This Little Light of Mine

It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

  Eleanor Roosevelt

 

 

Cadets recently commissioned and now speading the light of God throughout the Kenya West Territory.

 

It's another day here in Kakamega.  Having lost electricity yesterday, I am now sitting at my desk in a blouse that hasn't been ironed, with uncurled hair and make-up that was clumsily applied to the light of a lantern.  I do feel pretty good about myself, though, because I successfully prepared chicken and dumplings for my husband last night.  Despite being able to secure only two ingredients in the standard recipe, and notwithstanding having to cook in the dark, Ken actually asked for seconds.  Who knew that mayonnaise could be so useful?

 

After the electricity went out, our Territorial Youth Secretary (who was an electrician before he entered training) came to check on us.  During his visit, we were reminded of the problems presented by irregular power on our compound.  Personal grooming aside, our people regularly lose food in their refrigerators. The electric security fence that surrounds the compound becomes useless, and the water pump stops working.  While the ten officer families and twenty-five cadets who live here never openly complain, their frustration is often evident on their faces.  So Ken and I have promised ourselves that we will somehow find the funds to purchase a generator.

 

All around me, I see the results of darkness in this world.  The pictures of hundreds of children who are desperate for sponsorship haunt me.  The men, women, and children dying from HIV/AIDS look to us for hope.  The disabled children living in Army facilities seek love and acceptance.  I have only been here a month, but sometimes, the depth of the darkness threatens to overwhelm me.  Then I remember:    

 

 "Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of His Servant,

yet walks in darkness and has no light?

Let him trust in the name of the Lord and have faith in his God."

 Isaiah 50:10

 

As I serve in Kenya, it is my constant hope and prayer that I will be His light in the darkness.