Life Changing Experiences

"Nothing so clears the vision and lifts up the life, as a decision to move forward in what you know to be entirely the will of the Lord." John Paton, Missionary

Our last expedition was into the Simwatachela kingdom and was very memorable and powerful. We ministered to 2,881 people in total of which 1,037 received Christ and 169 were healed from various diseases, pains, and addictions.

There were two incredibly memorable moments I had while I was there. The first one was on the second day we were there. We started off with a small group doing a bible study and as the meeting went on, the crowd grew and the Holy Spirit started moving. People started sharing personal things about their life, things that we weren’t teaching that day. Men shared about destroying their tobacco and how they needed prayer for their alcohol addiction. Others came up desiring to destroy the power of witchcraft over their life and burn anything that the witch doctor had given them. Several married couples came up as well and shared how they desired to reconcile their marriages and start over with a foundation on Jesus Christ. Jesus had started changing the desires and hearts of the people by his Holy Spirit, not by our words.

The second moment was the last day that we had a group meeting. After teaching the group about how Jesus views us and how much he loves and adores us, we discussed humbling ourselves and having a servant’s heart towards our neighbors. Then we took turns washing one another’s feet. It touched my heart to watch the people wash one another’s feet, including headmen, as an act of service to one another. That day the heart of Jesus was grasped and put into action by the people of Simwatachela.

Our most recent classes included a shop class, 4X4 driving, ministry ethics, a medical course, third world diseases, and preaching. Our medical course was so interesting as we learned all about how to treat injuries in the bush until we can get to medical help. Then we got to practice it with scenarios where people wore make-up and pretended to be hurt. We had to figure out what was wrong with them and treat them. It was intense, but lots of fun!

We finish the rest of our classes this week and then we have a final project and one last expedition. It has gone by so fast, but I have learned so much and I look forward to applying my new skills as a staff member. Thank you to all the encouragement of friends, family, and financial partners. This ministry would not run without you!