Since Monday my team and I have been visiting with sweet children, singing songs, dancing, getting dirty in the mud and preaching at a local women’s prison. What a week! I can’t wait to tell you about it. First though, let me back up a bit. After reading a quick email from a friend I realized that I haven’t really told you much of our ministry this month. Looking back, most of my blogs this month have been about personal growth and a deeper understanding of Christ and Christ in me.
To catch you up on what Deep Roots has been up to, I’ll do a quick summary then we can get down and dirty as we talk about bricks made of mud. So far the month has been extremely laid back (we are on African time), but even if the times of ministry have been shorter, they have been full and satisfying nonetheless. Moses loves having World Racers and his mission is not only to serve those in the community but to help us to discover where God would have us in the future. He purposefully places us in various ministries in order to see where our gifts can best be used.
We have visited three different churches each Sunday that we’ve been here – to preach, pray for the people or share a song. I have loved being a part of worship here in Kenya. We spent two days at the hospital down the street; simply going from room to room and praying for those we visited with. Another two days we drove an hour out into the country to work on a church building that was being constructed. We moved and piled bricks, hoed weeds and cleared grass. One rainy day we rode in the back of a pickup truck to a children’s’ home so that we could sing songs and play soccer with them. (There should be a fun recap video coming soon). One day we simply stayed home to talk about the Bible with Moses’ children…it was a real blessing. Still another day we drove to a women’s conference and were able to share about ministry in America and what that looks like. That leads me into this week…
Monday and Tuesday we spent a few hours each day with the children at the Hope Center. Monday we told our favorite Bible stories and asked the kids some of their favorites as well. They have such knowledge of the Word! When we started to teach them some songs they taught us many more and there was dancing and smiles all around. We left after many hugs and handshakes.
Tuesday was a bit different. When we arrived everyone was hard at work. They were making bricks of mud, mudding the walls, mixing concrete by hand, and cooking lunch. We were ready to jump in, but our new friends told us that it was too hard. We would get dirty or hurt our feet. I wanted to get in on the making of the bricks as it looked really fun. Our team and Moses’ family just watched The Ten Commandments last week (old school!) and they were making bricks the same way! I asked if I could help and they told me my feet would get hurt. I told them, "I don’t care, let me try please!" My friend Mary and I got to work. Our feet were caked in mud and we found several sharp rocks, pieces of glass, rusty nails and small bones. I thanked God that I didn’t find them by anything impaling my foot!
After we mixed and mixed and mixed the mud it was finally ready. Stephanie and the guys worked to actually make bricks, though it turns out that our batch was for a different purpose. We transferred the mudpile by passing mudballs one at a time down the assembly line and into a room nearby. Here I started helping Anne, one of the sweetest ladies ever, to mud the wall. We just put our hands in water, rolled up some mud and let it fly! The idea is to throw a mudball at the wall, then mash it in real good. Sometimes there was a bit of splatter that came back at you, in fact by the end I was completely covered in mud. It was awesome. I’m sure at the beginning of the Race it would’ve been difficult to do the work that I did yesterday. I wouldn’t have wanted to get my clothes dirty and worn, but now the pink shirt has a hole and my khakis bear the paint stains of India. It’s all good. While I was working and having a blast it made me think of an old Audio Adrenaline song. It’s called Dirty and it goes a little something like this:
Dirty lyrics
Tired of being clean, sick of being proper
I wanna live among the beggars
And dig out in the dirt
Step outside the walls we built to protect us
Don't be afraid to get some mud on your face
Come on, come on everybody
Come on, come on and serve someone
Let's get dirty, let's get used
No matter where you come from
If you're beaten up or bruised
Let's get foolish – let's get free
Free to be the one thing you were meant to be
Let's get dirty
You might get a bruise or some blisters on your fingers
You might start to question and wonder what it's worth
You may slip and fall from the burdens that you carry
But you can't have this treasure
'til you dig it from the dirt
Come on, come on everybody
Come on, come on and serve someone
Today (Wednesday) was my first time in prison. We drove right down the road to the local women’s prison. There were around 50 women waiting for us when we arrived. We were in a small brick courtyard with very high walls. We sat on one side; they were on the other. Here and there small children went back and forth, some sat on their mothers’ laps. Then the singing started. They began to play a drum and lift up such a joyous chorus to the Lord. If you would’ve taken away the guards, tattered uniforms and barbed wire, it could’ve been the women’s conference we were at last week. I saw a beauty in their faces and I told them. I have no idea what those women did but I know that God is the One who brought us to life when we were dead in our sins. He did not put Colossians on my heart this month for no reason. I was able to share about Christ being the image of the invisible God, the one who shows us who God is. He is also the sacrifice that made it possible to be reconciled to God the Father.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things: whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:19-20)
When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)
God made a way for us to be right with him but we still have to choose to live for him daily. It’s up to us to “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your sinful nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). We “used to walk in these ways, in the life (we) once lived” (Col. 3:7) but now we must rid ourselves of all selfish desires: “anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language” (Col. 3:8). Jesus may have redeemed us but we must be disciplined and determined as we continue to live for him. We have a responsibility to follow after him. After we take off our old selves with our selfish desires, we need to put on something new. We must clothe ourselves with kindness, compassion, humility, gentleness and patience (3:12). The last part of our outfit goes on top. We must put on love above all else because it holds everything else together.
Several other teammates had a word from the Lord to share and Steph and Talitha shared a song. We were able to get on our knees together with the prisoners (whom Christ has set free spiritually) and pray with them. We brought gifts of toilet paper, Vaseline and soap. It was a wonderful day and one of my favorites so far.
I thank God that he was able to open my eyes to see those women as he sees them – without blemish and free from accusation if they continue in their faith, firm and established, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel (1:22-23).
Again, what a week! The Lord continues to break down walls and barriers, giving me more courage and love with each new day. I may be getting a little dirty or bruised in the process – In fact I was furious when I found that the lice from Nepal decided to come along to Africa as well – but, still, it’s worth it. Jesus wasn’t afraid to get dirty and neither am I.
Enjoy the movie and then go find some way to serve even if it is a bit dirty.
