I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." ~Isaiah 6:8
....then He said, "Go"..... So, I just "Went"
Ok so it wasn't all that easy. My name is Becky and I have been a Christian for almost 12 years. I wasn't a flip switch Christian, on fire and ready to set the world on fire. I was more of the slow turn-dial Christian. I had to go through many years of healing and deliverance through the washing of the word and the Grace of God. My testimony will soon be posted here at a later time, as many have been asking for it.
He asked me to "Go" over 2 years ago, but I thought I heard Him wrong. He said, "Becky, get rid of everything and follow me." At the time, I seriously thought he meant to leave all at the foot of the cross and follow Him diligently (Math 6:33). See that was a very trying time in my life, as my world as I knew it, was completely turned upside down.
I mean seriously I didn't have a pastoral license or missionary papers. I was a financial analyst, who had been laid off from the corporate world for over 2 years. I couldn't land a job for anything. Even recruiters were baffled when they heard my interviews went awesome, but I didn't get the final pick. I couldn't even land a blue collar job. I guess if God wants you to work for Him, you won’t land a job, period. He will take care of you, regardless, as He promises in the word.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ~ Math 6:25-27.
As I painfully found out over the last 3 years, one will kind of just struggle in His permissive will, or finally figure out what His perfect will is for your life. So, I had to go through another year of brokenness, but I spent it at the foot of the Cross. Most of which I spent in the Pensecola Teen Challenge Womens center for serious depression. Then after I got out of the center I spent some time on the road, camping in a tent by lakes. Just Me and GOD.
Then when He asked again a few months later when I moved back to KC, I knew God wanted me to go out in the mission fields. I also knew I had evangelism in me, as I loved to talk to anyone and everyone about Jesus. If a tree would listen, I would talk to it about Jesus. I knew I could handle the rough conditions of a third world country, as I chose to live in a tent for a while. I just didn’t have the confidence that I could do it without a church financial umbrella, or the papers to be considered a missionary. I knew i had the prayer financial umbrella, as I had many great prayer intercessor friends. So I fasted and prayed. I asked for confirmation and for the prophets to give me direction. I received five confirmations, one woman actually told me I was supposed to go to Africa as a missionary.
So I made preparations to go. I moved all my belonging from the east coast of North Carolina back to Kansas. Then I also had to reapply for my passport, because Satan apparently did not want me here. See when I first moved back to KC I was in prayer with a family. We were in a prayer circle by the vehicle and someone stole my wallet with my passport in it. This happened while my purse was at my feet and all of us were holding hands with heads down. I guess I was really in the spirit praying, and some people have no fear. I suppose Satand still hasn't realized HE has lost.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. ~ John 10:10
So, I bought my ticket, and saved the rest of my unemployment money until it was time for me to fly abroad. Gave away many things and tried my best to prepare, but I really didn't prepare in fasting and prayer as I should have. On December 6th, my flight took off from KC and I came over with $300 and a prayer.
It has been one amazing crazy experience after another. I write about most of them on my blog site, whenever God releases me to write them. I am now working with an International Missionary and Evangelizm Team, as well as a newly formed NGO. This partnership will be doing some amazing things in severely impovershed village communities. We believe God will take this vision worldwide, as the harvest is plenty and time is wasting.
Hopefully, I will have my missionary paperwork soon and God willing a pastoral license too. He is using me to teach, preach and deliver the broken. There is nothing like on the job training, and Jehovah is the best training manager. These amazing experiences will carry me through to whatever is next, wherever that might be.
I think the best advice you can give to anyone thinking about becoming a missionary, is to go with NO EXPECTATIONS. God moves on His timing, and how He wants to work. So as a missionary, you can’t get wrapped up in thinking YOU can do anything. It is all God, period, all GOD.
God is so cool! Let’s just say God has delivered me, and now He is using me to deliver others. From one Glorious ride in the valley, through the desert and then on the top of a few mountains, God takes you from one Glory to another. He is such an awesome GOD! So I just want to shout it on the mountaintops and reach as many souls as I can because He is SO AMAZING! Everyone deserves the freedom i have found in Jesus
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. LORD my God, I will praise you forever. ~ psalms 30;11-12
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
In Just One Moment…..
In just one moment your entire life can change. I know this has happened to many people. For some this happens when they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. For some this happens when they are married or have children. For others it can be a horrible experience that they never thought would happen to them. September 11, is a perfect example of how just one moment changed many lives forever.
Below is a picture of Winnie, for being only 16 she has overcome some seriously horrible situations. Oh how I admire her as she believes her God will once again deliver and save her. Here is her story, and then I am going to ask you all to please pray for her as I send another letter to the group that saved her once before. Then if you think about her story please continue to pray for her future, as in one instance, her future was destroyed and she sometimes finds it hard to have hope in it and the possibility of her ever having a life after this tragedy.
Let me preface with Winnie’s immediate family members are very strong Christians, her father is a pastor in a very small village. I was allowed to preach and give my testimony there on Sunday. I would estimate that there were approximately 30 adults and 20 children there. Usenge has a population of about 2,000, they are very close to the border of Uganda. Pastor Alfred has donated some of his own land to build the mud and stick church where they once used to grow food for their own family. The plot they have donated to the church is also large enough to build a primary school (K-8), which we are praying and believing a grant will provide within this year. Just recently they donated some of their land on their home properties to build an orphanage, I will be writing that story soon. So excited for what God is doing here in Sega, and its surrounding small communities.
About a year ago, Winnie was kidnapped, held prisoner and repeatedly raped. The young man who did this was seriously disturbed and still has not been caught or punished. She was locked in a storage facility for grain for quite some time. During this horrible experience she became pregnant. I am told that her father received a report about where she was held hostage, and he went there with the police to rescue her. That experience in and of itself was horrible, but what happens after this is even more horrifying.
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done and the saving of many lives… ~ Gen 50:20
Winnie as you can see is a very small girl, in American junior sizes she is probably considered a size 0 to size 2. Then the baby seemed to also be a very large baby. So getting to the hospital was a big deal as they are about 3 miles from any form of transportation, and riding a piki piki (motorcycle) could have been horrible for her situation. I am told she was carried by a wheelbarrow to the hospital that is near their village, and underwent her first of many surgeries.
The first surgery was to try and deliver the baby. When she went into labor there apparently were many complications. The baby was too big to deliver naturally and so the doctor had to do a C section. Somehow there were other complications that didn’t make sense to me, like the baby was on top of her bladder. Of course the baby was under stress because it was too big for her small body, but she too was under stress and weak. Because of a combination of the complications, the inability of getting to the hospital on time, and horrible medical attention, the baby died. Then somehow, the doctor said that her uterus was destroyed and gave her a hysterectomy, at the age 16 years old. CAN YOU IMAGINE?
What makes this whole situation so horrible, and now an utter atrocity, is that in her culture she is now considered a worthless woman. She will not be considered for marriage because she cannot conceive. No man will give her a second thought. I have met women who couldn’t conceive, or were having difficulties because of cystic fibrosis, and/or generational curses that needed to be broken, and they feel so worthless it breaks my heart. I have met women who could not conceive and after they hit menopause their husband divorced them to leave them for a woman who could conceive. I have met women who where terribly fearful they would end up one of them because after many years they could not conceive. I am believing and standing on God, and that HE will provide Winnie with a husband that sees the light of Jesus radiate from within her, like the rest of us do. That this husband does not care about conceiving his own and will be willing to adopt orphans. I know God can work miracles, but for this culture this one seems to be a long stretch for my faith to believe it can happen. But then again…
For with God nothing is impossible. ~ Luke 1:37
Even my Pastor’s father chose to marry again because it took way too long (8yrs) for wife number one to conceive. He has three wives, and they are all Christians they all go to church together. This culture is all about reproducing, as they are the Luo tribe. They are the tribe of President Obama’s ancestors, and his village is about 25 miles away. I haven’t had the desire to go there yet, as Sega is the village where God has me right now and it is my concern at this point and time.
