Our 11 months have come to a close. We've been in the States for 4
days and I already miss my World Race family...
Thank you to everyone who has loved, prayed and
supported me this year. I wouldn't have gone and I wouldn't have stayed
without you all. God had a specific plan and a specific need for the
resources you so obediently and loving gifted to me to glorify Him. And
glorify Him they did! More to come, but for now, here's a video Ashley has created
documenting the K Squad's journey with our Lord, Savior and Redeemer.
This blog
was written by my friend, K Squad Logistics extraordinaire and squad mate Julia Luu.
It's not a preparation manual for future Racers. It's much more significant. It's about how to honor, respect, love and support those Racers who will be serving you on your Race. It's about a team. It's about a family. It's about the Body of Christ in action.
"This blog is dedicated
to my current Squad Leaders, Team
Leaders, Finance Folks and my Logistics Buddy Mads. It is also
for future
Racers who may be stepping in to these specific roles.
There have been many blogs posted for future racers
to prep
them for their race, based on what they need to bring, what they need to
prepare, what they can expect out on the field. This blog is to prepare
all of
you for what you need to be aware of so that you can work effectively as
a
team, as a squad. I hope you will find it helpful from a racer's
perspective of
each of these roles.
First of all to my fierce squad Leaders
Mike, Denise and
Tamica. Thank you for serving us! You did not sign up for 7 months of
squad
leading so your race was completely different from the rest of us. But
you
continued to say "Yes Lord". Thank you for pouring into us, even when
you were running empty. You had different challenges than the rest of us
in
ways that we were not able to support you but you kept running. The Lord
will
honour your service. You are probably exhausted but I'm sure that the
Lord will
give you sweet rest and over fill you. All 3 of you guys have different
gifts
and God put you together so well. Mike, you have authority when you
speak and
it is a natural leader quality. Denise, your love flows out of you and I
will
not forget all the times that you pursued each one of us to spend
quality time
with us. Tamica, you are bold when you need to be, even if it ruffles a lot
of
feathers, you take it because you see the good behind it. You are a
soldier,
taking all the hit for the sake of the bigger picture.
Future
SQLs:
There will be days where you will hate being a squad leader. You are in a
position to make the tough calls and have the hard conversations. And
the squad
may, or more likely, may not, support you at all. Just remember that God
didn't
put you in that position if He did not equip you for it. Be firm, stand
in
knowledge that you are equipped, in the same way that Moses was
equipped,
though he did not feel like it.
My current Team Leaders: Thank you for looking out
for us
and being patient with us as we each made this journey together. If I
were to
have a visual for this Race, I can see a group of us walking together on
a
journey, and team leaders, you are the ones that are always turning
around to
see if anyone is lagging behind and if they are, you go back to help
them while
some of us are trudging forward, and others stay with the one behind.
You
consistently do this for us, leaving no one left behind.
Future
Team Leaders:
You are not just disseminating information to your team in your role.
You may
be the point person for your contact but you play a much bigger role
than that.
YOU set the tone for your team - they will thrive in walking in the
Spirit if
you thrive walking in the Spirit. You need to have a keen awareness of
how each
and everyone on your team is doing, especially on bad days, so that you
can
challenge, encourage and support at those critical times. Understand the
profiles of each team member: married couples, young guys, older(above
30)
girls and be aware of their needs. Ask the Lord for discernment, you
will not
be able to lead on your own strength. You should learn very early on,
each of your
team members' strength and weaknesses and use that to help your team
work as a
unit. You NEED to be aware when someone is having a bad day and reaching
out to
them, even when you don't feel like it. Equip yourselves by being filled
with
the word of God, it will protect you and give you wisdom to handle
situations.
Finance Folks: Thank you for being the
stewards of what God
has given us this year to be on this Race. You guys have been so
responsible
and have made many investments along the way for our squad.
Future
Finance Folks:
The one thing I would say to you is that even though there is an
emphasis on
meeting budget and not going over, TRUST in the Lord that He will
provide,
especially in the expensive countries. Don't do the finances all in your
own
strength, watch how the Lord WILL provide for your team especially when
you are
over budget. We often try so hard to meet budgets on our own strength
and fail
to ask for God to intervene. I have seen teams who have been overbudget
and the
Lord blessed them with a month of free vegetables and fruits. Don't let
the
task of handling money consume your faith.
