So after dinner the leaders started to pray for us. As they laid hands on us and prayed, I could feel their tears falling on me. You could feel the power of the Holy Spirit being released. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but you could tell it was from the heart and with much authority. This turned into an all out prayer session where everybody ended up getting amazingly blessed and filled with joy. We were all laughing, crying, and releasing blessings! God is so good. Never would I have imagined that I would be in a hut in Mozambique getting prayed over by people I had never met. See, that is the crazy thing about the Kingdom. You can meet somebody for 5 minutes and feel like you have known them for your whole life. Being able to share a love like that is priceless. We have family from all over the world, and the Lord longs to unite you with them. The next morning we woke up to Heidi brewing Starbuck’s coffee, in a French press, and commenting on how she loves to sleep at her room at the billion star hotel. She was referring to her tent in the bush. She called us all to breakfast, we ate our bread, drank our coffee, and fellowshipped in love together. It was amazing to feel the love that the village people had for us, and they had never even met us. Again, it really revealed the way the Kingdom of God works. We shared the same love and Spirit of our beautiful Savior and that immediately connected us. We hung around the village, played with kids, and did some house visits in the village. After that we packed all the equipment up and got ready to have another service in a neighboring village. Heidi, Rolland, and some others left to go back to the base, so we were with some other leaders from Iris. Our team and some of the other visitors had planned some dramas and another guy, named Elder, was doing the preaching. As we set up all the equipment for the Jesus film and the service, we played some Mozambique worship music. All of us were dancing and laughing until we were covered with sweat. The night finally came and we started the movie. After the movie ended we prepared our skits, while Elder prepared to speak. Elder is a translator, so he explained the skits after they were performed. The movie and the skits were very powerful, so it stirred the people’s appetites for more. After Elder explained the skits, to my surprise he called me up front. When I got up there, he told me to start preaching the love of God and to declare what the Lord was doing. I was totally caught off guard by this, therefore, I returned to the place of total desperation for God to move. I asked the Holy Spirit to release His presence and I started to talk about the love of God. I told them that the Lord had sent us all the way from the United States to tell them about His love for them. I declared that the Lord was there to save, heal, and deliver and whoever was thirsty could come drink. Our teams prepared themselves to pray, as numerous people rushed to the front. This was probably the most amazing thing I had ever seen in my life. The Gospel was preached to the poor, they heard the good news, and they ran into the arms of freedom. The first kid that came up to me pointed to his ears and made a grunting noise. I placed my hands on his ears and commanded them to be opened in Jesus name, and started to smile. I whispered, “Jesus,” in his ears and he repeated it to me numerous times. I asked Elder to come over and translate for me, so I could know for sure. He said that the kid had been deaf in one of his ears and all the kids used to call him names for it, but now he could hear. Amazed, I praised Jesus and continued to pray for the crowd of people. Numerous people chose Jesus, were healed, and repented of witchcraft, lust, addiction, and many other things that night. It was a life changing experience. Again, I declare to everyone who is reading this, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He saves, He heals, and He delivers. This isn’t just for Africa; this is for the entire earth. He is going to fill the earth with the knowledge of His GLORY, as the waters cover the seas. Every Christian has the authority to do these things, Jesus declared it in Matthew 10:6-8 and we are called to freely give what we have freely received. That includes money, wisdom, healing, deliverance, etc. If the Lord has brought you through a trail, you have the authority to help others through the same thing. We are blessed to be a blessing to others, and its time we start living in the freedom that Jesus’ blood bought for us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within you, be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven coming to earth in Jesus’ name!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The TRUTH Hurts...
The same yesterday, today, and forever...
