Confessions of a part-timer

I often meet people who have invited Jesus into their heart; far less who have invited Him into their life. As a boy raised in western culture where claiming Christ was the norm, I was allowed the opportunity to give Him my heart, while reserving my life. I’m learning that this opportunity is not granted to most followers of Christ. In fact, most believers worldwide have never heard of such a thing, and struggle to grasp how this could even be possible.

When I talk with people, I often share that I am a follower of Jesus. And this is true… to an extent. The reality is that I am only part-time, because sometimes He walks into situations that I’m not 100% comfortable with. I used to justify myself by claiming that Jesus wouldn’t want to go there. But I'm learning that my Jesus loves to dine in the home of sinners. After eating a meal with Zacchaeus, a hated tax collector among the Jews, Jesus declared: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). I must confess that at times I have chosen to flat out deny that Jesus would want to spend time with “lost” people, rather than embracing them as Jesus truly desires. It’s much easier to conclude that Jesus refuses to associate with certain people, than to follow Him into those uncomfortable places where we will undoubtedly experience persecution.

Persecution is a word thrown around quite a bit. If you’re like me, then you probably have little personal experience with persecution. I just finished reading a book called The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken. It’s really good. I haven’t read a book that fast since the last Harry Potter book (let's be real, JK Rowling is a stud author!). Throughout the book, Ripken recounts testimonies of Christians in various countries around the world who have experienced ongoing persecution for their faith. Several times I caught myself on the verge of tears as I read of these men and women of God who had given everything to follow Jesus.

“After almost twenty years of walking through this world of persecution and talking to hundreds of believers who suffer for their faith, we can say without a shadow of a doubt that the primary cause of “religious persecution” in the world today is people surrendering their hearts and lives to Jesus.” (p. 305)

The church is on fire in China today. The believers there understand that they will likely serve time in prison for their faith. Most of the church leaders and pastors have spent at least 3 years behind bars. They endure starving, beatings, and various tortures, all because they have chosen to follow this man named Jesus and yield their lives completely to Him.

“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20)

So rather than asking why Christians are experiencing persecution in our world today, perhaps a better question is to ask why I rarely do. The reality is that full-time followers of Jesus WILL inevitably experience persecution.

Here are 2 other quotes from The Insanity of God that have messed me up pretty good:

“So if our goal is reducing persecution, that task is easily achieved. First, just leave Jesus alone. Second, if you do happen to find Him, just keep Him to yourself. Persecution stops immediately where there is no faith and where there is no witness.” (p. 307)

“Satan at his worst, evil at its core, and persecution in its essence does not overtly seek to starve, beat, imprison, torture, or kill followers of Jesus. The strategy of Satan is simpler and more diabolical that that. What is Satan’s paramount intent? Quite simply, it is this: denying the world access to Jesus! Satan’s greatest desire is for people on this planet to leave Jesus alone.” (p. 309-310)

I’ve counted the cost. I yield my heart AND my life to you, Jesus. I want to follow you full-time from now on.

 UPDATE:

I left Kenya last week expecting to travel directly to Burundi, but because of delays in processing my visa, I ran an audible and am now posted up in Kigali, Rwanda where I am volunteering with Youth for Christ (YFC). I have had a blast working with the students in YFC’s leadership and discipleship school. I’ve also been able to help out with a biogas project they are starting up on the compound. Known as the land of 1,000 hills, Rwanda is absolutely stunning. I've had the opportunity to travel around a bit and have been blown away by the beauty of this place. I covet your prayers. Please be praying that my visa to Burundi is processed soon because the folks I am working with have some projects waiting on me. Also, please pray that I am able to maintain peace as I say goodbye to people in one place and begin new relationships with people in other places.

PHOTOS:

Standing on the border with my dude David Bryant in Meru, Kenya.

A game of football with street boys from Isiolo, Kenya.

Seeing Mt. Kenya with my friend Wisdom (Nibc Kenya) in Nanyuki, Kenya.

Reunited with my bro Isaac Loseke in Kijabe, Kenya.

The Youth for Christ School of Leadership and Discipleship in Kigali, Rwanda.

