On April 26th at 7:00am “S” squad finally arrived on our third continent…we were in Nairobi, Kenya.
Our entire squad, all sixty-one of us, were welcomed by an extremely friendly hostel staff. The next two days were to be spent preparing for the next three months of ministry (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania), and adjusting to the final team changes that had occurred the day before. We had a chance to relax, overcome jet-lag, and just enjoy being together!
My first twenty-four hours in Africa proved to be nothing less than eventful. Three stories immediately come to mind…
1. Sarah was walking down the sidewalk with other teammates and she was sandwiched by two men. They slashed her pursue with a knife, but fortunately the cut did not go deep enough to cause her belongings fall on the cement.
2. Dex, Ginger, and I pulled up to the scene of a lady who was hit by a bus just seconds before we arrived in our taxi. It was dark outside and we were in the middle of an African traffic jam. The lady was convulsing on the sidewalk and her eyes were rolling back in her head. When I finally realized what had happened, there were a million thoughts that ran though my mind. I wanted to jump out of the car and run over and pray for the lady, but something was holding me back.
My logical side was thinking A) We had just went through a two hour Kenya orientation that morning in which we found out that conmen frequently stage such scenes in the city to rob tourists. B) It was pitch black outside and we were surrounded by heavy traffic. I don’t know how wise it would have been of me to jump out of the taxi and dodge traffic. C) I was already praying from inside the car, and God hears and answers prayers whether I am physically laying hands on the person I’m praying for or whether I am fifteen feet away.
I decided not to get out of the car, but to pray like crazy. Our taxi driver found a break in traffic and within a few short minutes we were on our way again…
3. Not more than five minutes after we left the accident scene we turned onto a dark street and our taxi was pulled over by two officers with rifles. They made our taxi driver get out of the car (with the keys) and leave us sitting in the dark while they talked to him out of our sight. We were obviously praying hard core because the scene did NOT feel right. What a relief it was to see our driver reappear and drive off without any further complications.
I was obviously a little shaken up when we arrived back at the hostel. I had a heavy burden on my heart to continue praying for the lady’s soul and that she would receive medical care soon. For several days after the incident I questioned whether my response was the appropriate response. I kept thinking that I didn’t do enough. That maybe I was put in that taxi at that moment because God wanted me to stop and help her. After talking through the situation with Dex and Ginger I realized that I can only be responsible for how the Holy Spirit prompts me in that moment. In that moment I had felt prompted to pray and that is what I did. Maybe next time I will be prompted to jump out and help, and I trust that if that happens then I will be obedient to the Lord’s prompting.
That night I layed in bed thinking about all I had witnessed, and I had only been in Africa for twenty-four hours. Whew! I am thankful that the Lord is constantly watching over us and therefore I am not worried about any situation that may befall us this month. I know that when the enemy feels threatened he will do whatever he can to stop the work of God. I just don’t think that the enemy realizes what he is going up against when he messes with the children of God on “S” Squad! haha 🙂
