On Tuesday I went to what I thought was bible study at my local church in Conakry (Amour De Dieu) with my friend Fred, but turns out it is "Revival Week" there. Boy was I in for a treat! The pastor was discussing spiritual warfare. He began part of his three and a half hour sermon with this: "We are not fighting against flesh, but against evil. Tonight, we are exposing the enemy." (paraphrased from Ephesians 6:12). Here are some notes I took from his sermon....
- The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy and he will go to the ends of the earth to do that. (John 10:10)
- When you know the God you are serving, you will not be afraid of the enemy. God has power and authority.
- The devil also has power and authority, but God wins.
- Even though we want to see The Lord, Satan will come too.
- In the story of Job, the devil came to kill, steal, and destroy, but God prevailed good and faithful.
- Arm yourself with the armor of God. The belt of truth, breastplate on righteousness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit (The Word of God), and pray on all occasions. (Ephesians 6:13-18)
This was the most powerful sermon I've ever heard and I truly felt, saw, and heard God in that three and a half hours! I was doing things I normally would never do such as praying out loud, dancing all along the church pews, and lifting my hands, reaching out to my loving and righteous Father! I saw people get healed from their physical pain in the name of Jesus and people burst out in tears from the surgery Jesus was undergoing on their hearts. I have never felt peace and joy like I did that night. The God I am serving is so beautiful, I am falling head over heels in love with Him. Below are are lyrics to one of my favorite songs that come to mind when I think about what I felt like on Tuesday.
The richness of Your beauty's all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I'm completely satisfied
For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands To show m love, to show my love
When we got back to the ship after church, one of my favorite security guards, M.G., who I mentioned in my last blog was working night shift! I went to go have our now routine french/english lesson and somehow we got talking about the Bible and he wanted me to go get one in french so we could read it! I ran up the gangway to our library and conveniently found a french/english Bible! After I taught him some english words he could use in his job, we ended our lesson with scripture from God's Word. We read from Matthew 5:43-46 where Jesus talks about loving your enemies. I left M.G. with the Bible that night hoping and praying that he would read more because for night shift, he basically just sits there and watches for suspicious activity and tries not to fall asleep until seven the next morning. The next night M.G., my cabin mate Emma, and I discussed the culture of Africa. We talked about Muslim and Christianity and I found out M.G. is Muslim. He has been to a christian church before and liked it, but like a lot of 22 year olds, religion is not his primary concern and priority at the moment.
On Thursday me and some friends had the day off of work so we decided to venture to Guinea's biggest market called Medina. We took a bus there and the bus driver was playing 50 Cent (the rapper) and reggae the whole way there! The whole three hours we were there, I don't think I saw any other white people so we stuck out like sore thumbs. This market is massive. Hundreds of people going every direction all at the same time and usually carrying something on their head like water, fabric, food, or other miscellaneous items. We went to the market looking for fabric to make clothes and finally after about an hour of looking, we hit the jack pot. Basically a whole section of a rundown wear house was full of every kind and color of fabric a person could possibly want! We each splurged and bought lots of cool fabric after about an hour and a half of shopping then made our way back to the ship. Walking through this market that takes up what seems like miles and miles of land is annoying, hilarious, scary, and exciting all in one! People tried to pick pocket us, hit on us, sell us the most random stuff, and just try and talk to the fotes (white people, pronounced fo-teas).
I am on call today for work so I can't leave the ship, but there is a ballroom dancing class tonight at 7:00 so I will probably go to that! On Saturday I am going to the women's prison with my lovely roommate and fellow Ashevillian Glenn. Sunday I am going back to my wonderful church for a Sunday full of praise and worship to my Almighty Father!
It is still up in the air, but I feel that The Lord is not calling me back to college at this point in time. I have instead officially applied to spend September 2013 - March 2014 with an organization called YWAM (Youths With A Mission) in Hawaii and I am waiting to hear if I got accepted or not so prayers for that would be awesome!
Also, Mercy Ships will be featured on the television show 60 Minutes this Sunday February 17th so check your local listings for what time it will air! Check out what Jesus and this awesome organization are doing for West Africa!
Me and Balla!
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Ephesians 6:10-13
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