Balgue. A tiny place with a lot of heart. Half of our team had the privilege to live and serve in that town for a week, and it grabbed hold of each of our hearts in a unique way.
The people. You will never meet a group of more loving individuals. And this love is not out of their own doing, but rather a pure overflow from their love of the Lord. There was never a time that I did not feel taken care of, appreciated, loved, and honored. These people love their God, and that is so evident even with the strongest of language barriers.
The children. For whatever reason, the children of this place completely captured my heart. From the time three little girls asked me to play tag, until the moment I was waving goodbye from the back of a pick-up truck, they had won me over. And they knew my name. It was not uncommon for children to be running down the street and yell "Madi!" or "Madisol!" (which is how they pronounced my name). They were sweet, tender, loving children who only wanted someone to play and share in their joy. I feel honored that I got to be a part of that joy and that God allowed me to click so well with those beautiful little people.
The worship. In the United States, worship is flashy. The best musicians and best singers are in charge of leading the masses into songs everyone knows by heart. In Balgue, I think it was the completely opposite. There was one keyboard that was played by a teenaged boy who used the same notes and upbeat, polka-y, techno background music for each song. The singing was led by one member of the congregation, often tone deaf and displeasing to the ear. But the spirit of the Lord was present and strong. They did not need flashiness to worship. They only needed their hearts, the spirit leading them, and a glorious God to worship. There is something to be learned from them.
The ministry. House to house visits are something I have never experienced until Balgue. Not in this sense, anyway. We would walk from house to house, share testimonies, share verses that the spirit prompted us to share, and to pray. Seeing how people desperately need the Lord was humbling and a lesson that I needed to learn. The spirit is the same throughout the world. God does not change when the language does. He has no limits to what He can do.
The warfare. Spiritual warfare is a very real and present thing. When the Lord is moving and going wonders among His people, the enemy will do whatever He can to combat that. This week taught me that we are on the offense, not the defense. Jesus has given us the power and authority to walk in Him and to drive out the darkness that tries to hinder us. So whether the attack comes in the form of our thoughts being filled with lies, or just our pot smoking neighbors partying behind our room, the Lord is faithful in fighting for us and is willing to do so if we just go to him in prayer. "We cannot know what prayer is for until we know that life is war."
Balgue captured my heart, and changed it a little bit in the process. I am forever thankful that the Lord brought me there and granted me that experience.
