A team member and I have been preparing ourselves for the first trip. Though I have been aware of this harvest field for almost 10 years, suddenly, as we’re getting ready to go, so many questions and shifts in my duties have arisen. Questions like, how will I know if I’m saying the right thing, what’s going to happen to the disciples here in my home church? During the swarm of so many voices, I heard the still small voice of God…
My daughter, take off your sandals for where you stand is Holy Ground. I will teach your hands to make war. I am your rock; the same rock of Hannah’s is yours. I will arm you with strength. I make all things perfect. I will set you all on a High Place so that your arms can bend a bow of bronze. I am with you.
That was all I needed to hear. It’s the hardest thing to do because we genuinely think we, mere humans, know better. And if I’m being honest, though God says, ‘I got it’, it’s not easy to let go and trust God. But for me to experience the work of God launch like an arrow amid our work, I had to agree to cut out all the fluff, and hone into the voice of the Holy Spirit.
So, I agreed to stop, breathe, and rest in His goodness. He’s in so deep with us, and I know He won’t leave us, it’s my confidence. So, I will stop again, and again, and again, to breathe, and rest there in His goodness. Because, in His stay, divine things begin to work and it’s beyond my comprehension. I am confident in the things to come.
In the palm of His hand, we are so in sync with the plan and desire of the Holy Spirit. That is to raise disciples in the nation to which we are sent who will evangelize the Name of Jesus Christ and raise more disciples. With the implications caused by COVID-19, there was a pit feeling of “how”. I would sit in my bed and cry for hours and hours, sometimes until 4 am, asking God to open doors so that we can expedite the construction of the Training Centre so we can begin the discipleship among young people. I’d cry out to God and say, Lord, you gave us this plan, so come on, let’s get to it! We’re ready, please Jesus, begin raising!
From April of 2020, until July 20th, 2021, the team has been reverently praying for God to open doors for travel and the time has arrived! We held Zoom Prayer meetings Mondays to Fridays, at 8 pm, in which we would pray for our work. In my heart, I would always ask—before we even go there, that the Lord would begin a revival among His disciples in the nation. As we pack our suitcases, God is also packing His arrows into His quiver because He has begun a launch. It’s time you meet our friends!
M has been a devoted prayer warrior. M is 13 years old. He lives in a small village where he proudly serves the Lord. He began his journey with Christ at a young age, but a revival has been stirred in his bones to do more for the Kingdom of God, specifically for his home nation. In anticipation of the Training Centre, M has dedicated his life to being a student there. Before the construction is even finished, M is the first disciple who has dedicated his life to the call. Discipleship has already begun to activate in his life, as demonstrated through ministering to his whole family. And at our Zoom Prayers, he has gotten his nearby friends, cousins, siblings, and grandma to join in the prayers. His whole family has now testified to the miracles God has performed in their life. M is a confirmation of the way the Lord of Hosts already begins to work. He is ten steps ahead of us, and my heart is confident in His plan!
On July 19, the team and I sat with Pastor V to organize the structure of the upcoming trip. On the night of July 18th, a young girl named D was having trouble sleeping. The voice of the Lord came to her in a way that couldn’t be ignored – much like Samuel’s encounter. God has interesting ways of weaving people together by the voice of the Holy Spirit. His prompt is irreplicable, often too potent to be ignored.
God spoke to her that night and she called Pastor V with urgency the next morning. Both D and another friend R, on the same night, were given the prompt to dedicate their whole lives to serving at the Training Centre. D has committed herself to be a translator for the four team members from Canada, and a bridge for many other connections between the leaders.
I am in awe of the way God hears the pound of the heart– the angst, the how. He is understanding towards it but sure does know how to come in with a loud “I told you, this is MY plan and I know how to work”.
The pre-ordained organization of the Holy Spirit never ceases to amaze me. Every day I receive confirmations that He is on our side. Before the work is established, the Establisher begins to initiate His fire. A flame has been lit and God is already foreshadowing the waves of young people who will stand for the Lord and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
“And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
Acts 20:22-24
