Open the Floodgates of Heaven!

My friend Lisa from school sent me a picture (I am the 3rd person over from the left in the camouflaged shirt...can you see me? Ha, ha!)of one of the best teaching/worshipping times that we had in class at Holy Given during the first week. I had goosebumps, not because of the rain, but from the tangible presence of the Lord. Let me tell you why...

We had been talking about the nations in class and people were praying for their countries in their respective languages (there were dozens of nations represented at the school). They were praying for the Spirit of God to break forth in their countries and repenting on behalf of the people who lived there, crying out on behalf of the nations.

It was hard to imagine that God would have mercy on us, and how the BRIDE of Christ could ever be beautiful, complete, and restored. We had an intense time of prayer, different people representing their nation in life, crying out for God's children to unite. God even put it on my heart for me to speak on behalf of Rwanda, for the victims of genecide, especially the children. Let me tell you, I was a WRECK, and I can guarantee you, most of the students felt it too. Our hearts were broken for our brothers and sisters...

As the prayers and tears came to a calm murmur, the wind outside the tent began to pick up and within about 30 seconds it was absolutely pouring!! I mean POURING!!! It hadn't rained in a very long time! It was weeks before the rainy season started! It had been sunny and hot and clear for weeks up until that moment! The heavens were opened! The Lord was responding...

I couldn't help but want to dive into the rain to feel the God's love washing my tears away. I was drenched, and NEVER in my life did God's timing seem so perfect and just for us...I danced around and laughed, completely in awe as the rain streamed down my body.

And I wasn't alone. Many people felt the Spirit move them to join the rest of us "crazies." in "soaking up" God's presence. We started singing "Let It Rain" in English, and then Portuguese, and pretty soon other people from their nations came to the microphone, singing in their language...It was such a precious, unifying moment in the body of Christ. Completely priceless.

It was like God was tangibly expressing His divine promise to us in Acts 2:17-'In the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.'

God WILL pour out his Spirit on the nations (he's even doing it right now!!) and his bride WILL be beautiful--not limping and broken and falling apart. As surely as I felt the penetrating rain soak me through and through, God will do what he has said he would do. PRAISE GOD!!

'Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: 'Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.' Rev. 19:6-8.

A House that God Builds

African Culture...

This is a picture of my little African "son" Antonio, a village boy, and myself carrying straw to Antonio's house to replace the roof. I felt truly African, even though I was called "goonya" (white person) from all the Makuan children as I trekked through the village with the straw on my head. I was quite a spectacle as people and children came out of their houses to watch! :) It's a good idea every year to put on a new roof, if the family can afford it, before the rainy season starts in January. In fact, as I write this in South Africa, there has been horrible floods in Pemba due to intense rain. I knew God wanted me to help his family when I saw the living conditions of their house. I imagined myself waking up soaked in the middle of the night with no place to go. I don't think I would be very happy, and my heart went out to Antonio's mother Maria when she explained why she wasn't doing well. I could definitely emphathize.
Matthew 7:12- So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Alone with God? Yikes!

Well, Torstein is ready for his new adventure heading to the country of Lesotho tomorrow, so I will be traveling alone for a bit, unless God directs me elsewhere...I feel that it's a good thing for my soul and a fear I need to face. I guess I am looking forward to it, kind of! God has always provided me with amazing people in my life wherever I go, so I am not worried. So if you can, please pray for direction in my life...I am condemplating sticking around CapeTown for a bit, as I do know some people here. The family we have been staying with just had a newborn, their 4th child under the age of 5 (like the Bauers almost!). So they do need help, but I really just want what God wants. I love spending time with the township kids on the beach or just chilling with the people on the streets. However, if God wants me to spend it with Him so that I can get to know him better, than that's what I want more. I want to be open to whatever season He has for my life right now: clarity, clarity, clarity! :) Thanks so much you guys...I love you!

Praying For a Happy Reunion

I wanted to tell you a bit about Bananee, the 11-year-old Tor and I met in the Company Gardens with Joe. We found him sleeping, and when the security guard woke him up, he noticed us talking like "Americans" and asked us for money. I had made chocolate chip "biscuits" for this reason and to hand out to them, so I gave him one, and Tor asked him halfheartedy if he wanted his coffee. Wouldn't you know, he did! So we talked to him for a bit and managed to get out of him that he and his brother have been living on the streets for 3 years, but still stay in contact with his mom. His dad got killed in some fight and his mom had a new boyfriend that drank a lot and abused him, so they left the township (a place that looks like a bunch of tiny, tiny shacks close together, like a ghetto). We asked him if he would like to go back home, and he said yes. We asked him why he didn't, and he didn't really reply. He changed the subject and asked us if we wanted to go to the South African museum because it had giant animals. Tor and I hadn't been to it yet, so we took him and it was sooo fun! He lit up at the giant whale skeleton and we sat listening to whale sounds in the whale booth. When we got out of the museum, he was in a hurry to get to the currency exchange so he could exhange his Euros he had received on the street the night before. He asked us if he would see us again and we said probably. We gave him hugs and reminded him Jesus loved him. I have to admit, he stole my heart! :)

