Category: ministry

God-Opportunities

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Our first year here in Kenya went by rather quickly, much of it spent trying to acclimate ourselves to a totally new culture and way of life. There were many challenges for each of us individually and for us as a family, as well as trying to figure out what it meant to be on the mission field.

I entered our second year with some sense of victory, great thankfulness to God for His grace, and a deep desire to do more. Unfortunately, I am pretty limited by lack of transportation, responsibilities for home management and homeschooling, and Marc’s busy ministry schedule. So, both before and after writing this recent post, I began just praying, in earnest, for God to bring me opportunities to serve, to give, and to share the love of Christ with people in my community. I can’t do much, but I can do something. I’m willing, and God knows my limitations, so I just asked. And, as He is so faithful, He has been responding.

First, a neighbor brought a sick child to our house asking for assistance. She had persistent diarrhea and fever. I gave her some liquid amoebicide that we had on the shelf (water-borne amoeba being a common problem) but a couple days later the problem hadn’t cleared up so Isaiah offered to go to town on his motorbike and talk to the local chemist. He returned with a couple of medications, which a grateful Mom administered to her baby (who, coincidentally, was born the very day we arrived in Kenya!).

Not more than a few days later, another neighbor arrived in a rather disconcerted state, explaining that she’d gotten an emergency phone call from a relative in a neighboring town regarding her husband (who is currently working away from home). Unsure what the problem was and lacking money for transport, she came knowing that I would help. I was happy to give her some money for transport and promised to send food for her five children and look after them while she was away.

The next week, two brothers in the Lord came for malaria medicine. One stayed overnight for some rest and nutritious meals. It’s the season for malaria here, so we’re keeping a supply of anti-malarial on the shelf for just such visits.

The past couple of weeks I’ve been focusing on helping Marc get well from his motorbike accident, and we’ve all been encouraged by God’s faithfulness and Marc’s speedy healing. He’s been quite a trooper, and very patient with sometimes waiting for things he needs as other demands are met.

Just this morning, I was praying for God to send more opportunities, as Marc is needing much less of my time and attention. And I was so happy to see Mama Helen come to our back door! Not long after we arrived here, she was a somewhat regular visitor. She is very quiet and kind but our communication is of course somewhat limited by my little Swahili and her little English. I’ve tried to learn about her from others in the community. I think she has three young children and I’m not sure if she’s widowed or if her husband has abandoned her (that is unfortunately common here), but she has little means of providing for herself, from what I am told. A woman we know has shared the Gospel of the Kingdom with Helen using the Two Kingdoms tract, and she had been visiting us every few days for food. However, it has been quite some time since we have seen her and it was rumored that she had left the community. At the same time, our front gate (which was normally kept open so as to be welcoming) had to be closed to keep our new chicken and rabbits safely in the yard. We also got a dog, which we found deterred some visitors. So I’m not sure why she stopped coming, but she was just one thought on my mind as I prayed this morning.

Whatever the reason for her long absence, I was so pleased to greet her and try to find out how she has been doing. What brought her, unfortunately, was a foot injury. I couldn’t discern how it happened but there were a couple of deep cuts, which hadn’t been cleaned or cared for very well, plus signs of infection. I got our wash basin and first aid supplies and did my best clean and bandage the wound. I also gave her a pair of flip-flops for her bare feet. However, it was clear that she needed further care. Isaiah, who had already been planning on going into town, arranged for a piki piki to transport Helen to the local Catholic hospital, and he followed with Sam (a local Christ-follower who is a great help to Marc in the work of the ministry). They saw to her care, and Isaiah reported that they really went “above and beyond,” not only dressing the wound and providing antibiotics, but washing her legs and hands and trimming all her nails as well.

No sooner had Helen left than one of my neighbors arrived, explaining that they were hungry. I could tell that although it was early, she had already been hard at work on her shamba–and without something to eat! (She was one of the happy volunteers who assisted us with planting this weekend.) I filled up a bag for her and she was off for a quick breakfast before returning to her work.

