Africa…oh, Africa.
I wasn’t sure what to expect of the ministries in Kenya, but
I’m learning everyday that God is completely and utterly in control of every
situation. Our ministry contact for this month is Pastor Patrick and his
amazing wife, Amy. They have an adorable 2 year old, Jeremy, who is always
eager to learn more English, eat more food and poke us all with sticks
throughout the day.
Kenya is a Christian nation with churches and ministries
located on every stretch of land. I was amazed when I walked into a bookstore
in Nairobi and spotted an entire Christian section. Going from Southeast Asia
where everyone is Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim to a country where 98% of people
claim Christianity, simply blew my mind.
On January 2nd, our team took a bus from Nairobi
to the bush right outside of Eldoret, Kenya. I expected to see nothing but
deserts, dusty terrain and flat landscape, but we drove alongside plush
forests, big mountains and fields of zebras. It was some of the most
spectacular landscape I’ve ever seen!
Since arriving in Eldoret, we’ve begun to work with Pastor
Patrick and his church, “Receiving Destiny.” The church was planted by a World
Race team back in March of 2010…shout out to the team who began the ministry
here…Ya’ll rock!
We spend almost every day going on house to house visits,
praying for everyone we meet and leading home Bible groups.
I’ve never considered myself an evangelist, but when the
World Race is your life, you take what comes with it. This month…that’s
evangelizing! So I jumped into it ready to see God move, but slightly anxious
about what we might not experience from God. I’ve heard so many stories of
healings, deliverances and salvations in Africa. I just wasn’t sure what to
expect, although I was hoping that God would show up. So for the first couple
of days, our team went out, hesitant and slightly awkward, not sure exactly
what to say or do. But we prayed for people, saw one man’s leg pain diminish
from an 8 on the pain scale to a 3, and heard some of the people’s stories. It
was humbling to pray for people, yet not see any change in the physical.
After a few days, we began to experience people giving their
lives to Christ. Women who had questions about God began asking questions and
finding answers. Because they have grown up in a Christian nation, it’s just
culture and tradition to claim Christianity, but we were finding that although
they claimed to be Christian, they didn’t have the relationship. Each day has
been different, but we continue to meet people who want a real relationship with
Christ and who want the full assurance that if something happens to them, that
they won’t miss out on God or heaven.
We’ve continued to pray for healing after healing…really not
seeing anything happen. Or…that was until Irene came along…
Irene is a woman who went into labor about 4 weeks ago. In
the midst of the delivery, her baby passed away and she was left with a severe
disability in her hip. It left her unable to do any normal, everyday activities
and with excruciating pain with any movement. When my team met her, she hadn’t
really slept in 3 weeks and she was pretty much living off of pain meds. This
physical pain would be enough for any person to endure, but with the loss of
her baby, the team realized that she needed much more healing than just in her
hip. She asked for prayer and so it began.
I’m told that they prayed a simple quick prayer and as soon
as it ended, they asked her how she felt. An awkward, shocked look filled her
face as she responded “it’s gone; there is no pain!” She stood up, walked
around and then began to jump up and down. She went from one moment of intense,
debilitating pain to the next moment in complete healing and restoration of her
entire hip joint!
I didn’t get to witness the healing because this all
happened on the day when I became Blind No More. I fully anticipated a
healing and they came home that night to bring the news of the great miracle in
Irene’s body!
We stopped by her house a few nights later and I got to
finally meet the women who I’d been interceding for and heard so much about. She
met us outside of the house and showed us that she could still jump and move
around. She told us that she’d slept amazingly since our team prayed for her
and she’d been healed. She also told us that she had decided to fully commit
her life to Christ and follow Him!
So Irene has been physically healed and is on her way to
immense healing emotionally. It was so incredibly humbling to be a part of her
healing process and to witness the enormous change that has occurred in her
life! It’s amazing what God will do when you submit your life to see Him move!
I’m looking forward to showing more and more people the amazing love of Christ!
It’s absolutely complete and heals ALL wounds!
