A Simple Pair of Glasses

By Peggy W. Lester –

I kept having a strong sense in my spirit to purchase a pair of magnifying glasses for myself to carry on this mission trip in August of 2006. Now, I do wear prescription glasses and if something were to happen to them I would not be able to read my Bible or see my notes. So, as the impression was strong, I purchased a cheap pair of magnifying glasses I could read with. This impression was strange to me since I had already collected 300 pairs of glasses to give away in Nigeria. But, I felt this pair would be available specifically for me if I needed them.

This was my second first trip to Nigeria. This would be our first trip attending The Calebite Conference in Okpo, Kogi State, Nigeria.  The Conference was held on top of a mountain under “make shift arbors”. People come from all around Okpo and even from out of the Country to attend. Numbers can reach as many as 13,000. They have had speakers from Ireland, England, Brazil and many other places. I felt humbled and blessed to receive an invitation to address the people attending the Conference. As I shared in my last article, this village of approximately 350,000 people had no running water source or permanent electricity in their village at the time of this visit.

Our team had the privilege of meeting the King of Okpo on this first trip to Okpo. We had presented him with a Bible and some other gifts. He was very hospitable and welcomed us to his domain. He shared some important heartfelt needs for his people. You will hear more about the King and Okpo in my next article.

After our visit with the King, we arrived at the grounds of The God’s Care Ministries founded by Pastor Sunday Oguche, a mighty man of God. It is upon these ministry grounds The Calebite Conference is held every year. He has such a heart to minister to his people in Okpo. His ministry owns several acres on which Pastor Sunday and his family live. There are schools, a church, a seminary and small community meeting buildings. He gave us a tour of the grounds. We then returned to the compound where we would be lodging to prepare for the evening service.

As we returned to the mountain grounds that evening, the sight was beyond words; many people walking, riding motor cycles and an occasional car, all making their way to The God’s Care Ministries site for the Conference. That night several pastors/evangelists spoke and the responses at the end of the service were phenomenal. We stayed late into the evening and when we made our exit someone was still preaching. We were told they would preach late into the night hours.

The next day I would be addressing the congregation. At this point in time, I did not know which group I would be sharing with. I went over my notes, trusting the Lord would prepare me for “whomever” I would be addressing the next day.

They began very early in the morning on “top of the mountain”; preachers, teachers, evangelists, one right after the other addressing the ever growing number of people. These people were hungry to hear the Word of God…for God to do miraculous things for them… to deliver them, to them set free, to experience salvation and to have their needs met. In the situation they live, God really is all they have to depend on…and He always shows up for them. They truly live by faith.

The agenda for the day was to have several preaching messages and then break the large crowd into groups, i.e., women, men, pastors, youth, widows, etc. I was privileged to speak first to the women and then to the youth. Wow….what an experience both were; they were so attentive. When speaking first to the women I had to be translated into two different languages, which by the way is pretty hard to do. It gives you time to think but it is hard to keep the anointing flowing…I trust God spoke and ministered through me because the response for prayers and ministry was fruitful.

It was a joy to address the youth of the meeting because they (most of them) understood English and I was able to minister to them without an interpreter. They sat so still, took notes and it was a rewarding experience to minister to them. (This first trip was when I received the outfit I have on; I am on the left side of the picture.)

As we finished our sessions and were walking back to the vehicle that had brought us up on the mountain, a young woman around thirty years old made her way through the crowd to speak to me. Through an interpreter, she asked me, “Do you have a pair of glasses you can give to me? I can’t see to read my Bible…” I was humbled, to say the least; very blessed to have listened to the voice of God and obeyed in purchasing the “glasses” that I had brought “for me”. “Yes”, I told her, “I have a pair of glasses just for you. When you see me return this evening to the grounds, make your way to me and I will have your glasses.” Sure enough, she approached me when we came back to the meeting. I gladly gave her the glasses “God had provided for her.”

How many times do we miss God and His still small voice? It can be a matter of life, death and vision for people. Oh, how I always pray I listen!

This whole trip had been a “fairy tale mission trip”…the opportunity to speak at the Conference, to experience ministry in such volume and the opportunity to be the “eyes” for a lady wanting to read the precious Word of God. Just a “pair of cheap magnifying glasses” can change your whole life and perspective on what God can do in your life and the lives of those you can touch in His Name, IF we are obedient.

How about you? Do you listen to that small voice? He is always trying to direct us in to a fruitful path. “Be still and (listen), know that He is God.”

(c) July 30, 2012

Peggy W. Lester is the founder of Spreading His Fragrance Near and Far, Inc. Her desire is to take the Gospel to those who haven’t heard, to disciple those desiring to grow in their faith and to share the healing balm of Jesus to those who have been wounded in life. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Christian counseling and is ordained through FCFI located in Indiana. She lives with husband, Don, about 35 miles West of Atlanta, Georgia. Website: http://www.peggywlester.com/.