Experiencing God

What a day! It is so hard to even put into words but here is my feeble human attempt to describe my "experiencing God" Day.

Yesterday ( Tuesday) began as any other "normal" day.  Getting the kids up and ready and delivered to school, spending some time in prayer and planning with Scott, having lunch, etc.  Yesterday afternoon was different.  I told Scott that morning that I was going to try a Woman's Bible Study at Open Baptist Church. That would mean he would have to take care of the kids that afternoon and greet our visitors from Campus Crusade.  He agreed and encouraged me to go.  The study begins at 2:30 and I arrived very close to that time.  I had visited this same group when Scott and I were here in October of last year so I knew where to go.  When I entered the room there were about 5 other women there and I wasn't sure I was in the right place.  I introduced myself to everyone and they assured me that I was in the right place.  I had no idea what they were studying - I just knew I needed to get plugged into a small group with other women.  After my introduction to the few that were there, I noticed on the TV screen that they were studying "Experiencing God"!  I was excited.  I had done "Experiencing God" many years ago at MBC.  The even more interesting part of this TV screen (that was paused -waiting for the leader to hit play) was a small picture of a man.  I looked even closer and realized I knew the person in the picture.  Here on the screen in Botswana was a picture of Lonnie Riley from Merrizdo Ministries - Lynch, KY.  Lonnie and His wife had been at the  Global Impact missions conference at Millbrook Baptist Church that Scott and I attended in March of this year.  Millbrook has worked and partnered with Lonnie for many years.  They have sent teams on several mission trips to Lynch that my parents have been on and most recently my sister Felicia and my niece Makela went.  I was kind of taken back to see his picture here on the TV screen.  Several more ladies came into the study and the leaders of the study came in - (they had been next door praying before we got started).  The leader - Gabi - the pastor's wife at OBC started the video and we proceded to watch Henry Blackaby teach lesson 4 of "Experiencing God".  As he spoke from Mark 1:17 - "come follow me and I will make you to become" and then from John 14:15, 21, 23&24 - "If you love me, you will obey (keep) what I ask" "Whoever has my commands and obeys theme is the one who loves me." "He who loves me will obey my teaching."  I was reassured and reaffirmed from God that He has called us here to Botswana to accomplish His purposes.  It was as if a fresh breath of life had been breathed into my spirit.  I just sat there and prayed and thanked Him. Thanking Him that He knows what He is going to do through Scott and Me (even when I feel like I have no clue).  "He will make us to become"!!  At the end of Dr. Blackaby's lesson Lonnie Riley came back on the screen to give testimony about how God was at work in his ministry.  Lonnie shared about God laying on his heart the need for a teen center in Lynch and how he and his wife began to pray.  They had no idea how it would happen but they would be obedient if that is what GOD was asking them to do.  He continued to share how things began to happen and how God provided different people and resources to make the teen center become a reality.  Part of that provision about getting a call from a church in SC that wanted to help him and his ministry.  I knew that Lonnie was talking about Millbrook -my home church, the church I was born in, baptized in, married by, where Scott has surrendered his life to God and had accepted the call into ministry.  So here I am sitting in a church in Gaborone, Botswana (8,000+ miles away from home) with about 20 other women who have no idea that I even know anything about this man much less this church he is speaking of and He is testifying of God's provision through them!! I was pretty much blown away with my "God Experience."  So I'm thinking Wow that is so cool God!! Thanks!!! When the video ended Gabi got up to testify to a similar experience where God had told her and her husband to find a plot of land to build a church in Johannesburg, SA.  They prayed and searched and God led them to a plot.  They were pastoring a church of about 40 people and had very little resources but she continued to share how GOD had asked them to find the plot and they were obedient.  He didn't tell them how or where the money to buy it would come from.  Soon after they found the plot they were called to another church and never knew the outcome of the plot. This past Sunday they went for a visit in South Africa and rode past the plot and they were very happy to see that the church was being built there!! GOD knows the plans He has - He is at work and is asking us to be obedient to what He asks of us.  We might not understand how or why or even when, we just have to obey because we love Him.
I never shared with the group about that little moment of WOW over Lonnie Riley being in that video and him sharing about Millbrook Church being a part of God's provision.  We broke up into small groups and I recognized one sweet woman from the small group I had been in in October.  She recognized me too and invited to rejoin their small group.  It was awesome.  There were 5 of us total.  We discussed days 1 and 2 of session 4.  Day 1's lesson was about Abraham's faith when he went to sacrifice Isaac.  We talked about faith. I was able to share with them about God calling Scott and our family to Botswana and how we had NO IDEA how God would work it out but we just said yes, stepped out in faith and HE did work out all of the details to get us here to serve.  Day 2's lesson we all shared from this large list of ways we had experienced God.  It was such an incredible "God Experience" to me just to hear these women share.  One lady was from Zimbabwe and she shared how she had experienced "GOD of all peace".  She and her husband were fairly wealthy business people but had lost everything due to the government and failed currency.  But they had complete peace in God through the whole devastation.  People could not understand how they had this kind of peace.  Another lady from Zambia shared how she had experienced "GOD of all comfort" just recently when she had buried her brother.  Another lady from Botswana shared her experience with "GOD of hope" as she deals daily with her 3 year old son who has sickle cell anemia. I didn't have a workbook but I shared about my experience with "GOD of all comfort" during the loss of my nephew Wills.   I just sat there with tears rolling amazed at ALMIGHTY, EVER-PRESENT, OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT GOD.  Here we were all sisters in Christ, from all different countries, all testifying to how we had individually had very real and personal experiences with HIM!!  I was talking to God as I was leaving just thanking Him for that sweet time - a time to fellowship and sharing intimately with my sisters in Christ and a special, refreshing time of experiencing HIM!! 

I returned home on a "high"!! You know that feeling when you have had such a personal experience with GOD.  When I got home there was a team of 5 at the house from Campus Crusade for Christ (2 of them were Seth and Matt the interns from the states that are going to rent our guest cottage).  The others were Hasee the interim National director of CCC, Sylvia a volunteer from Zimbabwe, and Paul a pastor that serves on the CCC staff part time and does "Jesus Film"part-time.  We had a nice visit and all talked about ways we could work together to reach Botswana.  Scott and I are excited with possibility.  Scott and Paul talked about the 4 guys doing a small group together for accountability and maybe reading "Radical" together and discussing it.  Please be prayer about this possibility.  Before they left Hassee approached me and asked if Scott and I would do some marriage counseling.  I just laughed.  I told her we are not counselors.  She was basically looking for Christian mentors - she is a newly wed and they are suppose to meet with other Christian couples for some marriage guidance.  I still laughed but told her I would love to have her and her new husband over for dinner and we would be willing to share life and life experiences with them.  She was very gracious and happy about that possibility.  Please be in prayer about that too.

As I close I am reminded once again that God is at work in the hearts of His people to accomplish His purposes!! Will you Obey when He speaks?

We love you all - thanks for reading - for praying - for sending your words of encouragement!!
Tonya