Go

Thursday we set out to Peligtanga once again, with a plan to tour the gold mines. It didn’t go ‘as planned’ but ended up being a most amazing morning...
I took a tour of the mines last year and so, at first, I wasn’t sure whether or not I would go along with Sarah’s family or stay at the orphanage for the morning. However, I recognized the immediate tug Peligtanga has on my heart (alongside a personal desire to go as I thought it would be a cool experience to be guided around the mines by one of the children from the orphanage) and opted to go along with the team.
As the team began forming to go to the mines, we recognized we didn’t feel totally ease with just a tourist walk around the mines. Instead, we hoped to be able to offer to pray for the women that worked in the mines as we walked.
Once in Peligtanga we went first to the pastor’s house, and then walked together to the mines. We walked through where some places where they work to extract the gold from mud- a process that involves sifting, lots of water and noisy machines.
Then we were stopped, by the head of the mines, as we hadn’t gone through his post before commencing our tour. He told us we couldn’t continue the tour.
As Abraham, George and the Pastor spoke with him to try to remedy the situation I saw a welcome and friendly figure pull up on his moto: our friend the Chief of Peligtanga! (he has been involved in the prayer meetings and come to some of the evangelism days). He smiled, greeted us all, and joined in on the conversation.
After a few minutes we were back on our ‘tour’ and seeing how they weigh the gold powder (if there is ever a next time for touring the mines I will surely pass by the post and avoid needing the chief to intervene...we were simply unaware).
We were then told we wouldn’t be allowed to go to the mines themselves (for various reasons). And, after consulting with the Pastor and the Chief, we determined a prayer walk wouldn’t be appropriate considering the number of women practicing Islam and Animism- and knowledge that they would feel uncomfortable.
Rather than doing this, we found a spot within the area we already were, and started a small program- allowing women to come to us. George gave a short message, and Sarah prayed. A woman asked us to pray over her sick child. At this point the majority of the team, following an invitation from some of the women, went over under a hangar and continued praying. Women and children (and one man) came to the team to ask for prayer.
Because there were so many children around this is when Edouard and I stayed back from the rest of the team to conduct a small children’s program. We sang with the children, played games and told stories. Edouard shared the story of the Good Shepard, and I asked him to the story of Joseph’s life (coat of many colours). As he spoke about Joseph’s life, I asked him to tell the children it’s a demonstration of God’s plan for our lives- that Joseph couldn’t have known when he was in the well what God would do with his life and how he would use him in Egypt, and that God has amazing plans for us. All of this was a continuation of previous messages we’ve done with the children in Peligtanga.

These are children that have been on my heart and in a village that has been on my heart. It is amazing to me, how God orchestrated this morning with them. Were we to have been permitted to tour the mines this morning of prayer (for the rest of the team) and children’s programming (for Edouard and I) would not have happened.
It was as if God was saying to us: You can go, but you will do what I have asked of you. And He has asked us to do just what we did yesterday. For Sarah prayer over the women has been on her hearts, for me it has been the children.

[Proverbs 16:9 'The heart of man plans his course but the Lord determines his steps']

As we left the children followed us out to the road. As I looked behind me I could see clouds over the horizon, and tons of laughing, jumping, children running between down the road, between the rows of hangars. It was a perfect, simple, ending to an amazing morning.