Ignite mission to the islands: Day 2
Exhausted from yesterday’s abundant travel, we started a bit slow (though not for lack of rising early). Breakfast delayed and latecomers to our morning seminar kept us sitting for a few welcome hours before preaching on the street and teaching in the church.
Sending the majority out to speak to the village people, we heard testimonies of Muslims, drunkards, bar tenders, and housewives handing their lives over to Jesus. We taught the handful of church members in attendance how to crucify their flesh and live for Jesus in the meantime.
The evening crusade was full of people seeking real life and as Seth gave the altar call, many responded in faith, lifting their hands to the Savior. Our team went out to pray for each one, and I approached a young man name Dennis, whom his friends simply call “Black Man.” He sincerely desired to be saved, and had some knowledge of what this entailed, but seemed to struggle in the counting of the cost of following Jesus. He iterated his disdain for the alcoholic life he was living, sure that his friends would easily pull him back after we left the island. After some minutes of discussion on Philippians 2:13, he surrendered his life to His Maker and I prayed for the grace of God to give him the overwhelming victory.
We burnt more witchcraft items, stood with backsliders who wanted to return, and seemed to pray for the entire village a few times over. Just as the PA was taken down, one of our team members brought a new convert who was requesting to be baptized. Together with her new pastor, we joyfully went directly to the lake, and as a crowd of interested unbelievers and a growing line of people gathered, we buried the sinful natures of 5 people and they rose to new life.
The team is doing well, though still adjusting to the rigors of the islands, different food, and close quarters. We’re boating to a neighboring island in the morning for another two days of ministry in a larger, more developed village that has recently had a population explosion. We’re expecting great things – pray with us!