Well Winnie was in recovery for quite a few weeks. She had scratched her incision a little bit, as it was itching her, and out of it came a string. When she was able to get the doctors attention a few days later, he pulled on the string and part of a glove also came out of her incision. The doctor said she had to go back into surgery immediately. So she did, she didn’t have a choice. Well this was the surgery that really messed her up, as now she urinates constantly and has no control over it at all. I am told this condition is called Fistula in the medical profession. She is ashamed, she wouldn’t even look at me for a moment as I was being introduced to her. Pastor asked me if I noticed she was urinating all over the ground, I hadn’t as I was looking at her eyes, not the ground. Anyway this child has been through so much, I just don’t know how she keeps such a beautiful smile on her face without the love and hope she finds in Jesus.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~ Jeremiah 29:11
Anyway back to the hospital stay, if you have read some of my other notes you know that going to the hospital here can be very taxing on people when it comes time to pay the bill. You either pay the bill, or you stay as a prisoner until you can pay. Or you work off the bill by working for the hospital as you stay there till it is paid off. This concern became huge for Winnie and her family as the bill was over 21,000 /= ksh, or about $262 in USD. It might as well been a million to them as people in the area are extremely poor, unemployment is about 90%, and as I saw on Sunday some even tithe with crops. One man tithed with 3 avocadoes, that was a first for me to see something like that happen in church. Even if the entire town could donate 10 ksh it wouldn’t be enough, see most of the 2,000 people in the town are children as families here usually have five to seven children. There is also such a segregation between churches and religions that there is no unity within the village, like there is in my home town, so that was not an option. So they were besides themselves on what to do to pay the bill and take their daughter home.
But God had other plans, because when she was getting close to dismissal there was a group of Christian medical professional from America touring the area. They were doing some missionary work in various remote locations. When the church found this out they wrote to them in desperation asking if they could help Winnie’s situation. By the grace of God they paid her hospital bill and she was able to return home. I will be writing to the Matibabu Foundation asking if they could once again help her have another surgery so she doesn’t constantly urinate all over herself. Please pray over this letter, as I begin to write it and if you would like to proof it before I send it I will welcome all proof readers.
So thank you for reading Winnie’s story. Also thank you always, for constantly praying. I so covet your prayers, as I wouldn’t be able to make it without all of you praying for me and what God is doing here. I know God is going to use Winnie to help many women recover from horrible experiences through the hope that they can recover from anything that happens to them with the love of God. He saves, He heals, He delivers, us all.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of all those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. ~ Romans 8:28
Below is a picture of Winnie, for being only 16 she has overcome some seriously horrible situations. Oh how I admire her as she believes her God will once again deliver and save her. Here is her story, and then I am going to ask you all to please pray for her as I send another letter to the group that saved her once before. Then if you think about her story please continue to pray for her future, as in one instance, her future was destroyed and she sometimes finds it hard to have hope in it and the possibility of her ever having a life after this tragedy.
Let me preface with Winnie’s immediate family members are very strong Christians, her father is a pastor in a very small village. I was allowed to preach and give my testimony there on Sunday. I would estimate that there were approximately 30 adults and 20 children there. Usenge has a population of about 2,000, they are very close to the border of Uganda. Pastor Alfred has donated some of his own land to build the mud and stick church where they once used to grow food for their own family. The plot they have donated to the church is also large enough to build a primary school (K-8), which we are praying and believing a grant will provide within this year. Just recently they donated some of their land on their home properties to build an orphanage, I will be writing that story soon. So excited for what God is doing here in Sega, and its surrounding small communities.
About a year ago, Winnie was kidnapped, held prisoner and repeatedly raped. The young man who did this was seriously disturbed and still has not been caught or punished. She was locked in a storage facility for grain for quite some time. During this horrible experience she became pregnant. I am told that her father received a report about where she was held hostage, and he went there with the police to rescue her. That experience in and of itself was horrible, but what happens after this is even more horrifying.
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done and the saving of many lives… ~ Gen 50:20
Winnie as you can see is a very small girl, in American junior sizes she is probably considered a size 0 to size 2. Then the baby seemed to also be a very large baby. So getting to the hospital was a big deal as they are about 3 miles from any form of transportation, and riding a piki piki (motorcycle) could have been horrible for her situation. I am told she was carried by a wheelbarrow to the hospital that is near their village, and underwent her first of many surgeries.
The first surgery was to try and deliver the baby. When she went into labor there apparently were many complications. The baby was too big to deliver naturally and so the doctor had to do a C section. Somehow there were other complications that didn’t make sense to me, like the baby was on top of her bladder. Of course the baby was under stress because it was too big for her small body, but she too was under stress and weak. Because of a combination of the complications, the inability of getting to the hospital on time, and horrible medical attention, the baby died. Then somehow, the doctor said that her uterus was destroyed and gave her a hysterectomy, at the age 16 years old. CAN YOU IMAGINE?
What makes this whole situation so horrible, and now an utter atrocity, is that in her culture she is now considered a worthless woman. She will not be considered for marriage because she cannot conceive. No man will give her a second thought. I have met women who couldn’t conceive, or were having difficulties because of cystic fibrosis, and/or generational curses that needed to be broken, and they feel so worthless it breaks my heart. I have met women who could not conceive and after they hit menopause their husband divorced them to leave them for a woman who could conceive. I have met women who where terribly fearful they would end up one of them because after many years they could not conceive. I am believing and standing on God, and that HE will provide Winnie with a husband that sees the light of Jesus radiate from within her, like the rest of us do. That this husband does not care about conceiving his own and will be willing to adopt orphans. I know God can work miracles, but for this culture this one seems to be a long stretch for my faith to believe it can happen. But then again…
For with God nothing is impossible. ~ Luke 1:37
Even my Pastor’s father chose to marry again because it took way too long (8yrs) for wife number one to conceive. He has three wives, and they are all Christians they all go to church together. This culture is all about reproducing, as they are the Luo tribe. They are the tribe of President Obama’s ancestors, and his village is about 25 miles away. I haven’t had the desire to go there yet, as Sega is the village where God has me right now and it is my concern at this point and time.
Well Winnie was in recovery for quite a few weeks. She had scratched her incision a little bit, as it was itching her, and out of it came a string. When she was able to get the doctors attention a few days later, he pulled on the string and part of a glove also came out of her incision. The doctor said she had to go back into surgery immediately. So she did, she didn’t have a choice. Well this was the surgery that really messed her up, as now she urinates constantly and has no control over it at all. I am told this condition is called Fistula in the medical profession. She is ashamed, she wouldn’t even look at me for a moment as I was being introduced to her. Pastor asked me if I noticed she was urinating all over the ground, I hadn’t as I was looking at her eyes, not the ground. Anyway this child has been through so much, I just don’t know how she keeps such a beautiful smile on her face without the love and hope she finds in Jesus.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~ Jeremiah 29:11
Anyway back to the hospital stay, if you have read some of my other notes you know that going to the hospital here can be very taxing on people when it comes time to pay the bill. You either pay the bill, or you stay as a prisoner until you can pay. Or you work off the bill by working for the hospital as you stay there till it is paid off. This concern became huge for Winnie and her family as the bill was over 21,000 /= ksh, or about $262 in USD. It might as well been a million to them as people in the area are extremely poor, unemployment is about 90%, and as I saw on Sunday some even tithe with crops. One man tithed with 3 avocadoes, that was a first for me to see something like that happen in church. Even if the entire town could donate 10 ksh it wouldn’t be enough, see most of the 2,000 people in the town are children as families here usually have five to seven children. There is also such a segregation between churches and religions that there is no unity within the village, like there is in my home town, so that was not an option. So they were besides themselves on what to do to pay the bill and take their daughter home.
But God had other plans, because when she was getting close to dismissal there was a group of Christian medical professional from America touring the area. They were doing some missionary work in various remote locations. When the church found this out they wrote to them in desperation asking if they could help Winnie’s situation. By the grace of God they paid her hospital bill and she was able to return home. I will be writing to the Matibabu Foundation asking if they could once again help her have another surgery so she doesn’t constantly urinate all over herself. Please pray over this letter, as I begin to write it and if you would like to proof it before I send it I will welcome all proof readers.
So thank you for reading Winnie’s story. Also thank you always, for constantly praying. I so covet your prayers, as I wouldn’t be able to make it without all of you praying for me and what God is doing here. I know God is going to use Winnie to help many women recover from horrible experiences through the hope that they can recover from anything that happens to them with the love of God. He saves, He heals, He delivers, us all.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of all those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. ~ Romans 8:28
Friday, May 6, 2011
Ouch it hurts ALL of us!
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. ~ 1Cor 12:26
When one member of the church is going through difficulties; does your church step up and help them, or do they just promise to pray? Don’t get me wrong prayer can move mountains! But seriously, when an issue is brought up what is actually done about it?
