.look among the nations.

Back in December, I picked up the monthly newsletter at church and saw a note in there about a team headed to Guyana in the summer. To be honest, I had never heard of Guyana before and just thought it was somewhere in Africa (my geography skills are not exactly the greatest). But I had been praying that God would make the upcoming year a banner year in my life, that He would use me in a way to bring all the glory to Him, and that the impact would be life changing. When we pray bold prayers to a limitless God, we better be willing to accept His answer. So after months of praying and not being able to get Guyana off my mind, I took the plunge and signed up to head off for two weeks to a country I never would have dreamed of going to, but God knew all along that this was His plan for me.

My life verse is Habakkuk 1:5, which says, “Look at the nations and be amazed. Watch and be astounded. For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you.” (NLT) I love this verse for multiple reasons. God wants us to look out beyond what we see around us. And when I think about how much of the world there is left to reach, I begin to wonder how God is going to work. But He reminds us that it is Him that is going to do the work. We are invited in to partner with Him and see His renown fill the earth. And trust me, if someone would have told me a year ago that I would be spending two weeks in South America, I would have told them they were crazy. But God knows the plans for our lives, and it is simply amazing.

So please forgive me in advance for the length of this post and I will try to summarize the best I can all that God did during the two weeks our team was in the wonderful country of Guyana. And I pray that at the end of this post, for those sweet souls who journey with me through this post, that you will be encouraged by what God is doing among the nations and that you will feel a sense of urgency for the Gospel. May you be willing to ask God to show you where He is calling you to proclaim your faith–whether that is around the world or to your next door neighbor. May we be quick to obey His calling, no matter how scared we may be. May we no longer be Christians in name only, but may we be propelled forward by the saving power of salvation every day of our lives.

Hindu flags representing the number of gods worshipped by the household

A little bit of background on Guyana:

• Guyana was a British colony and they brought people from India over to work as indentured servants/slaves. The individuals of Indian descent became free from the British rule 5o years ago and the country then spiraled into an economic downturn that has not been regained since.
• The Indians that were originally brought to Guyana also brought their native religions of Hinduism and Islam. The Hindu temples and Islamic mosques are very prevalent when touring through Guyana. And it is easy to spot the despair on the faces of those who are enslaved to these false hopes.
• Guyana is considered a nation of the Caribbean and is the only Caribbean nation that is not an island. Haiti is the poorest Caribbean nation, and Guyana is a close second.
• Those not of Indian descent are of African descent. Therefore, a group of Americans walking around in Guyana sticks out for sure!
• Guyana is the only country in South America where English is the native language. This allowed us to be able to communicate with those we came in contact with once you asked them to talk just a bit slower. The rapidity of speech was a bit fast at times when you are used to the slow drawl of the South!

 

Juvenile detention center

We started our time out by going to the juvenile detention center. We drove from the hotel we stayed in down to the docks where our entire team of about 20 people all boarded this very small speedboat and we took off down the river. It was rainy that day and the boat sits so low in the water that you wonder how it doesn’t get flooded with water. As we came upon the detention center, there were multiple boys out in the rain washing off in their underwear. And that was the first instance where I realized how little these people have. Yes, I had noticed before now that I was in a third world country. But this was the first time that I saw the faces up close and personal of those having to live in poverty day in and day out.

The picture above is the big covered area where we held our time of worship and feet washing. The girls had to sit on one side and the boys on the other. We danced, we sang, we laughed, and we gave praise to our God.

I have not experienced praises like this since I was in Senegal about ten years ago and how refreshing it was. The music is contemporary Christian songs set to Caribbean beats. The kids were dancing and clapping with joy so clearly radiating from their smiling faces. And what breaks my heart is knowing that if these kids were to come to some of our churches in America, they would think that God is not a good God worthy of our greatest praise. How ashamed we should be when we are merely spectators of the worship in God’s house and not participating. May God forgive us of the times we have simply gone through the motions of worship and left our hearts outside of the sanctuary.

This was the first day that I had the opportunity to wash feet. I was kind of scared since I had never washed anyone’s feet and this would be the first time having a one-on-one conversation with a Guyanese individual about their faith. Fears were trying to invade my mind and soul, seeking to inform me that I could speak out of turn, God may not really have called me to be here, and who was I to think that I had anything important to share with these kids. But God’s plans prevail over the enemy’s attempts to derail His calling on your life.

As I washed those feet of those precious teenagers, I so desperately wanted to hear their stories, to try to diagnose exactly what happened for them to end up in a place like this. But each time I thought this, God quietly reminded me that the past does not define His people. He whispered in my ear to simply love these kids in this moment and to share the truth of His redeeming work with them. Nothing I say or do can save someone; only the power of Christ can do so. And letting go of the responsibility of trying to save someone through my own strength allowed the fears that were trying to derail me be silenced.

