After our conversation with Lawrence (link), Caitlynn and I were walking around the market, sometimes having little conversations with the vendors, sometimes praying for people, but mostly praying quietly to ourselves that the Lord would highlight anyone he wanted us to talk to.
After we wandered down a couple aisles, I found myself walking towards this woman. Not hesitantly like “I think I’m supposed to talk to her,”
No, it was a straight beeline for her. And Caitlynn goes, “you got something?”
and without hesitation, as if it was not even my voice I just say “yeah.”
So I walk straight up to this woman and say hello, introduce myself, ask her name. And then I just asked “do you know Jesus?” She shook her head. I asked if I could share his story with her. She clarified that she knew who Jesus Christ was, but had never been told the story about him. I asked if I could share and she said yes.
I shared the gospel and talked about how with sin this world is broken but that God loves us so much that he sent his only son to live a perfect life and die a perfect death. I shared that when we accept his sacrifice for us that our sins are paid for and that we are welcome into the presence of God and can spend eternity with him.
When I finished she shared with me that she had once been a Christian but had left the faith because of poverty.
The Lord began bringing scripture to my mind to share with her.
I asked if she knew that the Lord lays up treasures for us in heaven.
I shared 1st Peter 1:4 with her, which says that we are promised an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading.
I also told her that after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, when he ascended into heaven, he promised to go and prepare a place for us. (John 14:4).
We continued talking and she continued to share with me bits and pieces from her story. God kept giving me words of truth and encouragement for her.
When we were done talking I was shocked to hear her say: “Because of your advice, I will leave the pagans and return to the Christian church.”
I probably asked some stuttering superfluous questions to make sure I had heard her right.
Once I had established that I did hear her correctly, we prayed together to break ties with the pagan church and recommit her life to Christ. Afterwards I shared my excitement with her, that she is my sister in Christ and that one day we will sit at his table together. I also shared Matthew 7:13-14 “For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few.”
Prosperity gospel is a big problem in Africa. People are told that if they accept Christ they will no longer struggle with poverty and they will suddenly have wealth and affluence. That is one of the reasons it is such a big deal for Americans to come and preach the gospel. If people become Christians so that they will become wealthy then why would Americans not only become Christians but also go out of their way to preach the Gospel, when (in the perception of many foreign countries) Americans are all already wealthy?
It took me a while to get my head around this but the fact that most of us are white Americans is actually a big part of the impact of our ministry in Africa. Africans are more likely to listen to us than they are to other Africans. I definitely don’t love this concept, but I’m thankful that we were able to have such a strong impact on the people we had the opportunity to minister to.
Jesus makes it clear that Christianity is not always going to look like the easy path (Matt 16:23- “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me”) but what is clear is that it is worth it and that what awaits us in heaven is far beyond comparison to anything we could ever ask for here on earth.
I was amazed at how the Holy Spirit guided me straight to this woman so that she could hear exactly what she needed to hear. Please be in prayer for her that the Lord would continue to pursue her heart and that he would supply all her needs. If you haven’t already guessed from the title of the blog, her name is Vinellia.
Meeting her was a joy and an amazing reminder to me that we are all seen and known by the Father. He loves us, he knows what we need, and he meets us where we are.
Much Love and God Bless,
-Hattie