I know that when I lived in North Carolina, I had many people in the church who tried to help me on many occasions. They always would insist for me to go out with them for Sunday lunch and sometimes Sunday dinner. Sometimes they would just bring over groceries, sometimes they would hand me a twenty and insist I take it. Even though I did not have a job, and was still receiving quite a bit in unemployment, they still wanted to help in whatever way they could. I only asked for prayer during church service, because I had an interview coming up. Still, as a church they loved me and cared for me as if I was one of their own family members. They would also check on me if I didn’t show up for church, as they were concerned I might be ill or something.
This is quite different than other churches I have attended. Unless I was involved with smaller groups, the church really had no idea that I was struggling, ill or going through some other life problem. My problems just weren’t something that I ran up and told the pastor, so I suffered alone in most cases. This seems to be common when you are in a large church, because you can sometimes get lost in the numbers. But even the large churches need to operate the way God intended them to operate, as one whole and healthy body.
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ…. And we were all given the one Spirit to drink.~ 1 Cor 12:12-13
When one member of the body hurts they all hurt!
I have seen here in Kenya when a member swallows his pride, (which is hard for them because they are very prideful people) and shares with another that they are struggling, the entire church helps them. They rally around them to help much like my small country churches in NC. It is encouraging when I have been asked to walk 5 km to take ugali flour to a family because business is slow and they haven’t got anything to eat. It is encouraging to hear that many pitched in to help another family put their children in school that semester, or help out with one going to the hospital for treatment.
When we refuse to help a fellow member of the church, the church doesn’t operate in the Spiritual manner that God intended to operate in to fulfill His plan. Stress about their situation could overwhelm a member to the point they cannot walk in the spirit and contribute to the church as they as intended by God. God has placed each one of us into a specific church for specific reasons, specific gifts, and specific seasons. Some go to a certain church their entire lives, yet the members really don’t know each other. I have had to attend many different churches for many different reasons. Most of those reasons were due to moving, but I have also changed churches because I was maturing in my Christian walk towards a spirit filled walk and needed a church that could nurture that growth. So in each instance I had to get reacquainted with church members, and or small groups.
I have also seen the pastor here tell a visitor, who came to visit me in the church, that they want them to stay with their own church across town because that is where God put them in the body of Christ. He also told them it would be nice if they came to visit one Sunday, but he didn’t want to disrupt God’s plan by trying to persuade him to change churches. He was confident of his position in the church and the direction of the church. I know of many pastors that would try and convince a stranger to attend their church, because they would like to increase their numbers or their tithing. I tell you the hearts of the pastors I am working for here never cease to amaze me, as they are true servants of God.
On the same note, when the church begins to operate in the spirit and not everyone has the gifts that are in the limelight, like the prophet, or the interpreter or the pastor; how do the other members of the church feel, or how do we as a church treat them?
I have known churches that have made members uncomfortable, or even leave the church because they didn’t operate in the spirit. They also refused to fake operating in the spirit. This is a huge injustice to the church as a whole! What if that person was the intercessory prayer warrior? What if it was because of that person’s prayers, that church was able to operate in the spirit in the first place? That prayer warrior spent much time in the prayer closet for that church, but because they were not publically operating in the spirit the church made them feel like they were not contributing to the church. Shameful…
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” and the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are INDISPENSABLE, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But GOD has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other ~ 1 Cor. 12:21-25.
We must remember that a church is that which GOD creates. He appoints the pastors, the prophets, the healers, the teachers, those with tongues, and He brings the members that need to be there for other reasons such as to pray or just to learn from other members to that church.
Church you must know what your position is in the body. Be glad and rejoice in it! Do not try and take another position which was not given to you by God. When God wants to promote you, He will promote you on HIS timing, not yours. Also, remember to help out the other members of the body because when you don’t, the church will suffer as a whole. Walk in the spirit and if you discern someone needs help, act on it. Don’t wait to be told what to do! Remember God needs the church to bring the lost to His kingdom, and if your church is not healthy and whole, it will not be attract strangers no matter how flashy your praise music is or how humorous pastor can give sermons. Be a Whole and Healthy Body of the CHURCH!
When one member of the church is going through difficulties; does your church step up and help them, or do they just promise to pray? Don’t get me wrong prayer can move mountains! But seriously, when an issue is brought up what is actually done about it?
I know that when I lived in North Carolina, I had many people in the church who tried to help me on many occasions. They always would insist for me to go out with them for Sunday lunch and sometimes Sunday dinner. Sometimes they would just bring over groceries, sometimes they would hand me a twenty and insist I take it. Even though I did not have a job, and was still receiving quite a bit in unemployment, they still wanted to help in whatever way they could. I only asked for prayer during church service, because I had an interview coming up. Still, as a church they loved me and cared for me as if I was one of their own family members. They would also check on me if I didn’t show up for church, as they were concerned I might be ill or something.
This is quite different than other churches I have attended. Unless I was involved with smaller groups, the church really had no idea that I was struggling, ill or going through some other life problem. My problems just weren’t something that I ran up and told the pastor, so I suffered alone in most cases. This seems to be common when you are in a large church, because you can sometimes get lost in the numbers. But even the large churches need to operate the way God intended them to operate, as one whole and healthy body.
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ…. And we were all given the one Spirit to drink.~ 1 Cor 12:12-13
When one member of the body hurts they all hurt!
I have seen here in Kenya when a member swallows his pride, (which is hard for them because they are very prideful people) and shares with another that they are struggling, the entire church helps them. They rally around them to help much like my small country churches in NC. It is encouraging when I have been asked to walk 5 km to take ugali flour to a family because business is slow and they haven’t got anything to eat. It is encouraging to hear that many pitched in to help another family put their children in school that semester, or help out with one going to the hospital for treatment.
When we refuse to help a fellow member of the church, the church doesn’t operate in the Spiritual manner that God intended to operate in to fulfill His plan. Stress about their situation could overwhelm a member to the point they cannot walk in the spirit and contribute to the church as they as intended by God. God has placed each one of us into a specific church for specific reasons, specific gifts, and specific seasons. Some go to a certain church their entire lives, yet the members really don’t know each other. I have had to attend many different churches for many different reasons. Most of those reasons were due to moving, but I have also changed churches because I was maturing in my Christian walk towards a spirit filled walk and needed a church that could nurture that growth. So in each instance I had to get reacquainted with church members, and or small groups.
I have also seen the pastor here tell a visitor, who came to visit me in the church, that they want them to stay with their own church across town because that is where God put them in the body of Christ. He also told them it would be nice if they came to visit one Sunday, but he didn’t want to disrupt God’s plan by trying to persuade him to change churches. He was confident of his position in the church and the direction of the church. I know of many pastors that would try and convince a stranger to attend their church, because they would like to increase their numbers or their tithing. I tell you the hearts of the pastors I am working for here never cease to amaze me, as they are true servants of God.
On the same note, when the church begins to operate in the spirit and not everyone has the gifts that are in the limelight, like the prophet, or the interpreter or the pastor; how do the other members of the church feel, or how do we as a church treat them?
I have known churches that have made members uncomfortable, or even leave the church because they didn’t operate in the spirit. They also refused to fake operating in the spirit. This is a huge injustice to the church as a whole! What if that person was the intercessory prayer warrior? What if it was because of that person’s prayers, that church was able to operate in the spirit in the first place? That prayer warrior spent much time in the prayer closet for that church, but because they were not publically operating in the spirit the church made them feel like they were not contributing to the church. Shameful…
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” and the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are INDISPENSABLE, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But GOD has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other ~ 1 Cor. 12:21-25.
We must remember that a church is that which GOD creates. He appoints the pastors, the prophets, the healers, the teachers, those with tongues, and He brings the members that need to be there for other reasons such as to pray or just to learn from other members to that church.
Church you must know what your position is in the body. Be glad and rejoice in it! Do not try and take another position which was not given to you by God. When God wants to promote you, He will promote you on HIS timing, not yours. Also, remember to help out the other members of the body because when you don’t, the church will suffer as a whole. Walk in the spirit and if you discern someone needs help, act on it. Don’t wait to be told what to do! Remember God needs the church to bring the lost to His kingdom, and if your church is not healthy and whole, it will not be attract strangers no matter how flashy your praise music is or how humorous pastor can give sermons. Be a Whole and Healthy Body of the CHURCH!