Sunset at Lake Kivu, Rwanda.

God is good all the time.

WC

Bwana Asafiwe (Praise the Lord)

I have been in Kenya since May 9^th. The first two weeks were spent in the town of Kijabe, where I was serving with Love Africa Mission. Over the past 2 years, I have been privileged to volunteer with this ministry and help lead 9 short-term mission teams to this region of Kenya. We partner with schools, churches, and hospitals, as well as ministries caring for street children, prostitutes, widows, and the orphaned. I arrived a few days early to help get the Core Team acclimated to life here. Rachel, Yoli, and Les are the 3 amazing Core Team leaders serving with Love Africa all summer in Kenya. As we prepared for the arrival of the first team of young adults, we travelled around to meet with our ministry partners and assess their needs. Before we knew it, we were driving into Nairobi to pick up the 14 stellar folks representing this Summer’s first mission team.

We experienced a whole lot from day to day. Following dinner, we would meet together and reflect upon the day. It was so crucial for us to process together, because many times the things we witnessed were challenging to the ways we think. Reconciling third world realities to a first world mentality often leaves us Americans quite confused. We begin questioning everything. It is crucial that we invite God into the process of making sense of the things we see and hear. There was one day when we went with my friend John Njane to provide food for widows in a specific community. We have found that these widows care for 5,6, or even 10 children on their own. Some are their own kids, but others are the children of a sibling who has passed away (often HIV/AIDS). John’s ministry, Flow of Hope, has been providing for some of these ladies for over 10 years, and he is always on the look out for more widows who are in need of monthly food support. There was one home that was specifically bad. The lady was looking after nine children, one of which was 18 years old and mentally disabled. Due to lack of funds, she was not able to care properly for the boy. He would sit in the dirt all day mimicking the sounds of nearby animals. It was not an option to care for him at home because she had to look for work in order to feed her family. And she was completely uneducated regarding his condition. Poverty is viscous. It breaks my heart! But when I go to God, I am reminded that He sees the poor and His love for them is beyond my comprehension. And while they may struggle materially, they are rich spiritually. This life is passing away along with its desires (1 John 2:17). Many of us are holding on to things that won’t go with us into eternity. Those with little have learned to hold tightly to God, and they are those who will be great in His kingdom.

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? (James 2:5)

On the morning of the 24^th, I said goodbye to the team and to my friends in Kijabe and began the journey to Northern Kenya. 21 hours of traveling on four separate buses took me around Mt. Kenya, across the equator, through the Chalbi Desert, to a town called Sololo, just 10km from the Ethiopian border. I came to work with a mission team with For All Nations, with who was partnering with the local church in Sololo to do outreach to Muslims. Islam was by far the majority religion in this region. One of the main focuses of For All Nations is their mission school, which empowers native Kenyans to become missionaries to the unreached people groups of Northern Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and beyond. The team I was with was Kenyan students from this mission school, many of which spoke Borana, the local language. For one week we did house-to-house evangelisms, seminars for local pastors and church leaders, and evening crusades where the gospel was preached and the teachings of Islam were exposed. We saw several Muslims become Christian and make Jesus the Lord of their life. It was beautiful to watch the Lord deliver so many from bondage. One morning while we were praying and worshipping in preparation for the day, a young man walked into the room with his father. The father explained that evil spirits had been tormenting his son for months. The young man looked at us with tears streaming down his face and asked that we would pray for his deliverance. What transpired next was nothing short of what we read in the Gospels or the book of Acts. As we surrounded the man and began to pray, the demons manifested and spoke out in the native language, saying that they were going to kill the man (I didn’t figure this out till later). The local guys with us rebuked the evil spirits in the name of Jesus and the man fell back. Three times the man stood up and then fell back down as each demon left his body. Once the man had caught his breath, he kneeled down and gave his life to Christ. Wow! God is so real.

I returned with the team to Isiolo, where I have been staying since Monday, May 30^th. I will be here for another 10 days before I continue on to Burundi.

Here is a fun little video summarizing my trip so far:

Mungu ni mwema (God is good). For all of you who have supported me financially or through prayer, thank you so much! The prayers are changing the game.

WC