Transformational Obedience

"And the things that thou hast heard among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men (and women), who shall be able to teach others also (word in italics are mine).  - II Timothy 2:2

This week was a particularly good week, with so many positive things happening on so many fronts, and as I post a story each week; a story that I don't want to forget, I am hard pressed to determine which story to write about.  Do I write about the news of 400 students at the primary school in Kyahi, which resulted in me giving the go-ahead to build two more classrooms, or the 22 nursery school students who are attending our Christian school in Ruti?  Should I write about the 5 young men who followed the Lord in believer's baptism; one so crippled that he could barely get up and down the steps, and another who skipped the first week of school at Makerere University in Kampala so that he could be baptized?  Then there was the dozen or so students at Western College (a private Muslim school) who indicated by raised hands, as everyone looked on, that they had place their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior?  All are happenings that I pray I never forget, and, praise God, there were several other happenings that thrill my heart; none better than Kristen leading a young man to the Lord while out on soul winning.  But my choice this week is on what I believe is the transformation of a young lady, Deborah, who Cheri and I refer to as our Ugandan daughter.

Deborah is a strong-willed young lady, which makes her quite compatible with the rest of my children.  Her religious background is strongly Anglican, as her dad, Eric, was an Anglican Reverend for over 20 years before he was booted from the Anglican church for not following their unbiblical ways and not "worshiping" those who were over him.  His congregation encouraged him to stay and start a church, so he started an independent Christian church where he still pastors today.  Eric is biblically straight on most major doctrines, but he still struggles with the doctrine of baptism, although he is moving towards a biblical view.

I have watch the internal conflicts in Deborah, which is nothing more than Holy Spirit conviction, and about a year ago Deborah broke down, receiving Jesus Christ as her Savior.  For a month or so she had great joy, joy that comes from obedience to God and His word, but, although she has heard me preach on baptism several times, she wouldn't submit to baptism, so, as a result, she once again became spiritually depressed.

Then in November, just after baptizing 25 people, Deborah told me in the presence of many that she knew that what I was teaching about baptism was correct and that she needed to get baptized, but she wanted to talk to her dad first; to convince him of what the Bible says.  I did not object, but encouraged her to talk with him, and that I hoped her dad would see the truth and be the one to baptize her.

Deborah then went on holiday, returning to her home about 120 miles from Mbarara.  Upon her return she did not mention any conversations with her dad, and she seemed to be on a religious roller-coaster.  I continued to pray for her, knowing that she would never have the joy of her salvation if she remained disobedient to God's revealed will, and knowing that she would never be fully affective as a Christian if she didn't submit to God.

On Saturday morning we prepared for soul winning as I prayed that God would direct me where to go and that He would direct someone to us; someone who was ready to hear and receive the gospel.

Now normally Deborah spends the weekend with us, arriving at our house after we finish soul winning, but on occasion she will go soul winning with us, so I was very pleased when she came through the door well before we departed, ready to go with us.

I felt led to go to a trading center close to an Anglican hospital where we had handed out John and Romans just two weeks prior.  The 11 of us went all different directions where we would hand out about 600 John and Romans, and hopefully get many witnessing opportunities.  I did my best but found few people who could do more than greet me in English.  I was the first to return to the van.  The others were unusually slow to return.  Finally they began to show up and when Deborah got into the van, with excitement on her face and in her voice, she told me that the man she had been talking with received Jesus Christ as Savior.

The story behind her soul winning opportunity was thrilling.  The man had come from Fort Portal, about 200 miles from us.  His young son had been poked in the eye with a stick, so they came to the Eye Clinic here in Mbarara, part of the Anglican hospital, as this eye clinic is renown for being the best in all of Southwestern Uganda.  His boy had been hospitalized for a week as they struggled to save his eye, which they successfully did, and they would soon return home.  Now the man did not speak Runyonkore or English, the two languages spoken in the area, but a dialect of Ikenyarwandan.  He communicated this to Deborah, and it just so happens that this is the dialect of Deborah's father, so she easily communicate God simple plan of salvation to him.  Coincidence?  Luck?  I think not.  A divine appointment?  Absolutely!

Later that afternoon as several of us talked in the kitchen, Deborah said, "Dad, I want to get baptized; I want you to baptize me in the river."  Yes!  You could see the weight of this decision roll from her shoulders; a decision that she had long been under conviction for.  She spoke of all the times that she would tell others that they needed to be baptized the Bible way, all the time knowing that she was disobedient to what she was preaching.

Then came Sunday and another Divine appointment -- We dropped Deborah and Jacob off at the hospital where they would ready those who wanted to come to church and distribute John and Romans.  What happened at the hospital would not be know by us until Sunday afternoon, but God had another appointment for Deborah, an appointment that would require once again her obedience to a call that was contrary to her flesh.

Deborah is great at the hospital, but she confessed that she has never gone into the ward where the people are deathly ill.  She felt she could not bear it, and so she avoided it at all cost.  As she was handing out John and Romans and talking with the patients, a woman began to beg her to come into this ward.  Her flesh wanted so badly to put the woman off, but the Spirit was telling her to go.  After a brief battle, she obeyed the Spirit, and entered the ward where she was ushered to this deathly looking woman.  She learned that she was suicidal.  They had to keep medications away from her as she so wanted to kill herself and that she refused to
take the drugs needed to boost her immune system to fight her HIV/AIDS.  Deborah talked with her, introducing her to Jesus Christ, her only hope.  After taking her through the plan of salvation, she asked the woman, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ with all your heart?"  In her own words the woman prayed, confessing her sins and asking God to save her.  Before Deborah left, to get on the van to usher many to church, this once suicidal, depressed woman was smiling and laughing, to the delight of her family and Deborah.

I believe that this is just the beginning for this young lady and I'm thrilled to have played a small role in her life, and I look forward to encouraging and exhorting her to continue her walk of obedience to God.  For she is one of those spoken of in II Timothy 2:2, one of the faithful, who is obeying the word and who is able to teach others to do so also.