A few weeks ago our team went into the bush for an overnight outreach. The villages are chosen because either a pastor or a missionary have been trying to minister to the people and need help getting started. It was awesome! I kept wanting to pinch myself because I could not believe I was actually in Africa, traveling in a bus packed with Nigerian teammates, bumping along a 'road', with no civilization in sight. When we arrived at the village, our leader went to talk with the chief. We soon found out that the chief did not want us there because there was a wedding the sa
me day. It would not be good to have two events happening at the same time.
Our leader asked us all to come over and see the chief- perhaps our presence would help him change his mind. I have never seen a chief before and was not sure what to expect. We walked past a group of about 8 women and 15 children. One of my teammates told me those were his wives and kids. Out of the hut came a man, maybe in his 60's, no taller than 5'9". He had a kind face, which wore a tentative expression as he saw all of us. His skin showed evidence of many years in the sun and his clothes, although nicer than some of the others in the village, were not elaborate. Despite all of this, his demeanor demanded respect.
It was finally decided that we could stay until the wedding started. During that time about 50 people came to
our makeshift clinic. Members of our team visited different families to share about Jesus. We praise God that 16 people committed their lives to Christ during those two hours! The local pastor will follow-up on their decisions. We received word that another village had invited us to come and stay the night with them! We piled into our vans and made our way down the 'roads' to this village. On our way, I marveled that we had planned on staying with the original village- however, GOD directed us to this one… and we would soon find out why! When we arrived, we could see a couple of huts at the top of the hill. The problem was that there was no road to the village. No problem! Men of the village hacked away at the dirt and rocks, making a path.It was almost dusk, so we hurriedly pitched our tents and set up the 'screen' for the Jesus Film. The screen is a white sheet stretched between two sticks. For the first hour or so, a video was shown with Christian music and a short Gospel presentation. At this time there were only about 30 people present. As the music traveled across the plains, I could see people walking in the distance, arriving in anticipation. Many if not all had never seen a film before. Excited chatter of children and adults alike were heard over the music. As they arrived, they stared mesmerized at the screen as they heard the actors speaking in their language, telling them about the Truth of Jesus. By the time we started the Jesus Film over 300 people had arrived!! I sat on top of one of the vans and praised God all evening. His love transcends language, culture, countries… into the heart of the person He has created. I kept looking up into the night sky, where the thousands of stars twinkled, and thanked Him for allowing me to be there, for taking me out of my comfort zone, for giving me abundant life.
The next morning we started our medical clinic early. There were so many people waiting in line that I was told to take care of the men. 'Take care' meaning- be their doctor. :) Yeah, I was a bit nervous. But, my translator had been on many outreaches and although she was not trained medically, she helped me out a lot. Together we diagnosed and prescribed meds, which were picked up by the patients in the tent next to us. I learned a lot that day… mostly that I do not know a lot! Ha.
At the end of our time, we learned that almost 100 adults and children had accepted Christ! The pastor, who joined us, will follow up on their decisions. Those 100 souls are why God took us to that village. It was a blast! The next outreach is February 20 and I am pumped to go! Last year, 10,000 people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior through these medical outreaches!
