I cried out loud deep inside my soul "Lord, take me out of Egypt!" as if I had been wandering in the desert like the children of Israel that Moses led. As I was sitting by the window on that plane when we were just about to touch Tunis, I felt, maybe, the same way that Moses did when he was shown the land of milk and honey and was told that he will not reach.
Right before departure from Cairo Airport, check-in officials told me that I needed to be in possession of a Visa for Tunisia which I could apparently only apply for and get from Zambia. During preparations in February, the Embassy assured us we will get it at the Airport. Where is the sanity in this? No sooner had I sat in the Visa waiting room (strange) than the Immigration Officer came in and shouted out my nation, "Zambia!" instead of my name and I knew it was no good. So I tightly clenched the faith in my heart. In a
distinct French-Arabic accent he told me, in broken English, that he was sending me back to Cairo immediately. I smiled back at him while my heart shed tears of peace knowing that Father was in control.
In a wisp of a moment, four mid-aged men clad in grey suits came about and a somewhat vicious debate ensued among them. They debated my visa situation while I kept in constant communication with the one above. The Holy Spirit was at work, for all I knew. After three good hours of waiting patiently for the verdict, eventually my visa was granted!
Such great moments of divine intervention as this are miracles to be told, history to be written and perfect examples of how Father will never fail those who call on his name in every circumstance or situation.
For this and many more reasons, I will trust Him to keep showing his face, through dreams and visions as well as through personal contact with believers, to my new Muslim friends who are lost in a thick fog of lies passed down by generations of spiritual and cultural bondages from their folks’ folklore.
I recall one night in Egypt when my team mate didn’t come back to our room after our late night tea. I kept on turning to see whether he was back, but alas. So I went outside round about 3am and found him sharing stories from the respective Holy Books. I joined in and from that day onwards I walked a path with our keen pal full of delusions - as you may all know about them. Helping Him draw lines about Jesus as Lord and not prophet was almost as hard as cracking a nut with one finger. Praise Him all my soul, for when the time came to go, I handed him the Jesus film which is in his language – Arabic, and he was so happy!
Tunisia was one spell of adventure. We got off to find the man of peace (based on Luke 10 journey) and had revelations from the Holy Spirit of how we were to go about it. He showed us colours and places among other signs to look out for. So we set out leaving almost all our belongings in Tunis and went down south to an island more than 500km (300-400 something miles) away. Amazing how we found time to encourage a white-collared professional on finding out the truth about Jesus and how we stumbled on two young westerners who gave us the Gospel according to Luke in Arabic. On the other day we visited him, he asked for the Injil (Gospel. And we had a copy from our two colleagues) which we kindly handed out in utter disbelief of his openness! Anyway, what could beat a paced stroll in the Sahara desert for more than 14km and sharing your faith as you go? How about attending the only open service for and by Arabic Muslim-Background-Believers held in the Arabic Islam World (10-40 window) and hanging out to encourage some of them? Nothing beats the adrenalin rush, even though you might have the Holy Spirit, when you experience such noble activities. Just seeing the Lord’s creation and experiencing massive diversity in culture across North Africa has been nothing short of exhilarating to the core!
What a constant reminder that we (the Church) are not meant to stay indoors, in the confines of church courtyards and in the realms of our comfort and perceived safety, while we were commissioned to live out our faith and conquer the World by going to the ends of the Earth to preach the Good News so that every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
I am writing from Morocco in the city of Marrakech. What a miracle! After three visa application attempts and now I am here.
This place is so beautiful, but unfortunately, it has its ugly faces too. There is strong persecution against believers here. Recently, there has been a wave of forced departures and expulsions on Expat Workers (believers) around the whole Country. This was mainly due to proselytizing claims from primary and high school kids’ parents. Orphanages have shared the pinch too. It is very criminal in here, just like in Egypt, to convert someone even though there is apparently “Freedom of religion.”
While I wrestle to change circumstances in a land where I am foreign, I can only fall to my knees and invite you to join me and the Team as we breakdown strongholds and chains that have shackled Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco for centuries.
Pray for more workers to come to North Africa, for baldness and wisdom for those already here, for Muslims to see Jesus in dreams and visions (this is how most Muslim-background believers came to faith) and for financial support.
I am so thankful for the support that I have kept on receiving from you. You have all been so kind through your encouragements, responses and comments to both my Newsletter updates and comments on my blogs.
Through your prayers and supplications, I have thus far received US$ 5,250 towards my mission fees which includes transport, accommodation and food costs. I am still trusting for US$ 3,612 (R26,500 South African Rand) for the rest of the year.
May the name of our Lord be praised in all nations.
P.S. I will send a photo update as soon as our team laptop is accessible.