The story of Ludi

As so many of you have asked me in the last two weeks "What happened with Ludi?", I thought that it would be wonderful to share her story with you, or at least, the part that had been unfolding in front of my eyes.

I first met Ludi 8 weeks ago. Pam and Brant, a wonderful couple from The Vineyard here in Arusha, had decided to host a small group. One of the ladies that they asked to join was a Philippino woman who had lived in Tanzania for the last 15 years. Her name was Ludi.
That first night at Small Group, Ludi shared many things with us. She shared about the hardships that she was going through, both emotionally and physically, here and in the Philippines. As far as we knew, Ludi was not a believer.

One of the hardships she was encountering was financial. Most of her family is back in the Philippines and she is their primary support. From what she earns as a seamstress, much of the profit is sent back home. Work had been a bit slow for her and she needed prayer to find more work.

The thought came to me that maybe, somehow, I would be able to tie her into some of the work that I was going to be doing here. I knew that the mission statement for Imara was to "strengthen the body of the church in Tanzania". Here was this woman in my small group that certainly needed strengthening.

To make a long, wonderful story a bit shorter, I'll just give you some highlights.

Ludi now has "almost more business than I can handle" and her monthly income has almost quadrupled. She was able to afford the necessary visa to have her sister come and work with her here in Tanzania.

Three weeks ago at Small Group, Ludi broke down in tears, telling us that she has never known a God like this. She has never known people who would pray for her, love her, encourage her and want to be her friend.

Two weeks ago, Ludi began coming to The Vineyard Church to hear the message. At small group, she is so eager to learn more and more about this God.

Last week, Ludi took her first communion. Throughout this, she is a new person. You can feel a joy in her that was not there before. Her sister, Shaunie, is also coming to small group. She's asking more questions. There is a well of deep hurt there as well.

The Story of Ludi has been a tremendous encouragement to me. Let me explain. I came to Africa to spend some time with God, not to "save lives". I have no ability what-so-ever to save a single persons life. That responsibility falls entirely to the Holy Spirit and God. My desire in coming here was to learn to love God with all my heart. Whatever service I then did for God, however He decided to use me, was a result of that love and that desire to pursue Him earnestly.

Seeing how God uses those who seek Him to bring others to Him, is an amazing sight. Ludi wasn't about thumping a Bible on someones head or preaching or quoting scripture to someone. God used me, God used Pam and Brant, God used the others in our group, to show her a love that she had never seen before in humans. A love that she can only see through the eyes of those who love the Lord because it is a love that we, as mere humans, are completely incapable of having. It's God's love and comes to us through the indwelling of the Spirit (got a bit spiritual there for a minute, so bear with me those of you who follow a different path in life).

It has been such a blessing to watch this process. I love being the conduit through which God works. Sure hope He will use me more.