Finally but definitely NOT least, to Mads - i thank
YOU for
serving alongside me in our Logistics role. As 2 very different and
independent
women with very different working styles, God put us together to learn
from
each other. I thank you for always putting 110% when working for the
squad. I
have learned from your assertive ways and efficient ways of getting
things
done. You give it all for the squad and though you may feel that you
have not
been respected at some of the BEST work you have done this year, know
that this
little buddy of yours has always respected you in everything you have
done,
absolutely everything. There is no way I could have done this role
without you,
in more ways than one. I didn't think that at the beginning but I see
that now.
I am so thankful that Brian & Stacy heard from the Lord to pick you
to work
with me.
Future
Logistics
Folks: Some days you will feel "Life is Unfair". There
will be
days while the rest of the squad is out on their off days, you are stuck
working hard to find a bus/train station to arrange for your next travel
days
for the squad, or arranging hostels for everyone. You essentially do the
bulk
of the work for your squad, more work than team leaders, more work than
squad
leaders but no one will see that. Take a deep breath on those days and
remember
what you signed up for in this role: To Serve YOUR squad. NO ONE on your
team
will understand what you go through or your frustrations, not your
leaders,
maybe your squad leaders. The only person that will fully understand
what you
go through is your logistics partner so lean on each other. You will see
the
fruit of the partnership because God picked the 2 of you. As an
encouragement,
being in this role, you will have sharpened many skills by the end of
your
race: research skills on the how to travel from country to country,
negotiating
skills because you will be always asking for discounts since you have
the
volume of business, networking skills because you will be the first one
to
touch base with each new contact in each country, patience and grace
because
you do a TON of work that no one sees only to get some disgruntled
comments in
the worst of times. Remember, take a deep breath and remember what you
signed
up for.
To all other
racers not in these roles: support these
people!!! Learn and be aware of what their challenges or struggles may
be and
help them, pray for them, support them. They need you but they may not
always
tell you because they are in a different role and don't expect you to
understand. Reach out to them."
"The body
is a unit, though it is made up of many
parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is
with
Christ" 1Cor12:12
This blog
was written by my beloved friend and squad mate Drea
Strazter . She has a way with words, verbal and written. So leave
it up to her to write one of the best and most inspired blogs
summarizing The Race. It's worth reading. It's worth going...
I
am standing on the shores of the raging sea, watching a title wave
rising in the distance. Its gaining speed and force. Rising in size
and power. I stand trembling on its
shores and instead of running to my safe cave to the left I dive in
and swim right into it. I boldly advance towards the mighty wave. I
go not on a suicide mission, but I go because between me and this
wave lies a rock. A solitary rock that stands above the water,
beckoning me out. It calls out "I never said I'm safe, but I am
good. And I am faithful. And I am your only chance at surviving this
thing."
So
I swim. I swim like hell to the rock that's calling out my name,
begging me to trust. I swim into the frightening storm and straight
into my Saviors arms.
This
incubator, this lifestyle, has become safe. Somehow, while I wasn't
looking, it became my safe harbor. Somewhere along the way it turned
into my normal and I forgot that at one point the prospect of a trip
like this was my storm. I can remember standing on the shores of this
year, looking out into the unknown and shaking in fear. I knew it was
going to transform me and my reality, although in my naivety I
underestimated the gravity of transformation that comes with
encounters of the Almighty. I feared the responsibility that came
with seeing a dying world. I feared the insufficiency on my behalf to
do anything about it. I didn't trust Him then and Im struggling to
trust Him now.
Its
time for a new storm.
I
sat sobbing tonight as I watched the wave of transition rising in the
distance. In 10 short days I will hit U.S. soil and life will
drastically change, yet again.
Over
the last year life has been a bittersweet privilege. I have been
honored to watch God's people shine across the earth. Every day I
think "How
is this my life? Why did God bless me with this crazy pilgrimage? How
did I get so lucky??" I
have witnessed great victory and immense tragedy. I have slept in
over 50 locations, moving on average every 6 days between 14
countries, across 3 continents. I have lived amongst the poor and
hurting nations, loved them the best I knew how, and sat broken at
the alter with them as we surrendered our lives and mess up to our
healer and provider. I came to serve them and was humbled time and
again as they served us.
We sang
and danced in the dirt of Africa, laughed with children of every
color, and I took notes as we watched Mama's fight for their nation
to raise up out of despair and hopelessness. Women in Serbia taught
me what
it was to be a wife and mother. Ive floated in the dead sea and
walked where Jesus walked. I peed on my feet more times than I could
count, not thinking anything of it. I basked in the exhilaration of
bucket showers after painstakingly hot days in the jungles of
Cambodia.
