Getting up at three in the morning to return to Malawi made for a short night. I was so blessed to hear a positive report from the Malawi team while I was gone. Heidi is gifted with her one-on-one ability. Male or female does not seem to matter, because she makes a connection. There was a gentleman named Memory that she had a lengthy conversation with, about issues in his marriage, and they were both genuine in their talk. There is something very special going on here, and it is quite amazing to watch. Everyone is gifted in different areas, and the body of Christ is functioning as it should. When it is decision-making time, three or four of us will gather together and come to an agreement. One of these instances occurred Sunday, while Duncan was at Felix’s church.
We are not exactly sure what God wants us to do in this situation, but it is always God’s desire that a brother would be restored. I believe that Duncan is serving two masters, and needs to make a decision. We are searching out God to determine what the best approach is. Also, it has been on my heart to meet with Annie. I see many similarities in the paths of our life. She definitely seems to have a desire to follow the Lord, yet I am not sure how she will receive the words that I should speak.
A group of us met together to discuss the house. Upon our arrival, we realized how much God’s Will was at work. Without much involvement, Tony and Joe have assembled a striking team: well-balanced, kind, loving, and most importantly with hearts to serve Jesus. The harmony of the body of Christ exists within these individuals. Pastor Rick senses that the Holy Spirit could be setting up a model that would be used around the world. With that said, this house is nearly ideal for what we are doing. We came to the agreement that if the Lord wanted us to have this property, he would make a way.
Today, Boneface drove the van around and picked up pastors for the second week of training. In the first group, pastors took a survey, and they all indicated that the learning opportunity was terrific. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of what God has laid on our hearts, and we will keep being open to redirection by the Holy Spirit. We have had discussions about various other ministry opportunities, and currently, we will be having training sessions three weeks of every month.
Ongoing discipleship and accountability activities should be adopted by all. This is imperative, and is set out as a necessary activity for the church. If we are not willing to surrender to each other’s God-driven authority in our life, it is highly unlikely we will surrender directly to the Lordship of Jesus. We, as Christians, are to judge one another in the spirit of love with hopes of all of us growing closer to Jesus. The Scriptures are quite direct in this area, but have been manipulated in a way to suit humanity’s desires, allowing serious violation to God’s commandments to go unchecked.
No matter the cost, the Echo team has made the commitment to hold fast to the teachings of the Holy Spirit. We also have committed to high levels of accountability to one another. Please continue to pray for our efforts to be in alignment with God’s Will. We are humbled and in awe of how He has been revealing Himself to us in Malawi.
