Warned 5 times they would be shot

OUT REACH TEAM UPDATE 30th March 2014

Our team got back yesterday from a 5 day mountain outreach. They divided in to two groups one group headed for the forests the other group found out that a large rebel Muslim camp was a 3 hour walk away so they headed there.

5x different groups they came across en-route told them they would be killed if they went there. The last group they encountered told them that the look out snipers will kill you before you even get close. But they kept walking.

About an hour out from the camp a monsoon downpour came and caught them out in the open. It was very heavy so they just had to sit and get soaked till it passed and they could continue on their journey.

Sat there cold, hungry & exhausted, the threat of imminent death hanging over these one year old Christian's, or worse as is often the case were they were. They all began to pray deep prayers and committed to continue the last hour to the camp as soon as the rain stopped.

It was at that point that the 4 other member’s of the team began calling out to God and confessing deep, deep things that they had never allowed the Lord to touch in their hearts. Not so much sins as these guys really try to walk a clean walk but fears, doubts, reservations in their consecration to their Lord. They figured that since they were all about to die anyway and none of them felt permission to quit that they should be totally ready to meet God who had sent them on this mission.

With possibly just an hour left to live before sudden death, they each remade the deepest surrender of their Christian experience. Confessing out loud anything and everything they considered an offence to the God they knew that loved them.
It was at that point they all experienced the most marvellous eternal peace, a rich peace that assured them that God was still with them and and they all cared not if they lived or died just so long as they could please Him.

The rains cleared and they set off again, and came directly across a military outpost. The soldiers stopped them and spoke harshly to them demanding to know who they where and why they were there. They told the soldiers plainly saying that they were going to preach to the Bandits. The soldier told them there was a current ceasefire but everyone was nervous about another rebel group called “The New Peoples Army” as far as these soldiers were concerned they were spies for that group.

Guns were trained on our young evangelists whilst the military commander sent for the Muslim rebel commander to come and interrogate the team. A Muslim military soldier took Nary off to the side and began to demand information – Nary told me that he explained he wasn't a spy but was there to preach the gospel. The officer demanded that he quote 2 verse out the bible – Nary quoted
"Matt 10v28 Fear not them that kill kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. Rather fear
him that is able to destroy both soul and body in hell".
Nary went on to say I’m will to die right here right now so long as I fulfil my Lords command to preach the gospel to every creature – Nary pulled his battered New Testament from his back pocket and told the soldier to check it for himself. The soldier immediately softened and asked Nary to forgive him for his harshness in questioning him.

But now the Muslim commander and his rebels arrived and they wanted a full interview, papers, numbers, proof they were not NPA spies. Nechelle explained several times that they were only there to preach the gospel. The Muslim commander demanded in front of his men and all the soldiers. Ok so you are Christian preachers – so preach right here and now – Ha! big mistake, that is music to the ears of our team.

19 year old Naomi, when we first met her 2 years ago she was so shy she couldn't even speak to us immediately, with bold power and fearless conviction began to preach Christ and Him crucified and mans certain need to repent. Amazed, they allowed her to continue her flowing declaration for about 5 minutes, after which they could take no more and told her to stop, saying they were convinced of their innocence and were free to go. But, that they couldn't go to the camp to preach, they should return. But, you know, the thing our young team took out of this was that when it seemed they were all soon to die through a snipers bullet, they all found a place in Yeshua that they never knew before. And if nothing else the 6 hour round trip had been totally worth
it for that alone.

Eventually, they found the other team who had been busy preaching and baptising tribal people’s deep in the forest.. They all returned to our centre with another two that wanted to be trained so that they can take the gospel back to their place.

So we all headed off to a cheap chicken joint for everyone to excitedly share their personal account of this weeks outreach then went to the mall for an ice cream - Praise God!