Six
simple words that have a profound impact.
In fact, a much larger impact than I could have ever imagined.
I
was led to minister to the children of Kebron and the community of Modjo,
Ethiopia two years ago. My last
visit however, I received an unexpected gift.
We
were visiting Kebron for our second day.
Many of the children were in school so it gave us a great opportunity to
visit with some of the kids individually and to explore the property a little
better. Yewbi originally started
Kebron on the land her father owned and where she grew up. She has since bought the land directly
behind Kebron and across the street.
Since
we had the time to explore, I asked Yewbi to show us the land across the street,
which I hadn’t seen yet. She and I left the gates of Kebron and headed out to
the dusty road with my friend Carol, who had joined me on the trip. Carol was carrying a precious little 3
year old girl whose dad, Derebe, was a caretaker for the property.
As
we were walking across the street, the little girl spotted her dad and was
waving to him. We introduced
ourselves and began walking toward the gate of the property. Carol was standing to my left and I saw
someone coming up behind her out of the corner of my eye. As I turned to look, the woman who had
walked up behind Carol reached out and suddenly grabbed a handful of hair on
the back of Carol’s head and pulled it.
She then began angrily speaking at us in Amharic.
Yewbi
and Derebe had walked ahead of us and quickly turned to see what was
happening. They began to try to
speak with the woman but she would have none of it. Of course we couldn’t understand anything that was being said
but the woman was obviously very angry.
She did speak in some broken English but all we could clearly understand
was her swearing at us. Derebe and
Yewbi redirected her away and we continued through the gate on to the
property. She stood outside the
gate and continued to yell and swear at us.
Once
inside, we began to walk around the property. Besides having a large open field area where corn had been
planted, there was a small church there where the kids go for discipleship
training every week. We went to
take a quick peek in the church and after walking out, we turned the corner to
see two gentlemen standing and speaking with Derebe. They were introduced to us and I assumed that they were friends
of Yewbi. One of them was wearing
a suit and tie. We were told he
was a pastor.
While
we were talking, the local woman came back to the gate and began yelling
again. Derebe opened the gate and
she pushed her way in. She was
yelling and swearing again and even began spitting at us. The man who had come with the pastor
led her back out of the gate and off the property. Carol and I weren’t quite sure what to make of her.
We
soon began to start back across the street to Kebron. As the gate opened, I surveyed the area to see if she was
still around. She was nowhere to
be seen. I remember thinking as we
crossed the street that this woman was being used. I felt Satan was trying to make us be fearful or doubt and
distract us from our purpose in being there. I truly didn’t fear this woman, I just wanted to know what
she was so upset about or what she thought we had done.
Once
we were back at Kebron, the pastor asked if he could share with us. He said, “I have a word for you.” Still thinking this was a friend of
Yewbi’s, we made our way to the main room to hear from him. There were several adults and a few of
the children. He pulled out his
bible with the worn cover and wrinkled pages in preparing to speak.
He
said that he was a pastor headed to Awaasa from Addis. This is a long journey of several hours.
While on the bus, God had given
him a message to deliver to us. When
the bus stopped in Modjo, he got off.
He somehow found Yewbi’s friend who brought him to Kebron.
Turns
out that he did not know anyone and was only there to deliver a message that
God had given him. He began
speaking and referencing from 2 Corinthians. Yewbi translated his message to us as he spoke.
After
a few minutes, Yewbi became very emotional and was no longer able to
translate. Alex, the staff person
from Children’s HopeChest, began to translate. Even though I couldn’t understand the words the words the
pastor was speaking, I was drawn to his passion in delivering his message. I could tell what he was saying was
important. I could feel God’s very
presence in that room. Every eye
was on him and there was no other sound than the rhythmic speaking of his
voice.
He
spoke for only 15 or 20 minutes even though time truly seemed to stand still in
the moment. Once he was finished,
he quietly closed his bible and walked out of the room. As suddenly as the pastor had appeared,
he was gone. He was heading back
to the bus station to continue his long journey to Awaasa.
It
wasn’t until later that evening when I had the chance to speak with Yewbi that
I actually understood what had fully happened.
Of
course I wanted every detail of what had been said by the local woman as well
as the pastor. Who was this woman
and why was she so angry? Yewbi said she was a local woman whom they knew. While the woman had seemed confused
before, they had never seen her behave in this way. Yewbi said she was yelling, “It’s your fault!” at us as well
as cursing us. She apparently kept
saying this over and over.
Yewbi
then explained that she had never seen or spoken to the pastor before. She met
him for the first time that day. He
had told her that God had given him four specific messages to deliver while he
was on that bus headed to Awaasa.
He didn’t know any of us or even where to find us but was obedient to
God’s prompting.
The
first message was to Yewbi. She had
a potentially life threatening illness many years ago and admittedly lives in fear
of it returning. She has visions
of so many things to do at Kebron to help the children there and in the
community and fears she may not live to see them all through. The message to her was that she would
be okay. Her health would be okay
and that God had many more things for her to accomplish at Kebron and in Modjo.
The
second message was for the director at Kebron. He is an elder at his church and had been questioning
whether he should continue doing this.
The message for him was that he needs to stay where he is and that his church
needs to hear truth.
The
third message was for Alex. He had
been exploring options to pursue a higher degree. He wasn’t sure where or when to go to university. His message
was that now was not the time for him to move. He needs to stay where he is and God would tell him when it
was time.
The
fourth message was for Carol, Dalton and me. He said that we are to be the
light for Kebron and Modjo. We are
to go back home and to tell others. We are to return and bring others with
us. We are to share His glory.
As
Modjo has become a more Muslim influenced community, the pastor concluded with
saying that God’s message was, “He would be their God again.”
Wow!
I
believe there are spiritual battles that take place around us all the
time. I also believe we aren’t
even aware of many of them. I have
no doubt that this was a tangible, spiritual battle played out before our very
eyes. I believe that Satan had a
word for us through the local woman who was angrily confronting us and swearing
at us. He tried to strike fear and
doubt in us through her. I am in
awe that God swooped right in at the exact same moment with a powerful word of
encouragement and commission for us through the humble pastor. They literally crossed paths right in
front of us.
Kebron
had 11 children when HopeChest partnered with them two years ago. Wonderful things were happening for
those children. Last summer we
added 35 additional children. Only
15 children total are able to stay at Kebron full time. The rest of the children come in for
clothes, meals, discipleship training, etc and then go back in to the
community. Modjo is being
impacted. These children are
hearing truth and growing in their relationships with God and they are
spreading that good news.
I
believe that we are beginning to see the ripple effects of the impact that
Kebron is having in the lives of the children and in the community. To say I am overwhelmed with humility
at the calling and commission God has given me is an understatement. But I know I trust Him completely and
that scripture is full of broken people like me who just had a heart for their
God and He used them in mighty ways.
I have no pride here. This
is His story.
It
brings to mind the words of Mordecai to Queen Esther: “Who knows, whether you have not come to the kingdom for
such a time as this?” Esther 4:14
