The Right Place At The Right Time

When you find yourself in the right place at the right time, the moment seems special, supernatural and beyond explanation. You know it is different from all the ordinary moments of life. It is a moment of time that reminds us that is very much alive and passionately in love with us. As I write this I am in the middle of experiencing the right place at the right time and all I can say is that Jesus is beautiful.

It was my plan to leave the Athi River Daystar campus on Thursday afternoon and then leave right away on Friday morning for Kiisi to visit with my friend James. However, God had other plans for me.

When I arrived back in Nairobi I spent Thursday night at the guest townhouse with Bette and Tom Wanous, two veteran missionaries who have spent a better part of their lives here in Kenya. As I walked through the door, they were entertaining an old friend of theirs named Solomon. Solomon had pepper gray hair and a warm inviting tone to his voice. As we all talked, I loved hearing his beautiful soft Kenyan accent. He has been out of work for 5 years which has been difficult for him. Although, he is quick to remind us that God is good and he will continue to serve him whether he is paid or not. I know that place of faith where your heart is deeply disappointed, yet your longing to serve Jesus still burns within you.

He had just returned from visiting some relatives out in the eastern part of Kenya where the minibus he was riding on was hijacked. As the hijakers approached the bus, Solomon saw two western missionaries shot dead by the side of the road. His 14 year old daughter was sitting behind him and he said that he started intensely praying, as he knew there was nothing he could do to protect her. The thieves took everything they had, but noticed that the minibus had very little gas, so they decided to take the white missionaries car instead. It was a terrifying experience, but God spared their lives. After telling us about his close call with death, he opened the Bible and read Psalm 119. He reminded us of God’s protection, love and might. It gave a whole new meaning to the strong hand of God. It seemed fitting then to pray for this beautiful man. I closed my eyes and asked the Lord to bless this man with a job, to hold him close—to protect him always. This prayer had power just as my father said it would. My dad told me that God had impressed on him that as I loved others and prayed for them that God would inhabit those prayers. God was so close, I could almost feel him next to me. It was the right place at the right time.

The next morning I spoke with James and due to a recent death in his family, I would not be able to travel to Kiisi until Tuesday at the earliest. I was not expecting to stay here in Nairobi for 5 more days, so I walked over to the Daystar Visitors office right away to ask if I could stay in the town house. Coretta was thrilled that I was extending my stay and even set up an account for me to eat at the college cafeteria. I wondered how I would fill my days, as I didn’t really have anything planned.

I went over to the college cafeteria for lunch and sat at a table by myself. As I ate I watched the students come in laughing with friends, talking intently about important ideas, and rushing out to get to their next class. It was then that Majok entered the cafeteria and to my great delight he came and sat down next to me. Majok is from southern Sudan and is now pursuing his Masters in Education. He escaped by foot at a very young age from Sudan into Kenya when the fighting was at its worst and lived in a refugee camp. As he was literally running from the rebels, he said that they Lord came to him and told him that he would be safe and to not be afraid. This experience was so powerful that he decided then and there to spend the rest of his life serving Jesus. Up to that point he had never been told about Jesus. It was God who revealed himself to him. He is now finishing his degree and going back to southern Sudan to be the Minister of Education. He is passionate about educating the children of Sudan, creating peace and telling others about a God who will come to you even as you are running from murderers. My jaw dropped to the floor and I felt tears well up in my eyes. God is bigger than I thought he was. I was in the right place at the right time.

When I left lunch with Majok, I wandered back to Coretta’s office hoping to find something to do. Coretta was not in, but there was a woman sitting in the waiting area. I sat down across from her and we began to talk. Her name was Pamela, she was 36 and had four children. I asked her why she had come to see Coretta. Pamela then explained that Coretta often helped her when she was desperate. I looked at her sympathetically but said nothing. There was silence for a moment. Then she said quietly, my husband beats me and the abuse is very bad. He won’t give me any money and he scares me. Our eyes met and we stared intensely at each other. “I’m sorry” was all I could say. She went on to describe the abuse she endures, her fear for her children, her inability to feed her children, her poor health. She now has migraines, high blood pressure and stomach ulcers. Before the worst of the abuse, she finished 3 years of a 4 year degree at Daystar. Now her husband is unwilling to finish paying for her degree which leaves her unable to find a job suitable for supporting her four children. She is desperate to find a sponsor to pay for her last year at school, so that she can become financially independent. She has tried to call the police and has a case pending in court, but there is no one yet who is able to protect her. I could feel the intense pain of this woman. My heart began to ache for her. She then talked about how she had become a Christian and that she knew God would rescue her, but then she asked me how long will it take him to rescue me? How do you answer a heart’s cry like that? What words can you say to encourage a heart that has been abused? All I could remember was my sister’s story of rescue. I did tell her how my sister was rescued from the pit by Jesus himself. She asked me to tell her story again, as it gave her comfort to know that God would come into the most vile of places and rescue his beloved. I told her that she was Jesus’s bride, his beloved. That he held her in the palm of his hand. We talked for 3 hours and finally I asked her if I could hold her and pray for her. She melted into my arms. As I held her I prayed that God would show his immense love for her in tangible ways this week, that he would rescue her soon from this violence, that a sponsor would be found to help her finish school. I prayed for her children, for her health, and I recited scriptures that talk about how deeply God loves women and how fiercely he will protect them. It was a holy moment—too holy even to reflect in words on a page. All I could think was---God has to be big enough to stop the violence and redeem this woman. God called me here to love and I realized in that moment that my ministry had begun. I was in the right place at the right time.

