Report 5: The Golden Rule, Saturday, February 12

Surprisingly, the rain had soaked in or run off by morning so that things weren't muddy like you would expect.

We had a late start with activities because of the duties entailed with the extra ministers staying at the orphanage.

Today our children's meeting was with mainly the 80 orphans from the school. This was not a school day so we did not have all the additional students that had been there on Friday. Ranelle led the lesson on The Golden Rule using the story of the Good Samaritan. 

Since breakfast had not yet been served, Michael went ahead and started teaching. Topics covered today were: Walking worthy of the vocation, Church Government and Ministries, and Ordination.

They paused for a break and were served the traditional tea along with a fried bread that resembled fritter and tasted like an unglazed doughnut. They were quite tasty.

Teaching continued until lunch time when we were served beans and rice.

They were very tasty and filling and probably were the closest thing to 'normal' for us as far as their cooking went.

In the afternoon, we brought out the literature that the Print Shop had donated. We were able to give Bible Readings, Secret of the Singing Heart, The Church of God (translated into Swahili) and also the new book Biblical Nuggets for Godly Women.

There were also $2000 worth of Swahili Bibles purchased in Nairobi.

It is always a joy to put the Word of God into their hands.

 The men and women separated for the afternoon. One of the women teachers translated for me as I shared some thoughts with the women on Self Worth. I also had the privilege to introduce them to the book Biblical Nuggets. I was especially overjoyed to have this resource to give them because the women do minister to one another there and have asked repeatedly for us to put together some literature for them to use. We discussed the chapter on How to Have a Happy Home.

Questions were also asked about outward adornments. It was a good time of sharing. I wish we could have had more opportunity. Life is hard for the women of Africa. As Bro. Peter has shared, women do the largest share of the work many times. I have a great desire to see them flourish in their own personal walk with Jesus.

After this session, we gathered for a preaching service. Michael got up to preach on God's Amazing Grace. The glory came down! Later Michael referred to it as almost being an out of the body experience. The anointing was so heavy that translation became seamless. There was no stopping and starting, only a continual flow of preaching.

A minister was first to come forward before the preaching even ended. The front of the chapel filled with seekers of God's grace. We had a beautiful season of prayer with the seekers. It was a service that we hated to see come to an end.

It reminded us of our dependence on God and His Spirit. You can make your lists and pack all the things you think you'll need away from home, but this is the one thing you can't pack, you can't force, you can't replicate. We covered this trip with prayer and begged God to witness the Word by His Spirit and we were so humbled to be in the presence of Almighty God when He did.

Another reason this is so vital is that these meetings are touching ministers from various backgrounds that have Babel stones to leave behind. It is imperative that the Spirit be present to make alive the Word and to witness that even the areas where they need to change are not a white man's words, but they are Eternal Truth from God's Infallible Word.

After the service, we brought out some of the board and card games and introduced the children to them. They enjoyed playing Candyland and Memory and Uno.

Tonight I made Chicken Noodle Soup with a combination of soup mixes we had brought. Sis. Roda made us Plantain with tomatoes and Chipati. Sis. Pacificah had joined us. She had been suffering from stomach trouble all day so we anointed her and had a special season of prayer. The next day she testified that the Lord had healed her.

We sat around and sang songs for a long time. It was such a sweet time of fellowship. After prayer, I took my flashlight and went into our bedroom to prepare for the night. I leaned over our luggage and my light illuminated two beady eyes then the bumpy skin of a fat toad. I gasped loudly and stumbled out of the room. Everyone was immediately alarmed from the sound I'd made, but Bro. Peter laughed out loud when he heard me say what it was. Nicole came in ready to take it out for me, but Bro. Peter grabbed it first and threw it out the back door. We were becoming more and more a family.