I woke up early yesterday morning to prepare for church at the Tree of Life. Before we left, I spent time in the word but without having a lot of time to sit and think. I kind of rushed through it because I had it in my mind that I had other things to do. Then I thought, "How can I encounter God when I'm rushing through His word with a thousand other things on my mind?" I was convicted. I need to make it a goal to empty my mind of other things and focus only on God. It's cool how I was able to hear him discipline me even when I was focused on other things.
Then we went to the Tree of life.. and I can't explain how excited I was to see Joseph and the other children. They ran to the bus and hugged held hands and greeted us with enthusiasm! It was incredible. Church was held at the school because the normal pavilion is being used to build furniture. We were all gathered in this tiny school room preparing for church. No big production. No screens with video cameras or bands with a huge sound system. One speaker, two microphones and 110 people (100 of those being children). When Gilbert (the worship leader) welcomed everyone to church, he said, "let us lift our praises to the Lord" and he started praying. Suddenly one hundred children's voices filled the small classroom and I couldn't help but think... THIS is church. This is real. In the middle of nowhere in south central Africa, 110 people gather together and shout (yes I do mean shout) praises to the Lord. And the cool thing is... He hears every single one of their words. I was completely humbled.
One of the things the Tree of Life kids do at church is perform a skit and a passage from the bible each week. Well this week, several of the kids shared testimonies:
Jackson:
"When I was young I was beaten. They beat me with wires, belts and whips. The marks are still on my back. I was told to watch the cows but one of them got away. After they beat me, they told me that I can go sleep with the cows. So I did. I'm so thankful for what the Lord has done in my life bringing me here. Thank you."
Michael:
"My mother was sick and went away for a while. I had to stay with my uncle but he told me, "You are not my relative." I went to the market to watch a video show one day and when I came home my uncle asked me where I was. when I said the market he said I could go stay there. So I had to live at the market for a while. I stayed in a shelter place with a roof of plastic. One day a drunk man came by and peed on me. He made me sit there for several hours. Then I was able to go to camp life. They asked me questions and I told them I lived at the market. After camp life, I tried to go home to my uncles house, but he began beating me. My mom returned and pulled a knife on my uncle and said, "Get away from my son" so I ran. I stayed at a friends house for a while, but his parents died and I had no where to go. One day I tried to go back home again and my uncle beat me again. Then I went to Camp Life again and they said I would be taken somewhere nice. Then I came to the Tree of Life."
Both of these boys looked down the entire time, and at the end gave full praise to the Lord for bringing out of darkness and into His marvelous light. These are the children of Zambia, except that thousands of them are still living in the streets or in broken homes.
At the end of church Pastor Eric stood and had the kids turn to their neighbor and shout the following phrase:
"I will not die. I will live to declare the works of the Lord in the land of the living. I declare that I will not die before my time. I will live and praise you for your works in my life. I will not be the same. My mother and father have failed me but you, O Lord, will not. I leave the past behind."
Amen. Amen and Amen. Keep praying that the AIDS virus will not take these children's lives and that they will live to declare the Lord's works in their lives. I ended the day yesterday listening to some music. The song was, "The more I seek you, the more I find you. The more I find you the more I love you. I want to sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hand, lay back against you and sleep, feel your heart beat. His love is so deep. It's more than I can stand. I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming."
This is my prayer. That the Lord wouldn't just be this God that I pray to and I listen for. But that He would be my father, that I would melt in His peace and love Him like he deserves to be loved. To be desperate for Him like the Zambian children are. Wow.. I'm learning so much from these babies.
Then we went to the Tree of life.. and I can't explain how excited I was to see Joseph and the other children. They ran to the bus and hugged held hands and greeted us with enthusiasm! It was incredible. Church was held at the school because the normal pavilion is being used to build furniture. We were all gathered in this tiny school room preparing for church. No big production. No screens with video cameras or bands with a huge sound system. One speaker, two microphones and 110 people (100 of those being children). When Gilbert (the worship leader) welcomed everyone to church, he said, "let us lift our praises to the Lord" and he started praying. Suddenly one hundred children's voices filled the small classroom and I couldn't help but think... THIS is church. This is real. In the middle of nowhere in south central Africa, 110 people gather together and shout (yes I do mean shout) praises to the Lord. And the cool thing is... He hears every single one of their words. I was completely humbled.
One of the things the Tree of Life kids do at church is perform a skit and a passage from the bible each week. Well this week, several of the kids shared testimonies:
Jackson:
"When I was young I was beaten. They beat me with wires, belts and whips. The marks are still on my back. I was told to watch the cows but one of them got away. After they beat me, they told me that I can go sleep with the cows. So I did. I'm so thankful for what the Lord has done in my life bringing me here. Thank you."
Michael:
"My mother was sick and went away for a while. I had to stay with my uncle but he told me, "You are not my relative." I went to the market to watch a video show one day and when I came home my uncle asked me where I was. when I said the market he said I could go stay there. So I had to live at the market for a while. I stayed in a shelter place with a roof of plastic. One day a drunk man came by and peed on me. He made me sit there for several hours. Then I was able to go to camp life. They asked me questions and I told them I lived at the market. After camp life, I tried to go home to my uncles house, but he began beating me. My mom returned and pulled a knife on my uncle and said, "Get away from my son" so I ran. I stayed at a friends house for a while, but his parents died and I had no where to go. One day I tried to go back home again and my uncle beat me again. Then I went to Camp Life again and they said I would be taken somewhere nice. Then I came to the Tree of Life."
Both of these boys looked down the entire time, and at the end gave full praise to the Lord for bringing out of darkness and into His marvelous light. These are the children of Zambia, except that thousands of them are still living in the streets or in broken homes.
At the end of church Pastor Eric stood and had the kids turn to their neighbor and shout the following phrase:
"I will not die. I will live to declare the works of the Lord in the land of the living. I declare that I will not die before my time. I will live and praise you for your works in my life. I will not be the same. My mother and father have failed me but you, O Lord, will not. I leave the past behind."
Amen. Amen and Amen. Keep praying that the AIDS virus will not take these children's lives and that they will live to declare the Lord's works in their lives. I ended the day yesterday listening to some music. The song was, "The more I seek you, the more I find you. The more I find you the more I love you. I want to sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hand, lay back against you and sleep, feel your heart beat. His love is so deep. It's more than I can stand. I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming."
This is my prayer. That the Lord wouldn't just be this God that I pray to and I listen for. But that He would be my father, that I would melt in His peace and love Him like he deserves to be loved. To be desperate for Him like the Zambian children are. Wow.. I'm learning so much from these babies.
So wonderful what the Lord is revealing to you, Megan! This is such an amazing journey that will impact your life forever!This blog of yours has brought me to tears each of your entries----keep writing, Auntie Megan!! LOVE U!!!
ReplyDeleteWas soooo envious of you yesterday, getting to attend Zambia church. It is truly amazing. Love and miss you.
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