At the end of this last week, I met with our Field Director Jon Mayo and he promptly summarized my (our) priorities for the next three months: Jesus, Joanna, Swahili. Kindly but very firmly he cautioned me to stay on task and inspite of wanting to serve in more "tangible" ways, resist the urge in light of the Bigger Picture. This morning in my prayer with Jesus, I was just sharing my desire for some opportunity to share Jesus with a non-Christian, inspite of my "strick" assignment to not go looking for other ministries.
Not long after that, while fixing coffee there was a rap on our backdoor and it was Patrick, our guard. He sadly informed me that his "brother-cousin" had passed away in the night and he was asking for permission to be excused to attend to funeral details. We talked for a few minutes and then while I assumed he was a Christian, I thought I would just "double-check." To my surprise, his response was, "My wife and I have not yet made that decision." What opened up then was a chance for me to share with Patrick about a pair of sisters who once lost their brother named Lazarus and how Jesus showed up and declared that He was indeed the Resurrection and the Life. Patrick did not immediate pray to receive Jesus but I believe the experience really was probably more for me... I prayed for such an opportunity, not imagining how it would work being surrounded mostly by only other missionaries, and yet before breakfast, Jesus provided just such an opportunity.
Amazingly enough, Joanna had been carrying the same burden for an opportunity to share Jesus and she had a very similar experience shortly after church this afternoon. She was talking with a freshman girl(in high school) named Agnus who seemed to know the Christian answers and even indicated her parents were "born-again." She had never made a decision for Jesus herself though. Joanna shared a bit of her own testimony then about the necessity of personal faith and what Jesus had done in her own life. Once again, Agnus did not promptly ask Jesus into her heart but she did get to hear a clear explanation of how and furthermore, that Jesus loved her. With Jesus, you never know quite what your "normal" day will look like!
Thank you again for praying with us...for Swahili; for our current fellow missionaries; for other missionaries soon coming to join us; and for more opportunities like today...to share Jesus!
Your Fellow Teammates,
Billy and Joanna Coppedge
(While we do not have a picture of either Patrick or Agnus, we wanted you to "meet" Joanna's friend Caroline)
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing this experience. I am sure it is hard not to want to 'get out there' but God seems to be using you TONS. As we keep saying, we are so excited for you and the way God is working in and through you with each new experience He brings.
Post a Comment