Friday, April 29, 2011
How To Destroy a Church or Your Flock
This is a story that happened quite some time ago, but God hadn’t released me to write it yet. I now know why after what was revealed to us in the Kimilili Women’s conference. This story is a little long, so bear with me as I tell it. I will be giving four examples of how a leader or pastor can destroy a church and potentially lead his sheep astray.
When I first arrived to Nakuru, I was asked to preach at a daughter church in a city called Salgaa. I was so excited about the flock I would be speaking to, but not so excited to give my first sermon. They told me of the reputation of Salgaa, it was a halfway point between Nairobi and Eldoret, the 5th largest town in Kenya. It is a town that people say with disgust, as it is a town where many prostitutes work. It is full of alcoholics and addicts. There are gangs of women that will attack men if they are walking alone, rape them, rob them and then proceed to kill them. There really isn’t much else to Salga except for a few restaurants, bars, and a flower farm (a big export commodity in Kenya is fresh flowers).
At the end of the service we had an alter call and asked if anyone needed prayer. The bishop told me to come up and pray for people. The anointing fell after Missionary Ann prayed for the church, which was after I spoke and she gave the alter call. As I was praying for one young teen, the spirit told me to pray for her mother to receive Christ to which she began sobbing and wailing. The next woman I went to pray for fell the moment my hand touched her head. God was in the house! Boy did HE showed up! GLORY Bwena Asifewe!
After the service, the girl that was wailing invited all the women in the ministry to come over to her house for something to drink. So quickly about six of us walked to this girl’s house, it was on a very large compound that used to be a travel resort or motel of sorts. The house we went to was the servant’s quarters, and were told it was her grandmother’s and she took care of the children. There were many other children around the compound taking baths or playing football. We had some orange drink that was a little watered down then we prayed blessings on the house. She proceeded to ask if we could go to another home and meet her mother as she lived on a different property. We walked into the home and I was amazed. The floors looked like they were marble and the furniture was very expensive and luxurious. Three of us discerned in the spirit right away that this home was a brothel and her mother was one of the prostitutes. We met her prayed and left. The girl was so grateful that we came to her home and was able to meet her mother.
After we returned to the church there was a meeting between the Bishop, his team, the Pastor at Salgaa, and the elders of the church. See there had been many problems at Salgaa. After a crusade there where one hundred souls came to know the Lord, the Pastor’s wife began to chase people away from the church by reminding them of their past. She would accuse people and bring up the former things of their past. If they were still walking without completely purity she would tell them how horrible they were. So the number of the church decreased by 75%. She did not LOVE the flock as we are called to do. Bishop was trying to train up the Pastor, so he was giving grace to that Pastor trying to help him to control his wife.
Bishop Madadi told the Pastor he would continue to bring in other people into the church to give the sermon until issues in the church were resolved. This had been going on for two months and the church continued to decrease in numbers. The church at Salgaa was also experiencing financial difficulties as they were behind in rent for at least eight months. The pastor there expected the main church to bail them out, versus try to raise their own money. An elder also left the church because the wife was aggressive and abusive to him and his family. So the meeting was interesting to say the least.
These same issues continued for a couple more months regardless the warnings of removal from the pulpit if another harsh report was shared about the pastor or his wife. Needless to say he and his wife chose to continue to walk in disobedience to the word of God and abuse the flock. Then Pastor Machio called the Pastor from Salgaa into the Nakuru office along with the elder from the church who was being attacked by the pastor and his wife. He explained how there must be forgiveness and reconciliation within the leadership of th church. The Pastor refused to forgive, which is forbidden in the bible.
If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” ~ John 20:23
Therefore they had to ask the Pastor to leave the church.
Another situation that destroys a church happened in Kimilili. God delivered a young woman after He revealed to His servants that she was suicidal. He also revealed to us that when she shared it with an elder counselor in the church, they told her that she may no longer serve by singing on the praise and worship team. She had only expressed that she had a “thought” of taking poison. I can see an elder telling a person who is actively sinning in a servant role to step down, but NOT for a thought.
It would have been a different scenario if a servant was walking in sin, for instance adultery. For instance I know if a deacon who was cheating on his wife. Many in the church knew, but the wife did not know anything. What the flock should have done in this situation is share with an elder, and that elder should have been wise enough to ask that deacon to immediately move from that position. Sadly this deacon was in charge of the marriage ministry in the church. But to tell a member of the flock they must step down for a “thought” is NOT biblical and it is a quick way to KILL a spirit. If that elder allowed that woman to continue to sing on the praise and worship team, it would play a huge part of her deliverance of that spirit. To praise our God would help break the bondage of that spirit of suicide. In addition for an elder to condemn a person for a thought, versus an action, when they trusted the church enough to come to it with counsel, is not the way to build up a church. Anyway she was healed, released and delivered. Bwena Asifewe!
A final and third situation involves a church where the Pastor and his wife continued to counsel a member that they believed the son of another member who committed suicide was in heaven. They knew that member seeking counsel was suicidal, but they continued to tell this member something that isn’t in the bible. That is why we as the flock are challenged to test the spirits.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.~1 John 4:1
You can’t ask God for forgiveness for a sin you haven’t sinned yet. God does NOT grant you pre-forgiveness! You can’t ask him for forgiveness as you are in the process of committing ANY SIN. The process is you fall, you feel bad about it, THEN you repent which means you never do it again. If you continue to struggle in that sin, you ask God to help you not to sin. This is done through prayer and the washing/cleansing by the water of the word. It is a process called the gift of sanctification.
The same thing goes for churches that do not preach the entire truth, or a watered down truth. They tell you that its ok to continue to walk in sin, God loves you anyway! NO we must teach people that they MUST always strive for righteousness everyday. Remember, JESUS IS COMING FOR A SPOTLESS BRIDE!!!
So many people love the verse:.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.~Romans 8:1-2
They seem to ignore the fact there a comma separates an action which is followed by a condition that must be fulfilled in order to receive that action. See in that verse the action there is no condemnation with the condition that you walking in the Spirit. When you are walking in the Spirit you put into the practice of sanctification with a contrite heart, and in that process God will deliver you! He will change you from glory to glory!
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. ~ 2 Cor 3:18
Church we must be careful how we are to walk in leadership or pastoral roles. Remember, THEIR blood is on YOUR hands if you are teaching doctrine that goes against the word of God.
For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. ~Isaiah 59:3
Oh and let’s not get into how you are accountable, if you are a false teacher or preacher. See at times, those chapters scare me so deeply, that I don’t want anything to do with a leadership role. Please take the time to read Jer 23 and 2 Peter 2. If you are teaching a group or leading a church you better make sure that your doctrine, teachings, preachings, prophecy line up with the word of God because you are ACCOUNTABLE.
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. ~ Jer 23:1
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness 2 Pet 2:4
These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity~~2 Pet 2:17-19
They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them... Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.... In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. 2 Pet 2:1-3
CHURCH QUIT TICKLING THE EARS OF YOUR FLOCK AND PREACH TRUTH !!!
When I first arrived to Nakuru, I was asked to preach at a daughter church in a city called Salgaa. I was so excited about the flock I would be speaking to, but not so excited to give my first sermon. They told me of the reputation of Salgaa, it was a halfway point between Nairobi and Eldoret, the 5th largest town in Kenya. It is a town that people say with disgust, as it is a town where many prostitutes work. It is full of alcoholics and addicts. There are gangs of women that will attack men if they are walking alone, rape them, rob them and then proceed to kill them. There really isn’t much else to Salga except for a few restaurants, bars, and a flower farm (a big export commodity in Kenya is fresh flowers).
At the end of the service we had an alter call and asked if anyone needed prayer. The bishop told me to come up and pray for people. The anointing fell after Missionary Ann prayed for the church, which was after I spoke and she gave the alter call. As I was praying for one young teen, the spirit told me to pray for her mother to receive Christ to which she began sobbing and wailing. The next woman I went to pray for fell the moment my hand touched her head. God was in the house! Boy did HE showed up! GLORY Bwena Asifewe!
