I was afraid that I would be bored stiff during these lectures about the Father Heart of God, What is Prayer, What is Sin... and for the most part, I listen to some of the teaching and somewhere between pride and anxiousness to get teaching, I find myself thinking, "I could teach this." But in each day, God has led me to the importance of remembering who He is. So many truths about God being my Father have been lacquered over my mind, reminding me that God is not like my father, He IS My Father. And what's more, I am not a father even to my own two beauties, He IS Their Father. He will protect them. He will keep Hannah's stomach safe. He will protect Hailey when she drinks that bathwater full of amoebas and jiardia or from the ringworm and hookworms laced through the dirt she so loves to play with. He will watch over Hannah's heart when she cries every day or two because her little heart misses her friends in Wenatchee. HE is their Father and He knows all their needs.
As I have been learning about sin, repentance, and forgiveness, I know what the Bible says about the limits of grace (none), the definitions of sin, and the mandate of repentance and forgiveness. But what God has been teaching me through my ears open to hearing how God speaks to His children here in Tanzania is that they are all part of the same story. So often, we in the US see our sin as a decision that we make. We have the choice to act or not; to give in or not; to stand firm, then, or buckle. And the same is true of repentance. We say with our mouths, "We Repent" and then move on to our regularly dispensed forgiveness at the words of our "repentance." On the other hand, hearing them describe our lives as a much larger whole puts a different emphasis and strength in these truths of the good news of Jesus. Our sin is progressive. Its part of a story. No one make isolated decisions outside of all of the other components of our lives. It starts somewhere in the beginning. It began in the Old Testament for all of us, and when we were born for each of us; from our very first decision. The same is true for repentance. It is progressive. It is part of your life, woven into the rest of our decisions. Jesus is looking for a decision we make. He is looking for us to stand up for what is right. But He is just as much concerned with the ways that decision to stand affects the rest of our decisions. From one decision comes another and soon, we have a lifestyle of change. Which brings us to forgiveness. It, just like the rest, is a process. It is a progression in our lives. Yes, praise the Lord Jesus, it is a decision that we and Jesus have chosen together. It happens in that moment, but, then, it also happens as we experience the healing that proceeds from progressive repentance. Then, our forgiveness is more than just an obligation, but a restoration of old things passing away and new things coming. Good news for the sinner! (me) Great news for the captives! (us) Wonderful opportunity for worship for the world! And God has been bringing fruit from it all. My ability to speak Swahili gets better and better. I have been invited to preach now almost every Sunday and sometimes during the week there are opportunities. One opportunity came with a small problem. When it came time to preach, the translator from English into Maasai was still cooking lunch and could not come. :) The only other available was one that did not know English. So, I preached the entire sermon in Swahili! One older man was present as I was preaching about Jesus' lessons on turning the other cheek. He came forward during the alter call asking forgiveness for being a "bad man" and repented of his sins. About a week later, there was a girl that was scheduled to preach for an evening service but became immediately ill. About three minutes before starting, the leaned over and informed me that I would be preaching. I stood up and began to introduce myself in Swahili, giving some greetings. Before I knew it the sermon was half over! That evening, about 15 children and 1 young man asked Jesus into their hearts.
And on top of those incredible works of the Lord, we went to a small circle of mud huts about 3 kilometers away from our base to pray for some women that attend a worship service there in Engikaret. We arrived and we prayed and many praised the Lord for being healed in their bodies and encouraged in some of their needs. Before we left, they led us to one old man that wanted prayer. He said his leg hurt and he could no longer walk. We laid our hands on him and prayed, but his pain persisted. I asked him what the problem was and he showed me a huge abscess about the size of a lemon on his thigh. So, we laid hands on the lump and prayed again. Again, no relief from the pain. I sat there stunned, wondering what to do next. My team was looking to me for guidance, and the man was clearly unimpressed. I quietly asked Jesus for help. I asked him what he would have us do next. Before I could say anything, he started to slip the corner of his wrap from his shoulder. He said that he had some other minor problems also. When the wrap came off, you could see a tumor the size of a watermelon sitting on the middle of his back and another lemon sized one on the far side of his back! Right away, I heard a leading from the Lord and began to speak. I asked the old man if he had ever asked Jesus into his heart. He said, "yes" but then the three old women and one young woman standing behind him (4 of his 28 wives) corrected that he had not ever met Jesus. Right away, I remembered this man from a trip past. He had not asked Jesus into his heart, but had been healed from an inability to see (some kind of glaze that was over his eyes). Now his eyes were clear. He already knew the power of the name of Jesus. I told him that this silly little tumor (in my mind I was thinking, "this ridiculously huge tumor") is not a big deal at all to God. He could take care of that in a word from his spirit. But God does have a really big problem with the sin in his life. And that cannot be fixed without his repentance. He thought for a moment, then responded, "Can I do that today, or should I call all of my children here first to hear about this and ask also?" I asked our staff liaison to have him call his children. He leaned over to me and said, "we better pray for him today and make a bigger plan for his children to come. There are over 100. Plus their wives and children." Wow!!! As I returned to the base and told the base leader about the man we had spoken with, I found that he was the senior physician (witch doctor) of the area but has since "retired" however that happens. He is an extremely well respected elder and feared because of the spiritual power he possessed. I was glad to be unaware of all of that before I led him to pray for forgiveness for all of his sins, that God is the only God with all power, that there is no other god like Him, and a commitment to serve no other god besides Jesus.
God has been so faithful. His mercies are new every morning. His peace is beyond our understanding and his love is never ending. Thank you all so much for your prayers. Thank you for your faithfulness in your emails and posts. Thank you for those we have been able to talk to on Skype. We love you very much and could not be here doing these things without Jesus and his tools (you, you're all a bunch of tools). We think of you often and pray for you.
These have become of our best friends and Maasai teachers
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