Porter rePort  July 2008

While attending a World Outreach meeting in May, I was reminded that God often speaks to us through His creation.  A couple of years ago while sitting in a friend’s lounge and talking about God’s plan and purpose, a butterfly flew into the room as if it was a sign from God to confirm the conversation.  I have been using the analogy of the caterpillar becoming a butterfly as part of the God’s Vision God’s Mission teachings for quite a few years already. It is awesome to realise that in Christ we are new creatures, completely transformed and restored into the image of God.  (It is even more exciting when we begin to believe it!)

 

About a year or so ago in Kabwe, Zambia, while teaching a class about life in Christ, I had forgotten to share the illustration of the butterfly and was about to move on to something new, when a butterfly flew into the classroom and hovered above the students’ heads for a few seconds before flying away again.  All eyes were fixed on the little creature as God reminded me to share the analogy.

 

During the second half of May this year I was invited by a group called Harvest for Christ to minister in the Gwembe Valley near Lake Kariba in Zambia.  I spent the mornings teaching God’s Vision God’s Mission (GVGM) to local pastors and an American outreach team.  These pastors have a vision to plant 480 churches in the valley over the next few years.  They have accepted my challenge to raise up and send out at least one missionary from each of these churches. 

 

In the afternoons we travelled to various Tonga villages to show the Jesus Film.  This was an awesome experience!  We saw 200 to 300 people come to watch the movie each evening with many accepting Jesus as their Saviour.  We also had opportunity to pray for the sick and the Lord confirmed His Word by healing them.  One morning, as I taught the class about being transformed into the image of God, I looked up to see about ten butterflies flying around the trees behind the outdoor class.

 

After just a few days at home with Marlien and Aimée, I left for Zambia again to teach in Chingola which is in the Zambian Copperbelt, and also in Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  One day as I was preparing for the trip, I opened my briefcase and a butterfly flew out.  I was amazed, but realised that God’s blessing was on the trip to Zambia and DRC.  Two days before Arno van der Merwe and I flew to Lusaka, I opened the boot of our car and there in the boot, on my notes was another butterfly.  It was beyond coincidence! This was clearly a sign of God’s blessing!

 

From the moment we arrived in Zambia, it was as if the Lord just picked us up and carried us.  We met people from Zambia, USA, Ireland, Congo and SA, who went out of their way to bless us, accommodate us and help us to our destinations.  God was with us in the classes, the churches, the homes we stayed in and as we travelled. Thank you for praying for us.

 

The course in Chingola went very well and soon we were on our way to the DRC.  Driving to Lubumbashi on the right hand side of the road and dodging potholes was an experience in itself.  There are little shops everywhere along the roadside and the people seem very busy.  At our destination we were welcomed by a group of pastors and their wives with singing and dancing.  We later heard a testimony of how God had provided for our host so that he could provide for our accommodation and meals.  We were overwhelmed by their hospitality.

 

From the first day of the course the 50+ Congolese pastors received the message with excitement.  Even though the whole course had to be interpreted into French or Swahili, the Lord was working in their hearts and they were greatly impacted.  We also had opportunities to preach in different churches and once again God confirmed His word by healing the sick.  Even our host pastor testified that he was healed of pain from an operation as I read the Scriptures before we prayed.  On the last day of the course, after breaking bread, we prayed for each of the pastors and enjoyed an awesome time of praise and worship.  The pastors presented us with gifts and urged us to return to Congo as soon as possible.