I
have held a man after watching his wife die of aids, I have counseled
a woman who was beat the morning before church by her husband for
being a Christian, but she came anyways. I was baptized in a muslim
nation on a day of thanksgiving. I conquered fears and chose
adventure. I hung out with prostitutes in Thailand. I watched a
mother in Uganda bury her baby that died of Malaria- the same disease
that I, along with half our squad, contracted at some point in
Africa. I prayed with a 13 year old gypsy girl as she
encountered the Holy Spirit for the first time on a moonlit hill in
Romania.
But
I did none of this. The Lord did it all. I had nothing to give, no
good of my own accord or strength could have accomplished any of it.
Tonight a friend reminded me of God's promise in Phillipians- "He
will finish the good work He began in you Dre. He began it before
this race, and it will continue beyond this year." He began a
work, long ago, in my friends around the world too, and is continuing
it after I have left. I just got the joy of being a very small part
of Gods story in them. What a blissful and trying joy it has been.
So
it continues. The story goes on. I will swim out to the rock and
listen for His gentle whisper through the raging waters of emotion
and confusion. I will trust that He is good and faithful, just like
the sunrise I watched this morning from my treehouse.
My sister Ashley Higgins wrote this amazing blog after an encounter with a man who had been tortured by the Khmer Rouge. A redemption story like none other...
I don't really know what i was expecting to
see today. But i certainly didn't have this in mind.
I've known for a long time that Cambodia is the place of the killing
fields. I never knew what those were. I've heard certain words thrown
around, sure. Words that could only attempt to paint an accurate
picture.
Khmer
Rouge. Torture. Atrocity. Recent. Mass Genocide.
But I had no idea what I was actually getting myself into. We pulled up
to the old prison this afternoon. The halls of this place were once
bustling with enthusiastic adolescents who were eager to learn and
excited about making a difference in their world. This high school
became a main setting for detention, interrogation, torture and killing
after being overtaken by order of pol pot in April 1975. Over the span
of four years over ten thousand innocent people came through the doors
of this concrete hell. Only seven people walked away from the torture
chambers that should have been an inevitable death.
Chum Mey is one of those people. I would not hesitate to call it a
divine appointment.
As we were walking up to building c of the prison campus today we
noticed an elderly Cambodian man. We asked him why he was there and he
told us that he is one of only three survivors who are still alive. He
visits the prison periodically to tell his story in hopes that people
will never forget about the Cambodian genocide. As we continued talking
to Mr. Mey he recounted his story to us and was gracious enough to
answer all of our questions.
He and his wife were taken captive in 1978 by the Khmer Rouge regime.
He was split up from his wife and put into the torture chamber we stood
in today. He was held captive there for four months before being
rescued by the Vietnamese army. During his time in the torture chamber
he was confined to a small brick cell with nothing but a small box to go
to the bathroom in. He was given only two small handfuls of rice
porridge each day. His hands and feet were shackled while he was
beaten. If he made a sound they would beat him more. He told us of a
time when his back was so swollen from the beatings that he couldn't
bear to have it touch anything. He tried to sleep sitting up but the
guards made him lay on his back, forcing him to endure the excruciating
pain. All he could do was cry silently. screwdrivers were lodged into
his toe in an effort to pull it off. he was given electric shocks twice
everyday and as a result is blind and deaf on his right side.
I have never before heard firsthand of such brutality and malice.
As I stood listening to Mr. Mey's testimony I was overwhelmed with
compassion and love for him. We told him that we are Christians and
that we wanted to share the love of Christ with him. We offered to pray
for him and he obliged. And before I knew it there we were. Fourteen
Jesus-loving westerners praying over one Cambodian-Buddhist.
We prayed over him in the same cell he was once
tortured in.
If that's not redemption, I don't really know what is.
When we had finished we shook hands and began saying our goodbyes.
