behind the door

Wednesday morning, Amanda and I went to campus to pray and prepare for our first bible study with Sli and Zetu. Across from where I was sitting were three girls who clearly noticed our accent and kept looking over at our conversation. With each glance they gave, I felt the Holy Spirit nudging. Amanda and I walked over to their table and asked if we could sit to chat with them for a while. "Please!" they giggled, and scooted over to make room on the bench.

After introducing ourselves and explaining a little bit of our ministry on their campus, we naturally dove into a spiritual conversation. That afternoon, I happened to be carrying a Soularium with me, so we used it to go deeper into our discussion. Soularium for those of you who don't know, is an evangelistic tool created by a student who went to New York on a Summer Project. It is a set of 50 pictures that depict everyday life and emotions. As we show the pictures to the students we talk to, we ask questions to further our discussion and to help them explore their spiritual life deeper. The questions are:

Which image describes your life right now..Why?

Which image do you WISH were a part of your life right now...Why?

Which image would you choose to describe God...Why?

Which image best describes what you've experienced spiritually..Why?

Which image best represents what you wish were true about your spiritual life or journey...Why?

The questions and pictures prompted great conversation as we were able to learn about the condition of these girls' hearts immediately. One minute we are complete strangers and the next 

minute we are learning about the very things that consume their minds and hearts and how these things lead the lifestyle in which they are a part of. When we asked the girls to pick a picture that described their spiritual journey currently, Nicole picked an image of a girl looking into a small glass window behind a closed door. "I feel like I know there is something bigger out there, but I just don't know what it is. It is like I'm behind a door and I'm looking in, but I just haven't opened the door yet. If I can open the door, I'm sure I will experience something so BIG...like a real God. But, I just don't know if I'm ready or how to do that. But I do feel like there is something. I just haven't experienced it yet." As the other two girls, Cleo and Yugushri shared their thoughts and the pictures they chose, my eyes kept steady on Nicole. Focused and absorbed into the conversation, I could sense the wheels turning in her heart. Silently I began to pray for Nicole and for God to reveal more of Himself in her life. 

The next question we asked was which picture best described the spiritual life they desired. Without a moment of hesitation, Nicole reached out her hand and within seconds grabbed her photo. She held it close to her chest with the image facing towards her body as she waited for the others to choose their picture. When I asked her which image she chose, she slowly revealed her card with a timid yet radiant smile stretching across her face. The picture was of a blooming flower with pink and white petals coming off the page. "The way you talk about having a relationship with God...I want that too. I want to grow and be like a blooming flower. I want my spiritual life to be beautiful like this.."

As we continued to share in our conversation with the girls, we continued to pray for their hearts to be softened to the Gospel. We ended up not finishing our conversation as the girls had to head to class, but we swapped phone numbers to meet again. Exchanging hugs and thanking them for their time, Nicole left with words that brought so much life to the Scripture I've read so many times before. "I didn't think about God before..but now I can't get Him off my mind. Thank you."

Romans 10:14-15 says, "But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, 'How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!'" It's easy to forget my purpose here sometimes. There are days when I feel discouraged or lost in my dreams for this broken world that seem so far from hopeful. But then I meet students like Nicole...students whom I never would have met if God didn't send me here. Students who never took the time to think about God and the love He has for them, simply because they didn't know He existed. Students who now get to search their hearts and hear about the name of Jesus; the name above all names, who brings life to those who put their faith in Him. 

Pray with me for Nicole and students like her, who are standing behind the door of God's glory. Pray that they would stop simply looking into the window to the beauty of what lies in front of them, but that they would lift up their hand and knock...so that the door may be opened. Pray that God would continue to send us to people and places in Africa to tell people about who He is, so that they might hear, and believe.