Put on Hold

     The past week has been one of the most difficult, yet rewarding, weeks here in Zim. Difficult because we have not been able to do much ministry; rewarding because God has shown us that in His perfect timing and according to His perfect plan He is using us even in our "down" time to advance His Kingdom and bring people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

     We came to Zim with a plan- to do ministry and share the gospel- and right now we cannot go out and do what is on our schedule. We can still go to church, we can still go to a local orphanage every now and then, and we can go to the babies home one or two more times but everything else has been put on hold and for the past several days I have felt ineffective in completing the ministry we came here to do.But God has showed up in BIG ways.

     In something as simple as going to the internet cafe or riding in our kombi to and from church the gospel has been spread, and Christ's Kingdom has multiplied. In the process of feeling ineffective and useless God used me to share the gospel and as I shared the Bible- from Creation to Christ- with Request and Elvis (our kombi drives) the Lord was at work in their hearts and Request believed what God had me share with him. In the middle of my feeling useless God used me. Ephesians 3: says, " Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

     I am not called to sit in silence. Every minute of my day should be centered on advancing the Kingdom of Christ. I need to be ready at any time to share the gospel and I need to be willing to step back and let God lead me to the places He has prepared for me to be effective. Yes our ministry is on hold but that does not mean we cannot minister to the people we meet on the streets, or in the grocery store. Prayer is a powerful thing. God has taught me that. And in these past few days at thirteen of us have prayed for a way to keep ministering, and a way to share the gospel with non-believers God has answered in a big way- a way far beyond anything we ever expected. Through God's strength I am able to be bold in my faith. I thank God for that and pray He continues to work in me and through me.

"Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel" - Ephesians 6:19

-Amanda

Party Vibes... Celebrating Zim Style

Everything fun in Africa is considered party vibes. First ever lock in for the youth-- Gonna be party vibes. Intense game of Ultimate Frisbee-- PARTY VIBES. Star gazing on a big rock overlooking all of Bulawayo-- definite party vibes!
Can I be honest with you guys? I was absolutely dreading my birthday overseas.

I cannot really explain why except I guess I was missing out on not being able to celebrate in the "American" way. I knew it would make me miss my family and my friends among other things. I had pretty much told my team to not even mention my birthday and that I didn't want to celebrate.

I did NOT want to be blessed, but God blessed me anyway. There is something so so peaceful about falling asleep under the stars singing praises to Jesus and waking up having complete peace praying "Lord use me to bring glory to Your name today." And God allowed exactly that to happen because not even two hours later over twenty children arrived for the school day.

What a blessing it was to sing, and dance, and play with them. To help them learn their colors, number, and days of the week. To cuddle with them and take pictures with them. God showed me that it is way better to give than to receive. It was the best birthday that I can ever remember and hardly anyone even know it was my birthday. The day was not focused on me. I didn't even get to talk to my family, and I was okay. I was beyond okay. I was blessed. Acts 20:35 says, "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive." God showed me that in a great way.

The highlight of the night was getting to spend it with the girls from Sandra Jones Center. One of the girls lead them all in a loud, boisterous round of Happy Birthday and I got to end the evening studying God's Word, praying, and praising God. My attitude about the day was negative but God turned it upside down.

"The sun comes up; it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes"

-Amanda

What are you going to do about it?

     Last night I got the opportunity to sit in on a Bible study one of the Journeymen here in Zimbabwe hosts for some of the young women. They have just begun a study about owning their faith and not just following in the footsteps of their parents. Many of these girls will be starting University soon and I remember how important it was to have a solid ground and really know what I believe as I stepped foot on my college campus that first semester. These girls are so full of questions and the discussion last night was very rich.

     One of the girls asked a question Im sure many people have struggled with at some point. "What if we are wrong about Christianity and everyone else is right." I know its something I wondered in high school before God reminded me of His truth in Scripture. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." We cannot know, with concrete evidence to literally put in someones hand, that what we believe is real. But the Bible tells us to have faith and I know I have put my faith in the One who offers redemption and grace. I loved the saying one person shared:

"Here's the thing. If I'm wrong and everyone else is right than I have NOTHING to lose, but if they're wrong and I'm right than they have EVERYTHING to lose."

