Today, Heidi and Rick joined up with Rhoda and Marvelous to attend a women's Bible study. There were probably 300 in attendance. Joe joined them a bit later to do the interpreting for Rick. During this time, a young man of 19 years old ran some errands with me. His name was Wyson White, and we talked quite a bit about Jesus. He was interested in having Jesus in his heart, and not just his head. He told me that he could feel his heart pounding in his chest while the pastors were praying and singing. I affirmed “The Holy Spirit is calling you my friend, and it is time to give everything to Him.” Lord willing, the conversation will continue, and another will be given an opportunity to populate heaven.
We stopped over at Nazer’s business to pick up a weed trimmer. He was on to London to retrieve his wife and new son. The pregnancy needed to be monitored by experts because of additional concerns. Abdula offered me a vehicle because our truck was in repair, and the kindness of this family continues to be amazing. We were able to get the truck back today. The torque converter had suffered a very unusual failure. I must admit, they were pretty ingenious in the repair method. I am skeptical that it will last long-term, but they did give us a one-year warranty for the repairs. I am trusting in the power of God that the vehicle will never get us stranded, and we will be able to perform the mission that were called to do.
We had to run to the bank to pick up some money to pay for the truck repair. I was able to talk to the same gentleman that had opened the bank account and was amazed that they allowed it because I was a foreigner. He was very interested in what was happening with EchoAfrica. I told him how God has corrected my misstep with a much better vision. He was very enthusiastic about leadership training. During the time I was talking to him, there was a gentleman standing nearby. He seemed curious about the conversation. When I stopped talking, he introduced himself. He said he was a principal of a Christian school, and keenly inquired of Echo’s activities. We gave him Tony’s contact information, so hopefully he will get in touch.
When we returned to the prayer meeting, I could feel the movement of the Holy Spirit the moment I exited the vehicle. As we entered, I began to tear up. Rick and Joe had engaged the group with a Holy Spirit-filled demonstration. There is definitely something special when you hear those two interact with each other and the audience. They asked me to speak a few words, which I try to resist most all of the time. I then had a blatant reminder of how I messed up the first time I was there. One of the leaders brought a great deal of attention to the fact that I distributed Bibles the last time I was there. This was before God revealed to me the seven rules of how EchoAfrica should function. Rule number 1 “Be as invisible as possible.”
This made me feel uncomfortable, and I received nothing but embarrassment from it. I am thankful that I heeded the warning and will not do that again. God’s ways are always much, much, much better than man’s. If I said “much” a billion times, it still does not explain how far beyond us He is. The next few days will go by quickly. If God chooses to have me or the others stay, it will be His will. Thanks to Nazer for loaning us a generator, we were able to get the internet working. When I logged in, I realized I had a message that was three hours old. The travel agency that issued the tickets was saying that my flight returning was about to be canceled.
With all the frustrations we had leaving, and only being successful on the third attempt, I was concerned. I did everything that I could think of to ensure that our tickets would not get canceled. I was able to contact the travel agency and assure them that we were in Malawi, and needed a return ticket. After sending them a quick email with our electronic ticket numbers, I contacted Lufthansa, the ticketing airline. Online, I was able to put our passport information in and get confirmation for the return trip. This is very reminiscent of some of the steps I tried when rebooking our canceled flight. The decision is ultimately God’s, so we will try our best to have peace regardless of what it is. For whatever reason we would be here longer, I am sure it will be worth it. On top of that, is God’s mighty hand and purpose.
