Back from the Village

Let me just say that God moved mightily throughout our team this last week. I will give you a day by day account of what happened each day.

Day 1
We arrived on Wednesday evening and setup camp. Now when i say we set up camp we really did. When we arrived our campsite was in the middle of 8ft. grass and huge trees. When we got finished it was a nice open area of tents and a bush kitchen. Let me tell you it was a beautiful sight. We ate grilled chicken and rice that night. Decadent!!! Thats the only words to describe the chicken. We then gathered around the fire and had a time of prayer and worship. There is something about being out in God's open country and worshiping Him underneath His vast and starry universe!!

Day 2
We woke up and had some fantastic oatmeal. After our meal me and 3 other guys began walking to the chiefs palace. It was about a half a mile or so to the palace from our campsite. We arrived and stuck out like a sore thumb. When 3 makuas walk into an African village, heads turn!! Hehehehe. It was awesome!! The Chiefs palace is a huge piece of land with farms and village huts surrounding the whole property. We walked around for a while and then were met by the chief. The chief is a short chubby man that wore a peter pan like hat. It was a totally cool hat!!

After talking with the chief we then were greeted by most of the headman that were there for the leadership conference. Zambians are some of the nicest people you will meet on the face of the earth. The rest of our team showed up and we began the conference. The conference consisted of us sitting amongst the headman and learning abou them and their villages. We then sat back and listened to Jake the sector manager from Overland teach the headman about Vision.

After the conference had come to an end for the day we headed back to our campsite. God had really been heavy on me all day abd i knew he wanted me to approach the group and challenge them. I talked with Dan our AMT leader/teacher and one of my buddies who is a pastor in England named Mark. They to had been given the same direction from God. Its amazing how God will say the exact same thing to people when He wants something done. We then proceeded to have worship and then approach our team about what God had been telling us.

I told the team how God had been speaking to me all day and calling me out to step up and take charge. He had called our whole team especially those who had ministry experience. He had also called me to not let fear grip me any longer. The final thing He told me was to step up and preach His word to a people who were hungry and thristy for truth. For so long i had let fear take control and i for sure didnt want to get in front of people and preach. For one i didnt think i was good at it and for two i was scared. Thats when God's truth overpowered my thinking and showed me that His word and salvation are more important than my comfort. These people needed to hear His good news and He was asking me to tell them.

The thing i learned this day was that everyone who has had their life changed by Christ has some good news to share with everybody they come into contact with.

Day3
I woke up and was so focused. I was focused on the mission God had given me to do this day. We left our campsite and headed out to the chiefs palace. From the chiefs palace we headed out to work in the fields of a nearby village. We harvested maize and then walked 3 miles to go and preach to a small village. When we finally arrived we only had 20-30 minutes to preach because we had to be back for the conference. 2 of our team gave their testimonies and then i preached.

I preached what God had done in my own life. I preached about the Grace that God gives and how you dont have to work for it. I talked about how you cant serve to masters. You cant go to the witch doctor and also trust in Christ. Its Christ and Him only!! I also preached on the amazing love God has for us. After getting done i gave them a chance to receive this amazing gift of grace and love. We set in silence for about 5 seconds and one lady stood up and said she wanted that gift. My heart lept for joy!! I knew now God had put something inside of me and i could no longer shrink back and hide. It was Christ in me and nothing of myself.

We had walked a total of 6 miles once we returned to the palace and all i knew was it was totally worth it. It reminded me of the lost sheep. God left for the 99 for the 1. We walked forever and one lady received the greatest gift of all. Wow!! Thank you Jesus!!

Day4
We left our campsite and headed back to the palace for our last day of minstry at the palace. We arrived and headed straight to the cheifs fields. About 6 of our team went to a Seventh day adventist church and preached the Good News to them while we were in the fields.

After finishing in the fields we headed back to the conference and greeted all the headmen. We said our goodbyes and went back to our campsite. Once we arrived all of the guys went to the soccer fields to play a game. We played until there was no energy left. We beat the other team 2-1. Yes we have gotten better!! After the game we presented the gospel to the guys from the village. All of them stood up to either be prayed for or recieve the gift of salvation. It was totally not what i expected but once again God does what we think is impossible.

Day5
We woke up tore down camp and headed back to the Overland Base.

Closing Comments
As i have mentioned spiritual warfare is very prevalent here in Africa. We had come in contact with a boy who was demon possessed. The crazy thing is 2 weeks ago he was totally normal. When we came into contact with him he went crazy. We prayed for him for 2 days straight. I would ask that you would pray for this boy. I know in the U.S we dont see these cases that often or at all. I know i havent always considered it to be a big deal, but when you see it first hand it becomes more real than ever. It has been easy in the states to kinda beleive in demons and spirtual warfare, but since i have been here i know its real and i know we are in a battle. The good news is we win!!

Another thing is that at the conference all the headmen came together after we left and began confessing sin to God and each other and praying with one another. God truly did amazing things. He not only gave me favor with the chief. In fact me and the chief held hands for a while. In Africa this is a common thing for men to do with each other, but when you put a Texan in Africa with a short chubby man holding his hand its a little weird at first. The truth is i held my cool and knew that it was a cultural thing and just rolled with it.

As you can see God truly gave us favor. To Him be the glory forever and ever amen!!