Dr. Joe with van driver Nelson wearing the cross he was given after being “born again”
What a work and fun filled week the Kenya 2013 team had! After treating over 800 patients, feeding almost 500 people, seeing 130 children and one adult give their lives to Christ, and seeing an orphanage come to fruition in a few short days; the temptation is great to think that ministry opportunities for the week were complete. Even reveling in the fact that a young man with a stroke had significant improvement in his barely functional leg and walking can give a sigh of relief of a job well done. But there is always that yearning to do more. The desire to continue to bless and be blessed when a debriefing session leaves us all in tears. The work is behind us we think. Now we can rest and enjoy the reward of some sightseeing, warm showers, and the anticipation of arriving home in a few days. But there is always that yearning to do more. The realization that working for God is a life long journey. And that’s the backdrop for one of the most rewarding times of the trip for me.
When we left our bus driver John after several days of relational fun and developing of trust, we now had to switch to two vans so we could have pop-ups for the game drive at the game park. The 25 year olds and younger part of the team joined the driver Nelson (who affectionately introduced himself as Mandela), and the 50 and older portion of this highly performing team were to drive with Silas, the other van driver. As soon as I took my place in the front seat, I could tell by the Spirit of God that Silas was filled with God’s love. My first question to him was “How long have you been saved?” which prompted a surprised response of “Who has told you about me?”. Silas and I developed an immediate kindred bond and after he told me that the other driver (Nelson) hadn’t committed his life to Jesus, I told him that would be my goal for the next two days we were together…only thing is…he was in the other van.
After an afternoon game drive where we were blessed to see the elusive leopard (3 of them), a lion, and multiple other park animals; we settled in for a nice dinner and a full moon lit and cool evening. The morning came early as the wake up call (a loud knock on the door since there are no phones in the rooms) was for 5:30 so we could be out by sunrise. The early morning brought us all together around the coffee and tea station and a conversation with Nelson was struck up. Was he born again, did he know what that meant,and what were the implications? After a short presentation of the Gospel message, Silas suggested that we pray for Nelson, and Nelson agreed, although he still had some reservations about the Christian life. We had a short, but animal filled drive that culminated at the Baboon Lookout which gave a bird’s eye view of the entire park and Lake Nakuru. What a beautiful place to continue our conversation. After a few minutes of discussion and answering questions as to why God’s word says one thing, and professed Christians behave differently, one last question was presented to Nelson. “Do you want to go through life guessing as to where you might spend eternity, or do you want the assurance of eternal life through Jesus Christ?” Nelson’s response was firm and confident, “I don’t want to guess anymore”. At that point he asked forgiveness for his sins, and committed his life to Jesus. The joy of his countenance became evident throughout the rest of the trip, and now it was time for us to return home.
