Last week we went out on our trafficking tour, but couldn't get into any schools because of exams. Since we couldn't find a place to share in the town, we prayed and felt we ought to go out and worship. So we drove out of town a bit, to some obscure patch of ground with a couple trees, and started to worship. Now there were shepherds in the field nearby, tending their flocks. While we were worshipping another girl and I felt to go and speak to them. After talking for awhile, we invited them to come worship with us and then share in our team's packed lunches. One of these shepherds (the only one that spoke English) asked us for a Bible. We usually have Bibles with us to pass out, but this day we'd forgotten to pack them. Whilst grabbing him some other devotional material, one of my teammates gave him the Bible she had just purchased in Cape Town. Apparently earlier that morning God had spoken to her that she would be giving the Bible away that day. It's truly incredible to see how the Lord provided for this shepherd, to get him a Bible. He threw off our plans and sent us to a remote spot, where that shepherd happened to be. That morning he told Heather to get ready to give up her Bible. He had the whole interaction planned out before we even knew we'd go there. After the shepherd got his Bible, Courtney (one of my leaders) and I talked to him about it. He said it was his first Bible ever, and he was very excited to share it with his mother. Courtney asked if she could show him a chapter that reminded her of him, and then flipped to Psalm 23. He slowly read out the chapter to us, line by line, stopping every sentence to ask us what it meant. We got to explain this passage about shepherds to an actual shepherd. That chapter makes practical sense with his life. And it was INCREDIBLE to witness someone reading and coming to understand their first passage of scripture ever. I don't think I can express the joy I felt while watching him eat up the words on that page. It was true beauty, and I feel so honored and humbled to have been a part of it. It's these little moments in ministry where I feel most blessed by God to be doing His work. That man's thirst for the word is going to satisfy the hunger of of many others, too. These interactions are what make the hard times worth it -to witness people having personal encounters with God. I would do and give just about anything to experience it more.
