Do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.
-Joshua 1:9
This is a verse I was supposed to read right around
Christmas. See, since leaving Mexico I decided I was going to start
reading the bible from the beginning to the end. I just finished
Deuteronomy and was tired of reading the Old Testament and wanted to
read some Jesus! So instead of moving on to Joshua which is the next
book, I started reading John. This morning I felt like I should start
reading Joshua and as soon as I opened the book I realized what a
mistake I made when I started reading John that day. Joshua 1:9 was
meant for me to read that day based on some events that started
happening.
Some of you read my status on Monday where I said ,
“Cait Evangelista just wants to say she is alive! If you knew all
that has gone on in the past week and a half, you will have to say it
is a miracle I am! Yay Jesus!” I want to clear up right now that
I never legitimately almost died. I was just put into some dangerous
situations, but God’s hand was with me the whole time.
On Christmas afternoon, my team and I left White River,
ZA and started our journey to Durban, ZA…which is about 8 hours
away. This trip turned into an overnight trip and we ended up getting
to Durban the next afternoon.
South Africa is very mountainous, and the drive down to
Durban was very scary. Driving here is a lot different. The drivers
seat is on the other side of the car and you drive on the opposite
side of the road. So that was already difficult. Add that to the
curves on the mountains, and it is going to be dangerous.
We got into this little town, Ermelo, to change our GPS
around. As soon as we got into this town, I started to feel nervous
and not at ease. We ended up getting dinner there, at a McDonald’s
(Yeah, they have them in South Africa now for the World Cup) and
asking an Afrikaans man for directions and what road he would suggest
that we take down to Durban. He told us what road to take, but that
it was very unsafe. There are tons of pot holes (The pot holes here
are like bathtubs in the US, just half as deep), curves,
construction, and cattle roaming the roads. He said he would never
let his daughter take that road when it is dark out, and that he
wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing that we traveled that
road.
This Afrikaans man ended up inviting us to spend the
night at his guest house because of the road conditions. We told him
that we were going to try driving to Durban, because his offer
sounded a bit sketchy, and let him know what our plans were after
taking that road for 30 minutes.
After turning on that road, lightning started. Then it
started to pour down rain. Then it started to thunder. Then it
started hailing. Then all these flashing construction signs popped up
saying, “Do Not Enter” and other signs saying that it
wasn’t safe to take the road due to bad conditions. My team started
remembering back to the Christmas Eve service we attended at Back
Door the night before and what pastor Surprise prophesied to us. He
told us that each of us would encounter angels on the road. This was
hitting each of my teammates at different times, but I was
struggling. Big time.
to go into stranger’s houses. I was always under the impression that
if I did something of that sort, I would be murdered. As we drove
down this road, it was seeming more and more like we would have to
spend the night at this stranger’s house. And I was freaking out.
Myles was yelling, “THE CAR! THE CAR!” because it was
hailing out. Garrett was so excited about the correlation between
what Pastor Surprise said and what was happening right now. I have no
idea what Jenny was doing. Claire was praying for me. I was
hysterically crying and saying how I don’t want to die yet! It was
quite a sight!
Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the
deliverance the Lord will bring you today. -Exodus 14:13
decided, as a team, that it was safe to stay in this man’s house.
Everything went fine, except for him being more hospitable than we
expected. There were only 2 rooms in the house, and 4 people in that
family. Because we spent the night, that whole family squished into
one little room so we would have a place to stay. They even let us
lock the door from our side so there was no way they could have
killed us, unless they took the door down with a chainsaw!
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will
bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. -2 Timothy 4:18
in a sketchy town in South Africa! I would say that was a very
dangerous situation. And it didn’t end there.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
-Exodus 14:14
Day 2 of driving to Durban was great. The only bad part
was that we got pulled over by a cop car. Apparently the speed had
changed, but all 5 of us missed the speed limit sign. We were 2 kph
over what we thought the speed limit was and were really confused
when we got pulled over. Turns out the speed limit changed, and we
were actually 22 kph over the limit (which is somewhere around 10 mph
over the limit, no big deal). Nothing happened though. The cop let us
go because she didn’t want us to think badly of South Africa because
of the World Cup coming up.
For He will command his angels concerning you to guard
you in all your ways; They will lift you up in their hands, so that
you will not strike your foot against a stone. -Psalm 91:11-12
Once getting into Durban, we checked into our hostel. I
don’t know what we expected the hostel to be like, but it was far
from any of our expectations. The house was full of peace corps
participants, free loaders, and random people. I had felt like God
was calling us to Durban for a reason, and I found that reason in
where we were staying. The hostel was full of people who hate
religion, don’t understand God, hate Christians, love drugs, need
booze to have a good time, and other things that I really don’t want
to mention.
