“In the last days, G0d says, I will pour out my Sp!r!t upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, an your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Sp!r!t even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy.” Acts 2:17-18
One of the things I love about living here is that there are some things from G0d’s W0rd that I see more clearly in this culture than I do in my own culture in America. One of those things is the way G0d speaks to people through dreams and visions. It is not something we hear or talk about much in America, and sometimes it seems like something really foreign to us when we read about it in the Bible.
Before this trip began, we became aware that G0d was going to guide us and speak to us first through several dreams the team members had. We spent 3 days fasting and pr@ying. In the two days after this and before we were to leave for the trip, G0d spoke to us through 3 dreams. As always, I’m a little uncertain of exactly what G0d was trying to say, so it caused me to seek Him more deeply in regard to these dreams.
Dream #1
The day of our last team meeting, Dan shared with the team that he had had a dream. He saw the team—each one of us in the fields in Dubn—and a man came with 2 big rocks in his hands. He asked the pastor of Dubn, “What are you doing showing the film of Jesus here?” He started to stone the pastor, but Dan came quickly. Dan took his 2 hands to stop him, and asked the man, “What is your name?” The man said his name was “Baba”. Dan then said to the man, “In the name of Jesus…You can do nothing to us!” At that point Dan woke up!
During our w0rship on Sunday in Dubn, a retired pastor from a neighboring village near the capital, spoke on persecution. He shared his own experience and asked for testimonies from the believers. One of our team shared her testimony. That afternoon I walked up to help our cook and to sit with the ladies and they were talking about this testimony. The ladies on our team were helping the pastor’s wife know how to handle persecution. They were all sharing experiences and struggles! It was really great to watch them walking together, helping each other, and encouraging each other in the difficulties that are so, so real here.
Luckily no man came to stone the pastor while we were there, but the reality is that persecution is VERY, VERY real here, yet we do not have to be afraid…we can confront it in the name of Jesus and continue walking with Him without fear.
I will ask you to please lift up these new and young f0ll0wers of Jesus. They are facing persecution…
A’s husband wants to kick her out of the house and is talking bad to her every day,
Bil’s mom is in the village and other women are coming to talk bad to her about her son, even starting a physical fight with her, leaving her hurt.
These are just a couple of examples. Pray for them to have strength to depend on Jesus, to call on His name, and to remain steadfast through it all!!
Dream #2
The night before we were to leave for the village I was somewhere between falling asleep and deep sleep when I had a dream. I normally do not remember anything I dream in the night. This was a very rare thing for me, and it was so vivid! I still see it clearly…clear enough to draw and color it. It was simple…a huge hand!! It was beautiful colors, much like African cloth, with abstract designs all over it. My first thought was it as the hand of a King—royalty. The hand took something and crushed it. I could not see what it was because the hand completely covered the object and crushed it. I spoke this response out loud to the hand, “Lord, you are coming to crush the evil in Dubn! Your will be done!”
In this area and the villages where we have been working, the presence and power of the evil one is so real! The reality of demon possession is not just something you read about in the Bible! The rule and reign of evil spirits is visible! One of the new bel!evers, A, has been set free from the chains of demon possession. Much of our time in the village was spent praying for those oppressed by the evil that rules and reigns!
Dream #3
Early in the morning, the day we were supposed to go to the village, before I was awake, I received a phone call from Dan. He had been awakened by a dream. His dream was of him holding a traditional stone used for grinding the grain. He was crushing the grain and grinding it. When he woke up, he was very disturbed and felt like it was not a good sign. He told me, “We are going to plant seeds! If they are ground up then they cannot produce fruit.”
I spent that day pondering these dreams and seeking G0d’s understanding and message. I could not accept that G0d would speak to us in these ways and so vividly for no reason or for us to not understand what He was saying. I felt great peace about the first dream knowing that we were possibly facing persecution for going to share Jesus in the village. I consider that normal, since Jesus told us those things would happen. He gave us clear explanations about it and how to respond to it. I knew that we had already received power from G0d to stand in the face of those who would want to persecute us and I had seen the commitment of this team to go and do what G0d had prepared us to do. I was also confident that this team would stand with the believers in these villages, as they too, would face persecution.
I also had great peace about the dream G0d had given to me. I knew that we had faced the evil one and his evil spirits before and I was certain we would face them again. I have seen G0d release people from the chains of demon possession and I was really walking in praise with great expectation that G0d would do the same this weekend. I felt as though He wanted to assure me that He was going to accomplish the deliverance of people in these villages from the evil one.
I was most concerned about Dan’s second dream and his reaction to it. He saw it as a bad and disturbing dream. Why would G0d have Dan crushing and grinding the grain? He was not at peace, and Dan is a very peaceful man…living to make peace between people in all situations and especially between people and G0d. As I pondered the dream and asked G0d to show me what He wanted to say, I experienced Him opening my eyes to His perspective. It was cool to see it unfold as we lived it out in the village. G0d reminded me that the reason we grind the grain is not so that it will be wasted and thrown away. We grind the grain so that it becomes food for the hungry. Then He reminded me of a group of verses that He had given to me during our time of fasting. I had shared them with S0, Bil, and Dan and in our last meeting as a team, those same verses were used by J0, who was leading us through our final prayer time. They are from Isaiah 55:10-11. Those verses say, “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” It became very clear to me that truly we would be farmers and plant seeds as Dan had envisioned before his dream, but we would also be grinding the grain to give food to those who were hungry for G0d’s Word. As I shared this with Dan, his eyes lit up and you could see the peace and understanding fill his heart and mind. He could not wait to share that with everyone. Then as our time in the village unfolded, I saw G0d doing just that. We spent so much time teaching, guiding, and growing them. One of our main purposes was to walk alongside them to encourage and strengthen their faith. They were so hungry and I watched Dan grind the grain and feed them the Word of G0d. I watched as they ate—we all ate—until we were full!!
The testimonies I heard over and over, with joy, excitement and a fullness of spirit they said, “We have received so much from this time. We have gained so much teaching and understanding! I am so full and it tasted so great!!”
I thank G0d for the opportunity to hear from Him via dreams and visions, to see what He showed us in those dreams come to life. Just as one of the team members said, “I was so amazed each day as I watched everything G0d had shown me the night before unfold just as He had said.”