First Things First

 "Feeling must follow, but faith, apart from all feeling, must be there first."
Martin Luther

I slipped out of the bed slowly, careful to avoid becoming tangled in the mosquito net. I gently wrapped myself in a wool blanket, tiptoed to the sitting room, and plugged in the tea pot.  As the water boiled I peaked out the window, eager to see the monkeys around our cottage.  Finally, with a steaming cup of tea in my hand, I slipped out on to the veranda, quietly pulled up a chair, curled up inside it, and waited patiently for the rest of the family to wake up on Christmas morning.

There is nothing like Christmas in the rain forest.  So as I sat there and listened to the birds sing and watched dew drops fall from the branches, I was overcome with emotion. "Thank you, Lord," I whispered, "for all your blessings on our family in this past year."

   

2014 has been a year of extreme highs and lows.  Our Territory has celebrated the opening of 45 new corps and several new districts and divisions.  We have seen thousands find Christ.  But we have also mourned the unnecessary loss of officers and soldiers to preventable diseases.  Family illnesses back home have caused us great concern, and corruption and terrorism have threatened to destroy peace in Kenya.  

There have also been some moments that I'll never forget.  I cringed when I recalled the day I discovered a slaughtered cow in an officer's bedroom.  She had wanted to surprise us with a special feast, and while I don't recall the meal, I certainly remember the surprise!  Then my heart began to melt with the memory of the day that the street boys of Kakamega, who literally have nothing to celebrate in life, defeated our Territorial Headquarters team in football and then ran around the pitch in triumph, holding aloft the simply trophy they had won.  It was memories like these that signaled the start of a great Christmas Day.

When it was all over and we started to pack away our little tree, I looked one more time at every ornament, each of which elicited an emotional reaction, some of them pleasant, and others more difficult.  As I sealed the box, I concluded that emotions are a precious gift from God, for without them our lives would be dull, empty and joyless.   But I was also reminded of the truth found in Proverbs 3:4-5: 

       Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Emotions, I thought, really can't be trusted, because they are based solely upon my perception and my understanding.  God is a lot bigger than that.  I then realized that it's the tree that matters.  Put a sparkling ornament on a dead, lifeless tree and it will lose its sparkle.  But place a less than attractive ornament on a beautiful tree, and it will take on new life and brilliance.  In the same way, I decided, it's my faith in God's promises that makes my life beautiful, rich, and satisfying.  Emotions are just the ornaments.

As I praise the Lord for all the lessons and blessings showered on me in 2014, I commit once again to place my faith in Him.  I will dance with joy when I feel like it, of course, and I will cry when circumstances dictate.  But even when I'm crying, I'll know that there are other dancing days yet to come.

May the Lord bless you and yours in 2015.

Deep Feelings

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it.

  I want to have lived the width of it as well.  ~ Diane Ackerman

What an emotional week!  It started with news that a friend of mine was called home to Heaven.  You would think that I could get used to all of the funerals here, but with every passing comes deep sadness, even though we also rejoice at Heaven's gain.  I'll miss my friend very much.

The Army meets the community at the home of the bereaved for the burial service.

A few days later, we opened a school for "Martha's Boys" (which is our name for the boys from the streets of Kakamega) on our headquarters compound.  Some of the boys are runaways, but my heart really goes out to the orphans whose extended families will sometimes simply bring them to Kakamega and then abandon them.  We have made a hall available to the new school, of course, but the boys seem to prefer taking their classes under the big tree that is sandwiched between our garbage dump and the pit latrines.   I couldn't be more proud of these young men.

Distributing school supplies to Martha's Boys

On Friday, we held a press conference with the Governor of Kakamega County.  After Ken and I gave a short report on Martha's Boys and our work with a group of local prostitutes that we're calling the "Survivors," the Governor graciously pledged his support.  Taking him at his word, I brought two of the ladies into the room.  They spoke with him in Swahili for a few nervous minutes, and only later was I told that it was culturally unknown for a prostitute to converse with such a powerful man.  Still, it seemed to work, as the ladies then told me that they had something to tell the community.  I took them across the room to one of the cameramen, and they spoke excitedly for ten minutes about all the love and support they had found at The Salvation Army.  It was quite a moment.

After the conference, the Governor asked Ken to pray this Monday at the dedication of the new market in Kakamega, which is quite an honor.  Ken said yes, of course, but he was then told that he'd be praying at the opening of both the market and the new slaughterhouse.  Now that's one situation that we never covered in Training School!

