The title of this post is written in Chichewa which is the tribal language of Malawi and Mozambique. This is interpreted to say “Lord prepare me, Lord prepare me, for my heart to serve you”. This truly was the heart of the MTM conference in Mgona village in southern Malawi.
The apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 4:11-12, As we die for Christ’s sake, His life is revealed in the life of others (paraphrased). Brother Wilmer Shenk (from Dublin GA) and I clearly sensed death to self over and over again as we entered into the dark continent of Africa. But in this death, the life of Christ was revealed in many dear African souls. Blessed be God !!! Just to list a few deaths to self, I missed a flight due to delays, the rented truck (which was extremely expensive) left us sit in the middle of the night on our 125 kilometer (78 miles) journey to the village, after getting it running again with a flashlight & a leatherman tool, we ran out of gas, we had to push the truck into the village the last 2-3 kilometers arriving at 3:00 Am Sunday morning, only after the third attempt (and third generator) were we finally able to show the Jesus film, as we finished my projector was going up in smoke, my laptop charger was burned up, Brother Wilmer was ill most of the week, there were mysterious men in our room in the middle of the night, there was a weird disturbance in the ladies dorm (right next to our room) in the wee hours of the morning, and the truck left us sit again as we departed the village to return to Blantyre. Not even mentioning the fact that this village had non of the convinces that all us soft Americans think are normal. Just click on the link below and take a look at the pictures.
But it was in this death to self ….that the life of Jesus Christ was revealed in others. Church leaders came for 5-6 days pedal bicycle ride (700 kilometers) from Mozambique. Others came from the extreme northern regions of Malawi (585 kilometers) by bus. This Mgona village has a population of more than 6000 souls. The night we were finally able to present the Jesus film in Chichewa language, perhaps there were 2-3000 people present. The Jesus film was never shown before in this village …..there were 41 new commitments to Jesus Christ that evening. Truly life in Christ comes to others as we die to self.
But that is not all. God came and totally changed the direction of the conference. We never really had a leadership conference …. but rather we had a revival conference. As God began to blow upon us by His Spirit …. church leaders (men) came to the front and fell on their knees in brokenness and sincere repentance. There was much mourning and weeping. This happen after two different services ….. Blessed be God alone !!! Many came to the room where Wilmer and I were staying for one on one confession and counseling. Some came to life in Jesus Christ for the first time. “Lord prepare me, Lord prepare me, for my heart to serve you”. Truly, the life of Christ revealed in others has a price tag on it !!! I would have to say that the price tag was very small indeed ….one soul is worth more than the whole world. Blessed be God.
Perhaps the most staggering thing about this MTM, was not at all the opportunities to die to self…..and the life in Christ that came forth …. but rather that out of 70 church leader brethren, there were only four (4) Bibles present. Can we even begin to imagine being a pastor without owning a personal Bible? But so it is in Malawi & Mozambique. And it is not at all that the Bible is not available in their Chichewa language ….they simply can not afford them. These dear people are all sustenance farmers (all their effort & time is consumed in farming to live). They have no other means. If one has a Bible…he shares it with others. They copy verses out of the shared Bible and use them to preach from. Wilmer and I were so burdened with this fact that the Lord laid it on our hearts to provide sufficient funds to purchase 60 Bibles …. to be distributed among these church leaders. A special thank you to those of you who support this ministry and made it possible for MTM to help with this great Bible need in south Africa.
Church Leaders On Their Knees Before The Lord …. Preparing Their Hearts To Serve Him
Click Here For Pictures & Captions