Fire didn't fall from heaven and no one busted out of the prison cell
this time around. But the air felt thinner to me. The spirit of God
was resting in a place where maybe it never has before. Mr. Mey had an
encounter with the one true god today, whether he knows it or not. My
prayer is that the lord would continue to encounter him and speak to him
and save his soul. That Jesus would capture his heart and anoint him
to bring the good news, to heal the broken hearted. And from one to
another, truly set the captives free. [Isaiah 61]
Since
preaching the gospel is illegal in Vietnam, our ministry mostly
consisted of spending time with college students while helping them
with their English. Once on a personal level with these students, we
followed the Lord's leading as to when to privately share His story
of hope and love. The results far exceeded my expectations. God
is after the youth of Vietnam and they are hungry for Him!
I
became particularly attached and fond of one close-nit group of
friends. On the third day in Vietnam they took us to the War
Remnants Museum - a museum dedicated to educating the public on
the history and consequences of what they call the American War or
the War of Aggression.
I
wasn't prepared for what I saw. For the first time in my life I, we
Americans, were on the "other side." The bad side. We were the
ones holding up decapitated heads as trophies. We were the ones
dragging dead bodies behind vehicles. We were the ones dumping
millions of liters of toxic chemicals on villages that caused
horrific deformities and cancers. We were the ones killing innocent
farmers, women and children by the thousands for a cause that is to
this day difficult to understand.
I
felt excruciatingly uncomfortable with my young Vietnamese friends.
Yes, the museum was obnoxiously one-sided and biased, but the
pictures were real. As I wondered from heartbreaking photo to
heartbreaking photo, I found I simply wanted to be as far away from
my innocent friends as I could get. I felt horrified and... ashamed.
I felt angry with America.
One
of the most beautiful discoveries of the Race for me is how, with
each new country, I've fallen more and more in love with my own.
America is proud and liberal and conservative and compassionate and
beautifully diverse and FREE. We value life. As I've traveled from
one country to the next, I've never been more proud to be an
American! If you only knew how the rest of the world looks up to us.
But walking through that museum made me stumble. I didn't want this
deeper love for my country to be suddenly hallow.
After
the museum and throughout the month, I was shy about reveling my
nationality. I just didn't want to have that conversation. But then
God and a Vietnamese vet stepped in and redeemed
it all for me.
On
a short five day trip eleven hours north in Nha Trang, we visited an
elderly and special needs facility. It was obvious that the facility
tried to take care of their residents, but the conditions were still
deplorable. (In fact, one of our team members posted pictures on
Facebook and was soon asked to have them taken down by our contact.)
None of the residents spoke English and with only three translators,
most of us just sat and listened while the elderly spoke to us in
Vietnamese. They didn't care that we couldn't speak their language.
They could see in our eyes and feel in our touch that we were there
to simply love them. Who knew how long they've gone without a
visitor.
I
came into one room with all men. The man in the bed farthest from the
door immediately drew my attention because he was beaming a huge
toothless grin at me and because he was missing one leg. My mind
instantly went to the question, "Did we do that?" As soon as I
shook his hand he began making gun noises with his mouth and pointed
at his leg. Thankfully one of the three translators walked into our
room and she began translating.
He
had been a military parachutist in the war and sure enough his
leg was blown off when he tried to flee from the Americans. After telling his gruesome story, he told me he was so happy I
came to visit him. He kept shaking my hand and smiling up at me. Then
he asked the question - "Where are you from?" I hesitated
and said, "I'm from America, sir."
He
didn't respond for a while. He just stared into my eyes as they must
have changed from joy to sadness. And in that moment I wanted to say,
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry for your leg. I'm sorry for your country!"
But I couldn't. I was torn. Would I be unpatriotic to my own country
if I simply said, "I'm sorry?"
In
the end, the sweet Vietnamese man saw my internal struggle and
stepped in with grace. He grabbed my hand, patted it, looked up into
my eyes and said, "It's okay. I'm okay. I am so happy you came to
visit me this day. I am so happy you are here!" But what he was
really saying was, "I've forgiven your country. There is no
bitterness left inside me. It is finished."
Tears
filled my eyes and I wanted so desperately to tell him how much he
resembles my precious Jesus and how much he has
redeemed for me. But I had to move on. There were 100 more residents
in need of the milk and towels we were handing out. So I shook his
hand one last time, told him how happy I was to have met him and
walked away with a profound sense of peace.
I'll
never understand the Vietnam War. I know what I saw in that museum
was not the full truth. I know only a select group of Americans acted
like monsters and the rest served their country with honor. I know I
am blessed more than I'll ever know to have been born an American.
And...
I know that one God encounter with a Vietnamese vet taught me more
about grace and forgiveness
than I'll ever learn in a lifetime.
