everything seemed to be covered by layers of it. It blew in our faces, in our eyes & in our teeth. I despised it. I couldn't stand the feeling of it on my hands & in between my toes as my feet sank into it. Micah & Noah (aged 4 and 2) laughed and ran ahead kicking it up everywhere as they went. I closed my eyes & tried to put it out of my mind, it was such a small thing.
We were divided up into groups. I was
with Charles, a Zambian disciple, with a heart of a true servant of
God, and a heart for souls. Our first stop was a half built house,
where inside 2 men were working. We peered in the whole of what was
to someday be a window & greeted them in the local language.
“Mwabombeni,” how are you working? The men looked up, one
of them smiled, and said, “Ah, it is a beautiful day.” We all
laughed, as the men came out of the house. Charles and I sat on a
plank of wood stretched across 2 stones to make a bench, the 2 men
grabbed an empty bucket, turned it upside down to make themselves a
seat. We introduced ourselves & began sharing the gospel. One
of the men, Gift, listened intently, asking questions, and prayed
with us to receive Christ as his Savior. He began speaking, “ you
know,” he said, “I have been having troubles, and asking, 'Why?'
I just couldn't understand. I didn't know what to do, I was thinking
of just ending it, but I knew this was not right. I knew I could not
just end it, so I asked God to send someone. That is why I said, 'it
is a beautiful day' because when I saw you, I knew you had been sent
from God.”
The dust has since been washed off, and
the dustiness of our souls is continually being dealt with by the
Word. Gift still refers to things that were said on that dusty day.
He has been faithful to church, as well as our addictions program,
since then. He even plans to be part of the baptism next weekend.
With a smile on his face he encourages others, despite the tests he
has been faced with as a new believer.