With the following Monday being a national holiday, all the hostel kids would be going home for the weekend. Since school visits were our main ministry focus, that left us without much to do over the weekend. Japie suggested the option of driving 2-3 hours north to Epupa Falls on the Kunene River, the northern border between Namibia and Angola. We could help clean up the area since most locals bathe and do laundry there but leave lots of rubbish around. There was also a possibility for another school visit on the way.
To figure out whether to go or stay, Japie asked us to pray and ask God to reveal what He would have us do. Thursday night, the day before we would go, we sat down as a group to chat about what we’d heard from God. Quite naturally, this decision was cause for much debate amongst the team. Some felt we’d already done too much touristy stuff already and should stay for more ministry opportunities. Others felt we’d have more opportunities if we went. But Japie reminded us that this team was not a democracy, so a majority vote wouldn’t win. Our team was under God’s authority, so if we didn’t have a unanimous peace about going then we couldn’t go. We went to bed that night with no decision, no peace, and a team that was beginning to polarize.
The next morning we arose early for our last school assembly. Back at camp we spent half an hour individually praying and reading the Bible asking God for a word. When we got back together everyone shared what they’d heard. I had read Ezekiel and his vision of the four cherubim with wheels underneath them that moved with them. He wrote that the wheels went wherever the cherubim went “because they had the spirit of the cherubim in them.” In the same way, we should go where God goes because we have the Spirit of God in us. I really wanted to go to the Falls and masked it in sound reasoning, but at the root, my motivations were selfish. Deep down I knew that it would be best for the team to stay and get involved in the community in Opuwo. After everyone shared there was still no unanimous peace about going, so we stayed.
It may seem like a small decision in hindsight, but the tension provided a great learning opportunity. As Americans we’re used to our independence. We make decisions by listing the pros and cons of each side and ultimately choosing what seems best to us. Seeking God and waiting for His peace is a strange concept to us. I mean, sure, many of us offer the token prayer to say we asked for God’s direction, but really we end up making the decision ourselves. But I was struck by how Japie never asked us to decide; he asked us to pray. Rather than making the decision, we were seeking the decision God had already made. We were asking Him to bring our hearts and wills in line with His own. That kinda made me think that Epupa was never really the point in the first place, but this whole learning process was.
Later that morning Japie sent us out in pairs into town to pray and ask God what ministry opportunities He had for us. Looking back, this time of walking around town proved to be some of the best memories for many on the team. I set out with Caryn, a photo journalist major from Texas who’s here for 2 months with OM and joined as the team’s photographer. Rather than hit the main street we walked across the road to where people lived in mud or thatched huts. We slowly made our way to an open air market where all the locals hung out. We stuck out like a Yankees fan in Fenway, but they were very friendly and welcoming. The town is quite used to seeing tourists passing through on their way to Epupa hoping for a glimpse of some traditional Himbas. What they’re not used to is whites visiting their homes, praying for the sick, and mingling at the market. We scattered lots more seed that morning. How it will grow we may never know, but had we gone to Epupa it never would’ve been scattered in the first place.
To figure out whether to go or stay, Japie asked us to pray and ask God to reveal what He would have us do. Thursday night, the day before we would go, we sat down as a group to chat about what we’d heard from God. Quite naturally, this decision was cause for much debate amongst the team. Some felt we’d already done too much touristy stuff already and should stay for more ministry opportunities. Others felt we’d have more opportunities if we went. But Japie reminded us that this team was not a democracy, so a majority vote wouldn’t win. Our team was under God’s authority, so if we didn’t have a unanimous peace about going then we couldn’t go. We went to bed that night with no decision, no peace, and a team that was beginning to polarize.
The next morning we arose early for our last school assembly. Back at camp we spent half an hour individually praying and reading the Bible asking God for a word. When we got back together everyone shared what they’d heard. I had read Ezekiel and his vision of the four cherubim with wheels underneath them that moved with them. He wrote that the wheels went wherever the cherubim went “because they had the spirit of the cherubim in them.” In the same way, we should go where God goes because we have the Spirit of God in us. I really wanted to go to the Falls and masked it in sound reasoning, but at the root, my motivations were selfish. Deep down I knew that it would be best for the team to stay and get involved in the community in Opuwo. After everyone shared there was still no unanimous peace about going, so we stayed.
It may seem like a small decision in hindsight, but the tension provided a great learning opportunity. As Americans we’re used to our independence. We make decisions by listing the pros and cons of each side and ultimately choosing what seems best to us. Seeking God and waiting for His peace is a strange concept to us. I mean, sure, many of us offer the token prayer to say we asked for God’s direction, but really we end up making the decision ourselves. But I was struck by how Japie never asked us to decide; he asked us to pray. Rather than making the decision, we were seeking the decision God had already made. We were asking Him to bring our hearts and wills in line with His own. That kinda made me think that Epupa was never really the point in the first place, but this whole learning process was.
Later that morning Japie sent us out in pairs into town to pray and ask God what ministry opportunities He had for us. Looking back, this time of walking around town proved to be some of the best memories for many on the team. I set out with Caryn, a photo journalist major from Texas who’s here for 2 months with OM and joined as the team’s photographer. Rather than hit the main street we walked across the road to where people lived in mud or thatched huts. We slowly made our way to an open air market where all the locals hung out. We stuck out like a Yankees fan in Fenway, but they were very friendly and welcoming. The town is quite used to seeing tourists passing through on their way to Epupa hoping for a glimpse of some traditional Himbas. What they’re not used to is whites visiting their homes, praying for the sick, and mingling at the market. We scattered lots more seed that morning. How it will grow we may never know, but had we gone to Epupa it never would’ve been scattered in the first place. 
0 comments:
Post a Comment