After the service, the girl that was wailing invited all the women in the ministry to come over to her house for something to drink. So quickly about six of us walked to this girl’s house, it was on a very large compound that used to be a travel resort or motel of sorts. The house we went to was the servant’s quarters, and were told it was her grandmother’s and she took care of the children. There were many other children around the compound taking baths or playing football. We had some orange drink that was a little watered down then we prayed blessings on the house. She proceeded to ask if we could go to another home and meet her mother as she lived on a different property. We walked into the home and I was amazed. The floors looked like they were marble and the furniture was very expensive and luxurious. Three of us discerned in the spirit right away that this home was a brothel and her mother was one of the prostitutes. We met her prayed and left. The girl was so grateful that we came to her home and was able to meet her mother.
After we returned to the church there was a meeting between the Bishop, his team, the Pastor at Salgaa, and the elders of the church. See there had been many problems at Salgaa. After a crusade there where one hundred souls came to know the Lord, the Pastor’s wife began to chase people away from the church by reminding them of their past. She would accuse people and bring up the former things of their past. If they were still walking without completely purity she would tell them how horrible they were. So the number of the church decreased by 75%. She did not LOVE the flock as we are called to do. Bishop was trying to train up the Pastor, so he was giving grace to that Pastor trying to help him to control his wife.
Bishop Madadi told the Pastor he would continue to bring in other people into the church to give the sermon until issues in the church were resolved. This had been going on for two months and the church continued to decrease in numbers. The church at Salgaa was also experiencing financial difficulties as they were behind in rent for at least eight months. The pastor there expected the main church to bail them out, versus try to raise their own money. An elder also left the church because the wife was aggressive and abusive to him and his family. So the meeting was interesting to say the least.
These same issues continued for a couple more months regardless the warnings of removal from the pulpit if another harsh report was shared about the pastor or his wife. Needless to say he and his wife chose to continue to walk in disobedience to the word of God and abuse the flock. Then Pastor Machio called the Pastor from Salgaa into the Nakuru office along with the elder from the church who was being attacked by the pastor and his wife. He explained how there must be forgiveness and reconciliation within the leadership of th church. The Pastor refused to forgive, which is forbidden in the bible.
If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” ~ John 20:23
Therefore they had to ask the Pastor to leave the church.
Another situation that destroys a church happened in Kimilili. God delivered a young woman after He revealed to His servants that she was suicidal. He also revealed to us that when she shared it with an elder counselor in the church, they told her that she may no longer serve by singing on the praise and worship team. She had only expressed that she had a “thought” of taking poison. I can see an elder telling a person who is actively sinning in a servant role to step down, but NOT for a thought.
It would have been a different scenario if a servant was walking in sin, for instance adultery. For instance I know if a deacon who was cheating on his wife. Many in the church knew, but the wife did not know anything. What the flock should have done in this situation is share with an elder, and that elder should have been wise enough to ask that deacon to immediately move from that position. Sadly this deacon was in charge of the marriage ministry in the church. But to tell a member of the flock they must step down for a “thought” is NOT biblical and it is a quick way to KILL a spirit. If that elder allowed that woman to continue to sing on the praise and worship team, it would play a huge part of her deliverance of that spirit. To praise our God would help break the bondage of that spirit of suicide. In addition for an elder to condemn a person for a thought, versus an action, when they trusted the church enough to come to it with counsel, is not the way to build up a church. Anyway she was healed, released and delivered. Bwena Asifewe!
A final and third situation involves a church where the Pastor and his wife continued to counsel a member that they believed the son of another member who committed suicide was in heaven. They knew that member seeking counsel was suicidal, but they continued to tell this member something that isn’t in the bible. That is why we as the flock are challenged to test the spirits.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.~1 John 4:1
You can’t ask God for forgiveness for a sin you haven’t sinned yet. God does NOT grant you pre-forgiveness! You can’t ask him for forgiveness as you are in the process of committing ANY SIN. The process is you fall, you feel bad about it, THEN you repent which means you never do it again. If you continue to struggle in that sin, you ask God to help you not to sin. This is done through prayer and the washing/cleansing by the water of the word. It is a process called the gift of sanctification.
The same thing goes for churches that do not preach the entire truth, or a watered down truth. They tell you that its ok to continue to walk in sin, God loves you anyway! NO we must teach people that they MUST always strive for righteousness everyday. Remember, JESUS IS COMING FOR A SPOTLESS BRIDE!!!
So many people love the verse:.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.~Romans 8:1-2
They seem to ignore the fact there a comma separates an action which is followed by a condition that must be fulfilled in order to receive that action. See in that verse the action there is no condemnation with the condition that you walking in the Spirit. When you are walking in the Spirit you put into the practice of sanctification with a contrite heart, and in that process God will deliver you! He will change you from glory to glory!
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. ~ 2 Cor 3:18
Church we must be careful how we are to walk in leadership or pastoral roles. Remember, THEIR blood is on YOUR hands if you are teaching doctrine that goes against the word of God.
For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. ~Isaiah 59:3
Oh and let’s not get into how you are accountable, if you are a false teacher or preacher. See at times, those chapters scare me so deeply, that I don’t want anything to do with a leadership role. Please take the time to read Jer 23 and 2 Peter 2. If you are teaching a group or leading a church you better make sure that your doctrine, teachings, preachings, prophecy line up with the word of God because you are ACCOUNTABLE.
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. ~ Jer 23:1
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness 2 Pet 2:4
These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity~~2 Pet 2:17-19
They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them... Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.... In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. 2 Pet 2:1-3
CHURCH QUIT TICKLING THE EARS OF YOUR FLOCK AND PREACH TRUTH !!!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
You Will Raise Them From the Dead
I know that I had mentioned in a status that we had a “raising of the dead” on our missions trip in Kimilili, Kenya. What I witnessed was in the spiritual not in the natural. Many people were risen from the dead in their spiritual man, and it was an awesome thing to see. There were many people deliverance from very evil spirits of witchcraft, and so much more happened at that women’s conference. But we had a situation in my previous note, “A picture is worth a 1000 words” where I had asked the pastors, “Why don’t we go over there and raise that baby from the dead?”
They told me, “WeWe (pronounced way way, meaning you you), Becky are you trying to test OUR faith?” I said, “No I just know that God CAN and WOULD do it IF it was in His will. I am so heartbroken over your sister in law and I don’t want the story to end here.” I proceeded to tell them about the famous raising of the dead where a wife brought her dead husband of three days to a Richard Boenke revival. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SroD02bP120 She had the faith that God would bring her husband back and she was going to hold God accountable to His word.
They told me they would pray about overnight, and if God said yes they would obey. But they must have heard not to pursue my request anymore, because the next morning we did not go over there. Then they began to tell me their own experiences of people being literally raised from the dead. I was amazed as these stories aren’t being told. This is because of many reasons; they happen in remote areas where there are few people, TIA (This Is Africa) and many just don’t have access to the means of broadcasting to the world, three true servants of God don’t brag about the things that happen to be uplifted by man. They only tell the stories to uplift God and tell of HIS Glory. They KNOW God will uplift them when the time is right.
Pastor Fridah, My Bishop’s wife began to tell a story of when she was first in the ministry. She was a hair dresser by profession, and she was working on a woman’s hair in the salon by herself. She began to poor cool water on her hair, and unknown to her the woman was epileptic and she went into a seizure and died right there in her chair. She was kind of freaked out, and she really didn’t know what to do because she was all alone in the salon. So Fridah just looked up and told God, “NOW would be a really GOOD time for YOU to show up, GOD”. The woman came back to life. Bwena Asifewe (Praise the Lord)!
Missionary Ann spoke of a story where she was in a crusade speaking. A woman came running into the church running up the aisle with her four old boy in her arms. She told her, “My son is dead, will God bring him back to life?” So Ann began to pray, and God told her to pray for his legs. Confused but obedient Ann did just that she prayed for his legs which confused the people at the crusade. The boy came to life and stood up. She then got a word from God that the woman was a devil worshipper, and asked the woman if she wanted to accept Jesus. She did exactly that, so God chose an unusual way to bring this woman into the kingdom. Bwena Asifewe!
So the two women of God and the Bishop of the church in Kimilili began to tell me other stories of people being raised from the dead that they had witnessed. One was at a funeral and the Pastor asked to open the casket at the burial site. They prayed and the man sat up right in his own coffin. Many came to the Lord at that funeral. Bwene Asifewe!
