Sunday 29 April 2012

Climbing Mountains


So this week I’m going to try and be really spiritual and relate my everyday adventures with my walk with God. Yesterday morning we climbed a mountain that is just behind the base. It had been something we had been planning to do for sometime. Anyway, we set out right when the sun began to rise. At first the journey was really easy as we were full of energy and excitement. We would only be a little ways up and we would stop to look at the view because we were still full of amazement for what was ahead. But as our adventure continued and we had to crawl through thickets of thorns and up steep and slippery slopes we soon forgot about all the amazing things around us and complained about the difficult journey. Finally we reached the top exhausted and dirty but pleased with ourselves. Looking around we could see the breath-taking view. Lake Victoria stretched out before us in its entire splendor and a rainbow on one side. 
As I was thinking about our journey, I kept thinking of how it relates to our spiritual journey. At the beginning we are so excited for God and cannot wait for what awaits us. But as the journey continues we often start to focus on the hardships and not the ‘view’. We lose sight of why we really are climbing up this mountain. We need to remember the glorious riches that lay in store for us at the top and the promise that God has given us through the rainbow. He alone is the reason we can make it to the top of the mountain. “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Genesis 9:16

(hopefully you can see the rainbow in the picture because it was beautiful!)

Saturday 21 April 2012

Refreshed.


This week has been refreshing to say the least. Sunday started off with a church service at a ‘missionary’ church. So it consisted mostly of mzungos. It was exactly what I needed after such a fukwe outreach. It renewed me. It’s amazing how much you can actually miss the ‘boring’ church service of the West. We sang English songs that I knew, didn’t dance around with chairs on top of our heads, and it only lasted an hour and a half or so. It was amazing! Other crazy things that happened this week; I tried some fried white ants. One of the guys here just came up one night with a bucket of what looked like ants with wings, and threw them in a pan to fry and we ate them. I can’t say I particularly enjoyed them but I ate bugs! :P On another note, also we played with a wild chameleon on Thursday! I’ve never expected that to happen coming here. Other than that, it has been great to get back to the base and settle in to our ‘home’ here. It is amazing how it feels like home now, being away from it from so long. We rejoice in the little things now that we used to complain about, like the cold shower and unpredictable electricity. Its the little things in life that let you just breathe. Even the most simple weeks can bring around a renewal that we didn't even know we needed. Isaiah 57:10, “You wearied yourself by such going about, but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’ 
You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint.”

Saturday 14 April 2012

Fukwe.


First of all, let me tell you about this word; fukwe. It is basically a word made up by one of our leaders that can mean anything you want it to. It is usually along the lines of crazy, wild, intense, stupid etc. This word has been used more times than you could even imagine in the last two weeks. It is really the best word I can used to sum up what has happened.
Let me start from the beginning. Upon arriving I was dreading the upcoming time we were about to have. We arrived in a beautiful village right on Lake Victoria. The village was made mostly of mud huts, with fish, fishing gear, and boats all over the place. The first night we slept with nine girls on four mattresses in a tiny room that only had left over room to stand three people when we were all lying down. The night was hot and filled with rats and cockroaches. Needless to say the next morning we were exhausted. I thought the two weeks were going to take forever. However, God slowly revealed Himself the longer we were there. We moved our sleeping locations and we’re able to rest easier.
Once we started the ministry, God’s presence was ever upon us. Crusades were bringing many people to Christ and there was a whisper about us all through the town. On Friday, April 6 we had the most fukwe day of my life. The day started out normal as ever. Then after breakfast, a lady came over to the church and told us she had been coming to the crusades and needed prayer. So we brought her inside and next thing I knew we were casting demons out of her. This lasted for approximately an hour. Then we ventured to her house to pray for her family. When we arrived, we began praying and cast out some more demons. Her husband showed us a small plastic bottle buried in the ground, something from witchcraft. So we burned it. All throughout this time, the song that kept playing over and over in my head was, “Let it rain, let it rain. Open the floodgates of heaven.” After leaving we were stopped numerous times and asked to pray for various people. We finally arrived back at the church in time for a late lunch. At lunch, I was told that I would be preaching at the crusade that afternoon. Instead of preparing however, I went swimming in Lake Victoria. I arrived at the crusade exhausted and with nothing ready to preach on. I prayed for God’s peace and the words to speak. As soon as it came time for me to speak, the heavens opened and rain came down. Lord, let it rain. I can honestly say I have never in my life been that comfortable speaking in front of people. It was rather amazing, considering I had no idea what I was going to say when I walked up there! When I had finished, amazingly the rain stopped. A fukwe day to say the least. At a later crusade, the woman we had been praying for was there. Which was incredible, because it is over an hour walk for her. She was so happy to see us and was completely healed! I have never seen somebody go through one eighty to that extreme. Her story is just one of many that we experienced throughout the two weeks. Besides ministering, we also were able to eat lots of fish, swim, go for boat rides, roast a goat over a fire, and just enjoy God’s creation in the fullest! This outreach has been a challenge both physically and spiritually and I feel drained from it but I wouldn’t have it any other way! God certainly let his grace rain down on us, and my song, “Let it Rain” soon became the theme song of the outreach.
Psalms 18:12-13, “Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.”