In I Timothy 4:11, writing about his travel details, the apostle Paul wrote, "Only Luke is with me." That is how it feels here now (both for Doug & myself). It’s not really a statement of feeling abandoned by Paul. It’s just a statement that he has left, with a twinge of “will we see each other again”?
Let me tell you, we are very happy and grateful for his past two weeks with us. Paul accomplished with the groups of the last two weeks something that neither Doug nor I could have ever done! That is because he is a pastor of a church, and he could speak to the hearts of the pastors in the meetings. Paul was such a hit with these people because I honestly believe they had never before seen such a servant leader from the U.S. that was willing to walk with them, eat their food with them, and not only talk with them… but actually listen to their individual stories one by one. I cannot express strongly enough to you of what a powerful impact he has made to the people of Kenya.
As Paul was leaving Hampton House, a clerk we had prayed for the day before, Evelyn, had just come to work. She was glowing! She reported to me that: 1)- she slept very well… no fear; 2)- she felt rested, and had no physical pains; 3)- she had peace & was still feeling the Lord’s presence. I only wish I had a “before” picture you could have seen to contrast with the “after” picture that you are seeing now! What a change. What a mighty God!
Well, we had a fairly relaxing day today (Saturday)... mostly hanging out at the Hampton House. Emmanuel (Bishop Chai) has been with us this week, and his flight back to Mombasa departed at 8:00 PM. So I decided Paul should go at that time too for his 10:50 PM flight. Doug stayed here at the hotel because of the small car, & I went to make sure Paul got to the right place. We arrived at security check-in about 7:30, and I watched from outside through the windows as he went through the check-in process, and then up finally up the escalator to the departure gates. And just like that, I Timothy 4:11 hit me.
I then had the car driver, Geoffrey, take me by Java House on the way back from the airport, & I got supper to go for Doug & myself. It was a great meal of cheeseburger, fries, soda, & chocolate-banana tart for dessert.
Sunday morning we checked out of Hampton House and went for our final breakfast at the Java House. Omelet, passion fruit drink, and a “celebration mocha”. It was a very fine meal. I’ll go ahead and share the following as it’s really sort of funny, and another example of “missionary misadventures” at it’s finest. Our bill for the last 6 nights at the Hampton House was 28,000 ksh ($373 U.S.), which is a fabulous price for 4 guys for 6 nights (Emmanuel has been staying in the room w/Doug). Problem is, Hampton House only takes cash… which I had forgotten. So, after the hotel bill and the 2000 ksh ($27 U.S.) overweight baggage fee for our flight today, we arrived safely in Eldoret with a grand total of $40 cash for the week. We’re going to really “one-up” Rachael Ray on her “New York for $40 per day” gig!
Now after reading this, be anxious for nothing. We are staying at the Sirikwa Hotel this week which has a full breakfast included with the room. Supper can be charged to the room, plus there’s a great Chinese restaurant in town that takes credit cards.
So I’m not knocking Dave Ramsey here, but sometimes a Visa card can really be nice to have for such unexpected things like this. (Side note to Paul- we are at Sirikwa again as communication w/Ben & his business manager lead to booking us 6 nights at Poa Place hotel beginning February 20… the day we leave Kenya.) Hakuna matata!
Okay, back to ministry stuff. We had a great time at Pastor Albert’s church today. I preached one verse for the 1st service which I told them was the most important verse in Ephesians 5. It is verse 25. I finished in half an hour and every man seemed sort of stunned with the message. The women wanted me to preach for 3 more hours.
Douglas next did the 2nd service which lasted appx 75 minutes. He spoke on the 3 relationships we can have with God: 1)-Bondslave, 2)-Friend, & 3)-Child. It’s getting too late to go into detail, but this had a very powerful impact on this church. One example: as God’s children, it’s like having a “rock star” dad. Everyone wants to see him, speak with him, touch him, & be noticed by him in a superficial way. The “rock star” passes by all these people for the most part, ignoring them as he goes by. But when the rock star gets home and walks in the door, his children get access! It’s just to say… we as god’s children get access 24/7, over all others (non-believers).
At 2:00 PM we drove to the airport (paid our overweight baggage fee) and hopped over to Eldoret (6.5 hour drive by car – 45 minutes by air). Pastor Dixon picked us up, and we went straight to Langus slum where an open-air crusade was just beginning. John Baxter & I had been in this place for a crusade last August, and Bahati reported that this was the 1st time they have held a crusade here since then.
Anyway, this was another party! The choir/dancers, comedian Moses, and Ben Bahati, all in a vacant lot next to one of Bahati’s small churches located there. Doug & I estimated 500-600 people stopped to watch & listen. It turns out that Moses was saved right in this same place during a crusade in 1999. Before, he was a rapper/DJ, who liked to frequent strip clubs. This guy is now a powerhouse for Jesus. An incredible transformation… right from the slums!
Well, they introduced Doug who explained to the crowd why he had a bald head. Then, they introduced me, & I did my “direction on the highway” set up for the local pastor, Joseph, and for Ben. Joseph spoke a few minutes, and then Ben gave an infamous 10 minute gospel message. Very close to 325-350 people came forward to accept Christ. We saw 3 who were Muslim praying in the crowd. It’s hard to get your mind around the fact that what’s taking place is real.
Now for the rest of the story. At this empty lot where the crusade was held today, during the post-election violence two years ago, 20 people were killed here. They cut off some of the heads of those murdered, and placed them on the stakes of the fence which separates the church land from the vacant lot. God has now re-taken this killing field, and Doug & I were here to see it. Saying that God is awesome does not describe Him well enough.
Love to you all, Richard
No comments:
Post a Comment