one of the best days of my life!

The power was only gone for a little bit yesterday! But now the water is gone again… It’s always something over here! Yesterday after prayer we stopped by Pastor Ron’s house and talked to him. I told him about the verses that God spoke to me before I got here (see the entry entitled “rooting and fruiting” for more info), and how Carole’s vision was exactly the same. He loved it. We decided that today, we would go with them to a region called Kasubi, a slum where a lot of the Congolese women live. If you’re confused, read the past few entries and you’ll understand who these women are. They have been through quite a lot. We prayed with Pastor Ron and Joy before we left this morning and Joy kept referring to the women as “remnants” in her prayers. She didn’t hear about the verses I shared with Pastor Ron, so it was really interesting because the word used in the verses is “remnant.” When Joy wasn’t in the room, Pastor Ron asked me if I noticed it. I asked if he told her what I shared with him, and he said no.

We took a boda boda (motor bike) to Kasubi and it was hilarious. I was so nervous that Angela was going to fall off of the back! Especially because the roads are so bumpy here. We made it safely and Pastor Ron refused to let the driver rip us off on the cost. It was pretty cool. When we got there, the women greeted us, sang a few songs, and we met their landlord. It was really cool to meet him because he allows the women to stay there, even though they can’t pay most of the time. They are faithful enough to pay him as soon as they get any money, so he lets them stay. It is cool because when they move there after they have been prostitutes in other places, they kind of have a fresh start. They don’t have men chasing after them.

Pastor Ron and Joy asked Angela and I to share. She went first, then I went. I decided to share about a hard time in my walk with God, and about not hearing Him for a while, but being persistent with Him anyway. I told them that He finally came through with a passage in Isaiah 43:1-3a, which says, “But now says the LORD, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” After I shared this verse, I told them that I trusted in God, and I chose to be secure in Him, whether I was going through a hard time or not.

Then I told them about the verses in Isaiah 37:31-32 and 2 Kings 19:30-31 that I blogged about earlier. I told them that through my hard time, I only had a sliver of hope left in me, but God used that little ounce of hope to be the remnant that is spoken of in the verses. I told them that during the time of my troubles, I began to take root in God, and now that I am no longer troubled, I am beginning to “bear fruit upward” as the verses mention. After I shared about how I related to the verses, I told Pastor Ron to share with them about Joy’s prayer. Joy was in awe because she didn’t know that her prayer was related until we reminded her about it. Pastor Ron took it home! He preached! He told them that they are the Congolese remnants of Uganda and they have been taken out of their hometown (AKA “Jerusalem” in the verses) and have the opportunity to take root in God and begin to bear fruit upward. He asked them if anyone wanted to accept Christ, and 6 women came forward. The landlord and a few other men were also praying, so we think they may have accepted as well. It was really sweet!

We immediately went into prayer for the sick (most of the women are HIV positive) and there was a pregnant woman we prayed for. She has had a few miscarriages and is overdue in her current pregnancy. She was afraid because all of her miscarriages happened as she was giving birth. We anointed her with oil and prayed over her. Then this lady who got saved asked us to name her baby! The baby kept laughing, so Angela named her Joy. It was really funny and unexpected. Then Angela got her hair plaited (braided) by Congolese women. She gave them a pretty decent amount of money, and they praised God because they didn’t have any food or money to buy food.

Today was so amazing; I still can’t believe that any of it actually happened. I know we’ll be working with the Pastor Ron, Joy, and the Congolese women more during our time here. God is good!