I am not a preacher.

I don’t have the right skills.
 
I am not a preacher.
 
I don’t have the gift of teaching.
 
I don’t know everything about the Bible.
 
Why would they listen to me? I’m only 19 years old.
 
What do I know?
 
All these things I was thinking before I got to Mpeketoni. I heard stories about going up to peoples’ homes and telling them about Jesus. I heard that the pastor would probably ask us to preach a sermon on the spot. All the stories and things made me think, “Why me? I don’t really have much to offer here. I’m only 19. I haven’t even gone to college or ever preached a full sermon. I’m not cut out for this!”
 
BUT WAIT. I learned a lot over the last couple weeks. The ministry has put us out of our comfort zones and has made us do things a little differently. Through door-to-door evangelism and preaching just this morning I have discovered that I am qualified. I have the Word written on my heart and ingrained in my thoughts so I can speak truth confidently. Thinking that I need to be something I’m not or have some kind of special Bible degree to tell people about Jesus is just foolish!
 

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young,
but set an example for the believers in speech,
                          in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.            
-1 Timothy 4:12

 
Just because I’m not a pastor and just because I’m young does not mean that I don’t have any wisdom or ability to speak truth into others’ lives. And I may not have the right skills, but Jesus does. It is really awesome to see how God has been preparing us for this time. The confidence and boldness we learned teaching in Thailand has really meant a lot here. I have met a lot of wonderful people here in Mpeketoni. We have gone door-to-door, not selling anything, or forcing religion, but sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with the community. It sounds like an intimidating and pretty strange thing to do, but it has really been so awesome!
 
Just to share one AMAZING story…
 
One day…actually this was the first day we went out…Rachel, Cotilla, our friend and translator, and I were strolling down the narrow dirt path. We were walking under the hot beating sun until Cotilla motions for us to go over to a house. We walk around the corner and we saw this woman and her friend sitting and pulling apart corn. She, who we found out was Irene, invited us in with a smile and as she stood to get us some stools to sit on I noticed she was hunched over quite a bit. After introducing ourselves and chatting about her life we asked her if she knew Jesus. She had heard of Jesus, but didn’t know much about him. Rachel and I proceeded in telling her about Him and about what he did for her. We then asked her if we could pray for her. After we prayed for her leg and her back to be healed, she turned to Cotilla and said something. Cotilla said that she wanted to accept Jesus and be born again! It was so great to be able to pray with her and see her face light up. I then proceeded to tell her she was a new creation in Christ and because of the grace of God the old is washed away. I also asked her how her leg and back were feeling. She stood up, walked around with a straight back, and even danced a little. She high-fived me and we were laughing and saying, “Praise Jesus!” It was so beautiful to see her filled with the Spirit and joyful.
 
The best part is we went back to see Irene and tell her about the New Believers Class we teach twice a week. She said that she had never slept as well as she had because the pain she had was gone. And the even better part is that she was telling us that she has put her hope in Jesus alone to bring her complete healing. Her new goal is to find her strength in Jesus so that she can eventually walk to church on her own. So great!
 
I thank God for getting all the glory and honor in the words we speak and what we do. I know that it is not I, but the Spirit living through me. It’s so humbling and amazing to be a servant of God!
 
I hope this has inspired you to go out and speak the truth of Jesus Christ to your community no matter how old you are! Thanks for all the support. Love you guys so much!
 
Here are a couple pictures because we have not made our video yet:

   
This is our little Lindsey. She is probably one of the most joyful 1 1/2 year olds I know! 
And on the right is Victor, baby Nasha, and Doris. They are siblings that live in the house next to Bishop's.

 

Here's Rachel and I with some of the neighborhood children. They love to play in the sand
piles in the yard with us and give us a good work out as we run around the yard.