If I (Amethyst) don’t find myself in the right spirit; I’m not in the word; not praying a whole lot, my gut feelings can get out of control; I think this is the case for everyone. And when you’re in a place you’re not sure of, around a language you don’t know this feeling rollercoaster can really take you for a ride…
Andrew stood up late, last night preparing a sermon for this Sunday, the day of Pentecost. He studied the word and prayed diligently for the people that he would lay hands on to get filled with the Holy Ghost. Meanwhile, I sat and read from a textbook about “International Organizations,” (textbooks are great, but they’re not much of a faith builder). The night we went to bed, I began thinking about all the negative possible things that could happen, shaking myself up and then forcing myself back to sleep again.
Around 1 am, I was awakened to the sound of tribal drums and chanting. This is something we commonly hear in the nighttime here, but this time it was UNUSUALLY close. I PANICKED. Meanwhile, Andrew was sound asleep.
When I woke him up, he admitted they sounded close, but he was in total peace.
“It’s okay,” Andrew said “I have complete peace about this.”
“I don’t,” I replied sharply.
I envisioned in my head our building being surrounded by the Mai Mai and almost anticipated a gun shot. I insisted Andrew get his shirt on and I slept with my boots on (prepared to jump out of bed and run when I needed to).
The singing became more distant but still terribly loud. Andrew and I prayed, but I stood awake praying until daylight. So many things rushed through my mind. I even thought, ‘tomorrow, I’m changing my ticket and getting out of here,’ at the same time I thought ‘even if something bad does happen, I command it to stop in Jesus name,’ my spirit and my flesh were at war…
The next morning at breakfast, we spoke to our Congolese friends about the night.
“They were fishing on the lake and singing,” One of them said “I was enjoying it!”
Had we fully understood Kiswahili, we probably would have been able to know from the start that there was no problem.
Andrew was right, he was completely in the right spirit and I’m thankful that he doesn’t get as paranoid as I do sometimes. I know that his peace came from the Holy Spirit and it continues to come from the Holy Spirit. Next time, when I see him pressing into Jesus, I’m not going to sit back and read a textbook.
Andrew stood up late, last night preparing a sermon for this Sunday, the day of Pentecost. He studied the word and prayed diligently for the people that he would lay hands on to get filled with the Holy Ghost. Meanwhile, I sat and read from a textbook about “International Organizations,” (textbooks are great, but they’re not much of a faith builder). The night we went to bed, I began thinking about all the negative possible things that could happen, shaking myself up and then forcing myself back to sleep again.
Around 1 am, I was awakened to the sound of tribal drums and chanting. This is something we commonly hear in the nighttime here, but this time it was UNUSUALLY close. I PANICKED. Meanwhile, Andrew was sound asleep.
When I woke him up, he admitted they sounded close, but he was in total peace.
“It’s okay,” Andrew said “I have complete peace about this.”
“I don’t,” I replied sharply.
I envisioned in my head our building being surrounded by the Mai Mai and almost anticipated a gun shot. I insisted Andrew get his shirt on and I slept with my boots on (prepared to jump out of bed and run when I needed to).
The singing became more distant but still terribly loud. Andrew and I prayed, but I stood awake praying until daylight. So many things rushed through my mind. I even thought, ‘tomorrow, I’m changing my ticket and getting out of here,’ at the same time I thought ‘even if something bad does happen, I command it to stop in Jesus name,’ my spirit and my flesh were at war…
The next morning at breakfast, we spoke to our Congolese friends about the night.
“They were fishing on the lake and singing,” One of them said “I was enjoying it!”
Had we fully understood Kiswahili, we probably would have been able to know from the start that there was no problem.
Andrew was right, he was completely in the right spirit and I’m thankful that he doesn’t get as paranoid as I do sometimes. I know that his peace came from the Holy Spirit and it continues to come from the Holy Spirit. Next time, when I see him pressing into Jesus, I’m not going to sit back and read a textbook.
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