Opps my bad!

So by now you all know that I like to laugh at myself so I’ll fill you in on a story that I think you’ll appreciate. On November 17th Daihwan and I arrived at Dagbe village. This village is about 2 hours outside of a main city and has no running water and no electricity. Daihwans family had lived in this village for about one year but due to some difficulties and then the news of a new baby on the way they decided to leave. God had bigger plans for the family and now their ministry has expanded and they have been asked to build, open, and run a CHE internship. Now before arriving to Dagbe I had received many warnings from a variety of people. From pastors, elders, CHE workers, and the Song family. After hearing all these warnings I had been contemplating what could bring change to these unmotivated stagnant villagers. A few weeks back I had asked Daihwan if he had ever preached at the village church. In Africa it is normal that when a foreigner shows up they are usually asked to preach or share something. Daihwan laughed and said that he had been asked but instead decided to sing a couple songs (also completely normal).
Upon arriving to the village I was pleasantly surprised. I think due to all the warnings I had set my expectation bar very very low. When we showed up to the house it was a complete disaster since no humans had lived or even opened the doors or windows for a year. There was thick dust throughout, mold on the walls, spider web blankets, and many different critters that had decided to move in. Daihwan and I grabbed some hand brushes and started on the BIG clean. Within 10 minutes there was another 5 villagers helping out and within two hours we had the whole place…. livable.
By the fifth day of being in the village I had fallen in love. Daihwan had said that after church we would head back to Ada for 4 days and then come back on Thursday. I then asked if it would be okay if I stayed back. He thought about this for awhile and then agreed… HOORAYY!! So as we walked over to church I was beaming with happiness. I took my seat inside the small church and within 30 seconds I had 10 small hands grabbing for my two. About thirty minutes into the service there were 10 adults and 14 children in total. Gotta love the village church! After worship the pastor got up and thanked Daihwan and I for coming. We both thanked them back and sat down. As I sat I wondered when they were going to call Daihwan up to say something to the congregation but I wasn’t prepared for what the pastor said instead. The pastor then said something in Shai (the local language) in which all I could pick out was ‘blah blah blah Madam Becca blah blah blah’. Once hearing my name a goofy grin fell across my face and I started bobbing my head up and down (I don’t know why). Then the one English-speaking woman in the village turned to me and translated what he said. “He said he would like you to come up, and since you are a first time visitor, to come and have the pulpit.” WHAT?! My mind went blank… ‘Ummm… hahahha (nervous laughter) ummm okay.” I slowly got out of my chair and walked to the front. Unable to wipe the goofy grin off of my face I started laughing again. Oh yeah this was going really well. So finally I stopped and just prayed “God help me show me what to say.” Here goes nothing… “Machum-yo (thank you)… “
Thankfully God has given each and everyone of us a sermon known as our testimony. So that’s what I did. Because of where I was and the prior warnings about this village I focused on rejoicing in hardships and sufferings knowing that God can use them and that these things can even bring us joy. The other thing I talked about was that God is ALWAYS with us no matter what village we are in and no matter what we are going through.
After the service Daihwan and I walked back to the house. As Daihwan packed up his things I turned to him and said “Man usually in all the African churches I’ve been to they NEVER ask females to preach due to cultural issues. Daihwan you should have warned me!” He slowly responded, “Actually Becca when they say share the pulpit they actually meant just introduce yourself.” CRAP! Yup I stole the pulpit and accidentally preached. Now you are allowed to laugh at me. But the funny thing is that even though I stole the mic I don’t regret it. I actually think that God wanted me to share my story with those 24 hearts in that church.
God I pray that you can use even my goofy mistakes to bring you glory!