It’s amazing how your perspective changes depending on the circumstance you find yourself in. Already I am seeing that my “normal” is being re-defined as I once again find myself heading into the unknown waters known as Uganda. But before I go there, I need to backtrack a bit.
The Lord revealed his faithfulness to me in such a refreshing way this past month in Kenya. December was a month of new challenges and transitions as I found myself for the first time playing the role of team leader in a new continent with new cultural barriers. Talk about change! However, the Lord was with me throughout it all, and I am confident that the work He has begun in me, He will finish to completion.
I know that Christmas 2008 is now a thing of the past, but I would like to take you back to my December 25th, 2008 in Eldoret, Kenya. This Christmas was unlike any other I’ve experienced. I remarked over and over again that it was so wonderful to be free from the stresses of frantic shopping and too-busy schedules that come with the holidays! There were moments that I longed to be at home sitting around the tree with a warm peppermint mocha in my hands or in the kitchen making Christmas goodies, but overall I found myself so blessed to be experiencing a Kenyan Christmas.
The people here in Kenya don’t have much. So many are struggling just to make ends meet and provide the basic needs of survival for their families. At the same time, those who truly know Jesus know that He is all they really need. They understand how big of a gift He is, because He’s all they have. Because of that, I was reminded in an even deeper way this Christmas that I have been given the most blessed gift one could ever receive! In turn, I was able to share that gift with so many others in the way that it was meant to be shared during this season.
Marisa started a church gathering in the community of which we spent our first week doing open-airs. We lovingly call this church the “drunk church” simply because of the way alcohol-addiction has plauged this community. Most of the church attendants would show up drunk, even at 10:00 in the morning. However, these are the type of people Jesus was drawn to, and we found ourselves being drawn to them as well.
For Christmas, Judah decided that we wanted to serve this church. We started out the morning by dividing up and going house to house to hand out bags of rice and beans. We were able to meet so many families this way and spend time ministering to them. Afterwards, we held a church service, and the biggest number of people we’ve ever had showed up! There are so many spiritual strongholds in this place, but it’s been so incredible to be a part of bringing the power and authority of Jesus to these people.
One of the most amazing things I was able to be a part of this day was embodied in a young man named Sammy. While we were going house to house, Sammy came up and said to me, “I want to be born-again. Can you help me?” I told him that of course I could help him, but I first wanted to hear his story and know why he desired to have the gift of salvation. He told me that during the riots this past January, his mother, brothers and sisters had been in a church that was started on fire, and all of their lives were taken. To cover up his pain and loneliness and to help him forget what he had lost, he resorted to drinking. He had been told by others about Jesus, but for whatever reason he was ready to give his life to Christ on the day that I met him.
I was able to talk to Sammy for a long time about what it means to follow Jesus, and I had a peace in my heart that his decision was truly genuine. A few days later, I met up with him again to give him a Bible, and this time he came with a man he called his brother. This brother was a spiritual one and had been telling Sammy about Jesus for a long time. Although the pain of his loss was still there, I could see that he had been making changes in his life for the better, and he was learning to rely on the Lord. My heart broke for him but at the same time, I could see how the Lord was plucking him out of his desparity. Praise God!
