It was decided that I would head out with half of the team (Rebecca, Andrew, and Ami) to a village called Lukalili to do a church plant on Friday the 17th. Of course, I was excited to get out there and see all the Lord had in store for this first day out in Lukalili. Plus, how cool of a name is Lukalili?! Go ahead, I know you want to try and say it out loud….LUKE-UH-LEE-LEE. The other half of the team headed out to a different village called Longira to plant a church.
We arrived and were welcomed by dancing and singing. It never gets old. Everyone introduced themselves and off we went. Rebecca shared the Gospel to everyone there while Andrew and Ami walked around, each with an Evangecube so everyone could see. I went around taking pictures at this point. Rebecca came to the end of the story and asked if there was anyone who wanted to surrender to Jesus.
Silence.
Again, she reworded and asked.
Silence.
It would be so easy to be discouraged at this point…if you fell into the trap of thinking that silence meant a lack of success, failure. Not so. Not even close, actually. If there’s something I had learned in my time there, it was that those listening almost always have questions, but because of one reason or another (most specific to their culture) they are hesitant to speak up. They need time. They need a little pushing and prodding. They need things to be asked in a way that they understand. They need loving patience.
So, I stepped in and began to ask if there were any questions and pushed a prodded a bit in a way that prior to coming I can promise you I would not have felt comfortable doing. A few began speaking up. Then, I noticed a man who walked up and joined the group, sitting in a chair on the end of the group of people. After there were a few who were willing to speak up and ask questions, I asked if there was anyone who simply realized their need of Jesus.
His hand rose.
The man I saw walk up and sit on the outskirts of the group raised his hand. He began to explain to us that he had just walked there directly from the bar and from drinking. He explained that he was drunk and just knew he was supposed to come in the direction of where we were. He found us there and expressed that he and his family needed Jesus.
Immediately, just as in the groups I was a part of, I knew God had sent this young man not only for his sake, but for the sake of everyone else who was sitting there listening and watching. I felt so powerfully led by the Spirit to go to over to the man personally and let him know that he was and is loved. I knelt down in front of him, looking into his eyes that were so evidently filled with pain and brokenness and told him 3 of the most powerful words that I have found myself privileged to say over and over to so many.
Jesus loves you. He loves you.
What a reminder that He indeed loves me, too. I am beyond humbled each time. I am never in a place in my life that I don’t need to be reminded of His insurmountable and undeniable love for me. It is constant.
I spoke to Simon for a few minutes and loud enough so everyone else could hear, too. Remember, it wasn’t just for Simon that Jesus sent him there. Simply, the Gospel was shared again, but this time in a more personal, intimate fashion. Simon confessed that he needed Jesus. He confessed that his family situation was bad, that there was a lot of fighting, and that he knew it was because Jesus wasn’t a part of him or his family.
He wanted to pray to receive Jesus. I looked up and Rebecca, Ami, and Andrew were walking over to come pray with Simon. I asked Andrew if would mind being the one to lead Simon in prayer. It was beautiful…..and everyone watched Jesus’ love conquer.
We finished up and split into two groups to go evangelizing hut to hut and inviting those we shared with to come to the afternoon discipleship time. Ami and Rebecca headed one direction with a couple translators and Andrew and I headed the other direction with Kenyi, our translator.
Since I felt completely comfortable, I wanted to purposely let Andrew take the lead to “get his feet wet”. Let me tell you, it was just so encouraging to see someone else with the same passion I have, ministering to the people I literally adore, glorifying our sweet Jesus. He got pretty much every major cultural barrier and excuse thrown at him in regards to religion—an elderly lady sharing that she had her name on a list at her specific denomination’s church which guaranteed (as she was told) she’d have someone to bury her which meant she was going to Heaven, a middle aged woman saying that she drank alcohol so she couldn’t be a follower of Christ, another woman saying that she wanted to wait to confess Christ, sometime in the future, and then a 15 year old boy named Isaac who had never heard of Jesus before. It was so good for him to just be thrown in like that. It was also fun to see him be stretched as these people genuinely shared (a huge blessing in and of itself) the truth of where they were at. Oh, by the way, Isaac surrendered his life to Christ right there after simply hearing what Jesus did for him. When I asked Him if He wanted to know Jesus, he responded with, “Yes.” as if to say, “How could I not knowing what I now know?” ….innocence of children, I tell ya….
After visiting with them it was time to head back and we finished up our day in Lukalili with a time of discipleship. Simply, this is a chance for everyone to get together for iron to sharpen iron. It was a Q&A format. So many great questions were asked. They don’t hold back and I love it. It was yet again a really great introduction for Rebecca and Andrew, who will be living there for a year to hear a lot of the questions that are commonly asked and issues that are often having to be worked through. This can be anything from alcoholism to sanctification to polygamy to church discipline to spiritual attacks.
Before heading out to Lukalili I had tried to arrange things so I would be able to go to Kiri for my last group and to say my goodbye’s that afternoon. The Lord is just so good. It ended up that we finished in Lukalili at the exact time we would need to leave to head to Kiri. Not only that, but our driver and everyone else were gracious enough to go along with me so we could make it happen.
Be on the lookout for the next post. You don’t want to miss out on what the Lord accomplished in Kiri with Yaba and Abuba Poresi….
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