“Arise, take your place, King of Kings … O that men would say, Rejoice in the Lord always … We fall down at the feet of Jesus, We cry Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb” We sang these words with fellow Christians during our Sunday worship service which included special prayers for Haiti. As I looked around at my Kenyan friends, I recognized that there was a special fervor in their praise, prayers and attention to God’s Word – many knew what it was like to lose everything and be filled with fear for themselves and their families after the post-election chaos two years ago – they knew better than I how to lift the people of Haiti to their Father.
As I was taking pictures – yes, during one of the prayer times – I captured for you a picture of a toddler watching a lady deep in prayer. The two year old then wandered next to a young woman, who gave the little one a hug and then returned to prayer. I missed the picture of the child working at placing her hands in the exact position of the young woman and striving to copy even the facial expressions she was viewing. I don’t know
how God speaks to you, but as He spoke to me through the songs, prayers, and reading/teaching of His Work, He reminded me through my little friend, that my greatest witness and service to Him is often not my planned, goal-oriented work, but my friendships and my relationships with others and what they see in my daily actions.
This morning, God spoke to me again through the family whose father guards the property beside our house. Their home is one tiny “room” framed with a roof and only half walls made of tin and a dirt floor and zero furnishings – yet when I pass to run errands, the mother is always smiling. When she is not cuddling her toddler and infant son, she is making beaded crafts to sell. This morning, she proudly announced that the baby was 3 months old today. I wish you could have viewed the infant seat she had created by filling a discarded tire with all her blankets. Propped in the circle, the baby was thrilled at watching his big brother playing nearby. I wish also you could have seen and heard the joyous giggling of the toddler when I offered him bananas when I returned from shopping. God’s lesson to me – a reminder of the true joy He offers that is based simply on love and life and appreciation for simple gifts.
Once again, I’m not sure why I felt compelled to share these things in this week’s Prayer Update, but… Pray that Jack and I will use every opportunity to not just share, but to live our Father’s love and salvation. Pray for us as we travel to Nyeri tomorrow to meet with NC Baptist volunteers constructing a building for the girls of Nyeri Baptist High School. Pray for us as we travel on Friday for an 8 day visit to Kakamega (western Kenya) where Jack will be offering training in Church Planting and we will survey the area. Pray for me as I seek to find the best ways to connect/strengthen/encourage our missionaries in Equatorial Africa and share with you how God is at work in our part of the world. Join us also in praying for those suffering and for those ministering in Haiti. Bert Yates
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