One Evangelist was in a meeting in a stadium and he was preaching the word of God when some people brought in another man limp and lifeless up to the pulpit. He was asked to pray to God to bring the man back to life. So the preacher began to pray. He prayed many prayers and asked the people to continue to pray. He then asked all the people to continue to pray and asked them to keep their eyes closed. He continued praying and would open one eye only see the man was still dead. Then the preacher handed the microphone to another pastor. He told the people they must really pray hard and keep their eyes closed. The preacher began to walk away from the meeting, running down the aisle away from the stage as if he was running away. Then people began to clap and shout, the dead man was raised from the dead. God chose that moment even when the servant doubted God’s power to show His glory. Bwena Asifewe!
Missionary Ann began to tell me another story. Her family was in the hospital and they were praying over her father as he was in his last days and hours. They prayed for him to live, then God revealed that they must start praying for him to live spiritually. She prayed that he may repent, accept the Lord and live in eternity. Her father could not speak or open his eyes. She then was told that the family must release her father as he was NOW going to have everlasting life. So they did pray to release him, and her father died. So that was a situation that God said no, but He still wanted to bring a man back to life in the spiritual.
We all know of people that are spiritually dead. They walk around in a spiritual high for a while then it seems to get quenched by the struggles of life or even worse they walk away from the faith completely. We as the flock MUST breathe life back into the dead bones of these people as what happened in Ezekiel 37. We must bring those who have strayed back into the kingdom, we are held accountable to them as friends and family members. Their blood will be on our hands if we choose to ignore what the words says, as we are all called to be ministers of the word of God. And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God~ Isaiah 61:6 . I hope you were blessed by some of these stories, and I know by the time I leave here or wherever is next I will actually see someone physically being raised from the dead by the Glory of GOD! Bwena Asifewe!
They told me, “WeWe (pronounced way way, meaning you you), Becky are you trying to test OUR faith?” I said, “No I just know that God CAN and WOULD do it IF it was in His will. I am so heartbroken over your sister in law and I don’t want the story to end here.” I proceeded to tell them about the famous raising of the dead where a wife brought her dead husband of three days to a Richard Boenke revival. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SroD02bP120 She had the faith that God would bring her husband back and she was going to hold God accountable to His word.
They told me they would pray about overnight, and if God said yes they would obey. But they must have heard not to pursue my request anymore, because the next morning we did not go over there. Then they began to tell me their own experiences of people being literally raised from the dead. I was amazed as these stories aren’t being told. This is because of many reasons; they happen in remote areas where there are few people, TIA (This Is Africa) and many just don’t have access to the means of broadcasting to the world, three true servants of God don’t brag about the things that happen to be uplifted by man. They only tell the stories to uplift God and tell of HIS Glory. They KNOW God will uplift them when the time is right.
Pastor Fridah, My Bishop’s wife began to tell a story of when she was first in the ministry. She was a hair dresser by profession, and she was working on a woman’s hair in the salon by herself. She began to poor cool water on her hair, and unknown to her the woman was epileptic and she went into a seizure and died right there in her chair. She was kind of freaked out, and she really didn’t know what to do because she was all alone in the salon. So Fridah just looked up and told God, “NOW would be a really GOOD time for YOU to show up, GOD”. The woman came back to life. Bwena Asifewe (Praise the Lord)!
Missionary Ann spoke of a story where she was in a crusade speaking. A woman came running into the church running up the aisle with her four old boy in her arms. She told her, “My son is dead, will God bring him back to life?” So Ann began to pray, and God told her to pray for his legs. Confused but obedient Ann did just that she prayed for his legs which confused the people at the crusade. The boy came to life and stood up. She then got a word from God that the woman was a devil worshipper, and asked the woman if she wanted to accept Jesus. She did exactly that, so God chose an unusual way to bring this woman into the kingdom. Bwena Asifewe!
So the two women of God and the Bishop of the church in Kimilili began to tell me other stories of people being raised from the dead that they had witnessed. One was at a funeral and the Pastor asked to open the casket at the burial site. They prayed and the man sat up right in his own coffin. Many came to the Lord at that funeral. Bwene Asifewe!
One Evangelist was in a meeting in a stadium and he was preaching the word of God when some people brought in another man limp and lifeless up to the pulpit. He was asked to pray to God to bring the man back to life. So the preacher began to pray. He prayed many prayers and asked the people to continue to pray. He then asked all the people to continue to pray and asked them to keep their eyes closed. He continued praying and would open one eye only see the man was still dead. Then the preacher handed the microphone to another pastor. He told the people they must really pray hard and keep their eyes closed. The preacher began to walk away from the meeting, running down the aisle away from the stage as if he was running away. Then people began to clap and shout, the dead man was raised from the dead. God chose that moment even when the servant doubted God’s power to show His glory. Bwena Asifewe!
Missionary Ann began to tell me another story. Her family was in the hospital and they were praying over her father as he was in his last days and hours. They prayed for him to live, then God revealed that they must start praying for him to live spiritually. She prayed that he may repent, accept the Lord and live in eternity. Her father could not speak or open his eyes. She then was told that the family must release her father as he was NOW going to have everlasting life. So they did pray to release him, and her father died. So that was a situation that God said no, but He still wanted to bring a man back to life in the spiritual.
We all know of people that are spiritually dead. They walk around in a spiritual high for a while then it seems to get quenched by the struggles of life or even worse they walk away from the faith completely. We as the flock MUST breathe life back into the dead bones of these people as what happened in Ezekiel 37. We must bring those who have strayed back into the kingdom, we are held accountable to them as friends and family members. Their blood will be on our hands if we choose to ignore what the words says, as we are all called to be ministers of the word of God. And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God~ Isaiah 61:6 . I hope you were blessed by some of these stories, and I know by the time I leave here or wherever is next I will actually see someone physically being raised from the dead by the Glory of GOD! Bwena Asifewe!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
A Picture is worth 1,000 Words –Women’s Conference Easter Weekend
You know they say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well here are a couple of pictures that have a heartbreaking story behind them.
So the first day of the conference many women spoke and there were quite a few deliverances. It always amazes me when God shows up to give divine revelation then the anointed know how to pray and lay hands upon the sick or afflicted. There were many deliverances, miracles, signs, and wonders; God showed up in a mighty way, I will try to write about all of them.
We took a break in the evening session before the day’s final evangelist was to speak in a night time revival. We were invited to walk over to the Bishop’s mother’s house which was next to the church. I went back to the church to use the latrine then the entire group was walking back my way. There was a woman with them and a man with a helmet, I didn’t think anything about it.
The group walked back to the piki piki (motorcycle). They told me that the woman, which was Bishop’s sister in law, had just given birth and the man with the helmet was her husband. I was so amazed and asked if I could take her picture. It totally amazed me that a woman would give birth and in the same day come to the woman’s conference to get the word of God. Then the fact that she came to the conference on a piki piki really shocked me. See it is about an hour from the hospital then the roads are horrible and there are many bumps and crevices. Then I was amazed thinking about what if she had been cut, no wonder she was wiping some tears it must have hurt.
My elders corrected me and told me that she didn’t come to get the word of God but to get the Grandmother so she could help her hold the baby on the piki piki on the way home cause they had a long journey. The strength of an African woman just absolutely amazes me daily. Where I live, I will see a pregnant woman with a 5 gallon jug of water on her head and a baby strapped to her back walking uphill. I thank God I was blessed to have lived the life I had lived in the USA, and then I realize that these women do not know any different.
So I continued taking a few pictures and as you can see, after picture number six, I had kind of received a look like I had taken enough pictures.
They know that many mzungu (white people) don’t see many things as normal that are normal in Africa and we make a fool out of ourselves all the time. About fifteen minutes later we are informed that the conference is canceled and we must load up in the car and go to the house where we are staying.
Later that evening Bishop informed us of the truth about what had happened. His sister in law went into early labor at 8 months into her pregnancy. The baby lived for one hour and died. Remember TIA (This Is Africa), and in America this never would have happened as we have the most advanced in medical care. Oh how embarrassed I was that I had taken pictures at such a horrible time. I asked the Bishop, “Hey why didn’t we pray to God and ask Him to raise the baby from the dead”. He said that he wasn’t sure how his very young flock would handle the news about the baby and knew they would be heartbroken. He wasn’t sure if that was in God’s will to raise the baby from the dead and if God said no to the prayer it might hinder his flock’s faith in God. So he let them continue home with their dead baby, as they needed to bury it the next day. They canceled the revival so that the Bishop could drive to pick them up because the motorcycle ran out of gas along the way.
