so, i just got back from outreach with the evangelism team. we were gone from wednesday to sunday. there were 7 of us that went to a nearby village called mutai. we stayed with a pastor and during the day, we would do door to door evangelism and in the evening we did school ministry.
outreach is always a challenge for me, but first: the highlights.
there was a man that came everyday to the house that we were staying at to eat. he had no shoes, and his hands and feet looked like they were just falling apart. his skin was full of jiggers- which are bugs that crawl into your skin and lay eggs. about 6 years ago, he got malaria and it went to his brain, and now he is mentally disabled. his whole family died of AIDS except his brother, who has been busy going to university in town and hasn't been taking care of him or his illnesses. he came to the pastors house 3 times a day to get food and smiled the whole time we saw him. we were all moved with compassion for him, so we got medicine to get rid of the jiggers, we got pesticide for his house and a new mattress for him. we were able to bathe him and give him new clothes. he was so, so happy. as we were caring for him, i was just moved to tears by how much God cares for the neglected, for the sick.
there was one particular moment that will remain in my mind forever. pastor was teaching him how to wash his hands, and he started doing it on his own. it was such a special picture of the way God cares for us by teaching us to care for ourselves, by gentling leading us hand in hand. God has not forgotten this man, even though literally the rest of the world had. God has not given up- and this man is so important to Him that He called us from all different parts the world to come clean his house. that touched my heart.
another highlight was whenever we were going for door to door, we ran across a man named grace (?) who was a drunkard. he "used to be" a Christian and then started drinking, and now he doesn't know what to do. here, just like all around the world, religion is preached all too often. this idea that you have to get yourself together or fix your behavior before you can come to God. that you have to be good enough before He will pay you any attention. it blessed my heart to be able to share the true Gospel with him- that he has it backwards! first, we come to Christ with all the crap in our lives, we come to Him as we are, and we do our best to obey Him and love Him, and the more we give Him our lives, the more He changes our behavior. i saw hope come back into his eyes, for the first time probably in years. and in that moment i was so thankful that the Gospel is what it is- that the Truth is so good, that the Truth gives hope. i was able to share with him about the freedom that ive seen Jesus give to people im very close to, and i was able to believe on his behalf that God is able to give it to him, too.
also, while we were playing music one night at the pastors house after we got back from ministry, a teenage girl named elizabeth came to our compound. she said she heard we were telling people the Gospel, and she wanted to be saved. i was so moved by her readiness, excitement, hunger for salvation. i was so moved by the fact that it was as simple as believing in Jesus- that that really is it. i loved the smile on her face right after we prayed- knowing that she was my sister who i would spend all of eternity with even if we dont speak the same language here.
but there were also many challenges.
im not sure how to explain it, especially without sounding arrogant or like i have it right. so, before i say anything, i ask for grace ahead of time as you read it.
in alot of ways, it seems like the Church here is young, for lack of better words. as in, the teaching is oftentimes questionable as to how biblical it is. it's also very simple. which has negative and positive aspects. positive, we all need to be constantly reminded of the basics. have faith in God, believe what He says, love your neighbor. i once heard my pastor say "people sometimes get frustrated why we teach the Gospel so much and dont move onto deeper things, but until you learn how to love your neighbor and believe you are forgiven, how do you expect to move onto the deeper things?" so that is the foundation we need. but negatively, with the same teachings over and over again, there isn't as much growth as there could be. i think there are a lot of factors that contribute to this stagnancy, if you will. one, a lot of people don't own a bible because it's too expensive or they don't know how to read. second, the ones that do own a bible don't always know how to study it properly. we need people to equip the pastors to equip all of the saints. it's time for the whole body to grow up into Christ (ephesians 4 is the word i got about this). being a part of a Church that is just growing has put paul's letters in a new perspective. i see now what he means about a lot of stuff that i never really understood before. be united, quit arguing about stupid stuff, help the poor people, share things, etc.
so, the challenge for me is hearing teaching that i find questionable and not really knowing what to do- if anything- about it. im a young white girl, what place do i have talking to the pastor about it?
i long to see support and training for the pastors. i long to see them understanding the Word, understanding God's character and understanding what their role is in the community. i long to see the members of churches understanding what it means to be a part of a Body, to grow in their relationship with Christ, to know Him personally and intimately. i long to see them embracing their giftings and walking confidently in them. i long to see them sharing what they have and supporting one another, discipling eachother. i long to see the whole Body growing up, but im not sure what my role is in this process. that's the frustrating part.
so...that was mostly my outreach. it's good to be back here now.