There is no way to describe my excitement and the fullness of joy that I am experiencing here in South Africa. In an attempt to put this experience into words I will BOLDLY declare Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." We have been seeing God's love radically encounter people from every walk of life in South Africa. I am going to share some of my experiences and include some the experiences from some of the other students here. So here we go... Teresa writes, "We bumped into three sisters: Irene, Sylvia, and Veronica. We walked into their home and Irene began preaching to us about God! It appeared that she was a passionate lover of Jesus. As we got into deeper conversations about God, Veronica stood up said, "I am a sangoma and I believe in Jesus!" and then left the house. I had no idea what a sangoma was, but Kath told us after we left the house that a sangoma was a witch doctor. The next day we went back to their house to find just Veronica sitting on the couch as Irene was cooking lunch. We began talking about God and this time Veronica didn't leave, but began to passionately ask questions. She asked questions that wouldn't likely be asked in the western world, questions that took me off guard. She wanted to know if all creatures under the ocean were evil because sharks attacked people and the sea was dark and mysterious. We responded by saying only God can create things and so all water creatures were good. Then she said that a strange man said that he was Jesus and would prove it by calling all the whales out to a certain area of the ocean the next day. She said that what he said would happen actually came true. She was clearly very confused because she didn't know what to believe in anymore. She claimed that she believed in Jesus, but obeyed her ancestors and believed they had power. She said that she knew a man who had died after being hit by a car, but saw him walking into a store a couple days later. She asked us, "Did the man really die?" She said that babies would die, but their moms would be haunted by their cries at night. She wanted to know if the babies hadn't really died, but were being kept by the devil, only taken out to haunt their moms. Now she was pretty worked up, and she told us about how her ancestors came to her in her dreams and told her she had to do certain things if she didn't want to die. She said that they sometimes also gave her answers and directions, ones that turned out to be true. She said that sometimes they would haunt her in her dreams telling her they were going to kill her that night. At those moments she would cry out to Jesus and wake up to find herself alive. She was so confused because deep down she knew that Jesus was the one who saved her, but she believed her ancestors had power and was afraid to anger them. She burst out crying in frustration and confusion. So we ran to her side and immediately asked her if we could pray for her. She said that she was done with being confused and wanted to choose Jesus. She accepted Jesus into her heart and even allowed us to cut off the beaded bracelets and anklets on her baby. She said that if he didn't wear the sangoma bracelets he cried when they went to sangoma ceremonies because their ancestors would haunt him, but she believed us when we told her that only Jesus could protect her baby and protect her in her dreams. I closed off this epic moment with a prayer breaking off all generational curses and ties with her ancestors and just overall protection over her household. We returned on Monday to find that she and her baby had slept soundly friday night and all weekend! Her face was full of peace and joy and she lit up when we handed her a Bible dedicated just to her and told us that she saw the words from Genesis 27 in a dream months ago when she was pregnant. God had been preparing her for us even before we had ever met her. This passage about Esau's blessing given to Jacob was connected to the blessings God meant for Veronica and how it would not be stolen from her. She understood what we were saying and what the Bible was saying on such a deep level that I was surprised she had never owned a Bible before. We prayed for her and the blessings that were meant for her." As you read that story, doesn't faith in God just rise up inside you? There is not one of you, that is reading this, that doesn't desire to see God do amazing things in your life and in the life of others. That story sounds like it could be placed right in the pages of the Bible and it sounds like a couple of rag-tag disciples were the ones doing the ministering in it. There was no eloquent speech, no lights or fireworks just plain love. God is still up to amazing things in this earth and His "vision statement" hasn't changed. Its simple : love Him and love others. These students here come from many different backgrounds, and none of them have an "education" in ministry, they are just simply learning to love. Moving on...Brycen writes, "We Have only been here for a little over a week and i’ve already fallen in love with the place. God is obviously at work here in Cape Town and on the streets of Masi’. It’s such a blessing to fly half way around the world to a place you’ve never even heard of and feel right at home. Our mission is simple. To love the people of the Township of Masi’. We believe In one core strategy on our trip. The heart beat of our lives. ” Intimacy Unto Fruitfulness” We like to use the analogy that Jesus is our very best friend and that the closer we are to him, then the easier it is to introduce him to people! In the short time that we have been here we have been almost robbed 2x, Seen some minor healings (healing’s have quickly become one of my favorite things to pray for :) its super fun when people get healed ) seen some people tied up with voodoo lead to christ, help