Wednesday, 09 November 2011 09:49

Kenya P.E.A.C.E. Reflection, Aug 8-24 2010

Written by  Rev. Sophia Wong
Rate this item
(0 votes)

Kenya P.E.A.C.E. Reflection, Aug 8-24 2010


Rev. Sophia Wong
Pastor of Richmond Hill Christian Community Church

 

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Winston Churchill

 

 

  1. God attends our needs - Aug 8 – God has provided and prepared 32 mature brothers and sisters, together we served in Kenya. We carried 62 pieces of luggage, 31 carry on, 12 laptops and lots of medical supplies. On the arrival day, one piece of luggage apparently got lost; we were held up in the airport for 4 hours to search for the lost piece. During the searching process, we knew that our Lord will not leave any luggage behind. He definitely will not leave anyone of us behind in this challenging journey.

  2. God sets our mind – A week prior to our departure, we were informed of a travel alert warning in Kenya. We have set up a prayer network among our prayer warriors. All the people in the church prayer meetings, fellowship meetings, and Sunday worship service prayed fervently for the safety of the Kenyans and our team. We knew we would experience the protection of His almighty hand.

  3. God fills us with His Word – Aug 8-24 – As a team, we have experienced one mind and one heart in the ‘14 day’ of devotions together. His Word binds the team in His mind and His passion.

  4. God uplifts His Word – We visited Wycliffe Bible Translation at Kenya. My mind was expanded because I was told that it took 26 years to translate the Bible into one African tribal language. Up to now, there are still 18 languages in Kenya that the Bible has not been translated. For some tribes, the language consists of only sounds; not written words. When we met Pastor Alfred, translator in BTL, my heart was pounding with wonders and amazement. These pastors persevere in this journey of learning and they yearn for His transformation. The translators are like a cloud of witness surrounding us. I began to have a new awareness of the Bible. I thank God for the servants of the Lord in the past that devoted their lives in uplifting His Word.

  5. God uses woman in His ministry – We visited a Maasai village and Virginia, a woman leader who received us there testified to us how our Lord gave her courage to lead her tribe for education opportunity. She responded immediately to the cry of social injustice in her community.

  6. God protects His little ones – We ministered in the Gethsemane Children Home. Our youths were amazed that they held 3 day youth camp there. There were 60 youths at the Home. My unforgettable experience is to know Hannah Lai, a missionary kid in Kenya. God sent her there for us. She served at Gethsemane a week before us and our Lord was using her to help us adjust and know the children at Gethsemane. These children are orphans and they were left in the Kibera Slum. Pastor Sylvester and Ruth ‘adopted’ these orphans as God’s children. The home is filled with love and acceptance. This is the living demonstration of God’s presence.

  7. God showed us His wondrous work – We ministered in Ongata Rongai Slum. There were 200 kids there. It was an open area where wind and dust were blowing directly into our faces.  We saw a lot of mothers bearing their children and they were staring at us. These were eyes of expectations. They wanted us to give them something. We shared Jesus Christ with them. We were overjoyed to see so many put up their hands to receive the Lord. Pastor Shem and his team were striving hard to beat the giant of illiteracy in the slum area. They did not have a concrete school building. I cannot believe that the pastor office was built with steel sheets only. The pastors were struggling in finding a place for the ministry. I am very much touched by their extra hard work and their enormous faith.

  8. God has broadened our horizon – We ministered in the Changing Time ministry at Kibera Slum. The Kibera Slum is the biggest slum in Africa, congested with 1.8 million people. There is no water and electricity supply. The hygiene is very poor. The Lord knows our limits; therefore, He provided Changing Time ministry as our base to run the day camp for over 200 children; to offer computer training for 16 pastors; to provide clinical service for 1385 patients; to teach leadership training for 100 pastors and church leaders. We were so touched by Pastor George and his team. They have demonstrated to us what it meant by being servants with humility and compassion. They have used the centre for worship, Bible teaching, leadership training, clinic, literacy program, and widows self help group. On one hand, my ears are overwhelmed to hear sad stories of these people. Their lives are abused and dismantled by social injustice. On the other hand, my horizon has been stretched to see the miracles of God in the lives of these people. They have so little to live on but they are willing to share so much.

  9. God has stretched my focus – I was responsible for teaching EQUIP leadership training with the pastors and church leaders in the Kibera slum. One of the Kenya pastors approached me and told me that he came last night after receiving a phone call from his friend urging him to attend this training. He made an effort to come here from West Kenya. It took him 10 hours to be here. He was not a minute late. He later on asked me to consider going to West Kenya to teach their pastors. There were 500 pastors there. I am amazed to know how our Lord raised up servants of his own in different time and different space. The pastors serve in the rural area, mostly farmland. This is like a call from a Macedonia person.


    Another pastor approached me and invited me to a breakfast sharing of his dear pastor friend who was suffering from cancer. He told me that this pastor had 3 small children and he needed fund for chemotherapy. He and other pastors organized this prayer meeting and gathered the pastors in the slum to meet the needs of their sick friend. My heart was deeply grieved to know that the servant of the Lord is suffering from terrible illness. My focus is stretched not only to teach; but I begin to realize the power of praying together with His servants.

  10. God has awakened my mind – We visited Dagarotti Corner First Baptist Church. The Kenyan worship service there was filled with passion. Our hearts were vibrating. Pastor William and Grace had asked the congregation to pray for me and pray for themselves during the message time. I know that the power of this sermon comes from the life transforming work of the Holy Spirit, not by my might and wisdom. I have confidence that our Lord will use me to encourage one another because His Word is eternal and He will use anyone to testify His name.

  11. My Lord is my Rock and Comforter – He has taken me to a higher ground to see His kingdom. He has moulded my family and me in one spirit. And He has shaped me to partner with other servants of the Lord at the local church and at Kenyan churches – By His grace, we can connect to His heart beat to make disciples locally and globally**

**  There is a desperate need for servant leaders to minister to the poor, the sick, the hunger, and the illiterates.

AIDs has created over 13 million orphans in Africa and this could grow to 20 million by 2020.

42 million people are living under the death threat of AIDS (over 29 million in Africa).

One in five (1.2 billion) people do not have access to the basic social services of health, education, safe drinking water, and adequate nutrition.

Every night 800 million people go to the bed hungry.

11 million children under age 5 die every year from preventable causes.

By 2025 more than one quarter of the world’s population will be poor and living in the squatter settlements of the developing world.

These figures bother me. Lord, let my heart beat together with Your love and compassion, extending Your loving kindness and mercy to those who so desperately need to know You. Amen.

 

 

Last modified on Tuesday, 14 April 2020 11:29

Leave a comment

華基聯會

相愛合一 . 培訓門徒 . 增長植堂 . 普世差傳 . 社區關懷

地址: 2750 14th Ave., Suite G-05, Markham,
ON L3R 0B6

Tel: (905) 479-2236   Fax: (905) 479-2232
E-mail: admin@acem.ca
Website: http://www.acem.ca

Contact Us

Required *

  Refresh Captcha  
   

K2 Login