Kenya Mission Report 1

I rested in my Aunt’s tight grasp and laid my head against her shoulder.  With a note of trembling in her voice she asked, “I don’t have to let you go now do I?”  Her cry was that of many others and Oh how my whole being wished that I could stay here in the arms of my family and friends and yet I knew that I must do my Father’s bidding over comfort and desire. I absolutely hate good-byes especially the ones that could be forever, and yet God has asked me to once again say Good-Bye.

It really all started in November of last year (2012) with a unique email from a returning missionary and a desire to serve our Master.  The email came as a reply to an email that my parents had sent about John Lello’s death.  The email told of the blessing that the Lord had given this returning missionary and how many Sunday pastors had accepted the Sabbath.  It also told of how God had lead in the raising of a Bible worker Training School with the purpose of training the natives to reach their own people and ended with this sentence, “and we are now looking for a family to come and direct this school.”  It became extremely evident, over the course of several emails, that this missionary was wanting our family to be that family.

This was not the first time that someone had thought our family was the perfect match for their need and like every other request for help we prayerfully considered the option, this time with some reservation.   First, this returning missionary was returning from Kenya, a place that none of our family had EVER thought of being missionaries, and second we did not have the resources to fly our family of six anywhere, especially to Africa!  We had done mission trips by faith before and recognized this inability on our part as God’s opportunity. But was He leading us here?

As we frankly talked these things over with the missionary he had one request, would dad at least come to Africa and meet the people and check out the school before we made our final decision.  As much as our family dislikes being separated, we realized, as we talked and prayed about it, that this needed to be done.  As a consequence, mom and us kids, found ourselves waving good-bye to our dear father on the second of April for a two week exploration trip to Kenya.  In those two weeks Dad met the people, saw the school, traveled and witnessed firsthand how much Satan hated the work that was being done for the Kenyan people.  

In the next few months we found ourselves vacillating  with the decision that must be made in regard to going to Africa or not.  Many factors weighed into this decision which made it no simple matter.  For months we wrestled with the Lord and pleaded with Him to release us from this calling.

One evening I remember being so very discouraged and far from God that I went into the woods and began to cry tears that had no real explanation.  When I returned to the house I found that I was not alone. Each of my family members was facing a valley of depression so deep and terrifying that it scared each of us.  As we shared with each other we began to recognize that this depression was clearly linked with our vacillation over our calling to Kenya.  Each of us saw clearly that we must make a decision about Kenya.  Dad asked each of us to write a paper clearly outlining how we felt God leading or how we did not feel God leading us to Kenya.  We chose to review our papers Thursday morning.

Immediately I began thinking about what I was going to write in my paper.  In all honesty I had no inclination to go to Kenya.  In the months of waiting, everything that would have attracted me to want to go had vanished like fog before the morning sun.  I had no feelings to base what I wrote off of, just fact and fact alone.  As I examined the evidence it became extremely plain to me that God was indeed guiding us to Kenya.  Why? I could not tell nor do I have a clear answer today, but I do know that when God asks something of us it is for a purpose. 

Thursday morning dawned bright and early with the cheery face of the mid June sun.  With excitement and nervous anticipation the family gathered for breakfast. This was the day, the day that held the destiny of our future in its hands.  What did the future hold in store?  What would be the decision of today?  No one knew but we each felt that today we needed Divine Guidance and for this we earnestly entreated the Lord to grant. 

After breakfast we cleared the table, did the dishes, got our papers and rejoined for our family sharing time.  Before reading we knelt together and said a word of prayer, once again asking for the Lord to guide, bless and direct in our meeting.  When we rose from our knees we waited eagerly to hear what everyone had written, for while writing our papers we had been careful not to share what we wrote or how we felt with one another because we did not want to bias any one’s mind one way or the other.  Starting with Jonathan and ending with dad we each read our papers.  All were written slightly differently with various points brought out in each one, but the message was the same.  Every member in our family felt that God was leading him or her to go to Africa. The evidence was clear and decisive.

 Each paper was simply from that persons experience and was written strait from the heart.  There was not a dry eye around the table that Thursday morning as we realized what this may cost us personally.  No, not time or things, we had learned that these were all counterfeit treasures.  What it could cost was our lives.   We recognized that by going to Africa we would become larger targets for the devil. Where we willing to give up even our lives?  Yes, we decided with trembling heart, we were.  Kneeling again we each committed ourselves to God and told Him that we were willing to go, willing no matter the cost, willing even if some of us never returned.  Rising again we hugged one another as if this was the last time we might have the opportunity.

We still needed plane tickets to be able to go and yet we had done all we were required to do.  Just as Abraham was required to lay Isaac on the altar we must lay our lives on the altar, the knife was symbolically raised and only God knew the outcome.

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Nearly six weeks past and still we did not have enough donations to cover the cost of the plane tickets.  With the inquiries of our family and friends and our own anxious wonderings, the time had passed with snail’s pace.  Our prayer was ever, “Lord what wilt Thou have us to do? Is Africa the place? We have committed to go and yet we cannot unless you provide for our plane tickets.” In the waiting our feeble faith longed for the assurance of God’s will. 

It was Sabbath night and during worship, as our family shared our desire to know God’s will, I remember requesting to sing the song 316 in the SDA hymnal.  The words of that song fit so perfectly with what I and my family were feeling at that moment.  “…the body henceforth be Thy silent, gentle servant, moved only as by Thee. Its members every moment held subject to Thy call, Ready to have Thee use them or not be used at all; Held without restless longing or strain, or stress, or fret, or chafings at Thy dealings, or thoughts of vain regret….”  As we ended sundown worship with prayer we once again told the Lord that we were willing, to be used or not be used, according to His great plan for our lives.

Sunday morning came and went with no sign of an answer.  Lunch passed, over which we talked, once again, about Africa, our plane tickets and the work that must be done.  While we kids worked on our dish chores, mom went over to the computer and decided to just look at what plane tickets were costing to fly to Nairobi.  Within a couple minutes she came to the kitchen, face aglow.  “Kids, guess what I just found?” she asked knowing that we would not know and yet wanting to get our interest.  “What?” we all chorused eager to hear about mom’s latest find.  “I just found plane tickets that are under a thousand dollars apiece!” Mom’s excitement could not be contained.  “You did?” someone asked, not doubting her but simply surprised at the news. “I have never seen tickets to Kenya that cheap,” mom continued, wonder spreading across her face, “the lowest I have seen is over twelve hundred dollars and ranging all the way up to four thousand just for the economy class! I am going to check and see how much money we have in donations. But before I do, shall we pray that God’s will be accomplished?” Reverently kneeling we entreated the Lord that if these cheaper plane tickets were in His perfect plan that we would either have enough donations or they would hold at that price until we did have the money, but if we were not to go, would He please shut the door so that no man could open it!  Circumstance played out such that we could do nothing about the tickets that day.  With believing hearts we prayed over and over again that God’s will be done.    

The next morning as I was checking my emails I happened to see that mom and dad had a few new emails and one of them displayed a title that went something like this, “Conformation of your Expedia tickets.”  My heart stood still in my chest.  Were we really going to Kenya?  A few hours later dad informed us kids, “Our tickets are purchased for Kenya, we are leaving October first.” It was final, we were going.  The sacrifice had been made and it was yet to be seen just what that sacrifice would cost us.