written on 4/21/2013
Well, the Boston bombing isn't headline news anymore…
The bombers have been caught and Boston and the rest of the nation has begun the healing process.
I was so shocked to wake up Monday morning here in Kenya and see the news. My heart breaks for everyone who was involved. And then as the week went on, and I heard about the massive manhunt that followed, I thought to myself "is this real life?" I saw one friend write on Facebook that this whole thing seemed like a "lost season of 24" [which, I wouldn't have gotten that reference before the Race but my team has been quite obsessed with 24 the last few months…]. Crazy.
It's funny how my parents were worried about me coming to Kenya in fear of the violence that might breakout in the wake of the election and then this happens back home in the States.
The next day, we get news that there was a robbery at one of our teams' ministry sites. We found out later that it was so much more serious than anyone knew, being woken up by six robbers and enduring almost an hour of terror in the middle of the night. The details are not mine to share, and the girls that went through it are still processing the entire event.
A few days later, we found out that our squad leaders had been robbed at gunpoint outside the hostel they were staying at (and the hostel we were supposed to have debrief at). No one was injured, but a few were a bit shaken. One of the squad leaders was my teammate.
And all of this happened in the span of a week: the Boston bombing, the night of terror, and the robbery at gunpoint. And here I am, living in the middle of one of the biggest slums in Nairobi (sometimes nicknamed "Nai-robbery"). We were told by our contact to not carry much on us when we were walking around the slum, and to not go deeper into the slums by ourselves, and to be in our house every night by 6pm. Our tin shack was the shadiest place I've lived on the Race. The whole thing (outer walls, roofs, inner walls) was made of corrugated tin. It wasn't uncommon to hear drunk guys arguing outside our house at night.
As we were preparing to head off to the Parent Vision Trip, the rest of our teams were trying to figure out where to go while we were away: should they stay and do ministry here? Or, go somewhere else and get some much needed rest? First, they wanted to go to the camp where the night attack happened. It seemed safe: surrounded by an electric fence, guards, guard dogs that would attack even the occupants if they were out at night. Not so safe anymore… Their second plan was to go to debrief early: nope, robbed right outside the gate of the hostel, with security guards watching and laughing at the whole thing.
It was sobbering to think that we were probably in the most vulnerable place, living in such a vulnerable house, yet God had protected us. Some nights we heard some pretty sketch activity outside our little shack. But every night, we rested and found peace that God was watching over us. There is no safer place than in the center of God's will.
Africa is no more dangerous than the United States. Bombings, robberies, murders can happen ANYWHERE. But we can't let fear define us. We can't let fear limit us. Living in the land of "what if's" is exactly where the devil wants us to live. He wants to paralyze us so that we can't do what God is calling us to do. Fear is one of the biggest tactics used by the enemy. But what are we afraid of? "For God has not given us a spirit of fear adn timidity, but of POWER, LOVE, and self-discipline" [1 Timothy 1:7]. Every breath you breathe comes from God.
"Seek first the Kingdom of God, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need" [Matthew 6:33]. What is God calling you to do? Where is He calling you to go? Are you listening? Are you obeying? "If you cling to your life you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it" [Matthew 10:39]. What is our purpose in life if not to be used for the Kingdom? Don't hold on to your life too tightly. Every minute, every breath, every dollar is given to you from the hand of God. It's not yours anyway. You are just a steward of the gifts the Lord has given to you.
Let us pour out our lives as a drink offering to the Lord. Paul says in Philippians 2:17 that it is a JOY to be shared to give up your life for the Lord. The Lord promises safety to those who seek His face. You will not be taken from this Earth if God has more work for you to do or to be done in you. He will keep you safe in His hand. We are safe in the shadow of His wing.
"Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you."
-Deuteronomy 31:8
-Deuteronomy 31:8
