By Traci Godwin
Miracles abound when expectancy is high. A recent mission trip to Africa proved that to the ministry team, led by Grace House members, Mark and Robin Sewell.
The Sewells are missionaries to Guatemala. They recently took a missions team from Grace House and other area churches to Kenya in East Africa. Everywhere they went, Robin Sewell said someone received a touch from the Lord in the area of healing.
“People in third world countries are so expectant,” Robin said. “We saw miracles all the time - as we do in Guatemala. The people who are sick don’t know exactly what is wrong because they can’t afford to see a doctor. All they know is they were in pain and that pain goes away.”
The mission team included Grace House member Kane Cooper; Pastor Mark Grigsby and Jesse Stanford from Lifesong Church in Sheffield; Rochelle Scott, Rhonda Bartlett, pastor of a church in Huntsville, Pastors Darryl and Annette Little of Decatur. They were also joined with Pastors Manny and Danaris Castillo of Las Vegas.
Team members from the Muscle Shoals area flew out of Huntsville on September 12 and returned on September 27. The main mission of the trip was to minister to leaders in the East Africa Pentecostal Churches association (EAPC). They ministered in Nairobi, Meru, and on the east coast of Kenya, on the Indian Ocean, near the border with Tanzania.
“The churches in the EAPC are divided into districts,” Robin explained. “Some districts have 6-10 churches.”
The ministry team split into two per group each day and each team traveled to up to five churches to minister. Meetings at the churches were set up with two sessions that included preaching, teaching and ministry, break for a meal, one afternoon preaching session and ministry session followed by breakout sessions with men and women divided into two groups.
“One thing that was amazing to us was how many and how far people had to walk to our meetings,” Robin said. “There were more cars in Nairobi and few cars in Meru, so most had to walk to every service in Meru. One person we know didn't walk, but took a 3 ½ hour bus ride to get to us.”
Mark and Robin were ministering alone at a church in Nairobi one Sunday. A lady who was attending had been experiencing a lot of pain. Before ministry even started, she was healed of her pain.
“She said the pain left when we walked in,” Sewell said. “She wasn't praying for a healing at that time at all, but her pain just left. It's like that in third world countries. There are a lot of similarities, different landscapes, but the people are all very expectant.”
The Sewells have ministered in Africa six times, mainly Kenya, but have also been to Mozambique. In addition to ministering in Guatemala, they have also ministered in Mexico, Peru, and El Salvador.
“We are going back to Guatemala in January.” Robin said. “We were supposed to go back in October, but protests were going on concerning the government and the roads in Guatemala City were blocked by protesters. We could have gotten to Guatemala City, but no guarantees of getting to where we were needing to go.”
It was the first trip to Africa for Grace House member Kane Cooper, although he’s ministered on teams that have gone to Guatemala to assist the Sewells.
“We were all glad to minister to the wonderful people of Kenya, who are friendly people with warm smiles and big hearts.” Kane said.”What I heard them say most was ‘Welcome!’
Kane said the Kenyans he met are a very celebratory people. They danced and sang in worship and to show appreciation.
“We were blessed to visit many churches in our 14 days of being in Kenya,” Kane said.
“They would feed us after every service, sometimes rice with meat soup, sometimes mashed potatoes with bananas.”
Some days when the teams left their hotel, they traveled up to 2 hours to their destination.
On one mission, Cooper and Rhonda Bartlett were taken to a very rural block church with no doors and an open rafter ceiling. About 100 people showed up to worship. After ministering, Cooper and Bartlett were seated on the stage when a bat fell through the rafters.
“I heard a thud near me,” Kane laughed. “A live bat had fallen out of the overhang and was near me. I made Rhonda aware and it took off flying over the heads of all the people and then back toward us. No one in the congregation seemed to notice, as if it happened all the time!”
Kane recalled traveling to the busy east coast of Kenya. They passed by a beautiful beach, bumper to bumper traffic, cars, vans, tuk tuks (three-wheeled, open air vehicles), and motorcycles on their way to minister in the rural outskirts in village churches.
Kane remembered one powerful service on the mission.
“God ministered so powerfully in the middle of one service through prophetic ministry, which changed the service completely,” Kane said. “As the church elder began sobbing, so did many in the tent meeting.”
Kane added that as the Holy Spirit moved mightily, the congregation began crying out in prayer in their native Swahili language.
Toward the end of their mission, the team was blessed to be able to enjoy a two day safari on a game reserve.
“We saw wild elephants and baboons on the side of the road,” Cooper recalled. “On safari, we came almost at arm’s length with a mama elephant. I also was able to touch an African black rhino!”
Robin added, “We saw elephants, Rhinos, zebras, giraffes, lions, wild, on a game reserve with thousands and thousands of acres. Everyone who goes to Africa needs to do a safari.”