”Spiritual warfare is not just a fragment of Christianity, it is the whole of the Christian experience.” (Sherman in “Spiritual Warfare”, pg. 186)
It’s already been a week since I last wrote as I now sit on a boat, watching as the lush, green mountains of Bucas Grande Island gets closer by every passing second. As I prepare my heart for the coming full week of ministry and evangelism to the lost I reflect on the past week and the lessons I learned in class.
The primary lesson being spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare is something that often flies under the radar of the normal day Christian. The devil wants to be in power, he wants to have control of both the believers and nonbelievers lives. In the east, here in the Asian rim, the devil rules by fear. He works through the supernatural and holds many souls in captivity because of their recognition of his or his servants power. In the west, America, the Devil plays a different angle and pulls a magic trick greater than any stage magician. He disappears from our minds, and subtly influences our lives, keeping people in sin and in blame towards the brokenness of this world. His goal is to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to steal away your life day by day. Kill your joy, praise, and obedience. And destroy your effectiveness as a Christian in the short life we have on this earth. He does this by twisting or hearts with pride, fear, and selfishness. If we let the enemy do this, we will be ineffective. We have a mission, we have been drafted into the Army of God, and we are on the front lines right now. We must open our eyes to the enemy and start confronting him. We must recognize the victory we have in Christ and rebuke the devil’s attempts to try and sabotage our lives. Get on the battlefield! Start fighting the extremely real forces that are holding these very lost people in bondage through get on the battlefield! Start fighting the extremely real forces that are holding these very lost people in bondage through (1) Intentional prayer & (2) Going into these areas and proclaiming the news of absolute victory that no force, enemy, or prince of hell can ever quench. Get in the fight, start moving forward, and let the gospel of victory be proclaimed.
On a shorter note, the second class time we had during the week we spent doing team building exercises. Over the course of these two months our team of 14 has grown extremely close. Practically living like family, we’ve done everything together. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t had our different struggles. Dealing with so many expectations and emotions can quite exhausting, but even in the struggle, there is much joy in seeing God’s sovereign hand in so many lives. All of us are so different, yet God is working so significantly and specifically that it draws us into a unity of praise and glory to him. As a training is coming to a close, and we split up across the globe, I am so excited to see what God does in the lives of these individuals.
My mind snaps back to the week ahead. The island approaching. And then, just like that, my week is over. Yet though it flew past it was full of so much. To make it easy to follow, I’m going to split up my stories into two sections entitled ministry and adventures.
First Ministry: We arrived around mid day of Saturday, and I really just laid around for most of the afternoon, since we had just undergone bus and boat rides from 7 PM to 12 PM the following day. I was exhausted.
-The next day, Sunday, we began to get connected to the different village leaders, and some of the Bible study contacts. We started with the village we were staying in (1/3), and shared our testimonies and mission with the leader. Then, for a solid hour I played frisbee with the kids and really just goofed around till we headed back to our home for dinner.
-Monday was kind of a part two of Sunday as we visited the same Bible study house from the day before, and that’s where the similarities ended. We arrives to tears and a dead baby on the table. The night before one of the family members had given birth to their child & a few hours later it died. Though it was not someone closely related to me, the pain was still real. A life stolen away before it could even begin. The question was raised, could this really be in God’s plan? For God’s glory? This is another lesson that I am continuing to learn. God works in ways we don’t understand. I think of John the Baptist as he was beheaded not knowing if his life have meant anything. Did he understand God’s plan? One lyric that has stuck with me through this training is “if you can’t trace his hand, trust his heart”. We continued on, visited a few more village leaders, getting permission for our ministry, and then headed into our daily activities.
-Tuesday was our first official day of ministry with our specific team in our designated Village. In the morning, because some of my team got delayed at the funeral of the baby mentioned before, I join another team to help with their ministry. Me, along with one of the guys (Will) and a translator walked along the street and share the gospel with whoever we came across. God opened doors as we shared the gospel with four families, and scheduled follow up Bible studies for the days to come. Then, once my team was fully assembled, we headed out to our village and began our three day mission in that community. We went home to home and took turns, sharing the gospel, our testimonies, and asking if we could follow up with him in the following days. We visited a total of three houses and scheduled two Bible studies for the next days we had left.
