Saturday soulwinning begins bright and early at 7 AM. Most things for us start at 7 AM – language lessons Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and Sunday services. They do this so they can avoid the heat of the day.
Because I knew we were going to the new section again, this time I wanted to be prepared for an impromptu lesson if needed, so I tossed some pictures and a review game in my bag.
We parked in a big open field. Kids were playing soccer in the back. Another group had started gathering around us. Eric said for the ladies, kids, Shadrick, and I to stay there and do a lesson, while his group went to a different area.
Kids continued to gather as we sang songs. Some adults and older teens stood listening a ways off and ladies walking past with their laundry on their heads stopped for a moment before continuing on their way.
When we finished and were waiting for the other group, Abigail knelt down and started drawing with a stick in the dirt. Almost immediately, she was surrounded. A little while later she came to me and whispered, “It was getting crowded! I just sit and start drawing and everyone crowds around!”
This week, Mercy had a loose tooth. She began wiggling it back and forth quickly with her tongue for the children crowded around her to see. They asked her to do it again, so she did!
That is the way it is almost everywhere we go. We are crowded and pressed upon, pointed and stared at. Some little ones are scared of us, and all find us amusing. It can be exhausting at times and it often reminds me of how Jesus must have felt…though His was much more!
In our village, the kids who have been requesting prayers for practicing witchcraft have been missing more Sundays. It is hard as I’d love to see them saved! There may not be a girl in the village who hasn’t been taught and pushed into witchcraft. Some boys, but especially the girls are taught.
Some of the customs here are so very, very wicked! The more I learn, the more my heart is grieved!
Local officials are aware and turn a blind eye…even the Christians are aware! Although it is difficult for me to even fathom, probably even many of the Christians are practicing these evil customs.
I feel like David. I want to run through the church, “Is there not a cause?! Is there not a cause?!” But instead, I just pray that the Lord will give us wisdom when teaching against them.
When we pulled into Phokera on Sunday, there was a boombox playing loudly. Brother Shadrick said that it was from a wedding and that we would probably not have many kids today. Praise the Lord, we still had a good group!
There are also many superstitions or beliefs concerning medicine and hospitals. Some have beliefs against taking medication even for malaria. Another lady who was coming to the gate with a very infected finger suddenly stopped. When Brother Shadrick visited her and encouraged her to come for regular cleaning and bandaging, she said she wouldn’t come anymore because she believed that it was a curse.
A lady from church went to a hospital for cataract surgery and her sight was restored in that eye. She was scheduled to have surgery on the other eye. Her relatives were so paranoid about the hospital and the surgery that they rubbed salt in her eyes causing her to go blind.
It grieves my heart knowing that, in some cases, it may cause death. Sometimes with little children. How I wish I could force or convince them that they need the medication or help to get better, but I can’t.
Just like we cannot force anyone to receive proper medical treatment, we cannot force anyone to trust Jesus as their Savior. We must just be faithful for we never know when our last opportunity might be.
There has been a little girl faithfully coming to the Phokera Bible studies. Her smile is as big as her head! She cannot be more than 4 years old, but has been given the responsibility of caring for her little brother of about 2. Some weeks she gets to stay throughout the entire lesson, sometimes the little one cries so much that she has to leave. Last week the little one was fussy. You could see how much she desired to stay! So she picked up her little brother and stuck him off the mat a short distance away and gave him his shoes, then she ran back to join the singing. I’m not sure if she was hoping he’d go home or what, but eventually she had to leave with him because he would not stop crying. She would take a few steps, then turn around longingly. How I wanted to do something to help her stay with us! This week she was able to stay through the entire lesson.
It is very common here for little ones to have the responsibility for younger siblings, and even for little ones only a few years old to be roaming around, even on the roadside, by themselves. I probably seem way too overprotective with my kids because they aren’t allowed to freely roam the village. I’m very thankful though, for the time I have with them!
And I guess I should probably share, I turned 40 this past week! Wow. It definitely happens as the Bible says, just as a vapor. One day you’re a teen, then you blink and you’re 40. Such a short amount of time to serve the Lord! No matter how young or old you are now, don’t wait to serve the Lord! Serve Him now right where you are! Because one day you’ll blink and your opportunity will be lost.
fromtheheartofmrsmissionary.com 