The different hues of the Body of Messiah

A few days ago I received this link from a sister in Messiah.

Whilst reading the blog this link directed me to I too thought on our experiences here in Africa, and I too would like to relate a similar experience that I was privileged to witness in Tanzania.

It was in February 2000, I was at that time travelling with a missionary family of 6, me being the seventh person, in a very old and seemingly over-loaded Land Rover.

We had been travelling the whole day and night was falling, we started to looked for places where we could sleep for the night, but each place we tried the husband of this missionary family I was with informed us that this was not the place. We need to make it clear here that very seldom did we know where we were to spend the night before us, it was literally a trip of faith - no support, no sponsors, no church groups or anything like that just a walk with YHWH Yeshua based on Mat. 10:5-14.

To be quite honest I was starting to despair with the husband and his repeated chimes of "I don't think we are supposed to stay here!"

It was past dark when we entered a town named Same, this town is about 80 kilometres south of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The town is very rural, very African and not at all what I, coming from Namibia, was used to, I was by now in fact hoping that we may push through to Moshe or some such larger centre where we may have been able to find a more "comfortable" nights lodgings, but no, my friend quietly declares - "WE MUST SLEEP HERE!"

I wish I could sound more "spiritual" about how I felt right then, but that would be a lie. My heart dropped - but I gathered a little comfort from the fact that there was a place in this "town" that had electricity, maybe we could still find "decent lodgings" for the night. But no my missionary friend now approached a group of people chatting idly as only Africans can do and asked a Policeman with this group where the local TAG (Tanzanian Assemblies of God) church was, if indeed they even had one.

The Policeman said they did indeed have a TAG assembly and he indicated towards his right. So all back in the Land Rover and there we go into a very inky pitch black night.

For those that may not know Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa, it is situated in Tanzania, not Kenya as many believe, and it is only a few degrees south of the Equator yet it has a permanent ice cap. This mountain range produces its own weather system which plays havoc on the surrounding area's weather, and this weather system in my experience is usually windy, wet and cold!

The road we were needing to travel on now to get to this TAG assembly was one of those overgrown excuses for a road and consisted of a dirt track through the grass, very bumpy, very tedious, and as I said, very dark.

After a while we arrived at a building situated in a sort of village area, it had some lights on. My missionary friend boldly stated that this was the place we were looking for, and indeed it was. He went and knocked on the window, and asked where the local Pastor lived, the person speaking to us indicated a small light that was burning in the distance - that we were told was the Pastor's house - only one problem though, there was no road to the house, so two of the young men sleeping in the church and I walked in front of there Land Rover through the long grass checking for potholes, rocks and the like.

It was bitterly cold and windy, but after a while we reached the Pastor's house, bade our friends good bye, and whilst the family gathered themselves together  and climbed out of the Land Rover I went and knocked on this very primitive mud brick house's front door.

The door opened almost immediately, it was about 23:00 by now, and at the door stood this slightly built African man. He greeted me (a very white guy) with a smile and asked if he could help, I greeted him back and told him that I am a missionary from Namibia, he flung the door open and invited me into his house. I explained that I was only one of a group of seven, he immediately ran outside to the old Land Rover just visible in the dark and invited all of us in, all the while calling out to his wife.

This dear lady also came outside and began helping my missionary friend's wife and her children to bring some luggage into their house. I was blown away.

Once inside their very small and modest home, the Pastor roused his children from their sleep and proudly introduced us all to his four children. We were immediately at home with them, we still spoke of The LORD at that time, we shared stories and so forth.

At about mid-night I noticed that the Pastors eldest son was not with us, I asked the Pastor where he was, he just smiled and said that the son had gone to tell the local community that there were brothers and sisters from Namibia visiting with them. A short while later there son came back into the room, called his mother and excused himself again to soon return with bread and fried eggs.

Brethren it was then that I realised this young man had gone out to the local villagers at that time of the night to gather food for us their visitors.  We ate of our Manna with thankful hearts, our hosts ate NOTHING!

