RURAL MISSIONS

RURAL MISSIONS ACTS 1:8 " But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witness to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth." As we stood along the bank of the river of which had gone to baptise the the new convert, I kept asking the direction of the flow of the river. Some said it is from this side while others argued the other direction. We had just travel to the remote areas of the village for our missions. The land was flat for it was near to the shore of Lake Victoria which is the largest Lake in Africa. There are no roads to the village, no clean water, no electricity, It sometimes forced us to walk long distance. The climate was hot and the sun shining direct on us, the soil was clay and some area muddy and bushy. The people in the village were so welcoming and ready to listen to the gospel, no matter how poor they looked like.Some children had no clothes and bear footed which was also noticed to some of the women who were around listening the word of God. I saw some going to fetch water in the river carrying the bucket on their heads, other girls fetching firewood from the bush, and some boys taking their cattle to drink water on the same river. We were to wait for the cattle to finish drinking the water so that we could also use for the baptism for the new converts. Before, I feared the snakes in that area for the place were to use for baptism was bushy. We were to exchange our clothes and use the proper one for baptising. The right place was to go to the bush as a private place for putting the other clothes. I was to take a step of faith, hoping for good but not for worse, as I remembered in Mark 16: 15 - 18. " Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned . ' And these signs will follow those who believe: I my name they will cast out demons, they speak with the new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them, they lay hands on the sick and they will recover" I got encourage from these verses. We had a good number of the new convert who accepted Jesus Christ in their lives. WE never feared baptising the new converts in the river for we remembered what happened to the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8: 35 - 38 " Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road they came to some water. And the eunuch said, " See here is water, what hinders me from being baptised. Then Philip said, " If you believe with all your heart you may. And he answered and said. " I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God . We had to baptise the new converts no matter how the place looked like, what was important was to receive Jesus and be baptised. This was a great joy to us as we saw brothers and sisters giving their lives to Jesus. It was a remarkable moment in my life and ministry for the people were hungry of the word of God and the all heartedly received it. AMEN. There many challenges in rural missions but I like them for I remember in Philippians 2: 6 - 8 Jesus humbled Himself no matter of His position as being equal to God and died a shameful death Jesus because of us. Think about that!! AS we went for our missions, we had to walk long distance without water and food. But we thank God for the positive result we achieved. My fellow Christians, pray for our missions here in Africa for reaching unreached. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6: 19 - 21. " Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths nor rust destroys and where thieves break in and steal. - But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. " For where your treasure is there your heart will be also. As a matter of fact, where have you invested your treasurer? Have you ever thought of investing in the kingdom f God where your heart will be? Think about your life! Pastor Mike