So this post kind of goes along with the same theme as my last post. It's just been something that has been on my heart for a while and so I thought why not write 2 posts about it??
It is such a rarity to find someone, no matter where you are
in the world, who is so committed to taking the Good News to a place where it
has never gone. I am blessed to be able to work with some of the greatest
people in the world that share that desire in taking the Good News to the
unreached places of the world. Occasionally we come across a national who shares that same
desire and who is willing to go out to the hard to reach places and take the
Good News to those who have yet to hear. I was fortunate to meet such a man not too long ago. We were on a
research trip along the coast and we met a man who is a member of a local
Fellowship, lets call him Sam. He gets on his motorbike and goes out to the places that are hard to reach
and he shares the Good News with the people. Sam has a heart for the lost and a heart for those who have never heard. It is
rare to meet a national who truly has a desire to go out and reach those who
some believe to be unreachable. I had the awesome opportunity to go to one of
these villages with Sam. The only way to get to this village is to either walk
for an hour or to take a 15-minute motorbike ride. I was all for riding the
motorbike and so I got to ride with Sam while another member of my team road
with another member of the local Fellowship.
As we road out to the village, Sam and I began to talk. He of course wanted to know why I wasn’t
married, as do most Africans I meet. He wanted to know what I studied in school
as well as why I chose to come live in West Africa. I explained to him that I
have a desire for those who have never heard the Good News to have an
opportunity to hear. I told him and I wanted, like him, to go out the hard to
reach places and share. Sam then shared with me about his wife and kids. He
shared with me that he had no always been the best person. He shared with me that he used to go out drinking and that he was a womanizer. He said that the best day of his
life was when he was introduced to the Good News. He said that he wants to
share that feeling of joy and freedom that he has felt with people all over his
country. He goes out almost everyday and shares the Good News in villages all
around his home area.
I told Sam that it is always encouraging for me to hear how the Father has worked in someone’s life. I love to hear stories of how people were caught up in the things of the world and how the Father came into their lives and changed them completely. I told him that we all have done things in the past that we are ashamed of, but that the Father can use anyone to do His work. I think that Sam is evidence of that fact. The Father has taken a man from West Africa and has totally changed his life and has given him a desire to go and share with those who have not heard. The world needs more people like Sam. We need more people like him, who are willing to go to the places that are hard. We need people who are willing to no be ashamed of their stories, but who are willing to use them to share the freedom that comes from the Father. I think we all could benefit from being a little more like Sam.