Time to retire came, the missionary and his family were given mattresses and cushions in the lounge area in which we were fellowshipping, whilst I was offered the Pastor and his wife's bed. I tried to decline his kind offer and told him that I did indeed have my sleeping bag and a small camp mattress which I would sleep on somewhere else - he refused, so we reached a compromise - I slept on his bedroom floor on my camp mattress, whilst he and his wife took their bed mattress to another place - I do not know where this place was because his children carried their mattress out.

That night the wind howled through that little house, there were holes in the bedroom wall, yet I slept with the contentment of a blessed man.

When I awoke the next morning I has my quiet time in the bedroom, I received a Scripture for this Pastor, it was a message of direction for his assembly.

When I went outside I saw that my missionary friend and the Pastor were already up and talking, and with them were his Church elders. I greeted them all, we prayed and I then gave the Scripture I had received to the Pastor and his elders. My missionary friend just smiled at the Pastor, you see dear Brethren this Pastor had a problem in his Community that he was unable to deal with so he had approached the throne of Grace and asked for help as to what he should do in the situation at hand. My missionary friend too had received a Scripture prior to speaking to the Pastor that morning during his quiet time, and he too had passed it onto the Pastor. His Scripture and the one I was given, complimented each other and gave the Pastor the advice he needed to deal with the community problem. 

Oh dear brethren, as we ourselves now approach these seemingly difficult and uncertain times rest assured that YHWH Elohim will always be attentive to our heartfelt prayers. He will always give guidance and help when asked for EVEN IF HE HAS TO RAISE UP A BUNCH OF UNTRAINED, THEOLOGICALLY IMPROPER, RELIGIOUSLY AND POLITICALLY INCORRECT, UNSUPPORTED MISSIONARIES FROM A COUNTRY THOUSANDS OF KILOMETRES AWAY TO GET THE ANSWER TO YOU!

I think often about this episode, and it is one of many which I have witnessed where YHWH Yeshua has shown Himself  to be an Elohim Who loves His Body of Believers and is very, very jealous of them.

What did it mean to me personally - well I hope you have guessed by now - I SAW THE PHYSICAL RE-ENACTMENT OF Luke 11:5-13. I saw the love of Messiah Yeshua for us through His Pastor and the Pastor's family. I saw so much, BUT FOREVER I WILL REMEMBER THE LOVE OF THAT MAN, HIS FAMILY AND THEIR COMMUNITY. I SAW UNCONDITIONAL LOVE FOR ME, A WHITE PERSON AND MY 6 WHITE AFRIKANER FRIENDS, FROM A SIMPLE AND LOVING TANZANIAN PASTOR AND HIS FAMILY.

I have never again seen this man, but I live with the assurance that I shall see him and his lovely family in the New Jerusalem and wed will talk again about that glorious night in Same, Northern Tanzania.

Thank you Yeshua, and thank you dear sister in Messiah for sending me the original link because we here in Africa are indeed blessed because these sorts of situations are around us each and every day and we do not pay them enough attention.

In fact these and so many other similar situations are all around all of us, NO MATTER WHERE WE LIVE, each and every day if we will just look through the eyes of HIS LOVE! 

There is my message of Faith, Hope and Love, BUT THE GREATEST OF THEM IS LOVE! (1Cor. 13:13). 

We need each other so much in these times, we, myself included, so need to remember what we have from YHWH, but never allow it to tie us down so that we forget that sometimes it is  better to receive than to give.

Please pray that YHWH will let us see those of HIS SON'S BODY AND THAT WE ARE ABLE TO LOVE THEM UNCONDITIONALLY AS THIS PASTOR AND HIS FAMILY LOVED US, THE STRANGERS FROM NAMIBIA - REGARDLESS OF OUR COMFORT ZONES OR RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS!

Shalom in Messiah Yeshua our eternal Light in the darkness!

Bo'az 

PS. During our night in Same the Pastors outside ablution block had it's roof blown off.