“…you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in
Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Gregg Matte, my
pastor, has been teaching through a series titled, "Mission 1:8". His
challenge-"say Yes!” when God calls you. So when the request came for me to
lead a women’s conference in Kenya, I said, “Yes!”
While evangelism is at the top of the list of reasons to
“go” on a mission trip, serving and loving people is equally important. Our team of 18 was prepared to share personal
testimonies, teach and play with children in the orphanage, evangelize and
present skits in the market place, and be ready to serve with each opportunity
given; like a dance perfectly choreographed, every task was accomplished and
detail fulfilled.
While preparing to teach Power(full), (a bible study I’ve
written on 2 Timothy), the Holy Spirit prompted me to take a bible for each
woman who would attend the conference. I paused, thought about the logistics it
would take to locate Swahili Bibles, purchase and deliver them all in three
weeks, then quickly dismissed the idea as if there were no possible way that could happen.
But I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. That’s when the Holy Spirit seemed to shine a spot light on the four bibles lying on the table in front of me. I realized I have many bibles while most of the women at the conference have never had even one bible of their own. I thought about the message
of 2 Timothy; hold on to the pattern of
right teaching, be a good soldier of
Christ Jesus, be an approved worker who correctly explains the word of truth,
stay away from counterfeit teaching- I could understand why having a bible
would be a priceless gift for the ladies of Lamora. Instantly the possibility of putting a bible
in the hand of each lady filled my heart with outrageous joy and I believed by
faith it was going to happen.
The five day miracle!
·
The team met the following day and we began to
pray the Lord would provide Bibles.
·
There was no conference registration but 200
bibles came to mind.
·
We got to work and made phone calls to resources
we had.
·
Sunday, I shared the idea with Day Spring, my
ladies Bible Study Class at Houston’s First Baptist and before the hour was
over the ladies had given $450.00 toward the cause.
·
Gregg Matte’s @HoustonsFirstBaptist, message
that Sunday was Pray for a Miracle!
·
On Monday I called the mission’s office at HFB
to see if they could help locate Bibles. They agreed and began the search.
·
Tuesday, Lane, from the team called to tell me
that Pastor Willie Dengler, from South Africa, had located 200 Bibles in Swahili!
Like a kid on Christmas morning I was jumping for Jesus in my kitchen, praising
the Lord!
·
I emailed Houston’s First Mission Office to
share the news and thanked them for joining in on the search. I closed the email with these words-“Now we’re
praying by faith that the finances to pay for the Bibles will come through.” At
the time I had the $450.00.
·
Wednesday morning I got a call from Carolyn
O’Neal (Women’s Ministry Director at HFB), who shared the exciting news. “HFB
will pay the remaining balance of the Bibles!”
·
The next day we found out the cost of the Bibles
was two hundred dollars more than we expected. No surprise to God. That day,
two hundred dollars came in from a class member of Day Spring!
God gave the idea. I shared it by faith, believing He would
make it happen. The team of ladies believed
with me. God’s people came together.
God’s people gave. Now two hundred Bibles are in the hands of believers in a
remote village of Africa!
God wasn’t finished!
We witnessed another miracle! While our team sat around the dinner table the
night before we would present the bibles to the ladies, it came to our
attention that most of the Pastors who were graduating from the World Hope
Bible Institute (the first graduating class), also did not have Bibles in their
language. We were happy God provided bibles for the women but felt burdened to
know many of the pastors needed a bible, too.
God had a plan! Although we had 130 women come
and go at the conference on different days, the last day when we were
presenting the bibles, it poured down rain after lunch and only 106 ladies came
back for the last session. That evening
we were amazed when we asked, “How many Pastors will be graduating? The reply-
94! Do the math. 106 women plus 94 pastors=200! You should have seen the rejoicing
when each of the graduates received a bible after receiving their diploma. They
were so grateful! They held the bibles to their chest; kissed them! It was a
wonderful site.
Can you see how each step of this mission was ordered by
God? Because those who heard said “Yes!” we witnessed a miracle! God used us to
help Him accomplish His greater plan. He’s not finished!
“All Scripture is
inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize
what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is
right. 17) It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for
every good thing God wants us to do. -2 Timothy 3: 16-17
Over 1000 people trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and
Savior during our 12 day trip. Gods doing a work in Kenya! Pray with me that people in America will open
their hearts to the Good News of Jesus Christ and that many will develop a
personal relationship with Him. We need more people shining for Jesus in
America and …to the ends of the earth!
When God calls you to “go” what will you say?
Chandra Peele
www.chandrapeele.com
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