Two weeks remain of an incredible time of ministry and growing in the Lord. Wow. Are you wondering how the weather is over here? Maybe you would like to know what things are like here… Well, here is a little rhyme to give you a small feel of things:
The weather was mild and very hot
Those first few weeks at our Iris spot.
Water is scarce, many trips down the hill
Buckets from a well, the city sends the bill.
Winter set in and the evenings were cool
Wind and sand storms became the rule.
Layers of dust on body and floor
We all look tan when we walk out the door.
“Will we ever get clean? Even a little bit?”
We say through teeth covered with grit.
We go on outreach and things don’t look so bad
When we return a new perspective we have.
We have more than many, not as much as a few,
But that is why we do what we do.
Yes, that about covers the weather. J We do hope you recognize us when we get off the plane….maybe after two or three nice, long warm showers.
On a different note: last Wednesday we met with our Mozambican pastor color group to pray over the upcoming outreach. We learned that we would be ministering in a village located in the middle of a game reserve. We would also be traveling with about twenty visitors. Thursday afternoon we loaded up two cameons and set off for a three hour drive to our destination. Thankfully, we were in a covered cameon as the dust was really blowing and most of our drive was over dirt roads. Many times we found our bodies suspended about four inches off our seats as we hit potholes at amazing speeds!
That first night there was a heaviness about the atmosphere and the movie shown was another Bible story. The movie was in Portugese and not Makua. We did have opportunity to pray with people and saw one person who was blind in one eye be able to see. The most impact came after that as praise music was played and got the people to dancing. Joy began to shift the atmosphere and prepare the way for ministry the next day.
Friday found us arising with the sun (5:00 a.m.) for a time of prayer and encouragement with the pastors, then breakfast. We broke into teams and had a group doing a large children’s program, another group was addressing simple medical needs, and another group visiting the church site and praying over the land while beginning to build the church. Abbey spent time with the children’s program, and Hannah and Abbey were also able to spend time at the church site. Aaron quickly joined a soccer game of visitors against Mozambicans. Jeff joined some of the pastors looking over two wells that were no longer functioning. Danette joined the medical team and spent a few hours praying with the people. Many were healed of headaches, joint pain, and even malaria. Both Jeff and Danette also saw the Lords hand in the medical tent. One specific man came in with a very large hernia and was presented to Jeff. He was a young man and was very embarrassed and bothered by this affliction. After some time praying over the hernia, it actually began improving and the bulging muscles receded back into normal balance! The man looked wide eyed and incredulous. By the time he left it was almost totally gone! There is so much spiritual oppression in these villages but the power of God also flows so incredibly as well. We are just in awe of our Lord!!
Later, Jeff and Danette and a few others went into the village to pray for a sick man. On arrival we found him very sick and laying on a mat. As we sat beside him, about four women came and joined us as well as many children. As he described his situation we knew it was a result of AIDS. As we prayed the pain left the left side of his body. His countenance brightened. We then told him and the women about Jesus. They all accepted Christ. One woman tore off her witchcraft necklace and threw it away in the dirt. Another woman took the witchcraft beads off her baby. Yea, God! We prayed again, and the man was able to stand up. We then invited them to the Jesus film that night. We told them we would come and help carry the man.
That night, Danette and a few pastors went back to pick up the man from his house. When we arrived, he immediately stood up and said that since we prayed he had been getting stronger and was able to walk to the place we were showing the film! The man along with the women and children followed us to the site. The man even came up for more prayer after the movie was shown.
The Jesus film was shown again that night and a few hours prior Danette was asked by the Mozambican pastor to preach to the village that night after the film. As our outreach team gathered a few hours prior to the film for prayer we all prayed over Danette and a wonderful message was downloaded and revealed to her to preach. The evening was a challenge after the film was shown. Many drunks and hecklers as well as many Muslims listened intently as Danette shared a wonderful message on truth, how to determine REAL truth and how that truth can set you free. In difficult surroundings she did amazing and presented culturally a VERY powerful, clear and concise call to respond to truth. (This is Jeff talking here and it is true she was amazing!!!! J). The response was good. Many came forward to receive that truth and many more came forward for prayer and healing. She saw once again the power of God move and enjoyed a great time ministering to the people there!
The morning found a group of us heading to the base of the mountain which the village was near. It was here that an altar had been built for ancestral worship. The altar had been almost quickly destroyed from weather and some of the village people were planning on rebuilding it the following day. The story is that a powerful chief had died many years ago and had been buried in a cave on the other side of the village. The people were unable to worship there because the cave was also inhabited by a large cobra and many bees. This altar and consecration site was built to place curses on individuals so that they could go into the cave and worship. After these services, individuals were then able to enter the cave and worship despite the cobra and bees. We were there to pray over it and remove the strongholds and curses. It proved to be a powerful time as we also prayed over the pastors, standing behind them and laying our hands on them signifying that we “got their backs”. Children had also followed us and we prayed over each one as they are the future generation to bring change and to bring the Gospel to this village.
A dam had also been built a bit up the mountain from this site but had since come to disrepair and was almost dried up. Animals – elephants, cheetahs, leopards – also come to this site and drink from the water supply, making it unsafe for the people. Because of the past war in this area, the animals are particularly hostile and though we could have walked about ten more minutes and seen the animals, we were advised not to because of their hostile nature. Many homes and gardens are crushed each year by the elephants as they smell the food and come charging in to this little village. People have been killed by their stampedes, but the people are not allowed to kill the animals because of the rules of the reserve.
We returned back to base dirty, tired, but very full of the Joy of the lord. Jeff, Nathan, and Hannah actually leave in 1 week. Please pray for them as they return home and pray for the rest of us as we seek to finish strong and to press in to receive all that God has for each of us. Please also pray for our transition home and into some of the new things and new doors of opportunity God has begun before we left and has even enlarged since we’ve been here. Finally PLEASE pray for Danette. She has been accepted to participate in an extended outreach to Sierra Leone. She has been encouraged to do this by the Iris staff here and we also feel God is leading her to do this. She will go on to Sierra Leone for 2 weeks from here and return to the states Aug 30th. Abbey and Aaron will return to the states on their normal time with some of the people from the school, accompanied by one of the school’s leaders.
It has been amazing. We feel all your prayers and cherish them! We cannot wait to see everyone again. We have new pictures including the outreach. Please check them out.
Email: jjfamily.zambia@gmail.com
Pictures: http://jjfamily.smugmug.com/
Bless you all,
The Johnsons