it was, without a doubt, one of the greatest highlights of my life. this time was so different. so real, so right, so natural. i felt like my feet hit the ground running- but running into life. i just lived my life. normal- stopping every hour for a fanta, laughing til i couldn't breathe, running errands, and eating a record amount of beans and rice. all the while we ministered, loved, discipled, had compassion, prayed, and just tried to do whatever we saw the Father doing.
i think we did a pretty good job.
one afternoon, my partner, sam, and i were walking around praying for people and eating lots of chapati. i remembered a woman, joyce, was around the corner and wanted to stop in and remind her i was for her. as i talked to joyce, sam stood outside of her shop.
as i left, we began walking and sam said "um.. i think they're kicking that guy over there..." naturally, we had to see what was going on. we had strict instructions from our team leaders to never initiate or join any sort of large group. there was definitely a large group forming so we stayed on the outskirts but tried to see what was going on inside the group. there were men coming from all around, dropping their bikes to come join, leaving their shops, stopping their lives to come and join in on the group. there was a boy, probably 16 or 17, in the middle and everyone was just taking blows at him. some were lifting his shirt and slapping his back, some kicking him in the stomach, using rope to whip his back, and stripping him of every ounce of dignity.
it was the most terrifying thing i have ever seen in my life.
i had this strange collision of so many emotions: deep compassion, anger, disgust, grief... yet i couldn't leave. there was something inside of me that couldn't just let this continue.
i made eye contact with sam again and realized we were feeling the same thing. there were a couple of men on bikes standing sort of far off like we are, and sam suggested we ask them what was going on. i stepped over and frantically asked for answers.
the man patiently responded "oh...... it is... because he is a thief..."
i remembered. last year, our missionary friends who live in gulu told us that theft is not usually a problem because the general public beats and harasses thieves to 'teach them a lesson.' it made me feel so safe last year when he said that. this time, it made me sick and angry.
i asked the men on the bikes about 100 questions about why this was necessary and why they couldn't take him to the police. i wasn't satisfied with any of the responses he was giving. as i was interrogating this man, a police woman walked by and many people tried to get her to come over. she raised her arm up in an "i'm too busy for this" sort of way.
i looked over at sam and desperately tried to come up with something, anything that we could do. i thought about going to the middle of the group and just pleading for his life. i knew i couldn't physically do anything- but maybe i would have favor because i'm white and i'm a girl. african men love those munu women. we sat in that idea for a second and i was really, really considering it. then sam said "you think maybe if we paid for what he stole they would just take him to the police?"
best idea yet. i asked the man on the bike and he said "they will charge you too much money!" at this point, with all the bleeding and shame, i was willing to give him everything i had. i told him it didn't matter and one of the men marched through the crowd.
he came out a few minutes later with the manager from the shop, who was holding a small wrapped fabric- something that looked like a table cloth. we asked how much and he said 30,000 shillings- which is equivalent to about $15.
it was confusing why that young boy would try and take this silly little tablecloth, and why it was such a huge debt to deserve such terrible punishment. the men on the bikes were so kind and did all of our negotiating and most of our conversations for us- such favor from God. we could've never done it on our own. we paid the manager and he walked away.
we continued to talk to the men on the bikes. they were so kind and helpful. before we knew it, the manager went to the middle of the mob, grabbed the theif, and brought him to us. i was shocked. brought him to us? i hadn't thought of a single thing to say.
he didn't speak any english- so the men on the bikes translated for us. he said he had a problem and he was not right in the mind because his father had recently died. i thought silently.. i understand, brother. i understand. i looked him in the eye, and all i could spit out was "Jesus!" before someone hit him across the face.
the mob never dissolved- it just transitioned to now around us. i immediately jumped back and told sam that it was definitely time to go. we started walking- more like running- back to the main street in town. my mind was racing with all the things that would happen to that man. we paid! why didn't the mob leave him alone?! didn't they see the justice? couldn't the police take it from here? would he know it was Jesus who set him free? were the people ever going to realize this isn't the answer? do the men on the bikes know Jesus?
my mind was racing.
so we prayed. we walked and we prayed. we prayed Jesus would meet that thief right where he was, in the midst of his grief, and show him His face. we prayed for the men in the mob- that they would know Jesus and He would show them true justice in their hearts. we prayed for the men on the bikes, that they would know the justice, kindness, and goodness in their own hearts comes from the only One who is Just, Kind, and Good. we asked God to help us meet them again so we could get them plugged in with some of our guys. we declared as we walked and finally made it to the main road. we found rebecca and erin, two of our friends, on the main road and asked them to pray for us- we were really shaken up! they did and i immediately felt better- ready to get back to ministry.
we started walking down the main road and a man grabbed my arm and said "i did it!" i jumped but realized that it was the man on the bike! he somehow managed to find us, a few miles away, just a short bit longer. an answered prayer. i was shocked and all i could say was "what?! what did you do?!"
he said, "i told the mob we were going to take the man to the police- but really i took him to the road to the village and i did it! i set him free! i told him not to steal again- but this time he has been set free!"
i was shocked! impossible. it was absolutely impossible. those men were so angry! there's no way. but my God made a way! i looked dennis- our new friend- deep into his eyes and just started proclaiming his identity over him. "did you know, dennis? did you know you carry the heart of God? did you know? did you know that you are a man of justice! a man of peace! a man of compassion! did you know? did you know you walk like Jesus?"
he just smiled. he didn't know Jesus- but he looked just like Him to me. we got their phone numbers and agreed to meet up and talk more about Jesus soon.
sam and i just walked away in utter shock. Jesus totally orchestrated every. single. bit. of that for the glory of His Name. everyone encountered Jesus- new and afresh. everyone saw Him. everyone felt Him. everyone was covered in prayer and seen in heaven. it was then sam read me her journal. that morning, the Lord took her to exodus 3- the story of the burning bush. a common story- she read and asked the Lord what He was saying. she simply heard "today will be a day of deliverance."
and oh, a day of deliverance it was.
