This would be the pilot’s first trip into Mozambique, and a lot could go wrong. Noon passed, and no Cessna full of chickens showed up. After a few more hours I called Peter on my satellite phone. “Rolland!” he cried. “I’m so glad you called! The pilot got as far as Beira and had to leave the chickens there! You’ll have to go get them with your plane!”
I gradually got the details. The pilot had done his best to prepare the necessary documents, explaining the humanitarian nature of the mission. But no, the customs officials at Beira, the port of entry, still required import duty. Never mind that our people from the bush in Mocuba had not eaten meat in ages. The poor exasperated pilot was short US$80 of the amount demanded. After a few hours of discussion, the Mozambican police announced they would have to put him in jail. In response he simply abandoned the chickens, quickly took off and flew back to South Africa.
More critically, what did God think of the effort? We got an idea when we heard back from the pilot after his horrendous experience with Mozambican bureaucracy. It turned out that he did his best to help us in spite of critical illness. He was in the advanced stages of AIDS when he made his flight, and he was feeling terrible. On top of that, he had just been divorced, and was emotionally wrecked as well. Still he offered to serve the Gospel, and carried on the best he could. God’s response? His ex-wife called the day after he got back, for the first time in three years. There was a sudden change in their relationship, and now they are getting together again. Also, that next day he felt so good physically that he got an AIDS test, and his AIDS is gone! He was healed during his trip. It is impossible to serve our Lord and not be blessed!
Who is this God who cares so much about a single chicken dinner for the poor in a remote town in Africa? What kind of power is this that can banish AIDS and restore relationships in a single day? What kind of holiness is this that can repel centuries of witchcraft and evil, washing them away forever with a thundering, irresistible waterfall of grace and mercy, white, refreshing and clean? He has our hearts. He has conquered us. He has won us over. We revel in His power, and we can live on nothing less than His Spirit.
From Iris Ministries 16 April 2003 newsletter. Learn more about them at: irismin.org
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