By now, you'll have guessed that my emotions have run the gamut this week.  But in my devotions yesterday, I was reminded of the fact that I am not alone in this.  Various passages in the New Testament demonstrate that Jesus had the same experience.  He also felt affection, anguish, anger, compassion, distress, grief, gladness, indignation, joy, love, peace, and sadness.  In a way, that helps me to understand what He meant in John 10:10:

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Jesus didn't mean by this that we would only experience love, joy and peace.  He knew that that our feelings would range far beyond that.  What He meant, I think, was that we would live in every sense of the word - that we would truly feel all the emotions that life has to offer.  He was saying that when we know God loves us and we then encounter the ups and downs of life, we don't just experience them, but we learn from them.  We grow spiritually.  We live the "abundant lives" that He promised.

So, yes, I am a bit emotional at times.  But praise the Lord for it!

Kingdom Planting

Let us thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

It was through His loving-kindness that we were born again to a new life

and have a hope that never dies. 

1 Peter 1:3a 

Because they bring disgrace upon a family and their community, it is still legal in Kenya to kill a baby born of incest.  One community is now debating whether a four-day old baby should be allowed to live, and in Kakamega, newborns that are the product of incest are either abandoned on the doorstep of a local children's home or just disappear.  They never have a chance.  It's all very sad.

Recently, I was called down from my office to meet two young boys who were being treated for chiggers by one of our officers.  Before I got there, I was warned that their toes had been eaten away, and so I tried to prepare myself for what I would see.  It wasn't enough.  All that was left of their feet was masses of damaged flesh.  But that wasn't the worst part.  The worst part was looking into their eyes.  The boys didn't speak.  They just stared back at me, expressionless.  They'd lost all hope.

After doing what we could to treat their wounds, we got the boys some shoes and trousers, and then we invited them to join "Martha's Boys," our new program for the street kids of Kakamega.  It's not much, and we run it on a shoestring.  But the boys keep coming.  Later, as I walked backed to our building, I prayed, "Lord, how can we treat all these young boys, and then just turn them back over to the streets?"  Blinking back the tears, I prayed for a miracle.  I prayed for a facility where we could care for them properly.

Ken and I recently visited Turkana, which is by far the most isolated command in our Territory.  We arrived at District Headquarters to the sight of over 100 students from the Army's school in Lokitaung, all of whom were smartly dressed in their school uniforms, waiting for a ride to the school.  I was told that, because the Army doesn't have its own vehicle, the school will hire buses to take them on the eight-hour journey.  You can image my surprise when a cattle truck pulled up a few minutes later and the students started climbing on.  They were going to stand shoulder to shoulder in the back of that truck for the entire journey, which would traverse some of the most brutal desert conditions in Kenya.  And they were looking forward to it.  One of the officers said to me, "The students are happy because they're the lucky ones.  They get to study."

Arriving for Worship at the Lokichoggio Corps 

Ken and his bodyguards (note the guns!) visiting the new Kasarani Outpost

Before we left Turkana, Ken and I were asked to plant trees to commemorate our visit.  "We have planted several trees here before," I thought, "and they always die."  But I went ahead anyway and did what I was asked, and it was then that the Lord reminded me of a quote:

  “Love is hope when reason despairs.” – Jack Hyles

We weren't planting trees, really.  We were planting hope.  When everything around us seems bleak, it is hope that keeps us going.  It's what convinces us that things will change and that miracles still happen.  So yes, I'll plant a seed of hope.  Because if I can do that much, God will take care of the rest.   

What a Thrill!

I came that they may have and enjoy life,
and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). John 10:10 (AMP)

This month has had its ups and downs.  After weeks of eye pain and consulting two local doctors, my loving husband contacted the American Embassy for a medical referral. Based upon that information, Ken flew me to Nairobi to meet with a surgeon, and within two minutes, he determined that I had a small piece of hard plastic embedded in my eye.  I'd been suffering for more than two months, but he removed it in ten seconds. I don't mind saying that it took every ounce of self-discipline at my disposal to keep myself from dropping to my knees at the doctor's feet in gratitude.  

Power has been sporadic at best, at one point forcing me to shop at the market in the dark.  Not a good way to select meat, let me tell you.  And at home, our lights have been flickering on and off almost constantly. Add the loud music from a three-day wedding celebration in another compound across the valley, and it's been like living in a disco (not that I would know!)

