An Inside Job

God continues to open our eyes to the blessings He surrounded us with when He led us to live as a part of this little familial community in the picturesque pine forest at the edge of town. The heart of our work down here is to extend the message and lifestyle of Jesus Christ to the surrounding villages where there currently is no Christian witness. Our strategy is to raise up local leaders here in town, where people are generally more open to learning about God and His Word, and train them to follow Christ and take His love back to their native villages. Don Josue and his family are an example of God working in this way.

Don Josue moved into this peaceful spot many years ago partly as a means to escape the persecution he faced in his village. Members of his home community burned Bibles, spoke death threats, jailed, and even forcibly expelled from the village Don Josue and other local Christians. I thought that with that kind of history, his wife and he would be reluctant to even talking about reaching out to their village. But the God at work in His heart is bigger and better than that. Now we're really starting to sense that God wants to use this family to share the love and freedom they enjoy in God with those back home.

A few nights ago, we went to visit Don Josue and his wife. We were hoping to ask them about their prayer life and possibly decide on a time when we could get together for prayer. Shortly after we arrived, he asked if we could pray. I told Don Josue that I'd like to pray for their village with them. At the mention of his village he launched into what at first seemed like the usual spiel about the people being too hard-hearted and how there was no hope that they'd change. Instead he testified to a hope and a grace that persevered under trial and gained the victory. He shared the experiences of his uncle, who was kicked out of the village for his efforts to share God's Word with others in their village. Despite this rejection, his uncle continued to pray for his community. Today, Don Josue told us, the people of the village are less hard, and many of the youth especially have begun to follow God. His eyes moistening with tears, he fixed his gaze on me, and concluded, "Thank you for praying for my village."

Down here, people usually all pray at the same time. In many prayer meetings I've been to it seems like a lot of people spend half the time with their eyes open, staring around at the walls, waiting for the others to stop and say "Amen" so they can all leave (I know this because I am so spiritual, not because I too spend half the time with my eyes open, staring around at the walls). :) Don Josue prays until he's good and done, regardless of what the rest of the group is doing. And when he's done, he usually has tears in his eyes. The guy might not know a lot of theology, but he knows how to talk to his God. And I think that is what will make all the difference as God leads us to pray for and minister to the people of his village.