Operation: Feed Your Enemies

This is Truman here.

Our Uganda team has recently returned from a two-week mission in Northern Kenya. Under the leadership of Jesse Digges, we joined the 2nd year students of the Youth Ablaze Discipleship School (six African men) and set out to reach famished areas with temporal food and the good news of eternal life. We targeted two Muslim towns, Marsabit and Moyale (on the Ethiopian border), spending about five days in each. Our desire was to imitate our Father in loving and blessing those who may hate and persecute us. Paul tells us, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him… overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:20-21)

Here are some highlights of this amazing trip.

Nairobi

On our way to Marsabit we stayed in Nairobi and were visited by a Somali pastor. He spoke from his personal testimony about the cost of following Christ in Somalia and Eastern Kenya. This was an impacting time for us as we learned different strategies to reach these types of people groups with the gospel. One of the "bridges" we learned to use on this trip was the Quran. In a respectful manner, we take the Quran at its word to "believe the former books" handed down from Allah, namely the Injil (the gospel) of Jesus. Beginning with similarities in the Quran, we teach what the Injil says concerning the Incarnation and Divine Sonship of Jesus who came in fulfillment of the prophetic writings to bear our sins as the sinless Lamb of God and who will come again to judge the world at His appearing and kingdom.

In Nairobi, we spent time preparing in prayer and waiting on the Lord. Our plans for the upcoming Marsabit outreach formalized into a simple schedule of mornings spent in door to door town evangelism and evenings doing village crusades (showing JESUS film and distributing food to the needy). We also felt a prompting to set aside several people each morning who would keep a prayer furnace burning during these times of evangelism. I believe this strategy was from God.

Marsabit

We arrived in Marsabit and joined "Christ To the Nations", splitting up into teams of about 3 (including translators) for door to door evangelism. Each day, about four of us would stay behind in the "upper room" to pray for the outreach. One morning, I stayed behind with Belen, Linda, and a Youth Ablaze student named, Emma Mudodo. As I played keyboard and led songs/choruses of prayer, the Holy Spirit guided our prayers into prophetic declarations. The Lord was giving us new songs from John 1 concerning the Light of Life, Jesus Himself, being revealed. We also sang from Romans 8 asking for the Spirit of adoption to call Muslims by name from darkness to light as we prophesied from the Father, "Come home to Me, come home, I'm waiting for you… Do you know, Do you know how I love you? I would give My life just to find you". During this flow of prayer, one of the local leaders in the room received the names of three Muslims to pray for. One name was "Nurke". About an hour later after the prayer time the evangelism teams returned with testimonies. One group had led a man named, Nurke to salvation! They said he was so convinced he instantly began preaching Jesus to his own mother! I believe this whole experience was a picture of what the Lord is doing to build His church in Marsabit as a house of prayer, truly partnering with His heart in new songs to reap a ready harvest among Muslims.


We also desired to reach the many villages surrounding Marsabit with food and gospel. Rigging up the projector and a dirty sheet on the van, we gathered each night and showed films of Jesus, gave a gospel presentation, prayed for the sick, and handed out food. These times were very powerful for all of us as we literally went out to the byways to call people to the Wedding. We visited 4 of these villages, one of which was a poor IDP (internally displaced person) camp. The last village we went to was the smallest. About 50 people assembled as we sang songs. After a short gospel message we prayed for anyone who was sick. As Jesse prayed for one lady, the power of God touched her and she fell to the ground. This began to strike interest in many and several desired to receive the gospel. Casey and I prayed for an elderly lady who was deaf. After testing her hearing, she declared that after many years she could hear again! Others in the crowd tested her hearing and it was confirmed, this was a miracle from God, confirming the gospel message! This demonstration of the Spirit and power (cf. 1 Cor. 2:4-5) opened the door for about 8 people in this village to be saved.

Between door to door evangelism and village crusades we saw over 30 people come to Jesus in Marsabit.

Moyale

Moyale is situated on the Ethiopian border of Northern Kenya. In Moyale, we divided our efforts into door to door village evangelism, food distribution, open air crusades in town, and local church revival meetings at night. Moyale was the toughest ground we encountered thus far. Here, disciples are made in the fire. One tribe would even kill those who would convert to the Faith. Over 80% Muslim, we truly stepped in as a minority. During the first couple open air crusades, there was a great tension in the atmosphere and we felt tempted to give into fear. Several stones were even thrown our way from the crowd but the Lord protected us. :) I felt the romance of preaching to Muslims dissipate. The ground will not be easy, but there is a harvest that awaits us. Even after these crusades, a few Muslims secretly followed us to the church and accepted the Lord. Though we may not realize it, whenever the Word is proclaimed, light and truth are really going forth and it really does something.

In context to the bold proclamation of the gospel, the Lord used us to strengthen His body in Moyale. On the night of our second and most "intense" crusade, I was asked to preach at the local church revival meeting. I shared a word the Lord had given me for the church in Africa, "You are the work of My hands and you are in My hands." I spoke from Ps. 139 about God's Spirit always being with us (His hand upon us) like He was with David, ensuring us of the resurrection and empowering us to love and witness to the ends of the earth. I needed this sermon just as much as anybody else at the moment. Our team ministered to local believers during these meetings and the last night was a powerful time as many were weeping under the presence of the Lord. He was commissioning them to not shrink back in fear but overcome by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and not loving their lives even when faced with death (cf. Rev. 12:11). Many in the body were strengthened and encouraged.

During our time in Moyale, we visited three local villages doing door to door and a local prison. About 15 people came to the Lord in Moyale. Hallelujah!

Epic Story and Conclusion

The final miracle of this trip must be our journey home from Moyale. Although it rained for a few days prior to our departure, we decided to leave on schedule. Our two vans took off at 10am on Saturday through the long and dangerous desert road. We encountered such floods of water that we thought impossible to cross. But someone's insanity prevailed and before we knew it we were fording this river (see picture)! Darkness began to fall. The roads were so bad that we ended up spending nearly 8 hours pushing our vans out of the mud. Into the night we pushed and drove, pushed and drove, and on one tank of gas each, we safely arrived in Marsabit at 9am, 23 hours later. Seriously! I believe this was a miracle!

On our way home the Lord gave a word to Jesse Digges about our labors, "You fed My people- You did it to the least, you did it to Me" (cf. Mt. 25:40). Handing out packages of corn meal, beans, and oil, we may not have realized it, but God took it personally.