You've loved and supported me in my journey of obedience to God's
call on my life and for that I am truly grateful. There will never, ever
be words that I can share that give true meaning to who you've allowed
me to become by faithfully contributing to my life. My life is forever
changed because of your willingness to support me. And it's with a ton
of humility and thanksgiving that I am sure I will be able to be the
change in the world we all want to see.
There is another opportunity at hand and I believe we can come
together and be the change in someone else's life. Someone's life who
has supported me over the last year. Someone who you may or may not have
even heard of. Nonetheless, they are someone I call family and I'm
proud to be on the front lines with them this year.
Over the last year I have traveled the world and seen workings and
miracles that I will never be able to fully explain. I believe another
miracle is at hand. As we transition home we are believing to have
everyone fully supported by July 1, 2010. We believe God for this and
ask that you prayerfully consider how you can be a part of this
miracle.
Below you will find names and support amounts with direct
links to online support accounts. Will you ask God how and who He would
like you to partner with in being the change in this person's life? We believe God is asking us
to step up, stand out and make a way for someone who will make a way for
many others.
Will you join us in making a way? Will you join us in making a
difference in someone's life who has impacted the world? Will you make a
contribution, no matter how large or small, to a generation that will
not stand for the sick going without, the homeless not being loved on or
the orphans having no place to call home? Let us stand in the gap
together as brothers and sisters believing there are greater things in
store for those who believe.
We believe in you and thank you for believing in us so that we may
bring hope and life to someone else! Again, our prayer and goal is that no one will come home in debt after a year of service and surrenderto the Lord for the advancement of His
Kingdom. We know and
believe God will provide the funding by our deadline of July 1. We are
humbling asking you to pray about being apart of His plan for the K Squad.
The Entire K Squad Celebrating Thanksgiving In Turkey
Please review names and amounts below. Click on a link to view that
person's story and walk with God, and ask God whom He wants you to
partner with to make a difference in the world today!
Posted in General Posts by Tamica Sloan on 4/28/2010
Dear K Squad,
We've come a long way, individually and as a squad.
Remember training camp? It's been almost a year since we all met in
Georgia, and yet it seems like a lifetime ago. And in some ways it was.
We're not the same people we were a year ago... or six months ago... or
even yesterday.
We struggled with entitlement issues, performance issues, identity
issues, unity issues, authority issues and defilement issues through
three months in Europe and two months in the Middle East. At times it
felt overwhelming and more than once I asked God if I could step down
from being your squad leader. But he would always say, "Wait... wait and
see what I'm going to do in and through your squad!"
Then a miracle began to unfold in the mud huts of Africa. We were
finally uncomfortable enough, broken enough, and weak enough to drop to
our knees and say, "Forgive me Lord. Not my will, but Yours be done." And in the dry heat
of Africa, God opened up the flood gates of heaven and FORGIVENESS,
GRACE, LOVE and POWER began to rain down on us!
We began to pray with a confidence and faith we've never known before
and literally the blind saw, the lame walked and the captives were set
free. Instead of condemning each other, we began to simply love as
Christ loves us and through this one act we've been changed forever. We
all witnessed the incredible transformation of team Mosaic. Now they're
team Redeemed and no other team
name would describe them better. We've tasted and we've seen that the
Lord is good. Always! We read Psalm 42:1-2 and cry out, "Yes Lord! My
soul thirsts for You, the living God! Nothing less will do!"
Together we've become, as Seth Barnes dreamed and envisioned, a
generation "Wrecked for the Ordinary."
We're no longer satisfied with being the Christian who dutifully goes to
church on Sunday, serves when it's convenient for us, or lives without
the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. We're no longer content with
trying to be "a good person" while demanding our own rights and refusing
to surrender our lives, our entire lives, to our Savior.
A year ago "Wrecked for the Ordinary" was just a slogan to us. Today,
it's our life. We're completely and utterly wrecked. I imagine God
dancing in heaven with delight and joy because a new generation is
actually getting it.
So, now we're coming to the end of month nine and our last region of the
world on this crazy journey. We have two months left. If you're weary,
trust that God will give you strength to finish strong. Don't settle for
ordinary... not now... not in two months when the Race is over... not
ever! Continue to courageously walk through the wreckage.
"And we pray... that you may live a
life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit
in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according
to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and
patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the
inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Col
1:10-12
K Squad Women:
Thank
you for...