Then Helen was back from the hospital, cheerful and thankful, and on her way again with a bag full of food.

I don’t have great giftings, just a desire to serve. And I’m thankful that God is aware of my limitations and is faithful to bring people right to my door who have needs that I can help fill. Join me in praying that God would likewise bring opportunities for all of us to serve, for His Kingdom and His glory!

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. …If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
Matthew 7:7, 11

“We were six, now we are four”

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting with three women, who gave up many precious hours of their day and traveled many miles just to get to know me a little. Marc has been going to their fellowship gatherings frequently on Sunday mornings and always tells me how much I would enjoy going. They love Jesus and love each other.

Unfortunately, their meetings go long…many hours…and we don’t want to leave the children on their own at home for that long. And equally unfortunately, transporting the lot of us is not practical or financially possible. So yesterday, they came to me.

I appreciated their words of encouragement and their spiritual support, the promise of continued prayer.

I laughed at their enthusiasm about our family of eight children; they are convinced that Americans only have two children and that is “normal.” But I was sad as we asked each of the women, in turn, how many children they had.

We were six, now we are four.

We had six, now we are five.

We were nine, now we are eight.

We didn’t want to follow up with the question of what happened to the children who are now not with them. These weren’t miscarriages they were talking about (though that is a difficult enough loss), these were children held and fed and loved, for who knows how long a time before they succumbed to…what? Malnutrition? Disease? I can only guess. But the sad thing is, many women here share the same unfortunate reality: we were six, now we are four.

We have two cats and a dog and can buy Front Line for the dog, but there is no treatment for the cats. The best we can do is flea baths when we notice the little critters. Since the cats sit on the couches and sleep with some of us, we all endure a few days of itchy bites before the fleas meet their demise for another season. This week, about half our family has worked its way through malaria, in spite of there supposedly being few malaria-bearing mosquitoes at our elevation. And how did so many end up with it? Marc was both surprised and disturbed to find that fleas carry malaria, just like mosquitoes do. (Made us think of the Bubonic Plague, and shiver). So although we’d resisted chemical treatment for fleas, we sprayed down the carpet, the furniture, and the beds to get a little more aggressive against the disease-bearing intruders. And for us, though malaria has been a discomfort and an inconvenience, it’s highly treatable. With a visit to the local chemist, a few dollars, and a few days’ time, we’re working our way through it.

What do the visit with my sisters in Christ and our recent experience with malaria have to do with each other? Well, I would guess that one or more of those precious children might have suffered with malaria or something equally treatable. But their family didn’t have the money to get the medicine that is readily available. Such cases are all-too-common here.

This morning, I was reading Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis, who serves in Uganda. She gives tirelessly of herself to serve “the least of these.” She removes jiggers, gives baths, provides medicine, offers food, and loves.

I want to do more. I’m trusting that God will show us just what it is He wants us to do next.

Apparently I Missed the Memo that I am Selfish

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Many years ago now (and sorry I don’t know the source), I recall reading another Mom’s confession: becoming a Mom showed me how incredibly selfish I was.

Guilty as charged. Over many years of mothering, I’ve slowly become less selfish and more of a “servant” (in a good, “I want to glorify God” sort of way). I’ve come to terms with the fact that a full night’s sleep is over-rated. And that when I’m short on sleep, I still need to be loving...and patient. And as you know, Mom’s don’t get sick days. Not only that, no matter how hard we work compared to everyone else, we need to be an example to our children of how to “work with all our hearts as working for the Lord” and “having the attitude of Christ,” who did not come to be served but to serve. Motherhood has given me many opportunities to put aside my flesh and my selfish desires and do what is necessary and best for my family and for the Lord. I don’t do it perfectly, but after 13 years and counting…I’m getting there.

Or so I thought.

Being “on the mission field” here in Africa has just afforded me yet many more opportunities to work on my inherent selfishness and focus on pleasing not myself, but my God.

