Lost in Translation
Morgan, 19, shares a story from her time in Uganda with All Nations….“ I don’t get it. Last week things were going great! They were understanding us and were so eager to learn, and now this… What do we do?"These were the thoughts running through my mind as we sat in the scorching heat, sweating like crazy. The Bible story of Noah I had just told was travelling through 3 different languages and returned with the summary of “the birds ate the bodies of the dead people."We had been in Uganda for just over a month, and we were starting to get used to the weather, the walking, and the different culture. We were meeting people in our community daily and sharing stories of Jesus with them, and we’d had a mix of experiences. In most situations we were progressing. But not this one; why were we backtracking?We had started meeting with Elizabeth and always had a great time with her. She really seemed to understand what we shared and she always told her friends, who ended up joining us as our bible study grew every time. But after a while things started going downhill and we didn’t know why. This is where we pick things up.…It had been several meetings all ending in the same way and I kept thinking, “ok, what can we change? Maybe there is a different approach we can take. What do I need to do so that Elizabeth will fully understand and accept Christ as her Saviour?” Our team prayed for wisdom in how to guide her, and for the right words to speak. The next time we went to see her we decided to just pray with her and not tell any more potentially confusing stories…However, when we got there, we got a surprise! Elizabeth was so excited to see us! After we had spent some time praying for her, she started asking questions. In the end she ended up accepting Christ and committed to get baptised!Through this I realised that I was trying to rely on my own strength to make it happen. We had learned some great tools in Forge, how to share stories and ask good questions, but still I wasn’t relying on God. I was reminded that some of us plant, some water, but it’s God that gives the increase. This moment really shaped for me what discipleship is about. Being thankful that God chose us to partner with Him in leading people into his kingdom, but remembering that the pressure is off as it’s all down to Jesus!
Which nation is on your heart? All Nations' Church Planting Experience, Forge, starts 21st February in Cape Town and will equip you to make disciples and train leaders to ignite church planting movements among the neglected people of the earth.If you are interested in finding out more about Forge, click the button below for more info and how to sign up, or email us atcpx@all-nations.co.za[button size='' style='' text='Forge 2018' icon='' icon_color='' link='https://all-nations.co.za/portfolio_page/cpx-church-planting-experience/' target='_self' color='d52a37' hover_color='#ffffff' border_color='d52a37' hover_border_color='' background_color='' hover_background_color='#000000' font_style='' font_weight='' text_align='' margin='']