A woman walks the dirt road outside JVMI's medical missions outreach in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2013.
The woman stood to her feet and began crying out in Amharic, the language of Ethiopia. The Prayer Room of a JVMI medical missions outreach is normally abuzz with multiple conversations as several small groups talk and pray at once. The woman's anguish began to rise above all other voices. In another part of the prayer room RC's translator, Messay, leaned closer to him and explained, "She's saying she cannot receive Jesus. If she does she would kill herself." Confused, they listened for more. Her distraught words told of an inner anguish, "God cannot love me! No one has ever loved me!"
Other translators stood with her, telling her that God loves her no matter what she has done. Slowly, the woman wilted back into her chair. Bending forward she covered her face with her hands, shaking her head. She simply would not believe it. Several gathered around speaking truth about God's love for her. No, no, she wasn't receiving any of it. She could not believe it.
Love in action
RC and Messay watched from a short distance away, their hearts heavy for her. RC was compelled to go to this hurting, fragile woman. Nudging his way through fellow workers he dropped to his knees in front of her. He touched her arm and declared, " I love you. We love you." Then he reached out and enfolded her in his arms. Her rigid form reflected her still guarded heart, stiff with refusal. "God can't love me!" RC held on.
Love in word
And then, her resistance broke and she melted in his arms, sobbing on his shoulder. When she calmed, she was a different woman. Her wall had crumbled and now she was able to hear. The JVMI team shared with her many scriptures about God's great love for her, His grace, and the Good News of Yeshua. Now she believed! She accepted Yeshua as her Savior!
As her story emerged, they learned that this guilt-laden woman had been a prostitute. In her own eyes she was unloveable. She told a translator, "What got through to me was when this ‘rich’ American got down on his knees in front of me, on the concrete, and hugged me."
This precious woman, who came to experience love for the very first time in our Prayer Room, is now a sister in Christ. We referred her to the Beta Abraham Messianic congregation, right in the neighborhood, where she will get an Amharic Bible, receive discipleship, and be welcomed into a family that will continue to show her God's tremendous love.
Medical missions and miracles
These are the kinds of things that happen every day in the Prayer Room of our medical missions trips. To God goes the glory as we love in words of truth and as we love in action. After the medical teams and distribution center see to their physical needs, patients are invited to the prayer room where the eternal need of their hearts can be met. We helped nearly 3800 people come into a right relationship with God through Yeshua at the 2013 Addis Ababa clinic! Miracles of the soul!
We are excited to return to Addis April 25th - May 5th, 2014. Why not come with us! See firsthand the miracles that Yeshua's love performs! We need both medical and non-medical participants. Find out more HERE.
To learn more about Jewish Voice Ministries visit our website.