We’re “known” here. The mzungus who have come to share the Word of God. They don’t call first, they just show up. They want to talk to “Baba Isaiah” or “Missionary Marc,” as my husband is known. And it’s my job to greet them all and play hostess. If it’s a group of women, I try to take the lead on conversation. I have to admit, that’s a challenge for me. We’re still not fluent in Swahili, and many of them know little or know English, so it’s very often…very awkward. But more than that, the visits usually happen when I’d prefer they didn’t. Like when I’ve “finally” finished my morning’s work and can finally sit down and read a book to the littles whom I can’t help but feel like I’ve neglected for far too long. Or when the children are (for once) all enjoying some free time outside and I might just be able to read a good book for a few minutes. Or it could be that I haven’t even finished the wash yet, and if it doesn’t happen soon, we’ll miss the window of opportunity on the sunshine to dry them…and once dragged in the house, there’s never enough room on kitchen clothesline for the damp stuff, and it’ll just have to get brought out to the line again tomorrow. In the middle of meal preparation? Well, turn down the heat on the unpredictable propane stove and pray that it doesn’t burn. Burnt supper? Let’s see what we can do…

I still want it my way: my to-do list (however noble the tasks might be), my schedule, my convenience.

And if they’re not coming here…Marc is going “out there.” I look forward to those precious one or two days each week that he’s supposed to be “off.” But he rarely is. Phone calls, more drop-ins, unexpectedly scheduled meetings, baptisms, paperwork to catch up on…and sometimes (in my more selfish moments), I wish we could have more family time. It’s important to us, and we do what we can with what we have; we try to set boundaries…but I have to admit, sometimes my attitude about being “on mission” and about all of the inevitable interruptions, isn’t the best. I’m still selfish.

But I’m working on it.

Interlude

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Seems like we’ve been going a mile a minute since moving to Africa. First, just settling in and getting used to a lot of new routines and ways of doing things (not to mention geography, culture, and so on). Then, figuring out how to balance ministry with life, since there are more opportunities than we can reasonably take advantage of–invitations to teach, discipleship meetings, community interactions, drop-in guests, and even short-term missions visitors. And finally, trying to wrap up our school  year before a new one gets started!

Last week I (Cindy) had scheduled a trip with two ladies whom I’ve been discipling, to speak to a group that was eager to hear more about the Gospel of the Kingdom. I’ve been making more of such trips than I had anticipated, and I was suddenly feeling burdened about being gone most of the day, leaving my still-nursing baby and many things at home that I wanted to attend to. As well, I can see (in various ways) that I have not been giving some of the children the attention they need. I talked to Marc about my concerns, and the questions I had about what a woman’s role in “ministry” is, and how to balance these various aspects of life.

Marc decided to step in and talk to the other two ladies that I was to have gone out with; he explained the situation and told them that for now, I would be re-focusing on things at home and that they could continue with any group meetings or teachings that we had previously planned. I think this is very healthy for them, as they will gain confidence in sharing the Gospel, answering questions, and actively making disciples. I trust that God will continue to open doors for ministry that He wants to see me participate in, but in the mean time I am taking a needed break and working on that discipleship process with my own children at home–something that I feel has been to much neglected lately.

 

“To Me, it is a Miracle to Make Popcorn”

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One of the goals of Kingdom Driven Ministries Kenya (KDMK) is to provide education, training, and business counseling so that Kingdom Christians can provide for themselves, for their families, and for other believers. We want to equip people to be as self-sustaining as possible so that they can participate in Kingdom expansion without relying on outside (i.e., Western) financial assistance and without personal economic hardship.

One of Marc’s disciples here who is really catching the vision is Silas. Talk about multiple streams of income and a great work ethic–this guy has a hotel (in America we would call it a restaurant, and it also has a storefront shop), a nursery school with 15 students enrolled, and a shamba (farm) where he is planting annual crops and a forest for timber. He routinely takes half or full days off of work to meet with his own group of four disciples and to evangelize in the community (usually using the Two Kingdoms tract).

