Squatter Camp Evangelism...South Africa

Last Friday, as a part of our training here in Johannesburg, we were put in groups of 3 and sent out to share the Gospel with everyone that the Holy Spirit placed in our path.
I was blessed to be with Lisa from Botswana and Mat from Malawi. It was so neat to be partnered with them because I have become friends with both of them, but to share Christ with them by my side was an awesome experience.
We were asked to share in a squatter's camp called Dobsonville.
The area that we were in was full of houses made of tin roofing sheets and scrap wood. There were probably around 50,000 people living in this particular compound. People were living on top of one another. My heart was hurting for the people that we met because some of them were living in such darkness.
God allowed us to meet many people but the barrier that we came across most often was that none of us spoke Zulu or Venda, therefore, we shared Jesus in English then prayed for the person. I know without a doubt that the Holy Spirit was with us and was using our words and actions to speak to their hearts although there was such a huge language barrier.

Along the way, I met a woman named Mphunda. She admitted that she did not know Jesus. I was able to share the story Creation to Christ, which is an evangelistic tool where stories are told to lead someone to understanding a little bit about who Jesus really is. After the story, I asked her if she wanted to know more about Him and she told me that she was satisfied. I asked if I could pray for her and she said ,"where do you want to pray?" I replied, "right here and right now, I want to pray for you." She was amazed because many people in Africa still think that you have to be IN church to pray. At her front gate at that moment we prayed for her family, for peace to come to South Africa, and for her to find another job. Please pray for Mphunda. Pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to speak to her and that the stories and the words of Scripture that she heard that Friday afternoon will ring in her ears and that she would turn to Jesus Christ.

The next lady we met was, Penny. Penny was lost and Mat shared the plan of salvation with her and after a few minutes and some questions, Penny prayed to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She prayed in Zulu, her heart language, and asked Him to forgive her of her sins and become the Lord of her life. I was so touched by this prayer (the translator that was present told us afterward what she had prayed). While Penny was praying, her daughter, Azani, ran to me and threw her arms in the air and reached for me. I picked her up, looked deep into her eyes and said, "Azani, your Mommy is going to tell you about Jesus one day. Jesus Christ loves you so much." I knew that she didn't understand. But she was gazing into my eyes and my heart was yearning to share Jesus with her in Zulu. As we turned to walk away, Penny said, "will I see you tomorrow?" I replied, "we won't be here tomorrow...but Penny, when our life is over, I will see you in Heaven." She smiled a peaceful and gentle smile and said, "that is right!" Azani ran back to the fence as I walked away and began to cry and yell for me to return. My heart broke...this was the first time in Africa a child has clung to me so quickly. The children in Zambia are very distant for a long time, so this was a huge blessing to me. Pray for Penny that she will go to church on Sunday at the nearby house church. Pray that she will grow in her faith. Pray that she will not be persecuted for her faith. Pray that she shares Jesus with Azani.

You may be asking...where was Kendall in all of this??

Kendall and I were not partnered together but God had truly gone before Kendall and led him to a place where He truly wanted to use him. About 400 meters down the road from where I was, there was a corner full of vendors. These vendors were not just African...they were MALAWIAN! This may not mean much to you, but to us this is HUGE....because they speak Chichewa! The language that we have spent 1 1/2 years learning! Kendall began to speak with one man about his life, family, and faith. The next thing he knows, there are 20...then 30 people gathered around listening to him share the gospel of Jesus Christ in Chichewa. He didn't have his Chichewa Bible but God was so gracious to him because he was able to recall a little bit of the Scripture passages in Chichewa. The people that gathered to hear this message were glowing because they had not heard their heart language of Chichewa in a long time and it was a blessing ot know that a white man loved them enough to know their language and share the love of Jesus Christ with them. We are not sure if anyone made any decisions that day, but God does and the seed of His love for them has been planted. Praise the Lord that God opened this HUGE door for Kendall to share the Gospel with this group of people. Pray for the people that were in attendance that someone would come along and water the seed that is planted in their heart and that they are drawn to the SON to grow.

God was so good to us this day! He is so faithful and Kendall and I were so blessed to just be a part of His HUGE plan for His name to be known and glorified among ALL people! Continue to lift this one new believer to the Lord and pray that the other seeds would be grounded, find root in Jesus, and GROW to know Him!!!