“Habari yako! Karibu! Habari? Eh? Hakuna Kiswahili!” The mama chuckled as she welcomed us into her home. I chuckled too. I knew she was asking how the student with me was doing, I saw the blank empty face, and knew “Hakuna Kiswahili” was a declaration that this teen at my side did not know Kiswahili. It’s true, she doesn’t.

Term break is the best! It gives me an opportunity to visit friends in faraway places, and to lean into parts of ministry life outside the gates of RVA sometimes. I’ve been to this part of Kenya a few times now, this time bringing with me a colleague and her daughter, also friends with the missionaries in Northern Kenya we were visiting.

This particular day of our visit, we were welcomed into the home of T for a luncheon. I’ve been working on my Swahili, and it was fun to have an opportunity to practice it kidogo (a little). Most of the time, it’s much too easy to revert to English, but in this home, Swahili was the second language, Gabra the first, and English? Our hosts knew maybe a few words here and there…

K & F are my friends that live in this region, and T was one of F’s students at the Bible School he teaches at. The partnership they’ve formed with T is beautiful. T is a passionate woman in her early thirties with a heart for Christ unlike many in this traditionally animistic & islamic corner of Marsabit County. I visited her church plant in a village outside the main city about 6 months ago, seeing the beauty in the support of the village chief, and it was such an honor to come back and visit again. See if you can spot the differences!

The recent influx of rains (Praise God!!!) have turned everything green! Where before I had to be careful not to roll an ankle on a misstep on rocks, this time, my dera (the box-ey dress) kept getting tangled in grass tufts that had sprung up and were crawling, spreading their root system from patch to patch!

What else do you see different?

Rocks have become chairs thanks to generous contributions from some of F’s other bible students! The rains have also allowed less movement away from the area for the livestock to graze, so more adults are around the village, able to attend church! Before the service began in full, we spent time greeting one another which includes a moment of sharing praises. The rains in this place have brought abundance. They’ve brought blessing, and they’ve brought prosperity. It amazes me to be reminded of the ease with which I take for granted simple things like access to water, and how just that one thing can change an entire season from one of difficulty to one of prosperity.

My friend F preached this particular week, T translating for him into Gabra for the people. In his sermon he talked about the man who had a legion of demons cast out, and how this man wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus challenged him instead to go to the people who had hated and despised him and tell them about Jesus. F then connected for us that the very next time Jesus landed in this place, there were over 4000 people there waiting to hear him speak. The charge was given- those people over there, the next village over, the next hut over, the other side of this area, even the ones that go and worship at the mosque… go talk to them! Go tell them about the hope you have in Jesus.

T goes to this village multiple times a week, sometimes with other students from the bible college, sometimes with J, the grounds keeper at the bible college. F joins about once a month, or as opportunity allows. It was with the family T is staying with that we were welcomed in for this lunch. A beautiful feast of rice, njera, lentils and chicken was laid out before us and we loaded up our plates with this strange mix of Ethiopian and Kenyan food since this place is just a couple hours from the border.

After bumbling through more broken Swahili conversation about chai and fruit, other offerings set on the table to share, our host had a quick chat with T in Gabra, then T leaned over to me (actually this very moment is captured below!) and said, “She is asking that since we don’t have much in common to talk about, maybe we can share an encouraging word from the Lord together- but you have to tell everyone.”

In that moment, our visit turned from lunch to church! In three different languages, each person in the room went around and shared something God has been teaching us in our lives, showing us in scripture, or revealing to us through His love in those around us, T translating for each group into the other helpful language for us.

By the end of the circle, there was not a dry eye in the room! M, the teen living in this home, had even pulled out her Gabra bible, read for us, and given a mini-sermonette as T has been walking her through the same Bible curriculum she learned from F before graduating from his program. This is what multiplication of the gospel looks like! We closed in prayer, each person praying in their own heart language, pouring out thanksgiving for this special time together before the Lord.

As we went to leave I turned around to pick up my plate and found my friend K sitting on the ground, kneeling with M & T, the three of them weeping and praying together, the Lord pouring out His love and His Spirit from one to another of these precious ladies.

My last trip north, I reflected on the dryness of the desert, on Jesus being the source of living water. This trip, I see the abundance. God lavishes blessings on his children, and draws them to one another, that they might then go out, and bring more into His flock. What an incredible joy it was to see His faithfulness in all these ways, provision physically, spiritually, and so much more to even the most remote corners of the world!

Prayer & Praise Points

• Thank God for the opportunity to have a few weeks off classes! It’s been a joy to unplug from the normal hustle of term and it’s always a joy to see other ministry contexts around.
• I’m thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with some sweet friends, enjoying doing life together.
• Please pray for T as she disciples M, that together they would both grow in knowledge of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
• Please pray for K & F that God would strengthen them in His Spirit with endurance & patience as where they are can be a difficult place to live- currently lots of tribal tensions are flaring- and that God would continue to use them mightily in this place.
• Please pray that in these last few days of my time off teaching I would be able to prepare well for Monday.