It had been a long afternoon of doing student outreach in a local highschool Impact Africa ministers to here in Johannesburg. The interns and I(Kindle) had just gotten approval from the principal to connect with students in the courtyard of the school, and find classrooms to minister in whose teachers had not shown up to work that day. This happens a lot, teachers will just choose to not show up for work and the classrooms are full of kids without teachers. We are usually going around and teaching the Life Orientation class in a structured manner within specific classrooms, but when there is downtime we like to get creative and love on students who are on their breaks between periods or teach students whose teachers didn’t show up that day.
As we walked towards the courtyard I saw a girl collapse into the arms of her friends as they were eating their lunches standing up. We were very alarmed, and rushed to see what was wrong with her. While assisting in lowering to the ground, her friends explained that this happens to her on a regular basis. Her entire body goes limp, and she loses all capacity to move for several minutes. They informed us that recently, a sangoma (African traditional healer/witch doctor) had prophesied over her that she had been chosen by the ancestors to also become a sangoma, and must begin her training. Soon, the girl was able to communicate with us, and said that she had no desire to become a sangoma, but felt stuck. She was experiencing these episodes of paralysis, and knew it was because of her disobedience to the calling the sangoma had spoken over her. I asked her who she thought was more powerful, the sangoma, or God? Her reply was, “both are equally powerful.”We picked her up with her arms wrapped around our shoulders and began to carry her over to a bench so that she could recover. As I carried her, I told her that I was going to share a message with her, then pray that her problem with paralysis would be lifted and that God would do it. The girl sat on the bench, curled into a ball, and pulled her hood over her head. She was clearly very embarrassed about her episodes, and would not even look us in the eye. One of our interns, Savannah, began to share the gospel with her, emphasizing the power of God in her narrative and that He had authority over the spiritual realm.It is very important to touch on God’s power when sharing the Gospel in the African context. Love is often emphasized when sharing the Gospel with Westerners, but when in different contexts, it is important to bring attention to different aspects of the Gospel narrative. Africans lead very spiritual lives, and live in constant fear of the spiritual realm. The love of God means nothing to an African if following Him means incurring the wrath of the ancestors against them. They must understand that all authority belongs to Jesus, and giving your life to Him means giving your life to an all-powerful God.It was one of those conversations where you know someone’s heart is drinking in your words. She heard and understood our message, and eagerly committed her life to God. The transformation in her demeanor was striking. She lifted her head, her eyes lit up, and when asked she responded that she did not feel like she needed to become a sangoma anymore. I prayed for her, commanded all oppression to lift, and full strength returned to her body and she stood up. I have attached some pictures of her, you can just see the joy of the Lord all over her face(she’s on the far left in the photo below)!
Still rejoicing over this amazing encounter, we continued to the next class and we had a long time to minister to them because no teacher showed up. We taught them about the love and power of God. It was a very special encounter, and all 30 of the kids responded to the call to follow Jesus! We didn’t realize until we walked in that classroom that the girl we had just ministered to outside was a part of the class, and not only did God save her, but touched her entire class! 
God is moving in a special way here in South Africa, and we are honored to be a part of it. It can be difficult choosing what to write about sometimes because we see so much. It is humbling ministering in a place that is full of receptive hearts, with the only barrier standing between them and God is a simple and clear gospel presentation. I often think of the Romans 10:14, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” It gives me an awareness everywhere I go that I may be the preacher called to give someone the Gospel that they have not yet heard or understood. This applies to any context we may find ourselves, Africa or anywhere else in the world. People need to hear, and all they need is someone to tell them. I am encouraged to be bold. After all, what do I have to lose? Thank you so much for all the prayer and support, we really feel like we’re hitting our stride here, and Africa is really feeling like home. We are blessed to have an amazing team of prayer partners and financial supporters from the States who make all of this possible.
|
The Bridgfords in South Africa