New Amsterdam prison (Photo credit: Kristi Buttles)

The majority of our time was spent in Berbice about three hours out from the capital city, Georgetown. Jai, the missionary in Guyana, took us to his house and we had the unique opportunity to live among the people for our short visit. And the next few days, we traveled to the New Amsterdam prison. We could not take any pictures inside, but the picture above shows a portion of the outside. It is intimidating from the outside and the smells emanating from the stagnant waste water surrounding the structure are overpowering.

We had to wait a while before they would let us come in through the gates and the longer I sat outside the gates, the more my fears began to creep up again. This day we were going to be working with men and I had heard stories from past trips about some of the crimes these men had committed. That big question of “God, are you sure that you called me to be going into this prison? Why would you want to bring me to a place that is so scary?” It’s easy to say we trust in God’s plan until we are faced with being pushed beyond our comfort zones. And God gently holds our hands as He walks every step of the way through the things that He has called us to that seem to frighten us the most.

As we walked through the gates of the prison, I began to feel a sense of hatred. It felt like I had stepped back in time to WWII and was entering an internment camp. The smells of human waste and garbage were pungent. The conditions were bleak. And I was upset that it was 2016 but this place had somehow been trapped in time and individuals were being forced to live here. Open air barracks housed the prisoners who were not shy in throwing out insulting cat calls as the female members of the team passed by. And again, fear began to rear its ugly head in my soul. Was this really what God had called me to do?

But the hatred and fear I had felt earlier all were driven away when the men began to worship God. The same thing that I had seen just the day before at the juvenile center was happening here. The men were dancing, clapping, and singing their hearts out in praise to God. The joy on their faces was so evident and God was there in the midst of the prison walls.

And as I washed feet that day, God solidified in my heart that He had called me to this country at this appointed time to be a witness of His saving grace. I took up that charge and boldly proclaimed the Gospel to every man who sat in front of me and granted me the honor of washing their feet. We saw many men become Christians that day and had about 15 of them get baptized. I have seen many baptisms during my time of being a part of the Church, but these baptisms will always remain in a special place in my heart. A tiny inflatable pool, a bucket used to pour the water over the men’s heads, and the new believer kneeling down in nothing but underwear for wanting to keep the few articles of clothing he owned dry, praising God that they were new creations. In the midst of this prison, there was such a strong sense of freedom.

One man I met was named Porter and he was the only man who sat down and looked me in the eyes to greet me. All the other men before him whose feet I had washed would look down at the ground in shame and seemed unwilling to share much with me (except for one man who was very adamant about making sure he told me he killed a man…that’s another story for another time). But Porter came in with a smile on his face and kept saying how thankful he was that we were there. He told me about how he had a wife and kids, how he was living a normal life and was running a few small businesses. And one day his friend talked him into working as a taxi driver for a bit. The first day he got behind the wheel, an accident occurred that resulted in him hitting and killing two individuals, one of them his aunt. He was immediately thrown in prison and is currently awaiting a trial. In Guyana, if you are a suspect of a crime, you are put in prison with no chance of bail, waiting until the court date is set. Sometimes a prisoner may have to wait a few years before the trial even occurs.

Porter continued to tell me how he was a Christian and now realized that God sent him to prison in order to strengthen his walk with Him again. He kept saying that everything had been taken from him–his family, his dignity, his normal pace of life–but that no matter what happened, they could never take God away from him. The genuine faith shown by this man made me realize just how little faith I have sometimes. I had the wonderful opportunity of praying for him to stay strong in his faith. When we went back the next day, he was sitting on the front row and was smiling so big. This man’s joy in Christ was unwavering. After the service, he came down to say thank you to our team again and then he asked me if he could pray for me. As he prayed for me, I broke down into tears. This man was thanking God for sending our team and asking God to continue to use us to spread the Gospel in Guyana. And I couldn’t help but realize that if I was in his position, I would be surprised if I had even an ounce of faith that he had. What a humbling experience and a wonderful thing to meet a brother in Christ in the midst of such circumstances. May I never forget to have such sincere faith as Porter when I feel that the world is against me.

Community center in Liverpool

The next couple of days we worked with children in the village of Liverpool. During the days we worked with kids, we would sing fun songs, reenact a Bible story, and then present the Gospel. Seeing the smiles of the kids as we danced and sang before the Lord was so sweet. And seeing those tiny hands raised in the air proclaiming their newfound faith in Jesus was even sweeter.

Washing the feet of those sweet children was one of the hardest things I had to do while in Guyana. Every child’s feet were covered in dirt, many had multiple welts and cuts, and some had ringworm. And everything within me wanted to sit there and just cry seeing these situations. But their sweet smiles and willingness to listen to the truth of Jesus kept me going. Each time a child told me they wanted to pray to ask Jesus into their heart, I saw the understanding of what they were doing in their eyes.

Covered in sweat and dirty water, I sat there amazed as God met with those children and called them home to Him. May I never get over the joy there is in seeing someone come to know Jesus as their Savior for the first time. For I know it was nothing that I did, but everything that He did.

