Do Not Let the Dream Trouble You

(Posted by Kelly)

“I had a dream last night. Two women came and gave me something to eat. I ate the food and it was good, but now I am concerned because I do not know where the food came from. I think it might have been a poison.”

This was a prayer request from a woman yesterday in the village of Dekpo where my teammate Dawna Price and I have been going for the past 8 weeks. We have been working through a Bible study of the book of John. Our focus has been on the things that Jesus desired for his disciples to know and do. These 25 women are new Christians and have a contagious joy for the Lord. Each week we hear their testimonies and join in their praises to God. They are eager to learn what we have to share and they are learning to hide the Word of God in their heart as we memorize a new verse each week. Most of these women cannot read and do not have a Bible. They are oral learners and it is remarkable to witness how quickly they are able to memorize scripture and then able to repeat what they have learned week after week.

Often times after our lessons we have asked if there are people in the village who are suffering or if there has been a new baby born. We then as a group have gone to visit and pray for these people. The Lord has done great things. We have witnessed his healing power and we have seen his Spirit working and drawing people to himself as we walk through this village. As people have seen the Lord answer prayers, they have joyously shared their stories and more people know the power of our amazing God. This is a village where the instinctive thing to do in time of crisis is to make sacrifices to pagan gods and to go into debt giving money to witchdoctors trying to appease and gain favor of whomever is coming against you.

This week our lesson was from John 13. In this chapter Jesus is teaching his disciples that they are to love and serve one another. We talked about how Jesus knew what was going to happen to him and who would betray him and yet he demonstrated love for everyone. He washed the feet of Judas knowing that within a few minutes he would get up and leave to betray him. He also knew that Peter would deny him and yet he knew Peter’s heart and that he would repent. Jesus knows our hearts, he knows what we will choose to do and yet his love for us is unfailing. I asked the ladies for specific examples of how they can love and serve one another in their village. We talked about why it is important for those in this community to see us showing love to one another so that the pagans will see that we are Jesus’ disciples. One lady who is blind said, “When others see us praying for and washing the feet of our enemies they will know we are Christians.” Another said, “If an older woman is not able to go to her farm because she is sick, then we can go for her and plant seed or harvest her crop.” It was exciting to hear their responses.

As a demonstration of our love for these women and God’s heart to bless these women, we had a surprise in store for them. We wanted to relieve their burdens that night. African women work so hard and are responsible for cooking the meals. Cooking over fires with wood they have gathered and food they have harvested. We had with us in our car hot meals prepared for them and their entire family. We had taken a guess that 100 servings would provide for the 25 regular women who attend.

After the lesson, we had a time of prayer. The first lady to request prayer shared the dream mentioned above. She was concerned that it was a bad spirit that had given her food and requested prayers that the Lord protect her. We smiled with surprise ourselves and told her that it was really the Holy Spirit that had spoken to her in a dream. I said, “do not let the dream trouble you.” We then explained to them what was about to take place. It was a great surprise and Dawna and I both felt great joy in blessing these ladies who are becoming so dear to us.

Kelly