... loving me as I am and allowing me to be a hot mess when I was going
off the deep end in Tanzania ... holding each other and me as we cried. We cried when God was
breaking our hearts for His people and His nations. We cried out of
frustration when we couldn't bare community life and we were missing our
friends and family back home. We cried when we were spiritually dry and
couldn't feel the Father's love. We cried about gaining weight. We've
cried about significant things and shallow things, and you women have
always been there to comfort each other and me. ... challenging me when I was settling and correcting me when I was
wrong. ... speaking truth and life into me. ... teaching me to laugh at life and myself. ... always encouraging me to walk confidently and humbly in my role as
your leader and all that God has planned for me. Thank you for your
notes, your words, your friendship, your respect, your affection and
your love.
I am honored to call you sisters.
K Squad Men:
Thank
you for...
... carrying our packs and your own from country to country, continent
to continent. ... not strangling us when we've complained, whined, asked you to do
something we were perfectly capable of doing ourselves, talked in high
pitched voices, couldn't make up our minds and whatever else really
annoys you. You've shown amazing restraint and patience.
... honoring, respecting and loving us (especially when we didn't
deserve it), serving us daily and altogether being Christ to your
sisters.
Posted in General Posts by Tamica Sloan on 4/21/2010
The
world calls them Prostitutes...
They call themselves Night
Butterflies...
God calls them Daughters!
It's month nine and we've arrived. Finally! Many of the women on
our squad have been waiting in anticipation for our Thailand
ministry. Before applying to the World Race, most of us went through
that stage of obsessively reading every human trafficking and
commercial sex trade blog we could find on the World Race website. For many
of us, it's the reason we applied in the first place.
We couldn't wait to love those whose innocence was stolen. We
couldn't wait to love those who freely gave of their body to the
highest bidder. We couldn't wait to tell them that they were not old...
or ugly... or worthless... or stupid... or dirty... or alone. We couldn't wait to
tell them how Jesus saw them. To Him, they're His
Daughters robed in white and purple!
While these Night Butterflies fly
from bed to bed each night, God has been and will continue to be
patiently and lovingly waiting for them to fly into His arms!
And now, for us, the waiting is over.
Each night we worship and pray like warriors going to battle
before heading to Bangala Road here in Patong, Phuket. This one road
has hundreds of bars and more than 1000 women "working" on any
given night. As we turn onto Bangala Road, we're swarmed by men and
women with "boom boom" fliers. We take a deep breath and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us to a
particular girl, man, lady boy (transvestites who make up the "third
gender" as seen in the picture below) or bar. We sit down, order a soda and
play a couple rounds of checkers with the girls. We laugh, love and
sometimes cry, and eventually we tell them about another option.
Another way. We tell them about Jesus. We tell them about grace. We
tell them about SHE ( Self Help and Empowerment).
Sometimes the girls open up like a flower waiting for the sunshine and you can see a sparkle of hope in their eyes as we tell them about a God who loves them... just as they are. And sometimes no sparkle comes into their eyes and we pray and move on, trusting that God will never stop pursuing her.
The nights are long and heart-breaking, but full of God's glory and hope. God always shows up to love His Daughters. Always! That being said, it's spiritually dark and heavy where we step foot each night, and we need your prayers. Please pray for protection for us and the Night Butterflies. Pray that they would fly into their Father's arms.
**SHE is dedicated to providing
employment, vocational training and counseling for women who want to
help themselves out of this industry. Please pray about partnering
with them through financial support or by sending a team to love on
these girls as we do each night. Click on the SHE hyperlink to learn more about our ministry partners this month.
Posted in General Posts by Tamica Sloan on 2/28/2010
After
church and lunch I began to feel better. We needed a team to go to
the hospital to pray for the sick and dying. Most everyone was
suffering from extreme exhaustion so Paul, Lauren, Tim and I left for
the hospital with pastor George and pastor Robert as our
interpreters.
I
was partnered with pastor George and Tim. Our first stop was the
men's ward. I walked in, smelled the combination of urine, mold,
rotting flesh and something unknown but ghastly, and got instantly
queezy and light headed again. All the sick men in the stifling hot
room just stared at the white mazungus (westerners) while lying
motionless on their cots. Pastor George looks at us and says, "Okay,
stand in the middle and preach salvation to them." Tim and I lock
eyes. It was clear that we both thought we'd only be praying for
healing to individuals. I whispered to Tim, "Can you do this
one? I don't have words or the strength right now."
