Kenya, 2010

They were more a blessing to me - Jenne-lee Pelser

I recently came back from an outreach to Maisha orphanage and widows centre, just outside of Kisumu, Kenya. It was really precious to be in Maisha, to experience their primitive living conditions. Their way of making food, bathing, friendships and of course the longdrops!!

Maisha is awesome in that way that it is a very open culture, friendly, loving, educated to such an extent that we were able to have conversations with most of the older children in English, that helped a lot. The surroundings are beautiful, the mountain in the distance the maize fields in our “back yard”, green trees and clear air.

I had a special time with one of the young woman, Theresa while washing the dishes. I asked her a question about, what “FREEDOM” means to her... I at first got the normal - freedom of speech, being able to go to school type of answer. We eventually went into the “What does the word mean to you, when you look at your relationship with the Creator?” she instantly stopped washing dishes , looked up to me and with a big smile on her face started giving her testimony on how the Lord established her personal relationship with Him, how the Lord Jesus strengthens her daily. And that He gave her freedom by dying on the cross.

It was clear to see that she have been greatly challenged in her life, but even through the suffering, hard times, loss of family members, lack of finances, going to bed hungry most days, not knowing where the money will come from tomorrow.... I saw in her eyes the hunger and thirst for just sharing and receiving the precious Word of God. I realized then that we, here back home make it so complicated, we make Christianity complicated. Rather than “living” the Gospel we are fighting about who is preaching it right! There are so many religions and ways of following Jesus. We should just follow Christ!

“It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to Him” - Deuteronomy 13:4

One of the most rewarding things on this outreach for me personally was being able to share the Gospel in a way without having to use words, by just serving a community. For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word:

“You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” - Galatians 5:13-14

Through this experience God made me realize AGAIN to just trust in Him, to be His hands and feet, to surrender to Him, to sit at His feet when I feel fragile and when I am feeling great! That I cannot do “life” by myself, that I need Him, His guidance and His unconditional love. I had a wonderful time, I went to be a blessing to them, even though it was a very short period of time. And in the end they were more a BLESSING TO ME than anything else.

“The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.”
~Mother Teresa