Get out the boat...

As the plane lands in Jackson, Mississippi I feel relived to be here after 24 hours of travelling. Wanting to get my luggage quickly so I can get into bed became a priority while I processed where I was. I had questions going around my head, ‘What am I going to experience?’ ‘What does this place look like in daylight?’ ‘God did you see those battered, rundown houses next to those beautiful done up houses?’ 

Stepping into the unknown my two-week adventure with ‘We Will Go Ministries’ had begun. 

As I awoke in this foreign land the want to get started straight away was stirring up in me. I came to be quiet and learn, and my hunger to learn was great. I looked out the window while eating my breakfast, taking in my surroundings. The birds were singing so loudly, landing all around the houses to eat the food that had been left for them. They were beautiful colours, blending in well with the bright colourful flowers that had been planted.

 I smiled.

 I liked it. 

Our friend Bonnie was soon round with our schedule for this next week and we got ready to go.
It didn’t take long before I came to the realization that this place is a miracle. Amy and David Lancaster have been ministering in downtown Jackson for nearly 11 years now with one objective. ‘Love God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbour’. Through them loving on their neighbours they have seen miracle after miracle in peoples lives, in the city and in their ministry. So much so that the weekend I got in Amy and David were in Washington DC receiving a reward from the FBI for reducing crime in their area! They have been given so much by God it is hard not to stand in the midst of it all and not see that God has preformed a miracle. The feeling of God’s peace in a city that is full of gun crime is a miracle, beauty in the midst of ashes was a miracle, and houses’ getting restored is a miracle. It is all mind blowing and that’s what God did to me while I was there, He blew my mind!

The area reminded me of Pemba, Mozambique. The roads were in awful shape, with big pot holes in the middle of them. Kids are running the street. The spiritual battles were the same, which I experienced day one with our car breaking down for no reason. Education isn’t top quality. Healthy food is overly expensive and in all of that, relying on God was the only option. So in the midst of the crazy, is the one true God bringing the peace and the beauty. Which makes that place incredible. 

Part of my two weeks there included listening to the missionaries testimonies. They had about an hour to pray with us, tell us their stories and hear a little about us. Each time I was hit with God’s goodness and reminded once again about how much He loves. It is incredible how much you learn by just sitting and listening. 

I sat and listened to a lady who had worked in strip clubs for much of her adult life, not only as a stripper but also as a manager. Her testimony is one that shakes everything that needs to be shaken and I could write for pages going into detail. However she already has and its been made into a book. Moving mountains with each page the book talks about how a group from ‘We Will Go’ went weekly to her strip club just to minister and shine the light of Jesus. They never gave up on her and showed her relentless love. One day she decided to leave. She knew that if she would stay she would get killed. She has got closer and closer to Jesus, reading the bible daily and letting Him minister deep in her. She is a witness that Jesus is the only way! Seriously the only way. Not one person leaves a job like that for people. Jesus has changed her life, her husband’s life and her children’s lives. 

God did so much in me while I was there, as I said, He blew my mind. He brought back a passion I have for overseas missions, a passion that I had unknowingly pushed deep down out of fear due to the difficulties. He healed me from pain that came from seeing true poverty, corruption, great sickness and even death while living among it. He healed me and built me up ready to go for it again. 

This time Mississippi. 

There is great excitement in me to go and love on the people in Jackson through God. However there is also great excitement to continue learning what love looks like. 

So here I go again. Time to get out the boat and time to see more of His splendor. It is an honour to be part of His divine plans for me and an honour to love the ones He puts in front of me. 


We will go from ruth Alexander on Vimeo.