Hello, PassionLife family. I’m back from Africa for about a week, and I wanted to share an update on my recent trip. Before diving into that, I’d like to reflect on a passage from 2 Corinthians 7:5, which reads, “For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn, fighting without and fear within”. These words resonated with me, reminding me of Paul’s call to Macedonia in Acts 16.
Acts 16:6-10 recounts that Paul and his companions were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach in Asia. They attempted to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. Instead, a vision appeared to Paul of a man from Macedonia pleading for help. This led Paul and his group to conclude that God had called them to preach the gospel in Macedonia. It’s important to note that, despite this divine calling, their time in Macedonia was far from easy, marked by significant hardships, including imprisonment in Philippi. This story is a reminder that God’s will doesn’t always mean an easy path.
Reflecting on my recent trip to Africa, it was apparent that we experienced a similar dynamic. Our best-laid plans for this particular trip began to unravel right before my departure from the United States. The original intention was to teach in Liberia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. However, in the spirit of Acts 16, we were essentially “forbidden” from going to Mozambique.
Mozambique is currently experiencing significant unrest due to a controversial election, leading to violence and people fleeing the country. The U.S. government has issued a high cautionary warning against traveling there. Although we trusted our local partners to assess the danger, the visas for two of our three pastors were repeatedly denied. The Mozambican government seemed to throw up roadblocks. Even after we canceled our reservations and made new non-refundable hotel reservations, the visas were still denied. It became clear that the Spirit of Jesus was not allowing us to enter Mozambique at this time.
We had to quickly pivot, adding more training sessions in Zimbabwe. Looking back, this was a blessing we could not have foreseen. The journey was filled with other challenges too. There was maintenance on my plane when I checked in, and my whole route was rescheduled. I missed a connection in Casablanca, Morocco, had to stay overnight, and buy a new ticket. The original flight was canceled and reimbursed, but other issues arose. One of our pastors from Uganda was also prevented from leaving. We suspect Ugandan airport officials were looking for a bribe, but he missed his flight and lost his ticket. We had to buy him a second ticket to Liberia, but that did not work either. Ultimately, he met us in Zimbabwe instead.
At this point, I had to ask, “God, have we messed up?”. Was this just a test of our faith and perseverance? We decided to move forward in faith, and the Lord richly blessed the trip. We had wonderful days of teaching in Liberia with two of the pastors. When we met our third pastor in Zimbabwe, we had tremendous success in three cities.
One of the cities we added was the hometown of the incoming president of the denomination we were working with. This leader attended our training and was deeply moved, expressing his intention to promote this training within his denomination. This unexpected meeting was a significant blessing. My primary goal for the trip was not to train as many people as possible, but to mentor and disciple three African pastors in our “Four Questions Training”. This way, they can reproduce the training throughout Africa at a lower cost and with greater local acceptance. By the time I left, these three pastors were empowered to teach the four questions in a theologically sound way. This was incredibly rewarding.
The circumstances of this trip were undeniably trying, leading to the loss of around $2,500. This loss was not due to poor planning, but to circumstances beyond our control. As a leader in PassionLife, I feel responsible for how our funds are spent. I want you to know that we take your financial partnership very seriously. Many of you work hard and sacrifice much to support our mission, and we feel the weight of that. We trust that the Lord will provide for all our needs, but we must also be aware of the realities of world missions. This includes dealing with corrupt governments and individuals who may exploit our resources for their gain. This kind of situation breaks my heart.
Despite the challenges, this trip yielded incredible results. Thank you for your continued partnership in the gospel. Your sacrifices allow us to continue going on these trips and seeing incredible outcomes. Our next trip is to India. We have a strong partnership with local pro-life leaders in India. Jeanne Pernia will be joining me on this trip, and we are asking for your prayers and support as we continue this important work.