     Eternity in hell.That is what is at stake for everyone who doesn't know Christ Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. But what are we doing about that to change the fact that millions upon millions of people headed down a path of destruction. Are we going to them? Are we sharing God's Word with them?

     In my head it never really seemed urgent because I knew Scripture said Christ would not come back a second time until every tribe, tongue, and nation had, had a chance to hear the Gospel. I always thought everyone will get a chance to hear before Christ comes back so I don't need to worry right now. God convicted me last night and showed me how wrong this thought process was. Last night it struck me- there are people dying yesterday, today, and tomorrow without ever hearing about who Jesus is. God called me to go, to share, and to spread the Good News to ALL nations. I need to be obedient today because tomorrow isn't promised and for someone tomorrow will be too late. Eternity in hell is at stake- we all deserve that but I have received God's saving grace and everyone should have the opportunity to hear about it. I am going to obey God in that call to reach the people who would not otherwise hear the Gospel. What will you do?

"It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about him will see,
    and those who have not heard will understand.” - Romans 15:20-21

-Amanda

Streams of Living Water

     Water is a precious commodity here in Zim. You must boil it to drink it, to cook with it, and even to brush your teeth. Some days there is no running water and you cannot shower or flush the toilets. Water here is one of the most important commodities. I am reminded of this as I mentally kick myself for only bringing one bottle of water on our overnight trip out of Bulawayo. Most places here don't have clean water to drink and many are lucky just to have running water all of the time.
   
    As I sat sick from dehydration I was reminded of an even greater need here in Zimbabwe- the need of the people to hear the Good News. In the cities of Zim, Harare and Bulawayo, the Gospel is easily accessible and opportunity to hear about Jesus is great. But in rural Zimbabwe people walk for over five miles to get to the closest church. Many times there is only one church among several villages. The surrounding areas are full of witch doctors and straight up witches. So many people live in fear of these evils, and they are thirsty for the love of Christ.

     So many of people here are fixated on getting to America. They belieive America holds the solution to all their problems. If they could just have their needs meet - food, water, shelter, cloths, health, etc- then they will be happy. They think all of these things come with one trip to the States. What they are really missing is the love of Christ and the Truth of the Gospel. Soon they will realize that having their physical needs meet will only bring them temporary happiness. They are missing the hope of Christ.

"If a man thirsdy let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water flow from within him." John 7:37-38

-Amanda

Comfort VS Christ

"Do all things without grumbling or disputing"Philippians 2:14
    
    This verse keep running through my head Tuesday morning as fifteen of us piled into a twelve passenger kombi on our way to Phakamani, a village three hours outside of Bulawayo. We were leaving at 6:45 in the morning and no one was happy to be awake. No one was comfortable in the kombi because everyone was squashed into the seats. People moved from seat to seat trying complaining saying something was wrong with each seat and they could not get comfortable. They complained it was hot, they complained there wasn't enough room, or they complained they were so uncomfortable. At one point I broke down saying: "If our driver keeps swerving like this we are going to have problems." or " If I have to get out of this kombi one more time Im going to flip out". For the most part I tried to keep quite, talking to myself and to God.

    Four hours into what was supposed to be a three hour drive (and turned out to take close to six hours)- after many annoyed comments and a lot of complaining remarks- God reminded me of this:

"Do all things without grumbling or disputing"Philippians 2:14

    I did not come to Africa this summer to be comfortable. God did not call me to live in luxury while people came to me to hear the Gospel. He called me to GO and share the Gospel with ALL nations. No where in the Bible does it say "be comfortable".

• When its so hot I think Im going to die:

"Do all things without grumbling or disputing"Philippians 2:14

• When Im sleeping in the cold on the hard ground:

"Do all things without grumbling or disputing"Philippians 2:14

• when Im eating sadza for the second meal in a row:

"Do all things without grumbling or disputing"Philippians 2:14
    
     I did not come to Africa to be comfortable. I did not choose to follow Christ to be comfortable. Christ never promised a life of comfort to those who follow Him. He does say that the Christian walk will be full of trials, tribulations, and persecution. But I will choose to follow Him anyway with a joyful heart. Scripture says that we are to rejoice always (Phil 4:4 and 1 Thes 5:16 are a few of my favorites).

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? - Matthew 16:24-26

-Amanda