Kenya 2012

Our recent trip to Kenya was filled with different daily activities than our normal schedule at home.  The theme that permeated our time was:  hurry up and wait.  We hurried to the airport…then waited in lines at the ticket counter and going through security.  In Atlanta, Amsterdam, and Nairobi it was the same:  hurry up and wait.  After we landed on a dirt air-strip on the shores of Lake Victoria, we waited for a van to pick us up.
The first day at the S.E.E.K. mission base we started the plans for FUN DAY.  This is a yearly event that the ministry hosts, much like a school field-day.  The plans included anticipating hundreds of children showing up at the end of the week to play games and hear the Gospel.  The planning meetings came together slowly and we hurried to make the needed preparations.  I believe you begin to see what was happening.  We had time to relax when we were ‘geared up’ to work.  Sometimes, when we wanted to work, we lacked direction or resources.  Did the team get frustrated?  A little, on that first day.  But, the next morning we gathered early and asked each other if we believed that God was in control of our schedule.  It was an easy question to answer.  Everyone agreed that the Lord was in control of their lives and if He said ‘relax’ or ‘work’ we would obey.  We smiled and went on with devotions, worship, and the day’s assignments.
FUN DAY arrived on Saturday with six-hundred children attending from all over the community.  A boat showed up at the beach with thirty school children—some had NEVER been off their island home.  One little girl climbed out of the boat with a quart-sized water bottle balanced on her head—her safe drinking water for the event.  ☺  There were many smiles as the children had their faces painted, ran races, played volleyball, colored, popped balloons, did crafts, and had a lunch of beans and rice.  They hurried from game to game and then waited in line.  There was no pushing, shoving, or quarrels.  They all knew they would get their turn.  After a full day of waiting they heard the Gospel in dance, song, skits, and stories.  They waited to hear about our Lord.
As the children departed and we began to pack up the games, we knew we had followed Christ and ministered to those He loves.  Amazingly, we were not tired.  Again, we confessed that the Lord had been in control of the entire day.  I believe Isaiah 40:31(NAS) is true, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”
Now that we are home we are challenged to live out this scripture every day.  We have learned that we must wait on the Lord to be able to follow Him with renewed strength.

Change

On a recent trip to Honduras, I met a 15 year old girl named Amy. Her warm smile and servant’s heart showed the presence of the Lord in her life. She cooked meals for our group of three that showed experience beyond her years. I asked her to share her story of living on the mission field in hopes to give insight to others. This is her story:

At fifteen, I have now spent four years with my parents on the mission field here in Balfate, Honduras. I have encountered limitless opportunities to serve, including worship leading, leading a Bible study for some of the younger MKs, and participating in a Honduran youth group led by my father.

Although I have learned much about leadership and God from these ministries, Christ has taught me much simply through the general flow of life in Honduras. One of the most important of these is learning to deal with change.

Change: we either love it, or we hate it. We fear it, or we thrive on it.

Change is something that all missionary kids experience in abundance. We watch as people we love come and go. We witness the Holy Spirit working in peoples' lives, drastically changing their character. We have all moved to a country that seems to be a completely different world than our own (whether that move is to or from our native nation). We learn to change ourselves in order to adapt to different cultures. We learn, from a very early age, that change is a part of life, and we are taught to face it with acceptance, prayer, and hopefulness.

Life and people move on and change, but God never changes. He is there to lead us out of old chapters, and is waiting to introduce us to the new characters and adventures that he has in store for us in the next pages of our lives. He wasn’t lying when He told us that He has better things in store. (Jeremiah 29:11)

No matter what challenges, changes, or choices face us in this life, we are called to seek out opportunities to worship Christ in all of our actions, attitudes, and aspirations. Change is an opportunity to find new ways of doing this, learning to serve the Lord in new ways, with new people.

I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me. Philippians 4:13

I hope Amy’s story will help you to face change with hope.

What is in your pocket?

I recently returned from Rio Bravo Children’s Home in Reynosa, Mexico. I enjoy my time with Ray and Leah Hansen who have a heart for God and a wonderful vision to care for abused and abandoned children. These children come from very difficult and painful situations. After arriving, they are placed in a home with other children in their age group. The large home has a family atmosphere with Mexican house-parents who dearly love the children.
All the needs of the new arrivals are met: housing, food, clothing, medical, and dental in a safe environment. There is even a school on the property to advance their education. As their physical and spiritual needs are met, the children slowly grow into acceptance of the new surroundings.
Watching the children play, everything looks normal but their backgrounds are far from what most would call normal. As you would expect, the children come to the home with a large amount of fear as to what their future holds. They do not know the Lord has a plan to bless them and to care for them. When some of the children receive their first meals, it is not unusual for them to slip some of the food into their pockets. The parents encourage the children that they will receive three meals a day, but for a few days they will still put food in their pockets. Slowly they realize they WILL be fed every day and their pockets no longer become a storehouse. They accept that the people who love them will care for them every day.

This is a clear example of Matthew 6:31-34:
31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


The children are taught about the faithfulness of our Lord and are encouraged to seek Him and walk in a loving relationship with our Savior for the rest of their lives. The words in these verses apply to all ages.

What is in your pocket?

Seeing is Believing?

The world tells us that, “…seeing is believing.” Scripture says:

⁴In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. ¹⁵For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. Matt. 13:14-15

On the fourth Saturday of January, junior high teens, parents, and young adults from in and around the Smyrna-area, came to Wherry Housing Cooperative to help with demolition, painting, and remodeling apartments for people they may never meet. Why do they come to help? They may enjoy the group activity or learning new skills. But another reason may be because of their faith and trust in the Lord—FAITH that He has led them to this appointment in time and TRUST that they responded to His leading.

¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10)

Could it be that they saw and heard our invisible God and responded to Him from their heart?

Yes, they did. The positive attitude, servant heart, and joyful demeanor displayed by the group overflowed with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Working together is good and learning how to finish a job forms bonds of friendship that may continue beyond the activity of the day. The joy of helping others without expecting re-payment is one of the building blocks of Christian character. But the treasure that remains and encourages each individual participant is to have seen and heard God in serving.

⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (II Cor. 4:7)

For the lives from that Saturday crowd, understanding God’s purpose will now be a little easier to follow as each person recognizes His voice when He beckons, “Follow Me.”