Awkwardly
at first Tim began to talk about how much God loved them, and how he
is a healing God. Then he gained momentum and morphed into the gifted
preacher that inspires us all. He spoke about why we all need a
savior and how it's a free gift for the taking because of what Jesus
chose to do on the cross. He had a captive audience.
After
Tim finished preaching, we started to walk towards the left side of
the room. We were heading towards one man when pastor George touched
our arms and said, "Over there, he's waving at you." From
underneath a bed in the corner we saw a thin, weathered arm. We
changed directions and walked towards the man. I was stunned when the
emaciated, ailing man came into view. With his shirt off, you could
see that he was literally skin and bones. His calves were as thin as
a my forearms, his ribs were protruding out of his chest, his face
was a thin layer of skin outlying every curvature, and his eyes were
sunken in and hollow. I felt like I was staring death in the face.
His
name was Moses. Pastor said he wanted prayer. We asked him if he knew
who Jesus Christ was and that it's His power that heals. He said he
knows all about Jesus. He gave his life to Christ when he was
younger, but has since back slid. He said that he knows and believes
in Jesus' power because he witnessed it while in prison. He knew that
the only one who could save him now was Jesus.
He
was laying on his left side nearly paralyzed from weakness and as he
spoke about my precious Lord, tears started rolling down towards the
concrete floor. My heart swelled with compassion and sorrow, my eyes
filled with tears, and another bout of queeziness flared in my
stomach.
"Lord,
I can't do this. It's too much! It hurts too badly."
"My
power is made perfect in your weakness."
We
asked him why he was sick. To my surprise he uttered the four letter
word no one in African hospitals or cities dare to utter: AIDS. The
word itself is taboo. To them, it's a word that stigmatizes and
shames. However, Moses knew where he was, he knew what he had, and he
knew who he needed - desperately. At that moment, in the eleventh
hour, all that mattered was Jesus and prayer. He wanted to ask Jesus
back into his life as his Lord and Savior for all eternity.
We
sat on the dirty hospital floor and layed our hands on Moses' fragile
body. Tim prayed the prayer of salvation in English, and Moses
repeated in Luganda. We then invited the Holy Spirit's presence and
asked for comfort, healing and wholeness in Jesus' name. I opened my
eyes and saw Moses' tears still streaming down to earth. He didn't
look like death any more to me. He looked radiant and at peace with
his precious Lord. We asked him how he felt and he said God is
faithful, no matter what happens now.
We
stood up to go, but as we did, he asked pastor for a bible in
Luganda. The closest town to purchase bibles was an hour away. "Of
course," I promised. Inwardly I knew we had to make the trip the
following day. Time was passing.
We
continued to walk from cot to cot praying for healing and salvation
for every man who would accept our invitation. After two emotional,
heart-breaking hours of standing in that suffocating room, I felt
completely drained. I pressed the back of my hand to my forehead. I
had a fever. I physically couldn't stand any longer, so I sat on the
edge of an old, blood-stained mattress.
"Jesus,
please! Please let me go outside for some fresh air. Tim is strong
and on fire and can continue your work."
"Sweetheart,
stay and support your brother. My power is made perfect in your
weakness."
"You
keep saying that Lord, but I have nothing left!"
Nothing
but silence...
"Okay,
okay. I'll stay until you tell me to go."
Throughout
our three hour visit, five desperate men were saved, one tormented
man was freed from demons and one genuinely interested woman wanted
to know about Jesus and asked for a bible. God only knows how many
were healed partially or completely.
After
the hospital we drove to another medical clinic. It was made
official. I had typhoid. (I'm fine now! God has protected me and the
symptoms are minor.)
Late
that night, after taking my medication, I looked up at the stars and
thought about all the freedom I would have missed out on if I
had thrown in the towel and given in to defeat. God says that he will
never give us more than we can handle. Last Sunday He proved this to
me. Every time I thought I couldn't take another step, or pray
another prayer, the Lord gave me the strength to press on. As he
promised to me over and over and over again, His power was
made perfect in my weakness.
It
was an exhausting, heart-breaking, freedom-filled day. And I'll never
forget it.
what
it was to be a wife and mother. Ive floated in the dead sea and
walked where Jesus walked. I peed on my feet more times than I could
count, not thinking anything of it. I basked in the exhilaration of
bucket showers after painstakingly hot days in the jungles of
Cambodia.
