A Far Green Country

Many people come to Africa as missionaries expecting to do God's work and then instead God ends up doing his work in them through Africa. Today was one of those days. God is teaching me things continually as we live and minister in this African megacity of Kinshasa. I'm continually stretched as I try to think through a comprehensive strategy to plant churches and make disciples in this city. It seems that around every corner there is some challenge that seems too great to overcome. Around every corner, there is a task that seems too great for me to accomplish. Today, I prayer-walked in a small area of the city called Yolo. As I walked and prayed, I was overwhelmed at the poverty. I was overwhelmed by the masses of people. I was overwhelmed by the smell of open sewage. I was overwhelmed by the poor sanitation and the huge amount of trash piled up everywhere. I was overwhelmed by the Kimbanquist who preached at me that Jesus was a Savior for white people and that Nzambe (God) did not raise him from the dead. I told them Jesus is Savior and King. They called me a liar. Overwhelmed? I think so!

This afternoon I have been in a state of shell shock as I've been thinking through this occurrence. As I've thought about it, I've come to realize that this feeling of being overwhelmed is God's grace toward me. Why? Because this feeling of being overwhelmed strips me of any self-confidence I have and it sends me fleeing to the all-sufficiency of my Savior and King. I can't do it, but he can! I can't open the eyes of the Kimbanguist, but he can! He is sufficient to help me in every task and in every overwhelming moment. One of the first things I ever heard in seminary was to begin to pray for God to make me weak so that I would be stripped of reliance on self and be turned toward reliance upon God. I was also taught that in the Bible there is no self-esteem ever mentioned, there is only Christ-esteem. Who is sufficient to start a Gospel movement among Kinshasa urbanites? Not me! Does this cause me despair? No. It does however send me fleeing to Christ for his help. My faith is not in my ability but in his. My faith is in his promise that there will be one from every tribe, tongue, and nation that will bow before his throne. He will receive glory from the nations of the earth. Rev. 7:9