My heart quickly broke for these people. My heart broke
for the lies they have been fed, the addictions they feed into, the
sins in their life, and their confusion. I spent a lot of time with
these people. I would stay up till 2 am with them, long after my team
had gone to sleep. I was able to tell them about my God and how great
he is, but also understand why it is that people have such
difficulties in believing in God. I was able to see how The Church
has hurt people. I was able to see what I need to grow in in sharing
my faith.
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for
each other and for everyone else. -1 Thessalonians 3:12
I learned a little bit about why Atheists are atheists,
and why Agnostics are agnostic. I learned that people who are atheist
have strong reasons behind it. They will have a rebuttal, as obvious
as that would seem. All those people have heard the Gospel, and they
didn’t agree with it or believe it or whatever their case is. But
because of that, they went off on their own to see what “truth”
is. No one is going to gamble with the potential of eternity in
heaven or eternity in hell.
Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their
destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory
is their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship
is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, Jesus Christ.
-Philippians 3:18-20
I realized I was not living by 1 Peter 3:15. “Be
prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the
reason for the hope that you have.” I was not prepared. Not by any
definition of the word. It crushed me that I was at a loss of words
for these people, but that I knew God wanted me in Durban for them.
Had I misheard Him? Were these people not who He wanted
me to minster to? Was God not speaking to me because this is not
“The Guy” He wanted me to talk to? Would God not speak to me, or
through me, because of that? But didn’t Jesus say, “Surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age,” in Matthew 28:20?
There Satan is, with his lame attempts at trying to prevent God’s
kingdom coming.
Well, he did not prevent my King’s kingdom from coming.
Not one little bit. I might have been persecuted. The people there
might have hated me. Who cares? I certainly don’t. I am blessed!
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. -Matthew
5:11
There were a couple things that happened that I did not
expect at all. Here is the first one. I would be sitting at a bench
by the bar of the hostile (not drinking anything, not even water) and
someone would ask me what I was doing in South Africa. I am obviously
not from here because I am white, don’t speak Afrikaans, and I have
an American accent that no one could understand. They would say, “Are
you with the peace corps?” and I would say, “No, I am a
missionary.” And with almost every person who asked me that
question, they would all quickly take a step back. Why? Because they
thought I was some sort of crazy person in Africa for the sole
purpose to convert anyone I came into contact with. It took a long
time for them to respect me even a little bit. When they began to
respect me I was able to see how The Church has hurt them, and why
they hate The Church.
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me
first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As
it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of
the world. That is why the world hates you. -John 15:18-19
When I would witness to the people by the bar, a common
thing that was said about what they don’t like about God is rules.
Rules, rules, rules. No freedom. No fun. Ever. “To be a Christian I
have to be super religious and follow all these rules and be
trapped.” Am I religious? I wouldn’t say so. Their definition of
freedom is so different from my definition of freedom. My view of
freedom is that I am freed from my sins and other bondage, but their
freedom is about being able to do whatever they want to do…like
drinking alcohol and sex…you know where this is going.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand
firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of
slavery. -Galatians 5:1
I was asked more times to have a drink, smoke a
cigarette, and things that are illegal more times than I ever have in
my life, regardless that that hasn’t been too many times. One
instance in particular, a peace corps guy asked me if I wanted Scotch
and Coke, and I said no. Then he asked if I wanted Coke, and I said
sure. It wasn’t hard for me to say No…it just made it weird when we
all knew I could legally drink at my age in South Africa. Another guy
invited me to do weed with him, and I declined. He gave me a hard
time about it, along with declining to drink with him. He wanted me
to just “have fun,” but it was hard for him to see how I could do
that sober and not high. Jesus is more fun than that, as cheesy as it
sounds!
In fact, everyone who wants to live a Godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted.-2 Timothy 3:12
So that was my amazing Christmas “vacation.” I did
get to have some rest and relaxing…when people weren’t around. It
was so worth it though. I learned so much from them. I learned a lot
about myself as a Christ Follower and a lot as part of The Church. I
learned that my Father will protect me. I learned what my strengths
are and what my weaknesses are while ministering. I got so used to
doing ministry with children who already know the Gospel and who
speak Shon-gon or Suswati that it was a bit of a shock to see grown
white people who don’t love Jesus. That would happen when you spend
the past month living at a Christian orphanage. It was a short 3 day
vacation that turned into an almost 7 day vacation that was all God,
all the time. My team and I left a different team, and came home
changed. It truly was all God, all the time.
Hello lovey dovey’s! I have ALL of my support money in.
That means that I don’t need my monthly supporters to continue
sending checks in or having money drafted from their account. That
also means we need to praise God for his faithfulness.