Coretta arrived back at her office and Pamela went in to see her. As I sat in the waiting area another woman named Grace came walking through the door. She was older and looked as if life had been hard. She was somewhat hunched over and was blind in one eye. She sat down next to me to wait for Coretta. We easily started a conversation and she was pleasant and warm. I asked her the same question I asked Pamela, Why are you seeing Coretta today? She told me that her daughter had finished two years at Daystar, but was now unable to finish due to financial difficulties. Then she burst into tears. I leaned close to her and rubbed her arm as she cried. She then apologized and I said that there was no need. I then asked her to please share her story with me.

She said that when she first was married her husband beat her and her life was very hard. However, a couple years later they both learned about Jesus and it changed both of them dramatically. Her husband stopped hitting her and became a new person. He eventually became a pastor and lead many people to know Jesus. Their life was so good and God seemed to bless them in many ways. In 2000, her husband became very ill and was bedridden in the hospital for two years before he died. To clear all his medical bills, they sold all their household items and her daughter dropped out of school. His care bankrupted them. They were left with virtually nothing. She went to her husband’s family for help, but they refused her. It was a painful rejection and she wept as she related the story to me. Grace makes the equivalent of $28 per month which is not enough to take care of her four children, pay the rent or even have enough food. Still she believes that God takes care of widows, so she waits for the Lord to meet her needs.

When her daughter first went to Daystar, Grace took a loan of about $300 from the Kenyan government. It was not enough to pay the tuition, but she pleaded with the admissions office to let her daughter come. She told the admission counselor that she depended on Jesus and that he would come up with the rest. The admission counselor let her daughter start classes, but only for a short time as the rest of the tuition had to be paid. Grace prayed and fasted. At 3 am the Lord woke Grace up and told her that $1,000 would be coming from the US. Three days later a bishop from their church came to her with $1,000 from an anonymous donor from the US. It was an absolute miracle. However, the money eventually ran out and she cannot take any more loans from the Kenyan Government. Now her daughter cannot go back to school. Currently her daughter is volunteering with an organization that helps vulnerable and orphaned children in Kinyago, a slum of Nairobi. Grace loves her children and wants them to realize their dreams. She wants to be able to feed them and clothe them. She misses her husband. Here is a mother who loves her children and can not give them what they need.

When I asked her if I could pray for her, she immediately said, “please, please.” We stood up and held each other. She held me so tight I could barely breathe. She seemed to be hanging on to me for dear life and maybe she was. I prayed that God would remind her again of his faithfulness to the widows that he loves so much. I asked the Lord to hold his beloved bride when she mourns for her husband. I asked for sponsors for her children to attend school. I felt her tears run down my face. I quietly kept reciting scripture of God’s love for widows and the poor. She kept saying, “I love you, Jesus.” When we finished, she thanked me and said, “surely God has meant for you to be here today as my encourager.” Emotion felt like it would come pouring out if I opened my mouth, so I just smiled and nodded. Then she said, “My dear, please tell me your need so I can pray for you.” I thought for a moment and then said, “Please pray that I love people well while I am here and that I remember God’s faithfulness.” She held me very close and began to pray for me and the most interesting thing happened. I heard her say, “God please send a good Godly man for this woman. Send her a husband that loves you and will love her. Remind her that husbands are a gift from you and that she can trust a man. God give her this deep desire of her heart. She yearns for it and you are preparing her for this man who will love her.” I cried. I never told her anything about myself, let alone the inmost desire of my heart. She said the Holy Spirit put those words in her mouth. So here was this privileged white woman in the middle of Kenya clinging to a widow and hearing her pray for my most private desires. Here was another holy moment full of the tangible presence of God. Again I was in the right place at the right time.

So here begins my journey. I told all of you that I wanted to come to Africa and learn to love well—like Jesus loves and to serve the least, the lost and the left out. Today that became a reality. God has changed my plans and I am not sure if I will even be in Kiisi by Tuesday, but God does. One thing is sure no matter where I am, I will be in the right place at the right time.



MST: I know CPC will be ready to sponsor more students at Daystar, as these two graduate. I recommended that we look at Debora. Now I would ask that you also consider either Pamela Khafafa # 03-0485 or Linda Omanya #04-0554 (Grace’s daughter)