Preaching Trip to S. Africa & Mozambique: PART 1
It Has Begun! Prayers Needed..
Train Ride from Norfolk to DC
Today is the first day of a long journey. I will be in motion (on and off) for the next three days to reach my final destination for the first half of this trip: Cape Town, S. Africa.
I have anxiously anticipated this venture since the tickets were booked months ago. I am caught between the reality of my limitations and the possibilities of the supernatural, empowered by the Holy Spirit. In short, if all I’m bringing is me, it’s not enough to meet the demands of ministry before me. Both churches I’m visiting are thriving centers of revival. My impression of the Cape Town church under Pastor Hector Ortiz is that it is a discipleship and church planting machine, shepherded by a dynamic and effervescent leader. The Maputo church also has a legacy of soul-winning and discipleship since it was planted by some of my personal heroes, Pastor Scott & Kerri Grabowska.
It’s not the travel; some part of me wishes I could be in a new place every day. I suppose my intimidation comes from knowing the weight of the ministry before me these next couple of weeks. My fears stem from the thought of being an unworthy instrument for the task. I especially don’t want to waste the investment of time and resources that have been poured out for this trip. My prayer is that it will be worth it! For the pastors who’ve invited me, the congregations that will receive me, the precious people that need to hear from God, those who’ve given, those who are covering for me in the VB church, and ultimately, for the Kingdom of God!
If you read this while I’m still en route or while I’m still on the ground there, I would urgently ask you to please pray that Jehovah Jireh would provide to me the strength, wisdom, and anointing that I need and could never deserve to fulfill the enormous task ahead.
I feel like one of those random, unremarkable, smooth stones David pulled out of the brook before the battle with Goliath. Unfit and unable on its own to do anything to defeat hell and bring victory to the Kingdom of God. But in the sling of the young shepherd, it was launched with precise direction and sufficient velocity to cause fatal damage to the Philistine champion. The only confidence I have is in the hands of the Master. Lord, strike Your target!