The sky was gray that morning. And the clouds seemed so heavy as they sank into the air around us like a fog. You could feel the moisture in the air, a wetness that would surely turn to rain. In fact, the forecast predicted 100% chance of rain for the next four days in Kaçanik — our destination for a week of outdoor ministry.
As we entered the church preparing to leave for Kaçanik, Alaina announced, “This morning when I woke up, the Lord told me not to bring a rain jacket in faith that it would not rain.” I didn’t know what to think, as logic and nature said otherwise. I doubted her interpretation and thought to myself, “Surely she will be soaked in rain today.”
After an hour of fervent prayer against the rainfall, we watched as drops of water collected on the windowsill of the bus as we started our journey. The gloomy skies poured down, while we clung to a quiet hope that God’s message to Alaina was real. Yet still, a dismal reality that soon we would be working in rain-soaked clothes remained.
But then what I doubted actually came to pass.
As we arrived in Kaçanik, the skies parted, and sunshine broke through.
As we pulled into the city, I was reminded of Jesus’ words to the disciples who were fearful
of the storm in Matthew 8:26, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” In the story he then rebukes the wind and waves, and suddenly there is a great calm.
As much as I want to be like Jesus in this story, my faith often looks more like the fearful disciples. And today, I had little faith. Yet God chose to rebuke the rain and provide a great calm.
The pastor of our local church greeted us with wonder in his eyes and excitement in his voice. He told us, “While all around us has experienced thunder, lightning, and rain, our God has protected these city limits with miraculous sunshine.”
We served all day without a single drop of rain.
Quite by coincidence, our work that day ended the exact moment the Muslim call to prayer began. As the sound of the Imam’s voice filled the city, so to, did rain.
But this was no ordinary rain shower. It was different than the rain we experienced on the drive over.
Now, the rain and sun met– almost as if the skies were fighting.
The next day, our hearts were filled with faith that the God of the Skies would hold back the rain, though again the forecast stated otherwise. As the prophet Elisha commanded the rain to not fall unless he told it to in 1 Kings 17, we too pleaded with God. Yet, the forecast remained. 100% chance of thunderstorms.
Again, the skies were bleak and poured out rain the whole bus ride, but as we entered the city, so too did the sunshine. The empty streets, once filled with puddles, became filled with children and adults from the community. People shared meals, testimonies, and most of all, hope.
As we went into the third day, we were expectant for God to show up in power as he did the past two days. Before leaving, we gathered once again to pray against the rain in Jesus’ name but this time, with our hearts postured differently. We had seen the faithfulness of God and we knew He would do a miracle again. So, instead of praying against the rain, we prayed in expectancy that the sunlight in the sky would reflect the light of Jesus our Messiah to a city of people in desperate need of the light of Christ.
– Emma Hearn, Ten2 2021 Participant & Storyteller