prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the
hope that you have.” I Peter 3:15
team was informed that Monday-Wednesday this week we would commute to a
Christian Primary Academy for grades 1-8 and be teaching from 9am-4pm. At first
glance this would be frightening to some, however after 5 months on The Race
this doesn’t really sound that crazy. So we loaded up the jeep and headed out
into the countryside. We were greeted and welcomed, the common greeting in
Swahili is “Jambo”, however we often are greeted by the phrase “You’re
welcome”.
said Thank You and may have forgotten to express my thanks…however in Kenya
this phrase holds a whole new meaning, instead it is used literally. When a
Kenyan says “You’re welcome” they are literally wanting you to know that in
that place you are a guest of whom they are welcoming.
and I had the opportunity to teach a Science to 7th grade
students (funny since that’s the degree I received in college). This particular
class had been studying the serious effects that drugs and alcohol can have on
one’s body. We were able to teach them about how to say no to drugs and peer
pressure and that when hard times come that instead God is able to give them
peace and hope instead of turning to temporary numbing agents that drugs and
alcohol can be used as.
across several street children who broke our hearts. Almost every begging child
that I came in contact with was holding a plastic bottle and kept sniffing it.
We asked the pastor about it when we got back into our vehicle and he said that
it was glue in the bottles and that most of the children were addicted to the
inhalants.
God is a God of redemption and hope however so how perfect
that the exact next day we were given an opportunity to do something about the
situation we saw. We were given the unique opportunity of educating the next
generation about the dangers of inhalants and other drugs, and encouraged our
students to not just hold onto this information but to share it with everyone
they knew. We also were able to share with them about how much better a life
with Christ is and how no matter what life circumstances might arise that they
could always depend on the Lord to be with them.
headed back into a classroom to offer “evangelism” as the teachers called it. During
this allotted time each of us got to share a bit of our testimony, what we had
been learning from the Lord lately, and share a Bible story which we used
student’s help in acting it out and it was great. After our time of sharing we
opened it up to questions of any kind from the class. We had several really
good questions about faith and we had a question none of us knew how to
answer….”at what age was Abraham when he was circumcised?”
We simply replied with well we’re not sure so we’ll look it
up and come back tomorrow so we can discuss it.
As hilarious and random this question came across to myself
and my team, it reminded me of an idea which I’ve been challenged in continuously on
this Race and that is:
prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the
hope that you have.” I Peter 3:15
This verse reminds me that even when I’m not on a year long
missions trip that I’m called to know why I believe what I believe about Christ
and to be able to verbalize where my HOPE comes from. This year has given me
such an awesome opportunity to share my testimony in so many settings to so
many different audiences. I not only get to share my testimony but be
challenged in explaining why I believe what I believe about God’s Word and
Prayer and many other things…including when Abraham was circumcised (which was
99 years old for anyone who’s curious now). I love that this year I am not
given the option to ignore these questions that arise in life, I’m grateful
that this year is about growing in my confidence for sharing my faith.
months and am thankful for every one of them. In each of these experiences I
prayed “Lord give me an explanation of my love for you and the hope you give”
and every time He showed up with the right words for that group at that
specific time. Even today when asked to share about my life the Lord showed up
and gave me the message He had for those children to hear in that moment. I
pray that the seeds my team sowed today in those kids’ lives will stick and not
quickly be forgotten.
For everyone who isn’t on The World Race …the challenge is still true for YOU. Do you know
why you believe what you believe? If someone asked you questions about your
faith could you answer them honestly? I don’t think we are expected to always
have every answer figured out, that would be impossible…I didn’t know when
Abraham was circumcised (till I googled it a few minutes ago) but I do believe
that the Lord wants us to be confident in sharing with others who Christ is and
what it means to have a life transformed by His LOVE. Just some food for thought…things I’ve been
chewing on lately…hope everyone at home is doing well, feel free to e-mail me
anytime ([email protected]). I miss everyone so very much!
