Here in the land of Karamoja, there is typically one big rainy season per year. Since this culture is predominantly agriculturally based, the people here rely on that season to sustain their families. This year, the time for the rainy season came and went, leaving disappointment scattered like the farmers’ seeds in the wind. Many of the people here have dealt with this loss by wringing their hands and gathering the elders (older men) to trek to their shrines to call upon their gods and offer sacrifices. We met with a group of men coming back from one of these endeavors earlier this week.
Yet, the handful of believers here have fervently begged God to send rain. As a team living and serving here among the Karamajong people, we began to feel God calling us to pray and fast for this dire need. One morning during my time with God, He brought me to a passage in Joel and the words seemed to spring to life off the page. It was one of those startling, take-you-by surprise revelations that burst upon me at the most unexpected time. My eyes were still struggling to open fully as gingerly sipped my morning coffee. Do you know what I mean? What seems to be just another ordinary day is suddenly met with the remarkable, the eternal, and it began to dawn on me…….was this what God wanted to do here, right now, out in the bush of Kaabong?
Here’s the passage:
“Fear not, O land;
Be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done marvelous things!
Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;
For the open pastures are springing up,
And the tree bears its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the former rain faithfully,
And He will cause the rain to come down for you-
The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month…
So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to shame.
Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel;
I am the Lord your God and there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.”
Joel 2:21-27
You see, hardship is not new to the people here-it is viewed as an accepted and inevitable way of the life. The daily toils include limited water and resources, violence and raidings between other neighboring tribes and a culture heavily in bondage to alcoholism. On top of this, these past couple of years have brought plagues of locusts, diseases that have nearly wiped out their cattle (which is the cash crop here), as well as the COVID epidemic at its height, currently ravaging the country.
As the Body of Christ here, we committed to a day of prayer and fasting with the Karamajong believers and we invited believers across the world to join us. We ardently asked God to give us the former rain.We praised Him and we proclaimed that the Lord is our God and THERE IS NO OTHER.
Then we waited in hopeful expectation and trusted that as His people we would never be put to shame. We waited on a miracle.
God was faithful and began to open up His storehouses in heaven. That night, He began to send rain and has sent some each day since. He has fulfilled His word and we give Him all the praise because He has dealt wondrously with us! We must never underestimate the power we have as followers of Christ when we prayerfully seek God. He sees His children and He hears our prayers. He waits only for us to call on Him for help.
A few days later, I came across another relevant passage for our current miracle and this time, my heart was more attuned to the eternal having just witnessed the wonder of a marvelous miracle.
“Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain.
The Lord who makes the storm clouds;
He will give them showers of rain,
Grass in the field for everyone.
For the idols speak delusion;
The diviners predict lies,
And tell false dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
Zechariah 10:1-2
In this land of idols and witch doctors, with so many of its people held in darkness by the stronghold of animism, this is a daily reality of the people here who seek the help of these deceptive leaders. But it is our prayer that the Karamajong people realize that the idols speak delusion and the diviners predict lies and they comfort in vain.
Will you join us in praying that the people here will see that it is God who gave this magnificent miracle of rain? Will you pray that the believers will be bold and courageous in declaring that there is no other but Him? Pray that they remember that His people will never be put to shame. Pray that I don’t forget to remember. Pray that you don't forget.