We regularly patronize Silas’s shop for items like sugar, flour, baking powder, laundry soap, beef cubes, and eggs. It’s the boys who go down to pick up the things I need around the house, and Silas has taken them under his proverbial wing. When he’s making mandazi at breakfast time, Isaiah helps. Just this week Jonah took his turn and did a commendable job, by Silas’s standards. Isaiah has helped Silas with planting at his shamba and even gone out with him for a discipleship meeting in the community. Silas is a regular at our home and we’ve really come to respect his hard work, his personal integrity,  and his desire to spread the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Although one of the roles of KDMK is to provide microloans for small businesses, when Silas recently talked to Marc about a loan for $250 to get bulk quantities of maize and bean seeds for his shop (they are staples here), KDMK didn’t have the funds available. Isaiah and Jonah asked if they could personally give Silas the money. They really want to see his business succeed so that he can support his wife and child and continue to do the work of the Kingdom without hindrance. This was agreed upon by all, and on Monday of this week the money changed hands. Almost immediately, Silas purchased two very large bags of maize and some beans. He also added some other miscellaneous stock to his store.

Silas’s inventory has slowly expanded over the four months that we’ve been here and one of the items he’s added recently is popcorn. He’s bought small bags ready-popped from a market several kilometers away. He’s re-sold them in his shop and probably only profited about one shilling per bag (that’s about a penny, folks–but remember, the typical African might only make $1-$3 per day!). When Silas was here on Sunday for our home fellowship, I served popcorn…and on Monday morning when he and the boys were finalizing the microloan, Silas was anxious to ask Isaiah whether I had bought the popcorn or made it myself. Hearing that I made it, he asked if the boys could show him how to do it. Of course!

So after some shopping at the market, where one order of business was for Isaiah to show Silas where to buy the popcorn–and to purchase a bag, of course–the boys holed up for the afternoon at Silas’s shop, perfecting popcorn-popping without the luxury of a covered pot. (What they ended up doing was inverting one cooking pot over another, which was a bit awkward but worked out fine.) Silas popped corn and filled and sealed small bags to sell for five shillings each. Isaiah was surprised to learn that while popcorn is very popular here, apparently very few people actually know how to make it. Crazy, isn’t it? After filling bags of fresh popcorn and doing the math with Isaiah to estimate his profit, he was ecstatic to discover that he could make 80 shillings (about $1) on a single bag of popcorn kernels! His reaction? “To me, it is a miracle to make popcorn!”

So the boys aren’t “officially” on the KDMK team, but they’re certainly on the mission…even when it (surprisingly) involves making popcorn.

Problems with Children

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Quite unexpectedly, one of the frustrations we’ve encountered here in Africa is…the children.

This is a very small group. The number of children gawking at the fence has gotten into the teens, if not twenties.

They line up, sometimes in great numbers,  along our fence at all hours of the day, hoping to get a glimpse of us–or better yet, be invited in to play. However, it can be hard to discern which ones have pure motives and which are…not so good–because there is definitely a distinction. While many of the children try to communicate with ours, there is another portion who simply laugh and mimic whenever our children try to speak to them in Swahili. Even though it’s Kenyan custom to ask to enter someone’s home (they  will ask, “Hodi?”–may I come in?–even when they are specifically welcomed), some of the children frequently ignore this gesture of respect. While we are schooling in the morning, the Kenyan children who are too young for school or too poor to attend will often make games of sneaking inside our gate and running to our open veranda or through the yard, only to dash off again when I step outside to ask them for privacy while we’re doing our work. When the children go to gather water, some of the local kids will help, while others pull hair, pinch skin, and generally make nuisances of themselves. Some nights when the sun goes down, we’ll still hear a lineup of children at the fence hooting and hollering–just to annoy. All in all, the negative behaviors haven’t been anything “over the top,” but still something we’ve had to address.