Oh how sick I was over this situation. I begged Bishop to explain and apologize to this family about my stupidity. I asked my mentor women, “Why did we NOT discern this situation, as we were so into the spirit fifteen minutes prior to that moment. God had shown up and many were delivered from evil spirits.” They told me because we were no longer in the upper room as spoke about in the days of the early church. When those things happened and the heavens opened up we were under a spiritual covering. When we walked outside we were no longer under the covering of the heavens.
Anyway, God has His reasons, and who am I to question HIM?!?!
Well I am up to about 823 words, and I am sure I could make it to 1,000 if I really wanted to but I chose not to this time. Just remember when I post pictures of the people or the scenery, there is always a story behind it that is way different than what we would see in America. May Mungu Akupariki (God Bless You)
So the first day of the conference many women spoke and there were quite a few deliverances. It always amazes me when God shows up to give divine revelation then the anointed know how to pray and lay hands upon the sick or afflicted. There were many deliverances, miracles, signs, and wonders; God showed up in a mighty way, I will try to write about all of them.
We took a break in the evening session before the day’s final evangelist was to speak in a night time revival. We were invited to walk over to the Bishop’s mother’s house which was next to the church. I went back to the church to use the latrine then the entire group was walking back my way. There was a woman with them and a man with a helmet, I didn’t think anything about it.
The group walked back to the piki piki (motorcycle). They told me that the woman, which was Bishop’s sister in law, had just given birth and the man with the helmet was her husband. I was so amazed and asked if I could take her picture. It totally amazed me that a woman would give birth and in the same day come to the woman’s conference to get the word of God. Then the fact that she came to the conference on a piki piki really shocked me. See it is about an hour from the hospital then the roads are horrible and there are many bumps and crevices. Then I was amazed thinking about what if she had been cut, no wonder she was wiping some tears it must have hurt.
My elders corrected me and told me that she didn’t come to get the word of God but to get the Grandmother so she could help her hold the baby on the piki piki on the way home cause they had a long journey. The strength of an African woman just absolutely amazes me daily. Where I live, I will see a pregnant woman with a 5 gallon jug of water on her head and a baby strapped to her back walking uphill. I thank God I was blessed to have lived the life I had lived in the USA, and then I realize that these women do not know any different.
So I continued taking a few pictures and as you can see, after picture number six, I had kind of received a look like I had taken enough pictures.
They know that many mzungu (white people) don’t see many things as normal that are normal in Africa and we make a fool out of ourselves all the time. About fifteen minutes later we are informed that the conference is canceled and we must load up in the car and go to the house where we are staying.
Later that evening Bishop informed us of the truth about what had happened. His sister in law went into early labor at 8 months into her pregnancy. The baby lived for one hour and died. Remember TIA (This Is Africa), and in America this never would have happened as we have the most advanced in medical care. Oh how embarrassed I was that I had taken pictures at such a horrible time. I asked the Bishop, “Hey why didn’t we pray to God and ask Him to raise the baby from the dead”. He said that he wasn’t sure how his very young flock would handle the news about the baby and knew they would be heartbroken. He wasn’t sure if that was in God’s will to raise the baby from the dead and if God said no to the prayer it might hinder his flock’s faith in God. So he let them continue home with their dead baby, as they needed to bury it the next day. They canceled the revival so that the Bishop could drive to pick them up because the motorcycle ran out of gas along the way.
Oh how sick I was over this situation. I begged Bishop to explain and apologize to this family about my stupidity. I asked my mentor women, “Why did we NOT discern this situation, as we were so into the spirit fifteen minutes prior to that moment. God had shown up and many were delivered from evil spirits.” They told me because we were no longer in the upper room as spoke about in the days of the early church. When those things happened and the heavens opened up we were under a spiritual covering. When we walked outside we were no longer under the covering of the heavens.
Anyway, God has His reasons, and who am I to question HIM?!?!
Well I am up to about 823 words, and I am sure I could make it to 1,000 if I really wanted to but I chose not to this time. Just remember when I post pictures of the people or the scenery, there is always a story behind it that is way different than what we would see in America. May Mungu Akupariki (God Bless You)
Friday, January 21, 2011
ROGER DIED…. YAY! I killed him, and I have NO guilt about it!
Roger the RAT that is. He died, and I couldn’t be happier. Bwana Asifiwe, SANA!!!
Many of you know me very well and how I name just about everything. The ducks at the pond, my GPS, the Ape hanging from my rear view mirror, even Joe the over-achieving rooster when I first arrived in Nakuru, Kenya. Well since Roger began with an “R” it was only appropriate to name my annoying Rat roommate that name.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry. I CAN DO EVERYTHING THOUGHT HIM, JESUS CHRIST, WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH.~ Phillipians 4:12-13
I know I haven’t shared a lot about my living arrangements here in Kenya. I am not much of a complainer anymore these days in my seasoned years. I have learned, as Paul did the secret to life is being happy in all circumstances. I have been homeless before, lived in a commune, a dorm, with 40 women in one room, many apartments, had a perfect little house in Prairie Village (aka by KC people as “Perfect Village”), then lived in a half million dollar home with a pool, a double wide in the backwoods country of NC, a tent by lakes and rivers, and then countless other living arrangements and now well… it really isn’t all that bad. To be honest with you though, I am very grateful that it is not a grass or mud hut. Trust me I have visited them to pray/counsel with some of the rural tribal people and I am not sure I would be too excited to live 24/7 in one of those. Not that I couldn’t learn to find contentment there. It’s just the whole culture shock thing would have been a little in over the top if that was where I was going to stay at the beginning of this mission trip, especially moving from Beigeville, Johnson County, KS USA.
The house has a cement floor, and cement walls. It has a tin roof, and some type of particle board ceiling. It has two bedrooms, a cooking room, a living/dining area, one inside bath to be used by the family and an outside latrine and bath stall to be used by the slave quarters and guests like me. I am NOT very good at estimating square footage but if I had to guess I would say it is about 600-800 square ft. and that is very generous. Mind you I have had closets bigger than the kitchen which only consists of a sink with no water, but a line that could run from the rain tank, and an area where a charcoal stove is put for cooking. There is also a coffee table for chopping and a tree stump for the women to sit on while they stir each course over a charcoal cooking stove.
The house is on maybe two acres of land, that has a chicken coop, a 5x5 outside cooking area, an underground tank for water harvesting (rain), a 10 x10 “servants quarters” where 3 other pastors live and the rest is all garden area. The current issue of drought has killed all the cowpeas we had planted so no green crops on the east side, but we still have the kale on the west side. One side of the plot has a 10 to 12 foot cinder block fence. Some of the cement block fences plots in this area and the school have extra protection with broken glass at the top of the fence to prevent thugs from trespassing. The fence between our one neighbor is wooden about to fall apart and made out of branches broken off trees. We have bars on the inside and the outside of the windows and the doors, which made me wonder, is this what it feels like to live in KCK? Or parts of Durham, NC.. hmmmm things that make you go hmmmmm LOL
Anyhow, back to Roger. Well after the first week of sleeping here or not sleeping because my time clock was messed up I could hear something upstairs running around. It took me at least two weeks to get up the guts to ask the family what in the world is that running up in the attic, which by the way the crawlspace is completely open and in my room, which I share with Assistant Pastor Jotham’s sister, Millie and the baby, Isabell. She left her family, a husband and 2 other children, in the village up near Sudan and Uganda to come live with Pastor Jotham and Jael to try and get some medical treatment in the city of Nakuru. Three of us sleep in the same room. I asked the Pastor about the visitor above us, he said “um no maybe it is a mouse”. Maybe he was afraid of my reaction, so he said it was a mouse. Sometimes the vocabulary is so different here I have a hard time understanding what they mean. So anyway when Millie told me it was a rat I thought no it has to be a squirrel. Or maybe I was just trying to convince myself it was something other than a RAT.
See Roger was starting to wake me up. Every morning around 3 or 4am it would make a bunch of noise crawl down the closet which is not built in but stationary, and try to get under the door to scavenge for food. Millie was so sweet, as is the entire church and she gave up her bed for me to sleep on when I arrived. So she and the baby slept on a foam mattress on the floor. Eventually, thanks be to the grace of God, I was able to buy another bed for her and the baby to get off the floor. Millie told me and Pastor Jotham that the previous night Roger tried to nibble on her toes. Oh my goodness. Carpenters build hand made NICE bed frames for about $45.
