April 25th
Today was a beautiful day. We started as we always do with our continued study in Ephesians 2.
This morning we covered just two verses in chapter 2, verses 11 & 12. We realized that we have no racism today that compares to the divide that was between the Jewish people and the Gentiles in the day that Paul wrote.
In verse 12 alone we see how alienated the Gentiles actually were. They were without Christ, so they had no hope of a Savior. They had no state, Israel was a nation under God, the Gentiles had no part in that.
They had no future promises. Israel was brought blessings by their covenant that God made with them for all their blessings, the Gentiles had no promise. But, to me the worst part was that they were Hopeless and Godless!
I cannot imagine walking through this world without Hope and without God, that was the Gentiles. They were alienated, they couldn’t get along, isn’t that the problem in the world today, we just cannot get along!
Times haven’t changed that much after all.
Our day was spent in the village of Selimu, going hut to hut to visit those that have not been to church in a while. Each of us had multiple opportunities to share the gospel and to pray with different people.
Each one of them had their own story, their unique set of circumstances that they were facing, and each had different reasons for why they had stopped coming to church.
One woman that we shared the gospel with just seemed empty, while others that sat around her seemed engaged.
Some were repentant about sins in their lives, others focused on health issues they were facing.
It was hot HOT today, we walked through areas so much and so tight at times it was almost as if we were blazing a new trail. But still true to form we picked up a group.
One in particular was a young man I got to speak with that had gotten caught up with drinking, and knew it was wrong. The gospel was shared, and we prayed but then he joined the group and was with us to the end.
He must have heard the gospel presented over ten times! Only God would do something like that. We also picked up quite a few little ones. Seems to happen a lot when we travel hut to hut in the villages.
I loved watching Janine and Karey connect with the women when they shared the gospel and prayed. Relations are key to opening doors and getting people to speak honestly, and both Karey and Janine are so gifted at that.
Each woman they spoke with they were able to relate to as a woman. You could see it in the eyes of the women that finally someone understands me, someone validates me.
One of my favorite moments was when the pastor that was with us shared the gospel with the EvangeCube. Both Ovi and I were amazed at how seamless it was when he did it.
No pauses for translations, just a smooth sharing of the gospel from one Malawian to another. Is that not the ultimate goal of what we do? To train up those that God puts in our paths so they can go out and reach others. Such a joy to see that.
When we made it back to the tree where we had service yesterday, lunch was almost ready, though lunch is much later here than we do in America. We had barely sat down when Janine and Karey were called to the back area where the women were cooking.
That is my wife, she loves the personal connections with other women of the faith, and I love her for it. So, off they both go, to assist with cooking or so I assume.
We started engaging all the children sitting around us, Stanley led them in songs, and then Ovi started reciting bible verses.
Then all of the sudden, there is singing and clapping coming from behind the house, where we thought Janine and Karey went to help with cooking. Oh, well. But wait, then all of the sudden there is loud laughter, cackling and you could just hear the happiness of the women.
Both Ovi and I looked at one another and decided to see what all the commotion was about, so we headed back to check it out.
Turns out it was more about dancing than it was cooking-we have the video for proof, my wonderful wife picked up some Malawian moves!
This all started because Janine, after speaking with the women, asked them if they had any questions for them. Was there anything they wanted to know about Janine or Karey.
One woman asked Jaine, can you dance? If you know my wife, you know the answer, of course. That brought a rousing round of laughter, then the Malawian women started singing, showing dance moves, and there you have it.
All of this because they saw these women Sunday at church. The gospel is about relationships, a relationship with each other, and a relationship with Christ.
Take time to build relationships with the people God puts in your path, show them you care, love them, and share Christ with them so they can have the best ever relationship. That is missions!
Blessings in Christ.