I’d be lying if I tried to pretend it’s all been a breeze these past six weeks. In fact, this has been one of the toughest experiences I’ve ever had to work through. It appears as if our team is constantly under attack from satan, and no matter how often we recognize that, we can’t seem to escape it. Sickness has run rampant through our whole team leaving only two or three untouched by it. I am currently dealing with strep throat, while two of our team members suffer from pneumonitis, another with pneumonia, and another half a dozen are recovering from cold/flu symptoms. On top of that, one of our girls has not been able to hold food down for some time and doctors here don’t know what to make of it. She and AIM have decided it is in her best interest to return to the states sometime next week.
Outside of the clearly visible attacks, there have also been attacks of division, lack of submission to authority, gossip, individualism, and other dissension. As a result of some of this, two weeks ago our team had to put our ministry in Nairobi on hold (short notice) in order to spend a few days in Kijabe in personal introspection and rebuilding some team unity. Even after that time away we have had struggles. Driver, my co-leader, has been leading teams since 2000 and said he has never seen this much opposition from the enemy. I think about the fact that satan can’t see the future, so we must already be a great threat to him. Maybe he’s noticed the potential this team has. Maybe he’s seen the growth I have just from training camp and thinks he can defeat us. Not a chance in hell…literally!
In spite of the darts that are continuously thrown at us, we are becoming stronger. Driver and I have found that humor in the chaos is more bearable than frustration is. I have been brought to a point where I know I can’t get by on my own strength. Sometimes in life we find it more natural to treat our relationship with God like the Staples “easy” button–calling on him only when a challenging situation arises. I hope to work out of his strength first and my natural ability second…if that makes sense. I’m learning to take absolutely everything to God first before dealing with it in my own way. What a difference that has already made as various circumstances arise.
