Let Love be Genuine

One of my favorite things about doing ministry overseas is the ability to see people respond to the gospel in light of their personal stories that just wouldn't happen in Auburn, Illinois.  Does that make sense?  Sure, every time someone places their faith in Christ and is justified by his work on the cross it's a remarkable story--regardless of the path it took to get there.  But there is just something that makes me shake my head in awe of God's work in some of the stories I have heard here in Africa.

Here are a couple examples:
There is a man I met a few weeks ago at Pastor Maurice's house; his name--as far as I can tell--is Safari.  His English is, to be honest, absolutely awful, but I communicated with him a bit through a friend in Swahili.  I learned some of his story--He came to Kenya from the Congo a few years ago--as a war refugee.  The man, a grown man, literally had to run away from his own home or else he would have been killed.  Hearing that story and trying to imagine what that must have been like was pretty incredible. It puts a very different spin on things when I go to church with him on Sunday and see him worship the Lord.  Although I can't understand the Swahili songs as he sings them, it's a beautiful picture of him worshipping the Lord--my Lord, and his Lord, his rock, his refuge, his stronghold.

Pastor Maurice is also an incredible story.  He is a slightly overweight, very lovable pastor who speaks an incredible amount of English.  The man is one of the few people who has been pastoral with me in these last few months, and I absolutely appreciate that.  I never would have guessed he was raised in a very remote village in Kenya where English was never spoken.  He told me the following about growing up:

"When I was little, we used to be soooo hungry all the time.  For most of the year, our family was so poor that we only got to eat one meal per day.  We would go through the whole day very hungry, anxiously awaiting nighttime when we would finally get to eat.  And then, just as we were getting ready to eat the meal my mom cooked, she would see somebody walking by our home and call out to them, "Why are you walking at night?  Come join us for food."  Almost everyday my mom would invite neighbors and passerby's over for dinner...while we kids were sooooo hungry.  That's just the kind of mom she was, she always took care of people.  That's just the kind of people we are."

Let love be genuine.  Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.  Love one another with brotherly affection.  Outdo one another in showing honor.  
--Romans 12:9-10