Simply a Ragamuffin

I’m
a little past the halfway point in Kenya and I’ve got to be honest, it’s been a bit of an emotional roller coaster.

I love Kenya and everything is has to offer.
Pastor David, his family and the Maasai community have welcomed us with
open arms and made our stay amazing thus far. The Maasai tribe is an
incredible group of people. They are so generous and hospitable.
Although there is a definite language barrier, they seem to look past it
with laughter and smiles. I will definitely miss this wonderful and
unique group of people. 

Living
along side them has been a challenge but it’s also been extremely
rewarding. We have learned SO much! For example, Melissa made a cooking
rotation for all of us- groups of 2 make the meal along side Agnes
(pastors wife)- and that was an awesome opportunity to learn how to make
traditional African meals. Thankfully we have a few creative girls on
the team and that made for some delicious surprises. If we had to live
off ugali, green grams and beans for 4 weeks I think we all would have
been super grumpy (google ugali and beans please). It was a lot of fun
teaching the African women how to whip some good ‘ol American food. The
girls went nuts in the kitchen- mashed potatoes, pasta, popcorn,
guacamole (kind of American), and salad (replace lettuce with cabbage). Culture shock to the extreme.. You’re welcome, Africa 🙂

 

Now there were a few things that were a lot more work and a lot less play. Perfect example- laundry. Seeing as how we were in the Bush we didn’t have access to running water. Therefore if we wanted to do laundry, we had to carry basins, along with soap and our clothes, down to the watering hole, which was about 1/2 mile walk through the thorn covered African terrain. That walk had a lot to do with me not showering for a good, long, smelly, 21 days. ABANDONMENT 🙂 Although the laundry situation was tough, it was a good time. Washing our clothes along side the Maasai women was nothing short of embarrassing but enjoyable. They loved watching us attempt to wash our clothes. They say we don’t wash our clothes, we just play with them. Cut us some slack, Africa! We try 😉 

When we’re not cooking, doing laundry, or filling carrying jugs of water to the house, we are, of course, doing ministry. Just like in Uganda, the ministry is primarily door to door. However, Pastor David is much different in his approach and allows us to have a lot more time getting to know the people. This may seem like a small change but is so crucial. In my opinion, relationships are a key element to sharing the Gospel. Having the opportunity to get to know these people has changed the way many of us look at door to door evangelism. Pastor also allows us to do followups which is so great. It’s one thing to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and it’s another to walk along side someone as they’re discovering who He is and how great His love is for them.

God has done beautiful things here in Kenya. I know I’ve said it 1000x and I’ll say it 1000 more, we need Africa more than Africa needs us. God is doing amazing work in and around us. His love is GREAT and being able to share and receive that love with and from the Maasai tribe has been incredible.

My teammate Melody pointed out to us a pretty neat realization; God does not NEED us in any way, shape, or form. He can reach people on His own. It is He who convicts peoples hearts and offers salvation. It is only by His great love and grace that we are out here. This is a blessing straight from our Father. He does not NEED me. He is BLESSING me.

This has not been easy for me. I’m not  going to sugarcoat anything. It’s been extremely difficult and to be honest, if I knew this is what it was going to be like, I probably wouldn’t have done this. I am here out of obedience though. God placed this on my heart and made sure I didn’t know ANYTHING about what I would be doing and what do you know.. this is the greatest thing I’ve ever experienced. Yes, it’s hard and I’ve been broken in ways I didn’t know were possible but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’m so thankful I followed the path God laid out for me. My life has been wrecked and revived. My eyes have been open. I am no longer who I once was. It’s beautiful. Our God is beautiful <3

 

There is no growth without pain. -Brennan Manning

 

Raggamuffin Gospel..

Listen to what Jesus speaks to you from the cross: “I’m dying to be with you. I’m really dying to be with you.”

and then He whispers, “Will you die a little to be with me?”