It’s been a long journey since Christmas, but we’re back in
Kenya and have been here for a couple weeks now. Our team spent longer than expected in GA getting everything
arranged to come back and getting to a healthy spot. We left the US with new life, hope and joy for what God was
doing!
But within the first couple minutes after setting foot on
Kenyan soil, everything came under attack.
We all listened in shock as one of our best friends here
told us that his marriage had fallen apart. He told us how he was trying to pick up the pieces and trust
that God would restore his family in the midst of what others would deem as
unsavable.
A couple days later we were overwhelmed in the IDP camps
with people asking us to fix their situation, to give them money, take them to
the hospital, and being frustrated with us because we weren’t doing
enough.
As we met together the other morning, something was
different. We were still hearing
from the Lord, praying together, and unified as a team….but something had
shifted. We had lost our JOY. We had become overwhelmed and
frustrated with the situation in the IDP camps.
We knew we couldn’t do everything that was being asked of
us. We knew the needs were so great
that it was beyond our power to fix it.
We knew people were angry at us for not doing what they expected. We want to help EVERYONE with EVERYTHING
they need, but we can’t. We have
to trust that we do what we can and God takes care of the rest….and that
mindset brings peace, comfort, and JOY.
Everyday here is a fight to keep the JOY the Lord has given
us. There are so many things that
try to steal it, but it’s our choice if we let them. God has given us the ability to choose JOY in every
circumstance. It’s not easy, but
it is a choice. And here is how
we’ve been choosing JOY….we thank God for everything. Literally everything!
If something good happens…praise God because He blesses us. If something hard happens…praise God
because He teaches us through adversity.
There is always something to be grateful for…just look for it. Stop focusing on all the junk that’s
there and thank God for the good stuff.
Keep this mindset….and JOY just seems to come out.
