Thursday, September 9, 2010
I am sitting in the living room of Joseph and Mercy, our
contacts and pastor of Deliverance Church south of Nairobi. We have just finished
an amazing dinner of rice, beef stew and spinach, prepared by Liliana and
Mercy, two ladies who will be around to help us with cooking, shopping and
figuring out the water rationing.
The house we’re staying in is nice, much nicer than we
expected. Although of course, we actually didn’t expect anything at all because
we have gotten so good at laying down our expectations. Earlier this afternoon
while talking to Joseph, I find out that the reason for this three bedroom, one
bathroom house with actual carpet on the stairs. It has because Joseph and Mercy
have hearts to serve and provide the best hospitality they can. There have been
two teams from the World Race who have come before us. The first one, here in
January, stayed at a church or church facility. The second team, who arrived on
June 1st, did not have anywhere to sleep the first night because
Joseph and Mercy were in the process of moving. While walking around, praying
about finding a house to live in and house the team in, Joseph came across this
one.
Yesterday sitting in the living room with Courtney,
listening to Joseph’s heart, we found out the family was going to be moving out
of this house before September 30th. Joseph wants to move to a house that
allows them to save as much money as possible for the dream of buying land for
their church within the next three years. However, since we are going to be with
the family until October 1st, he called the landlord yesterday and
pushed their move back one month so that we would have accommodations for the
entire time we had planned on being here. None of this was said to glorify his
decision, but merely out of being open because ‘we are family’�. Even after
trying to convince him that it really would not be a problem for us to leave a
few days early, which did not last very long, he remains adamant that we are
guests in his home and as long as we are his guests, this will continue to be
his home.
As Team Shiloh sits around the living room, sipping on tea
and winding down before bed, Pastor Joseph reads us Colossians 3:16-17. Let the message about Christ, in all its
richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He
gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
And whatever you do or say, do as a representative of the Lord Jesus giving
thanks through Him to God the Father.
As he reads it, I have a new understanding of that verse.
The richness of Christ filling our lives-we are experiencing that in a new way.
As we are working to live in that reality, apart from the normal things we fill
our lives with every day; the true richness of Christ becomes richer each day.
In our teams, in our squad, we are setting ourselves up to do this-be open to
teachings and advice (aka: feedback) from each other. Same token, we are
expected to teach and give advice, encouragement, feedback, whatever form it
takes. And then the idea of being a representative in whatever I do or say, it
lines up with the constant reminder that we are here to be more than friendly
travelers. We are here to be a blessing to those we are ministering to-yes. But
we are also here to minister to our contacts and contacts family, to our
teammates and the two other people we share a double-size bed with. Whatever you do or say…
Back in the living room, still sitting with cups
of tea or hot chocolate in our hands, we gather with Pastor Joseph and Mercy,
his wife. Liliana and Mercy also join us. Courtney, Kyle, Kevin, Heather,
Sarah, Carin and I join this family for the night. As we sit here, Joseph prays
divine protection from us-from disease, from evil men. He prays for our families
back home, for their protection and peace throughout the night. Sitting in the
living room of a Kenyan man I have just met hours before, I feel protected. I
feel like we have found a safe place, open arms and a protected home. Welcome to
Kenya.
(hopefully going to get some pics up next time around. loading pics onto the internet connection we’re borrowing from Deliverance Church isn’t a realistic option right now. Sorry for the wordiness.)
