This is one
woman's story of faith.
Ana (name changed
to protect her) was much like the other women we meet on the street.
Scantily clad, drunk, looking to sell herself to men in the late
night hours on the streets of Kampala. Unaware of how much the King
of kings loves her.
After speaking
with her and praying with her, we encouraged her to walk away from
this lifestyle, to go home. She took this advice and immediately went
home. That night Ana had a dream. She was in complete darkness and
Jesus was there and spoke to her saying, “Come.” She walk
towards Him and still He said, “Come.” Once more, he told her to
come. When she woke up the next morning she called us and asked to
meet with us.
As we met with
Ana, she told us what had happened the night before. She had a
desire to follow Jesus. She wanted to know more. Having experience
with the church and believing she knew God, she recommitted her life
to Christ and left the life of selling herself on the streets. We rejoiced with her as she made this decision.
Our team, meeting with Ana the day after meeting her.
Several weeks
later, after a couple more meetings with her, we were encouraged by
what she was understanding of God's word. We were encouraged by her
desire to know Jesus more. She was close to getting a job that would
provide for her in a God glorifying way.
A few hours after
a meeting with her and leaving so encouraged, we went back out to the
streets to share Jesus with women who still needed to be rescued.
That night was particularly tough for many reasons. As I was talking
to a woman, I saw Ana out of the corner of my eye and then another
team member confirmed that it was Ana. My heart broke.
I'll be honest, my
immediate thoughts were selfish, condemning, and unloving.
What happened?
We just talked
about Jesus.
What are you
doing here?
You're drunk.
You wasted my
time.
Thankfully, God
opened my eyes and softened my heart. He showed me once again His
heart for Ana. He convicted me of expecting her to never struggle
with her sins again. How many times after I came to know Jesus as
my Savior, God as my Father, have I returned to my sin? How many
times have I chosen something so worthless and even harmful over the
love of my Savior? Yet His love is relentless. His love is
enduring. God does not grow weary or faint, His love does not end,
He does not forgive just once, but his forgiveness is continuous and
His grace is sufficient.
It is sometimes
hard for me to relate to women like Ana. We do not have similar
experiences or struggles, nor do we deal with the same sin, however,
we both have been rescued and redeemed. We've both returned to our
sin after deciding to follow Christ and Jesus is loving both of us
with His enduring and relentless love. Just as He is sanctifying me,
changing me to reflect Himself, He is doing the same with Ana. If
He has called me to love others in the same way He loves, it will
require an enduring love because that's the love He has poured out on
me.