Last weekend, I was the guest at a Home League Congress in the Tongaren Division at which more than 1,000 women were present.  Many ladies arrived at the school compound in which the event would take place carrying suitcases on their heads.  At the same time, a line of buses raised huge billows of dust as they lurched from side to side along the dirt road that led to the school.  As each one arrived, the ladies would pile out, carrying everything they needed for the weekend -- firewood, mattresses, cooking supplies, and chickens.  Wow.  As you might expect, it turned out to be an amazing three-day camping jamboree with, you guessed it, not-stop dancing. 

One corps leaving the Congress in their tractor.

It is circumcision season in Kenya.  So on my way home from the Congress, I saw several parades, which are understood here as celebrations of the fact that local boys are becoming men.  These ceremonies play an important role in the culture of western Kenya, but I confess that I do worry about boys who are essentially kidnapped, stripped, and then cut without their consent.  And my heart breaks for those families that will lose their child at the hand of an inexperienced cutter.

A circumcision celebration in Mbale

Put it all together, and you'll understand that this month has been a wild ride.  A Pinterest quote says it all:

Life is like a roller-coaster.  It has its up and downs. 

It's your choice to scream or throw up your hands and enjoy the ride!

Yes, there are days I want to scream.  But God has made a way for me to live a life of joy and victory.  So today, I'm going to sit back, throw up my hands, and enjoy the ride.

Change Me

Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, 

but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. 

Romans 12:2a  (GNT)

Throwing her arms around me, a woman that I haven't seen in years exclaimed, "Mama, you look wonderful.  You haven't changed a bit!"  I was skeptical, of course, but since I turned 53 this week, that compliment was a lovely gift.  Maybe my extensive maintenance routine and all the lotions and potions I use every day really does make a difference.

Kakamega has recently experienced some violent storms.  Last week, the sound of hail pounding the metal roof on our quarters was so loud that Ken and I couldn't hear each other at the dinner table.  So we ate in silence until we looked up and saw water beginning to pour into the room. Unable to communicate in any other way, Ken and I waved our hands wildly and then scrambled to put out a collection of bowls, buckets, and towels.  Once they had been placed strategically around the room, we sat back down at the table, smiled at one another, and finished our dinner to the romantic sound of a waterfall.  

That's not how I would have reacted a few years ago.

The biggest news around town these days is that our local airstrip is now operational, with (almost) daily flights to Nairobi.  So since Ken and I had to visit the Nigeria High Commission, we booked a flight.  We arrived at the airstrip and sat down in the small departure lounge, patiently waiting for our flight to be called.  Ken and I watched as a small, single engine plane touched down on the tarmac (a bit too hard for my liking), and I suggested that it was just delivering the mail.  But then the attendant told us that our briefcases were too big to keep with us.  That's when I realized that this was OUR plane.  I swallowed hard, surrendered my bag, and received in return a small brown paper sack containing a dry sandwich and small bottle of water.  At that point, I determined that any questions about the entertainment system would be superfluous, and I slowly climbed up the few stairs into the back of the plane (Note to self:  next time, wear trousers).

It was at this juncture that I noticed the distinction between our airstrip and the plane.  The airstrip was new, and it looked great.  The plane, on the other hand, was relatively old, and most things seemed to be broken.  In fact, I thought I saw the words "Wright Brothers" on one of the wing struts.  The pilot turned around, welcomed us on board, and then we were off . . . on what was undoubtedly the bumpiest flight I have ever experienced.  In the course of the next hour, we flew through two rainstorms.  During the second, I squeezed my husband's hand so hard that it turned white, and I yelled into his ear, "Next time, we drive!"  Ken just smiled and patted my hand.

On the way back the following day, Ken did his best to distract me by pointing out the herds of zebra and giraffe that we flew over.  In fact, I actually started to enjoy the flight until our pilot made a turn that was a bit too steep, which caused the plane's early warning system, in a voice eerily reminiscent of our Garmin, to say, "Caution. Insufficient  power."  Gulp.  A few minutes later, as we crawled out of the plane in Kakamega, it took all of my self-discipline to refrain from kneeling down (in papal fashion) and kissing the ground.

Ken tells me that it will not be so bad when we fly to Nairobi again next week.  Right.

As we drove home from the airstrip, bumping along the dirt roads, maneuvering through herds of cows, and slowly passing through crowded markets, I thought again about how much my life has changed.  I'm in a different place, and I've learned a different way of thinking, of working, and of serving.  Yet I'm neither surprised nor concerned, because when you choose to follow Christ, doesn't it also mean you choose to be changed?  

