this little light of mine, i'm gonna let it shine.

All over the world, Your song will resound.
All over the world, Your praises ring out.
We're living to see, Your name and renown.
All over the world.

-Matt Redman

  

Africa. Wow. God is faithful. God is eternal. God is BIG, yet so detailed at the same time. Everyday I was fortunate to taste a little bit of God's goodness. Here are two stories I felt needed to be shared to give you a glimpse of what my eyes saw and my heart felt.

On July 14,2012 we departed from Little Rock, AR. After taking three days to arrive to El doret, Kenya, losing our luggage, getting sick, and adjusting to the food, lack of working toilets and cold showers, we were ready to go. Seriously though, so much happened within the first few days to make anyone question why they agreed to come on this trip. But lucky for us, God is still good despite any inconveniences and continued to have His hand on the trip.

My first incredible experience happened on the second day in the field. Debbie Brown (a lady on my team) and four of our interpreters came upon this hut where a lady was cutting vegetables. It took me longer to get to the hut; but when I did, my interpreter, Jacktone, was speaking to the lady. As he was talking to her in Swahili she started crying. I had Mrs. Debbie catch me up on what was going on. They had already shared the gospel with her and she was eager to accept Jesus. I was so elated to hear of this. Every time someone accepted Christ, Jacktone would speak to them after and encourage them even more. Sometimes he would help them read their bible and show them where to find specific verses. Other times he would encourage them to attend church and press the importance of being in fellowship with other believers. I assumed he was doing just this.  

Turns out this lady's husband left her for another woman and kicked her out of their house so she was staying with a friend. She was heartbroken. Tears were streaming down her face as she told her story. Jacktone told her that God sees her crying and He is there to comfort her. He said a lot more but I couldn't understand it. After he finished, he asked if we would pray for her. Everyone of course agreed. He said, "we are all going to pray over her right now, out loud." Now I've been with others before where we all prayed out loud at the same time. But this time was different. There were 5 people praying in Swahili, and 2 people praying in English. Talk about a wow moment. For the first time in my life, I got a little glimpse of Heaven. 

"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.' "               Revelation 7:9-10

The few minutes spent praying truly showed me how universal our God is. He understands every language. He heard EVERY single one of our prayers and didn't need a translator. Tears formed in my eyes as I grasped the beauty of this. It gets better. After we prayed, we looked her in the eyes and told her if we never saw her again (because odds are we won't), we would see her in Heaven, where we will spend eternity with her and Jesus. As we told her this (and everyone else who accepted Christ into their hearts this trip), I began to think about the weight of that promise. 

This is what made every thing worth it. The missing luggage for three days, getting sick, walking for miles in the equatorial sun and carrying a heavy backpack full of food and bibles. Anytime I became weak and started to think about the extreme conditions of a third world country, I rested in the fact that it was completely worth it. It was worth it to know they will get to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven.

Later that week, I experienced another moment that had me crying tears of joy. My team had split up to cover more people so I was the only mzungu (white person) in a hut full of 17 Kenyans. Chickens were running around my feet and cows were right outside the door. It was a surreal moment. I think I might have experienced culture shock at that hut. As I was sitting there thinking just how funny everything was, Jacktone began talking to the family. We quickly realized they were already Christians, so we asked them if they had any prayer requests. As the mom started telling us her request, she began to cry. She was overcome with so much anxiety. Her mom had died within the past year, her dad passed away the week before we got there, and her daughter was about to get married. She was overwhelmed by her stressful circumstances. Jacktone recited the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The only way I knew he was telling them this story was because those names are the same in English as they are in Swahili. As he explained how God is always with us and protects us when life becomes too difficult to bear, a verse came to my mind. Psalm 34:17-22. These verses were shown to me by a good friend in the 9th grade when I was facing my own hardships. I pulled out the Swahili bible and flipped to what I thought was that verse. Jacktone confirmed with his English bible that I had the right verse so I highlighted it and gave it to the mom. I told Jacktone to explain that this verse has helped me for so long by knowing God is my ultimate source of strength and He promises to be by my side when I face difficult times. A huge smile crept on the mother's face and she thanked us for stopping by. She also asked me to pray over her before we left. I have never felt so excited to pray for someone as I did then.

My heart was bursting with joy. It amazes me that God chooses to use me, a materialistic-overly dramatic-bitter-selfish-the list goes on and on sinner, to perform the work of a perfect and powerful King. I want you to picture this moment with me. I'm sitting in a hut. In the middle of the corn fields. With a family of Kenyans and my interpreters. Chickens running around. Cows moo-ing. And I get to share the same verses that have helped me for so many years, with a mother who doesn't know how to get through each day. Does it get any better than this?

I cannot fully express the gratitude I currently feel in my heart for what God allowed me to experience while being over there. Our team saw over 1,200 people come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. Hearts were transformed and people started living for a greater cause. All because 27 Americans from a small town in Arkansas chose to obey God's calling for a portion of their summer. However, my two weeks in Kenya were entirely too short. It felt like watching the previews for one of the Bourne movies. When all you want to do is see the rest of the movie right then. Not wait 9 months for it to come out. Someday I hope to return overseas and stay longer than two weeks. I'm not sure when, but I am praying for the opportunity. The opportunity to preach God's word to those who have never owned a bible. To share the news of Jesus Christ. To pray over families who need encouragement. To learn more Swahili. To teach little kids how to call the hogs. And to retrieve the part of my heart that I left behind.

 "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor."      Isaiah 61:1-3 (emphasis mine)

 

This is what my heart beats for.

Callin' those Hogs!

-Morgan Elizabeth