The Bigger Picture

My passport expired last month and I took the step to get it renewed this past week. Unfortunately, I forgot to get one of the required documents and decided to take time and set everything in order before I returned to the immigration offices.  As I left the place and headed to the Railways bus station, I had sudden hunger pangs. A quick glance at my watch showed that the time was close to 2pm, lunch time! I thought of what to eat and decided to settle on…….nothing. I thought I would skip lunch and focus on what God had done in my life in the recent weeks. I was not praying or asking Him for anything...I simply wanted to see what He had done for me.

I was pleasantly surprised by what I realized. I had not been ill for a while, I had not slept hungry even once, I always had somewhere comfortable to sleep, I never lacked good friends around me and I had the great privilege of sharing His Word with primary and secondary school students and two churches. I had been part of a team that had reached over 12,000 pupils and students and seen over 5000 of them making the decision ot accept Jesus into their lives. I always managed to pay my rent, somehow, with lots of help from my brother Fred, and I always had the opportunity to be a blessing to those who needed a word of encouragement.

It has been a long time since I skipped a meal to feed my spirit and it was worth every second of it. I had a light snack later on and after a football training session went ahead to eat pizza at Diguna.

We tend to complain so many times whereas God would much rather have us praising Him and thanking Him for what He has already done and given. It is perhaps a human reflex to complain instead of compliment and yet there are some who are worse off than we already are. I am learning to be thankful, now more so even in the hard times. What are you complaining about, or worrying about? Is it something that you have committed to God?

If no, what are you waiting for? If yes, why do you worry when you have given it to the All-Powerful, All-Able God?

Home with the Father

On 22nd February at 2am, Martha Mischnick the wife to Martin Mischnick of AIC Diguna Mbagathi and mother to Samuel and Rebekkah went to be with the Lord, after an illness bravely borne. She was this energetic lady who was never shy to share her opinions on matters she felt strongly about.
One of the things I will remember her most for, is the coffee she hosted with her husband at their home in Diguna every Wednesday afternoon. It was perhaps the most attended coffee on the compound and we had the feeling that it was attended more because of the fellowship than the coffee. She and her husband were a formidable story-telling duo and one was always assured of wonderful fellowship there. They held on to Jesus all through her illness and she ended up encouraging people who went to encourage her, so strong was her faith.
Martin is a strong man, but God is carrying him through this time in a most amazing way. We were at their home yesterday for fellowship and encouragement and he ended up being the one doing the most encouraging, he made it difficult to cry, so powerful was his trust in God. There are two things that he said that greatly impacted me.
One, that he was glad that he and his family had friends like us to stand with them in this tough chapter in their lives. He said that there are people who mourn alone, yet they had a whole family of friends to rely on for support.
Second, Martha was sure of where she was headed and he was also sure that she died in the Lord, therefore they had reason for peace. It is a sad state when one dies without being sure of their eternal destiny. It was a challenge to me and I extend the challenge to you. Are you sure about your eternal destiny?

Psalm 116:15

Next?

The mission in Kisumu came to an end on Sunday with a church service at the A.I.C. Nyateng' local church in Central Kolwa District Church Council. It was a combination service that involved about five other churches that fall under that particular church district. The service was led by the associate pastor Thaddeus who had been with us on mission for the entire duration of the time we were visiting schools and churches in that region. We got some time as the Diguna members there to also bless the church through songs and drama and the preaching of the Word.

I was the preacher and I got my theme from Luke 7 where John asks Jesus if He was the Messiah or if they should expect someone else. The crux of the message was the place we accord Jesus in our lives. Is He the one you met as you made the decision to become a Christian, or has he changed and become someone or something else?

The mission is over now and the team traveled to Nairobi yesterday and were here in Diguna Mbagathi waiting to return home today morning. I had to take the bus because there was not enough space on the team truck. I would have loved to be part of the team as they travel back, but it would be unwise to get into traffic trouble, and it is against the law of the land.
My seat on the early morning bus was booked, my bags were with the team, heading to Nairobi, I was at my brother's place in Kisumu town watching tv and trying to think of what's ahead. I am totally spent, and as I expected , I was sleep all the way to Nairobi.

Today, I return to my flat in Rongai and start thinking of what's ahead. The one thing I am sure of is that the matter that will affect me every month, is the one called Rent!

The Least of These

It is an incredible experience sharing the love of Jesus with kids. Sometimes you wonder if they understand wht you are trying to communicate, other times it is far more apparent that they have no idea what is going on around them. The boy pictured was asked if he would like to be punished by a teacher and he joyfully said 'YES!' He was sent to me for punishment, because I had acted the role of a teacher in a short skit we had just done at that school. I gave him a high-five as the bemused boy returned to sit with his uniformed peers.

We generally share the same program in every school we go to. The local pastor who travels everywhere with us takes the microphone and invites the teacher on duty to give us the official welcome. The teacher does so and hands over again to the pastor who hands over to the member of our team in charge of the program in that school. The programmer introduces Diguna, its meaning and work and asks the children to translate Diguna in Swahili and the local dialect, in this case dholuo. Soon after, the team lines up and everyone introduces themself after which we sing a group song and sit down.
The people handling the skit on that day do their thing and then the preacher of the day steps in and shares the Gospel. An altar call is always done where the kids are invited to invite Jesus into their hearts. Most of the school normally raises its hand to receive Jesus! I don't know if it is sincere, or if done to please the visitors, or if they have no idea what is going on. We try and explain again and the hands are still there, then we pray and they are considered new born believers..God knows exactly what happens in the hearts of those present.
Don't misunderstand, I don't doubt, but I hope to God that they are truly sincere and have understood the Gospel presented to them. The programmer then invites either Mary Mbindyo or myself or both of us one after the other to each sing a song. We have both recently produced music albums and we sing songs either from the albums or from other people's albums. The pastor comes soon after, the teacher gives a vote of thanks and the pastor prays and leads everyone present in the saying of the grace and the program comes to a close.

While we may never meet these kids again, we count it a privilege to share this transformational message to the least of these. Most of these schools are not visited by christian groups on a regular basis and so we are sometimes the only ones in a year to visit them. It feels good to be able to do so but you wish there was solid means of ensuring that there is proper follow-up on the new believers. Kids also get saved, but we hope they find good churches and grow up in the Lord.
Meanwhile, one more week of ministry, 9 schools left, the team is happy and well-fed, and I somehow suspect that some don't look forward to going back home in a week's time.

STORIES

I am still in Kisumu on mission and one of the greatest team events in the day is the evening session where one person gets to share his/ her story. The rest of the team listens and learns more about the person sharing and then gets to ask questions of the sharer. One person then volunteers to pray for the person who has been sharing and then we plan the next day's itinerary before we retire for the night.

I got to share my story and I must admit that it leaves you feeling somehow naked and exposed. People you don't know very well have deep knowledge of your past and you must trust that this knowledge will only be used for your benefit. When others share, you also get to know them better and understand where they are coming from and why they do some of the things that they do.

We all have our story, our challenges, joys, sad moments, successes and failures. We all have our own unique storyline, our unfolding sequence of events. One of the people I look up to says about memories, that we have to choose our memories. The actions we choose to engage in today become our future memories, our story in the days to come. We have to learn to choose well, to give priority to those things we want to remember fondly in the future. Some of us give so much importance to work and then in the sunset years of life, the work is not there to keep you company, but your cold and aloof family is there. How I pray that God may teach me how to number my days aright, how to make my days count instead of counting my days, how to give priority to the really important as opposed to the really urgent.

What is your story, and what story do you want to be able to share in the future?