“Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” I Timothy 4:12 
We have been in Eldoret, Kenya for twenty-four hours and I have witnessed the closest thing I believe I ever have to what Christ would have been like as a child. Our ministry contacts, Pastor Patrick and his wife Emmy have a gorgeous two year, nine month old son named Jeremy. This child has been gifted in the area of prophecy despite his young age. Several weeks ago Jeremy told his mom that “the white people were coming.” Emmy and Patrick weren’t exactly sure what that meant, but two days later they got a call from AIM asking if they would be willing to host two World Race teams this month.
In the last four days I have learned a lot about this child’s life, and I would love the opportunity to share just a few of these jaw-dropping stories with you!
1. He began talking at a very young age, and when Jeremy was one year old he began talking about how he wanted to become a doctor when he was older so he could help people. When he turned two years old he said, “Dad, I don’t just want to be a doctor. I want to be a doctor that prays for every person that comes to me for help.”
2. Tonight we made popcorn over the fire. A few of the team members were throwing popcorn back and forth in an effort to catch it in their mouth. Jeremy yells (in Swahili), “Throw one up to God!” 🙂 This child is amazing. It seems as if everything that comes out of his mouth is centered around the Lord.
3. A van came today and dropped off some household supplies, some of which were very heavy. Emmy asked that we wait for the men to get back home so that we did not hurt our backs. Jeremy did not want to wait; he considered himself one of the men so he went over and began pushing these huge, heavy bags with all his might. They would move an inch here and an inch there but that didn’t stop him. He wanted to be the one to move them to the kitchen so that when his dad came home his dad didn’t have to do anything. When Paris, a friend of the family and one of our cooks, was moving boxes Jeremy insisted on carrying the corner of the box so she didn’t have to carry it on her own.
4. Every evening when we are finished with dinner, Jeremy will come in and ask if we would like more food. If not, then he will grab all our dishes and take them to the kitchen where he will begin helping his mom and Paris clean up. I want to clarify one thing, I have never seen him be asked to help. He volunteers, insists rather, on serving others.
5. I asked Pastor Patrick today if Jeremy has any friends around his age that he is able to play with. Pastor Patrick said, “There are children around but Jeremy chooses not to play with them. Sometimes when he goes over to play with them he will walk home and say, ‘Dad, I was too bored playing with them.’ He would much rather sit and listen to adults talk and spent time doing adult things. When I go to church to pray Jeremy asks to come along and pray with me. When I kneel to pray, Jeremy kneels as well, and an hour later when I say ‘Amen’ Jeremy says ‘Amen’ and stands to his feet with me.”
I don’t even know what to say to that! I love hearing stories about this amazing two year old, but even more, I love being able to witness acts of service first hand and knowing they are confirmation that the stories about little Jeremy are absolutely true. This child radiates Christ.
I never imagined that I would be able to say that I could walk away from one day with a child and say that I walked next to a part of Christ, but it’s the truth.