The next morning we saw him again sleeping on the lawn, but when we woke him up, he wanted to sleep. One more time when we tried, he was too tired to go eat, so Tor and I left him sleep. This last weeked I went away with some girls, so Tor stayed in town and did ministry alone. He hung out with Joe, and had an amazing conversation about "turning the other cheek" with an old boss who owed him a lot of money (I mean, wow, what a heart...the guy's homeless and needs the money!). Tor also met up with Bananee and his brother. He found out his mom was no longer with the boyfriend, so Tor bought him bus tickets to go home and saw them off....so cool! I pray that the reunion was like in Luke with the prodigal son and that his mom welcomes them with open arms!

Like a Watered Garden

"If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." Isaiah 58:10-11.

Torstein and I have been staying on LongStreet in a couple of different hostels. LongStreet is like the strip in downtown Las Vegas, although on a small scale. It's mostly filled with young adults into the hardcore drinking and clubbing scene, street kids, homeless people, and potential muggers...It's not the safest place in Capetown, but it definitely has many opportunities to hang out, love on, and pray with the "down and out" people.

One of our favorite places to go nearby is the Company Gardens that is filled with all kinds of people: tourists, business people, couples, school kids on field trips, security guards, vendors, but mostly homeless people sleeping on the grass from being up all night. Tor and I usually go there to read or pray because it is really quiet and peaceful. Last week we came across a guy named Joe, an ex-drug addict who has been living on the streets for 3 years. He noticed we were Christians and came over to talk to us about what happens when we die. Apparently, some Johovah Witnesses had been arguing with him previously, and he refused to believe what they were saying, and he wanted our opinion. Though this encounter we learned much about his faith in God. He also told us that just the night before he had been stabbed on the street and robbed of the little personal items he had, including his Bible. A bit discouraged, but he explained to us the story of Job and how he believed God would restore everything to him (Job 42:10). He asked for our email addresses to stay in contact with us, but we were so touched by his faith that we promised him we would come back to visit him, eager to hear more about his story.

So over the next couple of days, God put it on our heart to get Joe a new Bible, a small burgundy one with a ribbon bookmark. We wrote Jeremiah 29:11 on the inside and that God's presence would always be with him. We found him sleeping in the gardens, and Bananee (an 11 year old street kid making his "living" begging on Longsteet at night, whom I will write about him next) woke him up for us. The look on his face was priceless...He was overjoyed by our company and the fulfillment of our promise. When we presented his gift to him, he had the hugest smile on his face. He said, "This is better than any amount of money. Lots of people talk shit, but you guys, wow...I knew God would give me everything back. I am going to take care of this and treasure this. " And he really, really meant it. We held hands with him, praying that God would provide a job, and the presence of God was sweet. It's moments like this that I live for.

Continuing on with the Journey

Hey everyone! I am so excited to have a blog now! My traveling buddy Torstein from Norway showed me how to do this making it easier to voluntarily read and comment on what's going on in my "African" life. I won't send long mass emails to all of you and you can definitely share this site with others if they are interested and would like to pray for me. I will even be able to load pictures here, so that you will be able to put a face to the stories of people that God is touching! How cool is that?? I love easy accessible internet cafes! Be blessed!

Update since January 8, 2007:
I have been officially done with mission school and out of the "bush" for almost 3 weeks now, and I have to admit, I went through some culture shock. I gave the South African mother where I was staying at a big hug after being allowed to thoroughly clean my clothes in her washer and dryer! It was such a blessing! That was in Johannessburg for a couple of days, and now I have traveled to the bottom tip of Africa to Cape Town.

God has been leading me to apply what I have learned in Mozambique. (James 1:25-But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.) This is God's promise that I have been experiencing many times since I have been here, as I am learning to step out of my comfort zone and enter into "His uncomfortable zone." (2 Corinthians 4:17-18-For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.) I am learning it's worth being afflicted in my "fear of what man will think" only for a moment, compared to the fruitful results from obeying God!