build a shack in the middle of a garbage dump, Hung out with some Rasta’s (legit Rastas’ not like the white kids back home who just smoke a lot of weed ) poured our hearts out and prayed over numerous people, and had our heart stolen by every little black rascal that runs by. The kids are so amazing. All the people are amazing and a priviledge to meet, seriously. You can meet them one second then the next they are inviting you into their homes! And the people here are hungry for the Gospel! God is so at work here its awesome. And its awesome because i feel like we don’t have to do any work, We just fall more in love with him, and trust him for everything else. He leads us to where he wants us to go. God has continued to just pour out blessing’s on us over here in Masi’ as we work among the poor. He has not ceased to be good in fact it almost seems like he’s been more good then ever! As he pours out revelation after revelation of what it looks like follow him. Every day I die I care a little less about me and fall more in love with him. Ephesians 3:14-19 For this reason I kneel before the father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may stregthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (this is where it gets good) And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how and long and high and deep is the love of christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God. Wam-Bam-Thank You ma’am. My God is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords...Highest of the most High, and he loves YOU." Whoa! This is a man that has been following the Lord for a little over 3 months. Before he came to YWAM he was addicted to heroin, and I have seen his transformation. From reading his blog, it clearly sounds like he has been following Jesus for years, but its only been 3 months. Thats what life transformation looks like. When you meet Jesus, your life should be radically changed. These kind of stories shouldn't just come from the "elite" Christians. God is in the business of transforming and using every believer's life in this way. This is how Habakkuk 2:14 will be fulfilled. God is serious about getting His glory, so we just need to be serious about Him getting it. EVERYTHING flows from a place of intimacy. Therefore, commit to making Mark 12:30-31 your life's goal. When Jesus was asked what was the most important commandment, He answered by saying, "THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel (God's chosen people): The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” I can confidently tell you that this still works today, just as it did then. When you commit to living a life of love, you realize that it truly brings you life. This sets you free to be who you were made to be. Possessed by the Holy Spirit you will blaze a trail of love that will impact EVERY life that you encounter. Who wouldn't sign up for that? I know that I have been ruined for life, I can't go back to the way I used to live. It would be pointless and lifeless. With all that being said, If this Christian life ever gets dull, remember: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and FOREVER. Crack open the Word (Jesus Christ), have a look at what is inside, and apply it (love) to your life. Its sure to keep things purposeful, fulfilling, and exciting.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Hangin' In South Africa...
It has been quite a trip so far. We are finally getting settled into our house here in South Africa, we arrived here on the 1st. Since our team is only here for a couple of weeks, before we go to Mozambique, we have committed just to serve the South Africa team in whatever way we can. For the last couple of days we have been working in the township of Masiphumelele, which is about a 10 minute walk from our house. A recent fire left over 700 people without a home which has added to the intensity of our experience so far. It has been quite overwhelming seeing the depth of poverty that these people are living in. It has definitely made me realize how easy it is for us to take things for granted, on the other hand, it has shown me how simply we can live. There are several Christians living in the township, and we have had the opportunity to work with them every day. Getting to know them has been amazing and has stretched me in a major way. I have constantly been reminded that the reality is: Christ is ALL we need. These people that we are working with are some of the poorest people I have ever seen, but if they have Jesus they have it all. You can see Jesus of the faces of the Christians we are working with. They are FULL of joy and incredibly driven to show Jesus to the other people living there. They live with urgency. They don't just preach to the people, they demonstrate the Gospel through love and service. Watching their passion has truly stirred my affections for Jesus and it sets the bar higher and higher for me. They are defined by 2 Corinthians 8:9, thus knowing, when someone enters into a relationship with Jesus they are RICH! More and more I am realizing that this wealth is something that I would sacrifice anything for and that His Kingdom is priceless. (Matthew 13:44) So if this is only the beginning of this adventure, I am excited to see what else lies ahead. Its obvious that the Lord is doing a lot on our teams and that more is to come. If you are praying for us, please continue. Pray that the Lord would continue to be glorified through our weaknesses, that we find affective ways to reach out to the Masi people, that He would continue to strengthen us as a team as we prepare for Mozambique, and that He continues to pour out His grace and His love as we give it to others. Thank you so much for your continued support of what God is doing in and through me. I pray blessings over each one of you!
