If you have done any mission trips before, what I am about to write will not be new to you. Please indulge my ramblings. But if you have never been asked to walk by faith outside of the USA, I wanted to try and capture just some of the ways God manifested Himself in Africa. Tanzania is a beautiful place with unending plains hemmed in with jagged mountain peaks. If I were merely a tourist, I would be compelled to say it is one of the most beautiful places I have been. But as a child of God, the purpose of my trip was much greater than taking in the scenery.
Craig and I traveled with Paul and Elesa Redmond. You will remember that the Reds were with us in Nepal where Elesa contracted a food-borne amoeba and was "sick unto death."I cannot think about her and that trip without thinking of Epaphroditus in Phil. 2:25-30. Paul said, "Hold men like him in high regard, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient." Elesa was so sick in Nepal, they considered air lifting her to Bangkok for treatment. The fact that she would even pray about traveling abroad again for the cause of Christ gives her walk of faith great credibility in my eyes. I am proud of my friend and blessed by her faith.
Walking by faith is the work of Christianity. It does not come natural to us; it does not come easy to us. It is a hard fought battle to surrender mind, will and emotion to the indwelling Spirit in order to walk by faith and not by sight. Doing it in the familiar environment of home is tough; doing it outside our comfort zone is all-consuming. But I have found God is more than capable of being BIG in my life in Africa, even as He is at home. This was my third trip to Africa. I declare if you could actually see my heart, I think it just might be conformed to the image of the continent! I have fallen in love with Africa, just as I have Nepal and India. The last place I have visited always owns my heart for a while! But for now, Africa is not only on my heart - it is my heart!
We flew into Kenya and then onto Mwansa, Tanzania. After lunch at a Chinese restaurant on Lake Victoria, we drove 3 hours to the city of Shynanga. We stayed in a oasis of a hotel that served cold bottle Cokes and hard boiled eggs! We felt right at home.

From our little retreat, we drove about 1 hour each morning to teach Pioneer Evangelism to 106 pastors and church leaders in a village of mud huts and thatched roofs. Our interpretor, James, was born and raised in this village and his father donated the land for the church building. It was made of mud and straw by the church members. It does not have pews. The members sit on a double layer of mud bricks, stacked and hardened on a dirt floor. With no doors or windows, it was breezy and pleasant--although a pesky lizard forced me to cast down some vain imaginations! The program we have been trained to teach takes 3-4 solid 8-hour days to complete. This village had 4000 and only 1 (Baptist) church. The church leaders, who had traveled great distances on foot, were anxious to hear the PE teaching, which teaches discipleship, church planting and evangelism. The native language is Swahili but every tribe (120 of them) have a heart language or mother tongue. James, our interpretor, is a pastor and works for Pioneer Evangelism. He will follow up on the pastors and help them grow their churches and plant new ones in the coming months. This teaching was new to these pastors but they hung with us, furiously scribbling notes and listening intently.

This is a picture of the men in front of the building. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was included and prepared by the ladies of the church. The village slaughtered a goat in honor of Craig and I and served it with rice, beans and well, some other things.

On the second day of teaching, we sent them out into the village to share the Bible stories about Jesus. Because many of the villagers have never heard His name, the stories begin with very basic truths about our Lord. Hopefully, after 7 weeks of hearing stories about Jesus, these contacts will give their hearts to Jesus and be incorporated into the existing church or become part of a new work. This program is much more than a "door to door" visit. It involves building a relationship with a lost person, making weekly visits to share about the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and then asking for a commitment. There is another 7 weeks of stories for the new convert to ensure a clear understanding and to help them grow in the Lord. We also had several books of sermons to give the pastors. Resources are limited so they were received gladly.

As you can imagine, leaving these precious people was hard for me. Walking by faith in Africa requires a conscious "fighting for the faith"in order to stay seated in the heavenlies and not reduced to limping along in the energy of the flesh.
Africa assaults my senses. Strong smells of diesel fuels mix with wood fires, the abundance of citrus fruits, raw sewage, and animal waste to create an aroma of human misery. The sight of unspeakable poverty pulls at my heart and makes it ache. My head pounds. My emotions become raw. My sensibilities are challenged at the sight of such masses of humanity locked in a cycle of poverty and pain. I fight to keep my spiritual equilibrium, but each trip takes a massive toll on my soul, leaving me feeling helpless and emotionally spent. These trips push me to question my place in all this. Again and again I cast myself upon the Lord and trust in Him alone to sort out my troubled mind and soothe my aching heart.
I would not give anything in the world for a trip like this. It is good for my "comfort zone" to be challenged. It has forced me to settle my own convictions about the issue of God's sovereignty. It has moved me to a new level of compassion. It has broadened my vision of who God is and who I am in Him. Walking by faith in Africa has accelerated my spiritual growth and given me a new vision of just how BIG my God is. And, bloggy sisters, He is BIG! He is BIG in Africa and He wants to be BIG in your life here in America. I can tell you this with certainty and conviction: He is BIG. Every trip outside the country teaches me just how BIG He is.
Walking by faith in Africa taught me to come back to my child-like faith and allow my Heavenly Father to carry me with strong arms and a gentle touch. For the many things I could not reconcile in my pitifully finite mind, I trusted His infinite plans and His merciful grace. I tell you, I felt His warm breathe on my neck as He whispered His tender words of comfort in my ear. Every day was a fresh encounter with Him, and I tell you it was worth it all to be in shut up into His presence in the remote bush of Africa. Was this trip about what God wanted to do in me or about what He wanted to do through me? It is hard to say, but I am forever changed for the glory of God because I was privileged to walk among these people and love on them in the name of Jesus Christ. God is at work among His precious people in Africa.
God is challenging the heart of this believer and in turn, I hope to stir you. Beloved believer, the walk of faith is a fight against the world, the flesh and the devil. It is not meant to be easy but it is full of riches for this life and rewards in the next. Blessings.
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