Wow.
It’s hard to believe that it’s already Month 8 and I am in AFRICA! More specifically i am living in Eldama Ravine in the Rift Valley of Kenya for ministry this month. We are working with Pastor Omega and his wife Evelyn at the End Times Glory Church. They are a wonderful couple and have two sons, Bonnke and De De.
For ministry we are partnering with the church doing programs in schools and prisons, as well as going into small villages and the bush to go on home visits. We introduce ourselves and tell the people why we are there, share the gospel to those who haven’t heard, and encouragement to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We give them an opportunity to accept the love of Christ if that is something that they want and we pray for whatever needs they may have. When we have finished we let them know that we will be here the remainder of the month and would love for them to come to the Sunday service and worship with us.
When we go on the house visits we typically split into smaller groups. The first day it was Phil and I with Miss Evelyn. Almost 100% of the people that we talked to accepted Christ. We found it rather challenging, just for the fact that we don’t know for sure what is lost in translation, if they really did understand and want the love of Christ, or if they just said what they had to say to get us to go away the quickest. The best way I was able to find to have the best attitude about it and not be skeptical was to write down the names of everyone we prayed with so that I can continue to pray for them. So that even if they didn’t mean the words that they were praying that perhaps saying them out loud had somehow planted a seed in their hearts that from this point on will grow until they can do nothing but desire to be in relationship with God.
Yesterday was our third day out in the bush. This time it was Sarah, Phil, and I, and our translators were Emily and Faith, two girls from the church. It proved to be a bit more difficult than when we had went with Miss Evelyn and we were all pretty discouraged and ready to just stop for the day and go home. We had just finished praying with an older gentleman and were going to suggest leaving when a younger man came and sat down a few feet away.
Emily and Faith walked directly to him and rather reluctantly the rest of us followed. His name was Robert. And what a blessing – he spoke english so we could just directly talk to him without anything being lost in translation. So we begin to tell him why we are here and how much God loves him and he stops us and says, “No it is impossible. I have done many terrible things. Too terrible.” We then started to tell him that nothing is too terrible that God loves us unconditionally. Again he stopped us. Telling us that we didn’t understand that he had killed many people. That it was unforgivable.
Sarah immediately began to just really pour her heart out and explain to him how much God loves him. Relating it to his life by asking if Robert had children, which he did. She then asked if his children could ever do anything that would be terrible enough for him to stop loving them? And he said no. “So if you wouldn’t stop loving your children, then how could God stop loving you, HIS child, whom HE created? Who He loves unconditionally?”
Robert still saw what he had done as too big, too terrible. He then told us something that he had only told to his wife. He was a doctor who had served in the army. At times rather than save a person he would be given orders to give injections to kill people instead. It was super humbling that he had the willingness to share this story with us, a bunch of foreign mzungus who he had known for maybe 15 minutes at this point.
We told him that God doesn’t count any sin bigger than another. That sin is sin. And that Robert’s sin had already been paid for by Jesus, God’s ONLY son. Who had died on the cross for Robert’s sin. That the price he thought was too big had already been paid for. And that all he needed to do was to accept the gift of grace that we can receive because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.
Robert still wasn’t sure. I told him about a man named Duch who had run the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, Cambodia during the genocide that happened there. And how because of the orders he was given that he was responsible for the torture and death of thousands. And yes that is a terrible terrible thing, but it still doesn’t separate him from the love of God if he wants to receive it. And Duch did, after many years he did find that love and accept it and is a Christian. It doesn’t mean he didn’t do those things he is serving his time in prison for it. But those things didn’t cut him off from an everlasting love from God the Father.
Emily and Faith stepped in with the example of Saul in the bible and how he was also responsible for the persecution of many of the people and disciples of Jesus, later became one of the most influential christian leaders.
As we talked you could almost see the understanding growing in Robert’s expressions and reactions. At one point he had to walk away, collect his thoughts, and come back.
Robert became our brother in Christ yesterday. How great our God is. He took a discouraged group of “missionaries” who just wanted to be done for the day, and rocked our worlds through what can only be seen as a divine appointment in meeting and being able to have that conversation with Robert. What a testimony he has. What incredible ways his story can be used. Day 3 of ministry in Africa has left me in awe of what the Lord can do and I really can’t wait for what he has in store for the rest of our time here!
