The Power of Testimony

Sharing the gospel in a village with my friend Hyrance (pic by Ashlyn Barlow)

I’m leaving behind 5 weeks of truly awesome memories in Zambia and Zimbabwe. One of the greatest highlights has been to spend this time with my younger brother, Luke. He’s a champion. I’ve been able to witness him soak up African culture and pursue God recklessly. Keep going after it bro!

Luke (he's just 16 years old!) and me in front of the Zambezi River (pic by Ashlyn Barlow)

I just want to share a handful of testimonies with you. I hope they serve to bolster your faith, as they have to my own. Scripture tells us that “they have conquered him [the enemy] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11). Testimonies from other believers have often stirred me to pursue God with newfound zeal. Throughout the Old Testament, there is a common theme of remembering what God had done and relaying those stories to the next generation. Testimonies serve to reveal new dimensions of God’s goodness and remind us how desperately He wants to be involved in our lives.

Upon arriving in Zambia June 20^th, Luke and I joined up with a Love Africa (www.loveafricamission.org) team from the States and we headed into the bush for the week. 

The Love Africa team after a hike in Chikankata, Zambia (pic by Ashlyn Barlow)

We stayed in Ngangula village among the Tonga people and went out each day for evangelism. One of our first days there, I walked up to a group of men drinking outside of a small pub. A man called out to me saying, “Do you want to take a drink with us?” It seemed it was just a joke, but I introduced myself and he told me his name was Habdi. He is a farmer, but his English is quite good. After we got to know each other I asked him what he thought of Jesus. We chatted for a bit, and then I felt God leading me to ask him about his health, especially his eyes. He said that his eyes were indeed week and he struggled to read. My friend Dave and I prayed for his healing, and to test it I asked him to read from my small pocket bible. Even I can barely read the small print, so I was sure he couldn’t unless God had healed him. Sure enough he read John 14:1-3 quite clearly. He was noticeably surprised, but showed little emotion. He said that he wanted to go home and tell his family what God had done for him! Praise God!

One of the members of our team came to Zambia with a history of anxiety and depression. While here, she ran out of her anxiety medicine. But she found that she was completely free from worry and stress. As each day passed she was more overcome by how God had restored her from restlessness and worry, and saturated her life with His peace that surpasses understanding. She finally shared this with the whole group one of the last nights through tears of joy, and we all praised God together!

On July 9^th I had the privilege of preaching at a church in Ngangula village. God led me to share about the freedom found when we fix our eyes completely on Jesus. When Jesus invited Peter to walk on the water toward him, Peter went for it (Matt. 14:28-30) But as soon as he focused on the wind and the waves, he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. Many came forward for prayer after the service and our team got to pray for God’s peace to flood their lives. It was awesome!

We spent 1 week in Zimbabwe July 15-21 with a small team. One afternoon we went into a town and were talking with people. I met a man named Samson who had just opened a small shop selling auto spares. He wanted to hear everything I had to share about Jesus. We went to see his car, which was being prepared by a young man named Terrance. He had his thumb bandaged because it been badly injured while working on a car the week before. He said it was still very painful. Samson and I prayed together for him and all the pain went away. He was very happy! The best part was seeing Samson’s faith grow from this experience. It turns out he has been following Jesus for more than 10 years and has been involved in ministry for a while. He has a beautiful heart and I know God has big plans for him.

There are many more stories, but this must suffice.

Now I am in Northern Uganda with my friend Dave Crossland, a fellow Clemson grad (Go Tigers!). He’s a stud. Together, we are scouting out some future ministry opportunities for Love Africa and working with a wonderful ministry here called Favor of God Ministries (www.favorofgod.org). We arrived yesterday and have already seen God do amazing things. We’re excited to spend almost 3 weeks here working among refugees from South Sudan in the Adjumani region.

 

Dave Crossland working with his friend at the market in Livingstone and handing out Tonga bibles in the village

Worship with friends in Zimbabwe

Luke in Zimbabwe with his friend Enoch, who came to know the love of Jesus!

More to come.

WC

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our tresspasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight." (Ephesians 1:7-8)

We chased an ostrich out of the garden this morning

This is Zambia. An ostrich in the lettuce patch joins the list with fried caterpillars for dessert and several other fun things!

So, here's a little update. More to come later with testimonies and stuff God has been teaching me!

My little sister got married last month! She is now officially Mrs. Allie Jordan, which is extremely strange. But I guess I can get used to that. Her husband, Jay, is a stellar feller. They make a great team, and I am truly excited to see how they work together for God's kingdom. What a beautiful day it was, filled with family, friends, and dancing.

The next day, we flew out from Myrtle Beach en route to Africa. My younger brother Luke is with me this time, which is really special for me. He is a 16 year old stud and this is his first time across the Atlantic Ocean, not to mention the African continent. We were joined by another teammate (Danielle) in Newark and the three of us continued on our way, stopping over in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Airlines put us up in the Hilton overnight, and we returned to the airport the next day after a superb breakfast buffet as seen below.

Flying from Ethiopia to Zambia, we passed over the tallest mountain in Africa. I was lucky enough to have a East-facing window seat. Kilimanjaro stood stunningly in the distance!

Once in Zambia, we joined up with the team in Chikankata (as seen on the map), located in Southern province among the Tonga people, one of 72 ethnic groups in Zambia. They are a farming people, and quite poor. While Christianity is present, they often intertwine faith in Christ with practices such as polygamy and witchcraft.

Below is most of the team: Kris, Luke, Kristen, Lindsay, Brian, Mary-Elizabeth, Danielle, and me. As usual, Luke looks high! 😆

Luke and Dave helping a local Zambian friend build a grass enclosure for his toilet.

This photo comes from one of our daily ministry ventures in Ngangula village. We go out from hut to hut, visiting people and praying for them as God directs us. We had some truly amazing encounters!

Luke with some of the local village boys!

Luke and I were honored to bring over soccer jerseys from our high school in the States, along with a few balls. Jerseys and good balls are like gold around here! Thank you Coach Suarez and the sports program at Socastee High School.

Kids camp at Ngangula School.

One of many beautiful sunsets!

 Around the fire with my dudes!

Me and a local man we prayed for. Turns out he was one of the local witches (meaning he interacts with evil spirits in attempts to curse or bless people). Praying Jesus overwhelms him with His presence!

Luke and a young man we gave a Barcelona jersey, donated by Daniel Jones!

Luke and an elephant at Chobe National Park in Botswana.

The beautiful Victoria Falls!

That's all for now. We are getting in the car to head back out to the village for a week.

In Christ,

Will