-Wednesday, we jumped back into it and went to two new homes, one of which was the village leaders home. We experienced so much hospitality and kindness, and after a brief few hours of lunch and rest, we continued with another follow up Bible study and another sharing of the gospel to a family. One of the things that both surprised me in a small way, and encouraged me greatly, was the simple faith of the believers in that village. They really had a deep abiding trust in God.
-Thursday, was our final day of ministry, and it felt like we had so much to do with not enough time. But God gave us the people we needed to follow up on, and we finished the day with a house visit to two of the sweetest little Filipino grandparents ever. Along with another Bible study on baptism, ending with the two women committing to being baptized in Christ. I felt somewhat heartbroken as we left, for the there was still such work that needed to be done. But God is faithful, and the seed that was planted will not be put to shame.
-Friday we ended the week with a worship and prayer night, and God really broke my heart again for the lostness of the world, and the worthiness of God. He is so deserving of all praise.
-Saturday was mostly full of travel home, but I did get to have a conversation with a college student about God and his life. I felt so terrified, and yet racked with guilt for the life of another next to me. I prayed for God to give me the boldness and an opportunity to jump in, and he did. We have to take the leap. Trust the holy spirit to speak through you, and the power of the gospel to change lives. He is beyond able to save.
Overall a very full week of ministry and missions, and more witnessing of God’s work and power to change lives. He is worthy, and he is working through our obedience. Therefore, let us obey him and see him work.
Fundays: we had two fun activities this week. The first was on Monday afternoon.
-After finishing our morning ministry, we triked down to the beach and just wow. Palm trees and soft sand and 2 foot high water out for a quarter mile. We trecked out as soon as we got there until we finally reached the waves. The water was crystal clear, and hidden in the sand we found droves of konk shells in hidden little clumps. We did some beach karaoke at a random little song shack and then explored the coast for a while until we had to leave. We found a huge cave and spent some time exploring or using my favorite word, “spelunking”.
-Our next adventure came on Friday. We woke up early, triked up and over some mountains, and came down to a crystal clear lake. It was absolutely beautiful. We waited for a while until our boats got there, and then took off over the lake until we reached a hidden cave in one of the lakes mountain walls. For a few seconds, we sat in darkness, and then we emerged into a beautiful light. The water was see-through to the sandy floor below, and as we sailed on it felt like some scene from a Jurassic world movie, minus the dinosaurs. After a while, we came to a stop, jumped in the water, and swam with jellyfish all around (they were stingless ones). Then we sailed a little more, got out again, and with the help of our tour guides, swam underneath the water and up into an underwater cave. It was nothing like I had ever experienced before, and the moment got even more magical as the entire group began to sing songs, echoing off the walls into a glorious symphony of sound. After not enough time spent in the cave, we finished our tour of the cove with some cliff jumping. But the day was it done yet. We sailed over to a deserted beach, ate lunch, and chilled for a few hours. Until as the rain began to come down, we headed back to the lake we started in. The finishing touch of the day was an epic motorcycle ride back home up and over the mountains. All in all, some of the most amazing memories and beautiful places I’ve ever seen.
While these two fun days were definitely some big highlights. Some other highlights from the past two weeks were:
-team building activities
-visiting a waterfall
-encouragements letters
-Ate Liza, Tatum’s, and Maggie’s life stories
-bible studies and worship nights
-frisbee with Kids
-hammocks
-cards with everyone
-Ate Ace and our new journeymen’s stories
-leading a Bible study on family
-baptism of Kaesi!
-ceremony with our base church
-mall trip
-movie night
Finally, some prayer requests for my final week of training are:
- for energy and strength, both spiritual and mental
- for continued single focus on God
- for a sensitive heart to God’s holy call, and a broken heart for the lostness of this world
- for me to continue to make the leap
As I head into my final week, I don’t really know what to think. This training has gone by so fast. Yet I am excited for the adventure, trials, and trusting that lays ahead. When I write next, it will either be on a plane heading to my next country, or already they’re beginning my month long ministry. Till then, may God open your eyes to the war we are fighting, and give you the heart to proclaim Christ’s victory in your life, and over the lives of all the lost that have not felt his love. Let us live in these truthful words and let them lead our lives to him. That “ Man does not complete God, God completes man” (Sherman in “Spiritual Warfare”, pg. 120). All glory to God.