I royally screwed up in late 2008 when I started raising
support and lost faith that God would find a way, but God took care
of me. Come 2009 when I surrendered everything money related to my
Father, I got well over a thousand dollars in 2 weeks, which is only
one of many examples. God has been so faithful to me! God provided
more money than I could have ever imagined to my support and bank
account with hundreds of dollars coming in every month. Holy cow! God
is so good to us!
As I write this I am listening to Cory Asbury’s song,
Faithful to the end. He is singing, “He’s faithful to the end, he’s
faithful to my heart, he’s faithful to the end, will you come and
marry me?” I remember having a lot of trouble with trusting God to
my finances for this trip, and on numerous occasions people would say
that if God really wanted me to come on this trip, he would provide.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 says just that. “The one who calls you is
faithful and He will do it.” God did call me to this trip and
because of that He will provide the finances for it. The past couple
times I’ve looked at my support account resulted in me screaming and
running around whatever house I am at and hugging everyone I know and
saying how faithful God is. You could say that I am learning from
experience that God will not leave me, in the finance department. God
will provide for you, also. He did for me, and I really didn’t
deserve it.
Please thank God for all he did with providing for me
financially. And I want to thank all of you! Thank you for giving to
my cause so generously, and for the financial burden it must have
been for you and your families. I would not be here if it weren’t for
all of you back home. I can’t begin to thank all of you for your
devotion to me and your constant encouragement. The life you all
speak into my life is so appreciated that you couldn’t begin to
understand. The prayers, the encouraging comments on my blog entries,
the fact that you read my blog, and taking the time out of your day
to say hello to me on facebook or by email means more to me than you
could ever know. I wouldn’t be in the spot I am right now if it
weren’t for all of you back in America. And I’m not just saying that.
The respect you all have for me is something that drives me when I am
feeling discouraged with just about anything. So thank you for being
you and being apart of my life!
That sounds so lame, but it’s nearly impossible to word
this with the enthusiasm I am feeling. Whenever I am holding a child,
or singing up on stage at a church, or cooking meals for
missionaries, I am thankful for you all and mental pictures of your
faces flash through my mind because you all are crucial to my being
here, in South Africa. Whenever I learn something new, or whenever
the Lord does something amazing, I can’t wait to tell you all about
it. I love you all so much! And I am so thankful that the Lord put
you all in my life! Hopefully one day I will be able to pay you back
for all that you’ve done for me!
FIRST COMMENT=)
youre so prettty catie! hehehe. but yeah thats so scary, iwould have totally been on the same boat as you with not wanting to stay with the random creeper. mom definately raised us like that haha. but wow, you really arelucky to be alive! i miss you so much. im proud of you for turning down all that stuff, even though i know it wasnt difficult at all for you. because your flipping insane, you beast. okay, i love you, ALOT, miss youu, im glad i got to talk to youtoday, and bye
Cait, I praise God for you and His mighty working in your life! It is so cool to read your blogs and I can feel God’s love just pouring out of you. God truly has done great things for you and I can’t wait to see you when you get home. Joan
Wow,Cait! This such an inspirational story!! I’ve been itching to hear how you almost died and i’m so happy God used it for his Glory. With every blog you post i can see more and more that this is what He intends you to do with your life! I love you <3
Love,
Alex
Cait,
You are such a great witness to us all of God’s faithfulness and care for us. I love reading your blogs and seeing how Jesus is just drawing you closer to Him and teaching you to trust Him.
Cait, WOW, what can I say?? As your father and reading….no…clinging onto every word you write makes for some sleepless nights!!! After digesting these emotional sentences, I continued to be at peace knowing why and what you are doing!!! Do I fall to pieces when I envision that dangerous night??? YES!!! But seeing how GOD is holding your hand during this unbelievable journey puts my mind at ease. I pray for your safety every minute of the day and count the days when I look at my little girl in the eye and tell her “I LOVE YOU”.
DAD
Hey babycakes, thanks for finally writing about it 🙂 It for sure sounds scary! Remember that God is always holding your hand and watching you, whatever you do, wherever you go 🙂 Have peace with that 🙂
Your blogs are so wonderful! The words are so God-inspired, and the pictures are perfect 🙂
Was that picture of the hands taken in the car on the scary road on the scary night? Please answer that question because I want to know! 🙂
I so appreciate all your blogs! They take care of my maternal instinct that needs to know what you are doing, and they help with my spiritual life too.
You know how very important it has always been to me that you be happy, and I am again thrilled at the joy God is giving you 🙂
ily
Hey girl!
You are so amazing. I love reading your blogs. Everytime I do, I see the bible come to life. This week in Sunday school we studied Isaiah when God asked “whom shall I send?” and he answered “Send I”. You are that scripture in action. I love sharing your stories with the class. When you come home, I would love for you to visit my class and tell them of your experience serving the Lord. You are in my prayers always. I am so proud of you!
Love,
Mrs. Langdon