For the One
When you hear the words “change of plans” what emotions run through you? More than likely they’re not pleasant ones. Change is not an easy thing to embrace, but as one of our staff reports “this change of plans turned into one of my favorite moments”.
This comment was referring to a reflection from a very recent trip to a very restricted country in southeast Asia. The plans for the day had been altered, and the crew was now entering a house brimming with young Christian families. Christians here- in this hostile environment- still gathered expectantly! One of our previous blogs talked about kinds of persecution, but this site opened our eyes to a whole new kind of persecution being faced by believers in least reached areas. Persecution from their fellow believers. Those who did believe were so gripped by a spirit of fear that they would persecute those wanting to be more open about their faiths. Because of this, the hunger for God was turning into discouragement from oppression.
As the team began to minister to this “surprise” site, one woman got out through her tears “no one has ever come to encourage us because we are so difficult to reach. Thank you!”. Later, a woman fell into the arms of the team weeping. When they were able to discern why she wept, it was her daughter. One girl stood out among the gathering. Wearing short shorts and leaning against the wall with a permanent scowl, she had seemed untouched by the evening’s events. After praying over the mother, this girl moved for the first time that evening and sat with the team. The next hour was nothing short of a miracle.
Through that time, God provided an opportunity for the girl to come to Jesus and to have her mom lead her in the salvation prayer. The entire countenance of this girl had changed. It reminds me of Biblical healings or Biblical account of driving out demons where it says that literally afterwards no one recognized them. That’s the power of God in a life. Our staff member said, as she recounted this whole story to us, “At first I was upset with the change of plans, but afterwards all I could think about was Jesus leaves the 99 for the 1. If this entire trip (through dangerous terrain, hours on end of travel, trying to avoid exposing local believers or being kicked out) had only been for this one girl, it would have been worth everything”.
Because Jesus was about reaching the one, Mandate is about reaching the one. Whether it’s literally the one person in the middle of nowhere who needs a touch from the Lord or whether it’s the 1% of a population that is struggling to take hold and begin a church in their unreached area. Be a part of stories like these. Get involved with Mandate through contacting us or donating to our current project as the Lord leads you.