Our children love to play with the neighborhood children, but it has sometimes been a challenge to deal with the “bad” along with the good and maintain some boundaries for the health of our family. Helping our children to deal with this issue in a way that honors Christ and leaves them feeling secure has been an occasional test of my parenting skills and a matter of much prayer.

This past week, we had a couple of successes that leave us hopeful that we can have a positive impact in our relationships with the local children, while at the same time maintaining those necessary boundaries.

One day, after the children had been complaining about harassment on their way to the spring for several days in a row (with my advice being just to ignore it, since it seemed annoying but not hurtful), I figured something had to change. We talked about what the Bible might have to say about the subject and Jesus’ command to, “Love your enemies” came up, as well as the Scripture “return evil with good.” So, when the kids went out for their afternoon free time, they invited the neighborhood children into the yard and everyone had a small candy as a treat. Then, when it was time to gather water, I reminded the children about how it was written in Thessalonians that Christians should be taught to “work with their hands,” and about some of the Biblical admonitions not to be idle. So, my advice was that if any of the children had nothing better to do than poke and prod them and be bothersome, they should give the child their water jug and cheerfully insist, “Saidia, tafadali.” (“Help me, please!). Happily, this seems to be a successful strategy so far.

This past weekend, we had a yard full of kids for the morning on Saturday, playing ball and digging in the dirt. There was another whole bunch of kids at the fence as usual but we had an unlikely ally helping to separate the wheat from the chaff–our neighbor across the way (who doesn’t speak a lick of English but who seems very nice and has spoken with Marc through another neighbor who translated). He made sure to keep the gate shut against those kids that he seemed to recognize as “troublemakers” and chased them off with a barrage of Bukusu (the local dialect). We chuckled when he even brandished a switch at one point, though I don’t think he used it. As a result, the morning was relatively quiet and very enjoyable for all of the children involved. Come lunch time, I sent out a bunch of food and we enjoyed a picnic under a shade tree. I insisted to our kids that we should not let in anyone who had not already been here playing–I wasn’t about to feed the whole neighborhood! So anyone who came to the gate while we ate was politely told, “Hapana!” (Quite simply, “No!”) I am hopeful that this showed the kids who were just there for the sake of curiosity (or trouble) that there are benefits to being respectful of rules and boundaries.

We’re still navigating the waters of helping the children to develop and nurture healthy relationships in the community, and I’m thankful for recent progress on this front. Would love for you to share any thoughts you might have about how to deal with this type of situation in a positive manner.

relevance

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I received a great article on relevance and ministry. This was my comment to the article.

We struggle to become culturally relevant with the noble intent to reach more folks for Christ, yet fail to recognize that Christ and the Apostles never made such attempts. Inasmuch as Christ engages gentiles and Paul “was all things to all people” in efforts to engage the people they ministered to, the practices and standards of the Church were never altered. Paul made clear in his epistles that the practices he modeled and taught were applicable to “all the churches.”

As a result, our noble efforts have completely backfired. Instead of Christ’s Kingdom reshaping our world, the world has reshaped the Church. Look at divorce. When society thought it taboo, the church did too. Now society shifted, we see that divorce rates among professing Christians actually exceed atheists. We also see racism and slavery. The church was re;relative silent on these subjects, lagging behind the world’s condemnation of such ills.

In all these things, our western mindset drives us to plan and institutionalize our way to fix the symptoms (social ills), yet Christ NEVER said to engage the culture in this way. His Kingdom is a different kind of kingdom–one of the heart. His solution was simple–“make disciples teaching them to obey ALL His commands.” He knew the world would be changed if we followed His simple, yet clear instructions. The Church has become IRRELEVANT at impacting our society because of our basic disobedience. If we would do what He said, and not focus on the myriad of attempts to solve society’s problems our own way, we would have the impact we all so desire. Yet in our pride and arrogance (again, with noble intent), we think we know better than our King. I pray we repent and return to the simplicity of the Lord’s teachings so that we can become as relevant as the early church was–the few folks without money, buildings, seminary training, and our deep theology, completely turned their world upside down.