The world focuses on the exterior, giving a great deal of attention to beauty, looks, and image.  But Christ works from the inside out.  He transforms our thoughts, allowing us to experience life as one grand adventure in faith.  And it is by living life for Him that we are changed.   Martin Buxbaum once wrote:

Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty.

They merely move it from their faces into their hearts. 

So as I grow older,  I pray that God will continue to change me, to transform me into His likeness. Perhaps on the day He calls me heavenward, He will throw his arms around me and whisper lovingly, "My, how you've changed."  

Treasure Seeker

^{The greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye, but found by the heart.}

I just love living in Kakamega.  I delight in waking up to the sound of roosters and watching piglets roll around in the mud.  I marvel at how much women can carry on their heads, and how fast children can run after a sugarcane truck.  And then, of course, there are the "unusual" sights and sounds of daily life.  Last week, for example, I saw a drunken cow, a tinsel-decorated coffin on the back of a bicycle, and a family of five riding on a motorbike.  It all prompts me to say to myself, "No, Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore."

Women carrying coal.

I have recently come to understand that, even before I get out of bed in the morning, God has planned a day of adventures just for me.  Sunshine after a storm, a beautiful flower in the middle of a trash heap, majestic birds flying overhead, and the joy of the people with whom I work are all treasures sprinkled throughout my day.  And the more I look for such treasures, the more I find, hidden in the ordinary activities of my day.

Of course, there have been difficult moments in the past few weeks.  In light of Al-Qaeda activity in the eastern part of Kenya, Kakamega has been beefing up security, and everyone is a bit nervous about possible violence in response to upcoming political rallies in Nairobi.  Personally, I've also been struggling with pain in my right eye.  Fortunately, Ken finally convinced me to visit the local clinic (which was a wild adventure in itself), and the eye seems to be healing now.  Thank you, God.

The entrance to the eye clinic in Kakamega.

But despite all of the challenges, I'm still finding treasures.

The Lord has given me the following passage:

And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness, secret riches; 
and you will know that I am doing this—I, the Lord, the God of Israel,
 the one who calls you by your name.
Isaiah 45:3 (TLB)

Some treasures of God may be difficult to see at the outset, but once you find them, you recognize that they are gifts only He could provide -- like peace and hope and joy.  These are the things He makes available to me every single day.  I am rich indeed.

Love your Story

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.

Psalm 107:2

I blinked back tears as I checked my bags at the counter.  Turning away with a sigh, I was unprepared for the huge sob that suddenly came from deep within me.  Two employees asked if I was alright.  "I have to leave my family," was the response.  One woman smiled warmly and whispered, "It's going to be OK." 

I sat down to wait for our flight and did what I always do.  Watching the people pass by, I made up a wide variety of stories about the lives they were leading.  Some were CIA agents, others circus performers or fugitives.  Their sagas kept me entertained until it was time to board the plane.

Three flights and more than 26 hours later, we arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.  After the customs agent searched our luggage, Ken negotiated with a taxi driver to take us to our hotel for a few hours of rest before we continued our journey home.  As usual, the taxi was searched before we entered the hotel compound, and our luggage had to be inspected once again by the hotel security officer before we were allowed into the lobby.

It was just after midnight when we finally stepped up to the front desk, where we learned that our "reserved" room wasn't ready yet.  And the internet was down. Welcome back!

This Starbucks only serves instant coffee!

When we arrived in Kisumu the following day, our driver greeted us warmly and loaded our luggage into the back of the vehicle.  As we began the two-hour drive to Kakamega, he updated us on all the latest news, including the long rains that now threaten to destroy the maize crops of our people, and the rioting sparked by a recent episode of child ritual killings.  Fortunately, though, our THQ family is happy and healthy, and there is continued progress on a number of fronts.

As he chatted with my husband, I thought about the vast differences between my life in Kenya and the one which I had just left.  Then the Lord reminded me of the words penned by Franny Crosby:

This is my story, this is my song. 

Praising my Saviour, all the day long.

Home League Singers

Yes, I thought, this transition from one world to another is MY story, an exciting tale that the Lord is writing one chapter at a time.  It would make no sense for me to focus on chapters that have already been written.  Instead I must give myself without reservation to the one I'm living today, with all it's drama, laughter, tears, challenges, and victories.

Thank you, Lord, for being the author of my life.  You're a much better writer than I am, and you've made my life a real page turner.