Today started with a challenging devotion for the entire team lead by Brother Herb Hodges! Herb spoke from 1 Thessalonians. Nearly all of the DownLine teamed preached in various locations today. Here are some of Mark Murdoch’s thoughts on the trip… this trip has been truly amazing already and we are just getting started. It started last night with the warmest welcome I have ever received in my life. You may have already heard another account of this, but as soon as our bus pulled up to the church we were greeted by dozens of children jumping up and down and waving their hands in the air. They gave us homemade gifts and personally escorted us to the front of the church while the national army band played. It was amazing to see how thankful they were to have us come. Ever since that time, they bend over backwards looking for ways to serve you. I do not think I have ever been in an environment where the people were so loving and so eager to serve. It has been very convicting just to see their attitudes. They truly have Christ-like hearts.
Today I had the opportunity to go preach in a small village about 20 minutes away called Texas. It was a house that they had converted into a church. The building was not large, but the people were crammed in. The church was only a year old, and I found out when I got there that many people in the church did not know the Lord. I preached from the edge of the main room and there were also people sitting in the hall behind me and in a room off to the side of the hall. The people in the side room could not even see me. This was my first time preaching with a translator. It definitely had its challenges and there were several times where it was hard to get the point across because of the language difference, but it was absolutely an amazing experience. We had prayed before that the Holy Spirit would be present – and He definitely was. At times during the talk, I got a little discouraged because I knew that I was not able to make the translator understand what I was trying to say. But God showed me that it is really not about what I have to say anyway. It is about Him moving in hearts. Though I was not able to communicate the talk in the way I had planned, God had His own plans and two people gave their lives to Christ. It was a very rewarding and humbling experience and it taught me in a tangible way a point that God has been pounding into me lately – that it is all about Him. If we abide in Him, we can bear much fruit. Apart from Him we can do nothing. It is not about our talents and abilities – it is all about Him.
It is so exciting to be here and we haven’t even started the discipleship conference yet. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do the rest of this week
