This day was weird. It was equal parts hard and wonderful. Day 4 is still the most vivid in my mind.
The day began with me randomly waking up at 2am (hello jet lag) and never falling back to sleep only to find out later that morning that I had started my period. Now, for any male reader, I apologize for this confession. But I have to share only to emphasize how much God helped me overcome my "first-world problems."
Anyways....that morning, God took me to Matthew 10 about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. The whole chapter spoke directly to my heart. However, the loudest message I heard was verse 10:31, "fear not."
I was leading our devotional that morning. However, it was only half of the team, because the other half had driven across Ethiopia to lead worship, teach at several church services, and had spent the night somewhere far far away. Our smaller group was exploring the question, "What has he [Jesus] done?" for our morning devotional with the verses Isaiah 53:4-9, 1 Peter 2:22-25, and Titus 3:4-7. My favorite part of the time together that morning was when we each prayed over the person standing next to us. There is something powerful about having someone else pray over you in a group setting.
We felt charged up and read, and we set off for another morning of hut-to-hut evangelism. But first stopped at a cafe for morning coffee, obviously. It was the first time I got to have wi-fi, and it was fuel for my soul. I got to see some pictures of my boys, and, instantly, all anxiety that was still remaining drifted away. He was clearly still having fun without me.
Eventually, we arrived at the village known as Daror.
We opened our time in Daror together by circling up, grabbing hands, and praying aloud. Multiple languages. Fervently praying. To one God. Mighty, mighty moment.
I cannot describe the presence of the Holy Spirit in that place as it deserves to be described. This moment was a highlight of the entire trip. Children would join in as they peeked into the room. It was tender and special. I like to think that you can't truly get the full effect without simply being there.
I was paired up with Laurie and Memory (Tiwisita), and we set out.
The first place we landed was a family's home. They invited us in, fed us, and asked us why we were there.
As Memory took over, it started to become clear that it was a debate. Half of the room was interested in what we had to say, but the patriarch member of the family was not having it. He told us we needed to leave. As we began to leave, some of the family followed us out. They accepted Christ into their hearts and asked to keep the Bible so they could continue to discuss it with the rest of their family.
As we walked away from that place, we saw camels up close and personal. This was the first of many cool animal experiences on that trip.
This is my favorite picture of the trip. It is beautiful. That baby's eyes absolutely captivate me. Unfortunately, the story behind the picture is more tragic.
We walked over to the family, and the mother said that unless we had food, she wouldn't talk. It was very clear that she and her child were starving. We told her that we had food. She wouldn't accept the food, nor would she listen to us. She was Orthodox and did not want to hear it. I will never forget the pride of that woman. She was smiling because she had never seen a white person before, but she is hiding her face because she was ashamed to be turning down the food. I pray that her family would turn to Jesus to provide. Unfortunately for us, we had to keep walking.
As we were on our way back, we came across a man who was so sweet. He too invited us in to see his home. Oddly enough, they had an American alphabet hanging on their wall?!? Anyways, we told him why we were there, and, in that moment, he and his wife were saved. He said multiple times that he was so happy. He couldn't stop repeating that same message over and over again. I saw the joy spread across his face. There was no question in my mind that he had accepted Christ.
As we waited for the others to join, we talked to more villagers, played soccer, and enjoyed fellowship together.
From there, we left, ate lunch at a cafe, and went on to Chancho for what they called a youth conference. We get to Chancho, and they took us to their offices. (I should also note that the only bathroom available to us was a hole in the ground. The potty experience made for a "bucket list" item that I didn't know I wanted. Remember my confession from earlier?!? Yea...no fun). For those of you nervous about this, it is really no big deal. It was not enjoyable, but the joy of the trip far outweighed the potty hole. So there is one less excuse for ya :)
As we are waiting in the offices, Salam asks us what songs we will be singing that night. We tell him that he is clearly mistaken, the worship group was at a different location that evening. He responds that tonight, we are the worship leaders and will need a setlist of 3 songs.
Below is the face we all made when we found out we would be leading worship
We spend the next hour or so arguing over song choices, doubting our ability to perform, and telling Kevin to please for the love quit singing "There is Power in the Name of Jesus" at full volume.
Our roles were as follows: Christian -- disengaged to prepare sermon, David -- keep everyone laughing, Kevin -- sing as loud as he possibly could to annoy us, Christie -- continuous vocalized doubt about our abilities, Myself -- try to keep everyone focused on the task at hand and stress about whether or not it will be good enough, Salam -- Laugh at our panicking, Lauren -- refuse to participate and take pictures of everyone freaking out :)
Finally, we decided to sing "O, Come to the Altar," "Reckless Love" and "Amazing Grace" (A Cappella).
We get on stage, and David and I have the microphones (We were the two with "musical abilities." I use that term very loosely for myself. David can nail the high harmonies though). However, about 1/3 of the way through "O, Come to the Altar" our music goes out, and David and I are now singing a capella.
Though we were not anywhere near as good as the worship team, it was one of the top highlights of the trip. It has ALWAYS been a dream to lead worship on stage, and now I've done it. I learned that worship is not a talent-based thing. It is about one's heart and being willing to be willing to do whatever is asked of us in order to glorify God.
The rest of the service was a great experience. Christie and Kevin gave their testimonies, Christian preached, and David gave a moving prayer. It was such a great experience to get to watch the Ethiopian youth worship. I love the energy, the dancing, and the joy that is proclaimed to the Lord in that place.
We were all exhausted on the way home. We knew that we still had to stay up for dinner and showers and that whole process. I told Salam that I was ready to go home. He said we were going home, but I told him that only bed is home. It became our running joke the whole trip. "Bed is Home."
My journal entry for the night said: "Today I feel encouraged and energized. Today I saw that worship isn't about the lyrics, but the heart and the posture. Worship looks drastically different for everyone. I also learned the power of corporate prayer. I saw salvation wash over a man in his home. I can officially leave knowing that I was able to bring people to Christ all the way in Africa. What a joy it is to serve the kingdom. I am excited and looking forward to tomorrow."
Don't forget to read about the rest of our experience by clicking the links below!
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