Beach close to the border of Suriname

As the first week came to an end, there was a peace in my heart that my time in Guyana wasn’t over yet. We had to send off some precious team members as they headed back to the States and waited for the other team members coming in. That weekend was a wonderful time of rest and team bonding. We got the opportunity to go to the market and walk around the neighborhood. Imagine a crowded building overflowing with people, smells, and butchered fish and livestock. Side note: I would post a picture of the cow and pig heads, but for the sake of the squeamish, I will refrain. We also drove to the border of Guyana and Suriname and I rode in the back of a pickup truck the whole time. Unfortunately I forgot to wear sunscreen and got a pretty bad burn. And when we got out on the sand at the beach to take some pictures, we started getting eaten immediately by sand fleas. But it was a sweet time of recharging and hanging out with the team.

That weekend I also got sick and had to skip out on the ministry at the men’s prison again on Monday. Being sick away from home is never very fun and being sick when you are out of the country is even less fun. Satan began to really cause me to doubt whether or not I was even going to be effective that second week. It is easy to say that when Satan attacks you, just let him know that your God is bigger. It is easy to say that we need to fight the attacks of Satan. It is harder to put it in to practice when you are removed from your comfort zone.

I was allowing Satan to really get me to that point where I was done. I was done with serving. I was done with being around God fearing people for so long. I was done with the heat. I was done with the lack of my own bed, my own apartment, and my own comforts of home. I was done with being sick. I was simply done with being in Guyana.

And as I write these words, I just want to go back and rewind time so badly. I allowed Satan’s ugly lies to infiltrate my mind and my behavior. It took a few days for me to get back in to even wanting to wash feet and share the Gospel. I knew the task that I had signed up for and I no longer wanted any part of it. Isn’t it funny how God will use our unwillingness to remind us of how weak we truly are and how powerful He is?

Banner inside a church

As we came upon the last day of ministry, I was still fighting being sick and not being 100% there. But God strengthened me that day to serve Him. The children at this church were so sweet and eager to hear what God had to tell them that day. I don’t think I had washed that many feet in one day than while we were at that church. And God reminded me again that it is not what I can do, it is not how I feel, it is not anything of me that saves a soul. Only He can be my continual source of strength. Only He can comfort me when I am removed from my definition of normalcy. Only He can move someone from death unto life. Only God.

During our time in Guyana our team washed 1,625 pairs of feet and saw 373 people give their lives to Christ! I smile every time I read that and remember the faces of those that I had the opportunity to wash their feet and pray with them to receive Christ. God is moving in Guyana and there is still more work to be done.

Largest wooden structure in the world in Georgetown, Guyana.

At the end of the two weeks, God solidified some things in my heart. For one, He reminded me that when God calls us to go, we need to respond with immediate obedience. Anything less is disobedience and breaks the heart of God. Second, even when God calls us, He does not guarantee it will be easy. I am weak and the second week I was in Guyana proved that immensely. But He is stronger and gave me the strength I needed to carry on. The comforts I am used to were completely removed and I had to fight off the feelings of overwhelming unfamiliarity. Finally, God reminded me of the urgency of the Gospel and of the calling He has placed on my life.

We live in a world that is void of  hope, plunged in darkness, and enshrouded with broken people. And we have the solution–the sweet and precious love of Jesus. Just as John 3:16 states, God loved us and gave us His son to die for our sins so that we can be reconciled back to Him. Nothing we can do in our own might can restore this relationship. Jesus did it all and all to Him we owe.

When we begin to see the depth of the love of Christ for us, we are propelled forward to tell others about the salvation that He offers. Our time is short and as Christians we have two choices in life: live for ourselves simply surviving or thriving as we live sold out to Christ. God has not given me life to remain selfish and satisfied with what I can accomplish. He has a work to be accomplished throughout the nations, and I am humbled that He calls me to be a part of it.

So what are you going to do? Where is God calling you to serve? Are you going to go or are you going to live in the fear that it might be too hard, it might be unfamiliar, or it might be unsafe?

Trust Him. It truly might be hard. It will be unfamiliar. It might be unsafe. But with God, we have the blessed assurance that He is with us every step of the way, holding us up and cheering us on. And as you allow Him to work in your life, you begin to see that you are apart of a grander plan that was set in motion before the world began. You begin to see glimpses of just how strong God’s love for you is. You begin to realize that we are the solution the world needs. What a powerful charge that we have been given! May we not forsake it for our own selfish desires of comfort and familiarity.

May we press on until every nation proclaims the name of Jesus. May we remember the urgency of the Gospel. May we not shirk in fear when He calls us to go. May we know that His plan for us is better than anything we may dream for ourselves. May we never get over the magnificent gift that we have been given in Christ.

So let us look among the nations and see that God is moving. It’s time for us to rise up and take the Light into the darkness of the world. Whether that is across the street or across the world, God has called us all to go. Are you going to let God’s plan for your life pass you by or are you ready to see Him move? The world is ready and waiting. Let’s move.