I am typing this blog while on a bus in transit from Bungoma back to Nairobi. Hopefully I can get some work done during this 8 hour bus ride. The main difficulty is the numerous speed bumps that we hit every few minutes. Rather then enforcing a speed limit here, they simply throw down a speed bump whenever they want motorists to slow down.
It has once again been an amazing month filed with incredible people, experiences, challenges, ministry, and most of all weather. I dreaded coming to Africa due to this image in my mind that I would most likely continue to sweat for three months straight in the African heat. However, we have all been pleasantly surprised and extremely thankful for the climate here. Other then a few hours midday, the rest of the day is very pleasant and enjoyable. I still don’t understand how all of this is the case since we are right on the equator.
I am still processing a lot that happened this month. The spiritual climate in Africa is very different as well and not what I am use to. Due to the poverty, the people must rely on God to meet their needs, give them work, and bring healing in their life. I have never prayed for healing for people with such fervency and expectancy like I have here. I am still thinking and trying to understand how God works in healing, why he works sometimes and other times not. As we did hospital visits to pray over people, it was hard to see the pain and suffering, yet still try to encourage people and speak to them of a loving God.
Even while doing door to door evangelism, we came across a Christian woman who explained to us that she and her husband had AIDS. She had already lost two of her children to AIDS and she was pregnant once again. As we prayed for her, I honestly struggled to know how to pray and what words to say to her. Who am I to know where she is at and what she is going through.
There are many more stories and times where we prayed and saw God show up and other times where there simply was nothing. I am still trying to understand what it means to rely on the Great Physician, the ultimate healer, the God of mercy and compassion. What are we to do when God simply doesn’t show up and sickness, suffering, and struggles continue to persist?
