Circles and bridges

Lately, Chris and I have really been trying to re-evaluate the work we are doing here in Malindi and give ourselves a fresh start when we return from the States in January. I feel like we have learned so much in the past year from experience, conversations, and observations.

One thing I have learned is which people are most qulaified to help the people of Malindi, whether it be helping children through school, teaching hygiene and first-aid, spreading the love of Christ, providing end-of-life care, or anything else. The people who will do these things most succesfully here are Kenyans… not me… and also, not me with a lot of money. So what is the point of us even being here, if the locals can do what we are doing, but do it better? Why have I sacrificed the life I’m familiar and comfortable with, life close to my family, to come and live here? Well, first of all, I love Kenya and I love the people here. But more important than that is my purpose here. And I believe that purpose is to find the wonderful people here doing great things and hold their arms up, just like Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses during the battle of the Amalekites in Exodus 17. I want Chris and I to be Aaron and Hur for the people here who are already doing so much good for the kingdom. Everyone grows weary. We are all human, but a cord of 3 strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12). I strongly believe that God can use us to build up and strengthen the good things being done here in Malindi. We look for what God is already doing, and we join Him in that work.

I learned something else through a conversation I had with my brother, Daniel, about our work here. I was telling him how much I love Malindi because of all the different cultures that converge here in this small town. For the most part, people associate with other people like themselves, creating pockets or circles of people that live side by side in the same town but rarely if ever overlap. I was telling Daniel that one of my dreams is to build bridges into each of these circles, spreading God’s love to those who have not experienced it yet, and drawing people together in the knowledge that God loves each one of us the same. Daniel suggested that we aren’t here to draw another circle around ourselves and try to bring people into our own group, but instead to stand in the middle and build bridges into all the circles that we encounter. We don’t want to pull people into yet another circle. We want to erase the lines so that we can begin to come together, forming one big group, full of very different people, united in the fact that we are children of God. I think Malindi is the perfect place to do this because of the diversity here and the fact that God has already placed a spirit of peace and acceptance in the hearts of these people. I believe that the people of Malindi, if given the chance, can show the rest of the world what it looks like to love people who look different, worship differently, raise their kids differently, educate differently, and dress differently than they do. In light of the things that we have learned, a dream has come into our hearts of a new project that we want to work on with our friends and coworkers both here and in the US. It is too early to really disclose those plans yet, but we are so excited about the way God is moving here in us and around us.