Feb 8, 2023 A Pool Game That Won a Soul For The Lord

Usually, when we pull up to a clinic site, there is already a line of people waiting for our arrival. But unlike all the other times, there seemed to be no one waiting for us at our Mwanje site. 

In Malawi, we preached at three different sites every night, and we hosted two clinics in each location throughout the week. Our preachers were able to tell people about the clinic every night, there were posters spread out all throughout each village, and our Bible workers made sure people knew in advance when the clinics were happening, so it was to our surprise that there was no one there. 

Many of the team members were a little disheartened, but they served the few that began to trickle in as we set up. 

When things don’t go the way we expect, sometimes we question why we are there in the first place. But who are we to question an all-knowing God? Sometimes we forget, and sometimes God uses it to teach us a lesson, and that’s exactly what He did in Mwanje that day. 

Because if there were a line of people waiting for us, we would never have sent team members and Bible workers to go out into the village and try and get them to come to the clinic. And if there was a line wrapped around the building waiting for us when we arrived, we may never have brought a soul to Christ that day. 

All things are done according to God’s plan and decision; and God chose us to be his own people in union with Christ because of his own purpose, based on what he had decided from the very beginning. Ephesians 1:11 

Earlier that week, when the team first landed in Malawi, team leader Karl Lindsay took everyone to each meeting site to show each team where they would be conducting the meetings. 

When the team was visiting Mwanje, Pastor Richard, who would be preaching at Namingazi later that week, noticed a group of 20 or so men huddled underneath a grass roof a little ways away from the group. Upon closer look, he noticed that they were playing pool. 

There seemed to be one guy that was beating everybody, Karl and I played him, and he beat us too! A few days later, when we went back to the clinic, it was a bit empty, so I thought, let’s do a wager with these pool guys. If we beat them, then they have to come to the clinic. So Karl and I went over there again, and sure enough, the same guy who was beating everyone was still there. 

The man, who we later found out was named Edgar, agreed to the wager and lost, so he and his friends made their way to the clinic. 

Pastor Encile’s job during the clinic was to make sure people went to the proper stations. When the clinic is busy, Encile could be seen walking to a fro, constantly on the move making sure everyone is where they needed to be. 

But because this clinic was slower than usual, Pastor Encile had the opportunity to speak with one of the pool players. 

I was just drawn to him, so I started talking with him, asking him if he is in school, what he is doing, and about his family and stuff like that. Then he started opening up to me and said he 

wanted to be a soldier, but he was too short. He told me he was very poor, showed me his clothes, and said, ‘It’s not that I want to wear these clothes, but it’s all I have.’ We talked a while, and then I prayed with him. I hugged him, and we left. 

Later that evening, that same man, Hop, went to the evening meeting in Mwanje looking for Pastor Encile even though Pastor Encile told him he would be preaching at a different site. 

So instead, he found Team Leader Karl and gave his phone number to give to Pastor Encile so they could keep in touch. From that night on, Hop went to every evening meeting. 

The following Sabbath, less than a week later, Pastor Encile saw Hop in line waiting to be baptized. 

Sometimes we measure success based on how many people we saw. But this clinic wasn’t about numbers, it was about connection and discipleship. 

If it weren’t for a few clinic patients and a game of pool, Hop might never have given his life over to the Lord. 


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