Monday, June 2, 2008
Bart assembled our team for a planning meeting after breakfast. Vava, Darcy, and I were going to be handling registration. Nathan and Gordon (both fluent in French) were going to provide interpretation and translation. Thomas (another employee of S.U.) was going to take the payments as we registered people. Daniel was going to make sure they got checked into the right hotel.
Comfort (many Ghanaians have names like Comfort, Prosper, Wonder…) and Mr. Agama were going to make sure the conferees received their name tag. We had been trained on how to register people using our Internet based registration system. We were all set; what could possibly go wrong?
I’ll save time by just saying that from the moment we began to register people for the conference, we were solving one problem after another until the last person was registered two days later. Problems with the Internet, problems with power and voltage differences in our American equipment, problems with our printers, problems with names being misspelled, problems with people wanting to pay in currency we couldn’t exchange… you name it, and it went wrong! Nevertheless, the Lord led us through the process. We were able to register those that had come early for a special training session that was to occur before the rest of the conference started.
The people invited were leaders of leaders in their respective nations. They sat around in a U shaped formation
and listened as Steve cast the vision for the training that would ensue the following evening (after another round of registration!). Many of the African Nationals were French speakers, so everyone wore headphones and communicated through translators. It was humbling to see people from 15 different African nations praying together, learning together, and preparing together for the conference. Once again, I heard God’s voice, “Look what I have done here.”
Across language barriers, across cultural barriers, across distance barriers, across political barriers, God had assembled a group of leaders ready to die for the advancement of the Kingdom of God in Africa. Some of these men left their homes, walked (and ran) thorough the night to catch a bus at 4:00 am, and traveled for 30 hours across Africa without air conditioning in order to be at the conference. And I had moaned and groaned about my 3 flights, on which I read a book, watched a couple of movies, and even slept with a blanket over me because the AC was turned up so high. I was taken aback as I heard story after story of how far people had traveled in uncomfortable situations. But the thing is; they didn’t advertise their suffering. We found out by asking how they had come. Some of them showed up a day early because the bus only comes to their town every other day! From as far as South Africa to as near as the other side of Accra, God brought people together to receive training for the advancement of the Church in Africa; and He gave me the grace to be there to witness it.
I felt like a spectator standing below Michelangelo, watching him paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Before my eyes, God was painting a picture of unity in diversity.
A sense of excitement washed over me as I thought, “This is for real. God is really, truly, moving in a mighty way here.” I want to be a part of it. I want to make myself available to God to be used in any way, shape, or form that brings Him glory in the advancement of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Jesus prayed, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” The Kingdom of God is truly coming (even now) to earth. This has never been more real to me. It has been a part of my doctrine. It has been an exciting part of my theoretical knowledge. But now the reality of the coming of the Kingdom of God to earth is as real to me as my own personal existence. Think I’m nuts? Come to Africa; watch men from different nations, different denominations, and different traditions standing together, holding hands, and praying for vision and ability. First the reality sets in; then the burning desire to act.
Written by: GCA Staff on August 11, 2008.