If you've asked me about Africa, I have most likely told you this story. People often ask about my favorite moment or the most amazing thing that happened while I was in Africa. I have so much trouble picking a favorite anything and stories from my time in Africa are no exception. However, this is the story that usually comes out because it is so very close to my heart. This is not the story of a woman being healed of AIDS or a blind man seeing or of a sangoma being used for God's glory, although those are incredible stories of God's love and power, which should be told. It is a story beautiful in its simplicity. A quiet, unobtrusive story easily overlooked though full of God's workings.
That day, Team VESSELS was ministering in Kya Sand. My MIG (ministry group) had noticed that, when we encountered women who attend church, they often said took their children to church, but their husbands wouldn't go. You see, heavy drinking and gambling is rampant in these squatter camps and many men there think they have to fix themselves before they can go to church. Because the men don't think they belong at church, there is a widely accepted sentiment that "church is for women". During ministry, my MIG encountered many women, but the men were often out drinking, gambling, doing piece jobs (odd jobs), or looking for work.
Before leaving the creche (preschool, run by Impact Africa) for ministry, my MIG decided to pray that God would lead us to men to minister to that day and that he would raise up men in Kya Sand to be spiritual leaders. Then we left and walked through the camp, across the river, and up to the other side of Kya Sand, where we were doing ministry that day.
Surprise! There were No. Women. There were large groups of men everywhere. Before we knew it, the two guys in our group and our translator were sitting with and talking to a big group of these men. GE has a lot of rules about girls approaching men for safety reasons, so we couldn't really talk to anyone. But then two women showed up a few feet away, so we sat down and began to talk to them, but they both got up and walked away without saying much. As they were leaving, six or seven children appeared and we decided to do an impromptu VBS. (This happened with several MIG's while on hut-to-hut ministry - telling the kids a Bible story, presenting the Gospel, playing games, and singing songs wherever a group of children happened to be, whether it was at a soccer pitch, behind a group of shacks, on the side of the road.) Several children decided to follow Jesus, which was very exciting. After the VBS, we decided to pray for the community of Kya Sand and the kids followed and stood with us as we prayed in the street. When we looked up, there was a man walking toward us. One man. We were allowed to talk to one man, just not groups of men. Most of my MIG was on the side of the circle closest to the man and they began to talk to him. I was mostly surrounded by the kids.
As I listened to the conversation unfold, one of the girls who had accepted Christ walked up to me and asked to borrow my Bible. I gave it to her and she started flipping through it, saying, "John... John... John...". I helped her find the book of John and asked, "What chapter?" She said, "14. John 14:6". As I opened to John 14:6, she quoted it to me. "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." When we got there, we read it together and she said, "I don't understand. Will you explain it to me?" Of course I would explain it to her! When I was done, her face lit up and she said, "I get it!". She then offered another reference, which was a parable involving money. We read it together and she again asked me to explain what it meant. As we were finishing our conversation about the parable, my MIG was ready to move and the girl, Lesogo, held my hand and walked with me as I continued to explain. She stayed with me the whole ministry day - walking between shacks, sitting in the road - as we read portions of the Bible and talked about what they meant.
Lesogo is a beautiful 11-year-old girl. Her mother takes her to church every Sunday, but, like most churches in the squatter camps, it is full of false doctrine. The leaders of the church Lesogo went to teach ancestor worship and that there are many ways to be saved, among other false teachings, and only read passages from the Bible that involve money. The whole point of the church seemed to be to make the leaders rich. I took Lesogo through many different parts of the Bible, addressing these topics and emphasizing most of all that Jesus is the only way. I also found out Lesogo had never heard of heaven - had no idea there was something after death. (This was common among the people we met in the squatter camps. Even people who had gone to church their whole lives didn't know about heaven.) Her face lit up every time I explained something to her and, at the end, she said, "I get it! Jesus is the only way! I'm going to tell my parents, my family, and all my friends that Jesus is the only way because I want them to come to heaven with me, too!".
I may never see Lesogo again on this earth, but I pray for her daily and I know my God is faithful and I trust that He will finish the work He has begun in Lesogo's life.
Sadly, I didn't have my camera that day, but here is a picture of my fantastic MIG :)
Me, Ellie, Adino, Nazar, Jannell, Mikaela, Bones (our translator, actually Bonghani), and Lacy
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