See you don’t want to offend Kenyans by rejecting their generosity, for instance Millie (short for Milka) always insists on washing my clothes and sheets. They get very hurt and frustrated and a little angry if you don’t eat all the food or let them serve you somehow or whatever, so I let her wash my clothes by hand. Every week she hand washes them and hangs them to dry. She wanted to iron them to but I insisted, t-shirts and broom (supposed to be wrinkled) skirts do not need ironing. The only thing I have to wash is my underwear, and it is kind of a taboo secret thing too. You must wash those inside, and then when you hang them you MUST cover them properly with a shawl. Otherwise if I don’t have my underwear, not my bras, properly covered, I have shown the neighbors and the men staying in the slave quarters that they, the women, didn’t show me how to properly wash my most private clothes. Yep, culture shocks all the way around, and sometimes daily.
Back to Roger, well three weeks was about all I could take. Then I started to pray really hard. Lord, I am not complaining, really. You have provided a very nice place for me to stay, and food, internet, television, electicity, and to think about it Lord embarassingly I am quite spoiled. But Lord, you know how important sleep is for me. If it be in your will can you please have Roger find a new home very soon before I KILL one of your creatures. Perhaps the neighbor’s house would be a better home for him. After a week of waiting for my prayers to be answered, I took things into my own hands. I know we are supposed to wait upon the Lord, well I am a human and I will make mistakes and I really just didn’t care if that prayer was answered anymore or not. I was tired of Roger waking me at 3am! When we walked to town yesterday, I was determined we are getting rat poisoning, and I WILL KILL ROGER. Patience is not a fruit of the spirit I have been blessed with, yet, but y’all must be patient with me ‘cause GOD IS STILL working on me.
Anyway I believe Roger must have went to rat heaven last night, as what I heard of him last night was just a lot of radical squirming, flopping and very strange not normal noises. I thought I heard some squeaks, but that could have been the baby Isabella’s breathing. But as for ROGER, he never made it down the closet. Bwana Asifiwe!
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven; a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.~. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
May you RIP Roger…….
I will NOT miss you, nor will I have to repent for killing you. Now I can have full 8 hours sleep, and I am a very happy American Kenyan Mzungu (white person).
Many of you know me very well and how I name just about everything. The ducks at the pond, my GPS, the Ape hanging from my rear view mirror, even Joe the over-achieving rooster when I first arrived in Nakuru, Kenya. Well since Roger began with an “R” it was only appropriate to name my annoying Rat roommate that name.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry. I CAN DO EVERYTHING THOUGHT HIM, JESUS CHRIST, WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH.~ Phillipians 4:12-13
I know I haven’t shared a lot about my living arrangements here in Kenya. I am not much of a complainer anymore these days in my seasoned years. I have learned, as Paul did the secret to life is being happy in all circumstances. I have been homeless before, lived in a commune, a dorm, with 40 women in one room, many apartments, had a perfect little house in Prairie Village (aka by KC people as “Perfect Village”), then lived in a half million dollar home with a pool, a double wide in the backwoods country of NC, a tent by lakes and rivers, and then countless other living arrangements and now well… it really isn’t all that bad. To be honest with you though, I am very grateful that it is not a grass or mud hut. Trust me I have visited them to pray/counsel with some of the rural tribal people and I am not sure I would be too excited to live 24/7 in one of those. Not that I couldn’t learn to find contentment there. It’s just the whole culture shock thing would have been a little in over the top if that was where I was going to stay at the beginning of this mission trip, especially moving from Beigeville, Johnson County, KS USA.
The house has a cement floor, and cement walls. It has a tin roof, and some type of particle board ceiling. It has two bedrooms, a cooking room, a living/dining area, one inside bath to be used by the family and an outside latrine and bath stall to be used by the slave quarters and guests like me. I am NOT very good at estimating square footage but if I had to guess I would say it is about 600-800 square ft. and that is very generous. Mind you I have had closets bigger than the kitchen which only consists of a sink with no water, but a line that could run from the rain tank, and an area where a charcoal stove is put for cooking. There is also a coffee table for chopping and a tree stump for the women to sit on while they stir each course over a charcoal cooking stove.
The house is on maybe two acres of land, that has a chicken coop, a 5x5 outside cooking area, an underground tank for water harvesting (rain), a 10 x10 “servants quarters” where 3 other pastors live and the rest is all garden area. The current issue of drought has killed all the cowpeas we had planted so no green crops on the east side, but we still have the kale on the west side. One side of the plot has a 10 to 12 foot cinder block fence. Some of the cement block fences plots in this area and the school have extra protection with broken glass at the top of the fence to prevent thugs from trespassing. The fence between our one neighbor is wooden about to fall apart and made out of branches broken off trees. We have bars on the inside and the outside of the windows and the doors, which made me wonder, is this what it feels like to live in KCK? Or parts of Durham, NC.. hmmmm things that make you go hmmmmm LOL
Anyhow, back to Roger. Well after the first week of sleeping here or not sleeping because my time clock was messed up I could hear something upstairs running around. It took me at least two weeks to get up the guts to ask the family what in the world is that running up in the attic, which by the way the crawlspace is completely open and in my room, which I share with Assistant Pastor Jotham’s sister, Millie and the baby, Isabell. She left her family, a husband and 2 other children, in the village up near Sudan and Uganda to come live with Pastor Jotham and Jael to try and get some medical treatment in the city of Nakuru. Three of us sleep in the same room. I asked the Pastor about the visitor above us, he said “um no maybe it is a mouse”. Maybe he was afraid of my reaction, so he said it was a mouse. Sometimes the vocabulary is so different here I have a hard time understanding what they mean. So anyway when Millie told me it was a rat I thought no it has to be a squirrel. Or maybe I was just trying to convince myself it was something other than a RAT.
See Roger was starting to wake me up. Every morning around 3 or 4am it would make a bunch of noise crawl down the closet which is not built in but stationary, and try to get under the door to scavenge for food. Millie was so sweet, as is the entire church and she gave up her bed for me to sleep on when I arrived. So she and the baby slept on a foam mattress on the floor. Eventually, thanks be to the grace of God, I was able to buy another bed for her and the baby to get off the floor. Millie told me and Pastor Jotham that the previous night Roger tried to nibble on her toes. Oh my goodness. Carpenters build hand made NICE bed frames for about $45.
See you don’t want to offend Kenyans by rejecting their generosity, for instance Millie (short for Milka) always insists on washing my clothes and sheets. They get very hurt and frustrated and a little angry if you don’t eat all the food or let them serve you somehow or whatever, so I let her wash my clothes by hand. Every week she hand washes them and hangs them to dry. She wanted to iron them to but I insisted, t-shirts and broom (supposed to be wrinkled) skirts do not need ironing. The only thing I have to wash is my underwear, and it is kind of a taboo secret thing too. You must wash those inside, and then when you hang them you MUST cover them properly with a shawl. Otherwise if I don’t have my underwear, not my bras, properly covered, I have shown the neighbors and the men staying in the slave quarters that they, the women, didn’t show me how to properly wash my most private clothes. Yep, culture shocks all the way around, and sometimes daily.
Back to Roger, well three weeks was about all I could take. Then I started to pray really hard. Lord, I am not complaining, really. You have provided a very nice place for me to stay, and food, internet, television, electicity, and to think about it Lord embarassingly I am quite spoiled. But Lord, you know how important sleep is for me. If it be in your will can you please have Roger find a new home very soon before I KILL one of your creatures. Perhaps the neighbor’s house would be a better home for him. After a week of waiting for my prayers to be answered, I took things into my own hands. I know we are supposed to wait upon the Lord, well I am a human and I will make mistakes and I really just didn’t care if that prayer was answered anymore or not. I was tired of Roger waking me at 3am! When we walked to town yesterday, I was determined we are getting rat poisoning, and I WILL KILL ROGER. Patience is not a fruit of the spirit I have been blessed with, yet, but y’all must be patient with me ‘cause GOD IS STILL working on me.
Anyway I believe Roger must have went to rat heaven last night, as what I heard of him last night was just a lot of radical squirming, flopping and very strange not normal noises. I thought I heard some squeaks, but that could have been the baby Isabella’s breathing. But as for ROGER, he never made it down the closet. Bwana Asifiwe!
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven; a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.~. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
May you RIP Roger…….
I will NOT miss you, nor will I have to repent for killing you. Now I can have full 8 hours sleep, and I am a very happy American Kenyan Mzungu (white person).
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