 

Update on Marc’s Trip to Kenya

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Marc has been gone for a week to Kenya–it’s gone by fast so far but now I think time is starting to slow down a bit as we wait for him to come home. 🙂

I had planned on having my sister out to visit from CT for a few days while Marc was away, but (SURPRISE!!) my Mom came, too! It was great to see them, but their visit went by quickly. And, unfortunately, we passed a stomach virus around during the short time they were here. They treated us to several meals out to eat, which was a real blessing, and came with birthday money for the kids from various relatives…so of course we went shopping. It was a whirlwind few days…now we are settling back into our normal routines this week.

Fortunately, Marc has been able to call frequently (although I’m not sure what our phone bill will look like!). His stay in Nairobi was really anointed. He did leadership training for the network of pastors there, which went very well, and then did a marriage and family seminar which was also well-received. God really did some amazing things during the Sunday service, though, and he is really excited about all of it!

He also visited the ministry orphanage in the slums of Nairobi, which was a very sobering experience. There is a big difference between their standard of living and ours, although Marc remains convinced that in many ways, they are better off there than we are here.

Now he is out in a more rural area ministering to a different network of churches, but also doing the leadership training and marriage and family seminar(s). I think he has fallen in love with Kenya! Hopefully he will post some more details when he returns.

Preparatory Work

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Our children are pretty well-trained to help out around the house. They have scheduled chores that they do on a daily basis, but I can also ask them to give me a hand with odds and ends that are needed throughout the day.


However, sometimes they need help in order to be so helpful to me.  For example: as my little ones napped this afternoon, I thought ahead to what job they would be doing when they got up…dishes! Now, one can wash and the other can rinse, but they aren’t yet proficient at putting in “just enough” dish liquid or getting the water temperature just right. For that matter, they get a bit frustrated by things that are too heavy for their little hands, or pans that are too tough for them to scrub. So my job—before they did their job—was to wash a couple of pots and pans, then make sure the sink was just full enough of warm water and bubbles. As I blog, my three and five year-old daughters are now busily washing and rinsing

the remaining dishes! They are not even aware of the work that I did beforehand.


How does this relate to family and ministry? Well, sometimes (given the number of young children we have), I wonder if we’re “doing” enough. We want our children to have a heart for the lost and to be “ministry minded”—but if actual, hands-on opportunities get to be few and far between, how do we facilitate this process?

It helps me to remember that in ministry (just as in this example with my girls) there is the work that we immediately associate with a given task. But there is also preparatory (and often unseen) work as well.

So even though, as a family with lots of “littles,” I’m not (ever) out there witnessing in the streets, I try to think of what we can do to help out before, during, or after others (like my husband) do the actual work of the ministry. At one time, I helped out by making lists of visitation possibilities for evangelistic outreach. I also followed up with phone calls after the visits. When we know of someone who is doing the work of evangelism, we pray for them and for those with whom they come into contact. Prayer is an important, unseen work in the process of sharing the gospel!

We can also encourage others in their ministry, whatever it might be, by sending cards or making occasional phone calls. Letting people know that we are praying for them or that their work is appreciated is never a wasted effort. Such encouragements often provide a boost to someone who may be weary in serving, and can be an impetus for them to press on in whatever God has called them to do.

As parents, we are constantly engaged in “preparatory work” when we make the effort that is needed to disciple our children: training, instructing, encouraging, and disciplining them. We help our children to grow in Christlike character as we live a life of example, teach from God’s Word, encourage proper behaviors, and correct misbehavior—always with their heart and their relationship with the Lord in mind. So when we do get an opportunity to engage in more active (or “obvious”) ministry as a family, we are all prepared to be a true witness for Christ, glorifying Him in the way that we behave.

So if you, like me, are a home mom, don’t be discouraged because you are not “doing” any ministry. Think about how you, and your children along with you, can continually participate in others’ efforts—even (and especially) in unseen ways. And remember that very moment of every day, you are on the front lines, preparing your children for a lifetime of serving the Lord.