Sign up for the
TBM Newsletter and
see what God is doing
around the world
 |
|
Harris Newsletter Greetings to you in the wonderful name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! With the New Year now here, we look forward to what the Lord has in store for us next, and are happy to share with you what He has already been doing in our lives. We started off the New Year by sharing a traditional African meal with some friends from church. David’s family hosted (the man whom I have been able to disciple and become friends with), Pastor Samson’s family, and Jeff and Van. They had worked hard all morning to prepare a delicious feast for us and we were able to enjoy great food and fellowship with them. While there, we noticed countless holes in the roof of his house and the Lord laid it on our hearts to help him. David and his family are wonderful, hardworking people who have never asked of us anything - but we wanted to do what we could. So, Jeff and I went over one day while he was gone to work and patched his roof with tar. (It was a little bit of a shaky experience with the condition of the roof!) But all went well - nobody was hurt, the patches held, the family was appreciative…and best of all, we were blessed by it. Later we had a couple families (David’s and Pastor’s) over to our house for a “traditional American meal.” We made our best attempt at BBQ and played some “pictionary.” WOW! Was that an experience! Not only was the food a little different for them-but the game was totally foreign. We had a great time of food and fellowship. Something else that took place this month that I feel privileged to be a part of was the appointing of some leadership in the church. David was made an elder in the church. And Simon (the man Jeff has been able to work with) was appointed as a deacon. We are very excited about this step the church is taking to act in obedience to the Word of God. These are both good men who desire to serve the Lord. Please pray with us for them as they seek to honor the Lord in their lives and now in this new position He has allowed them to be in. On the “home-front” we are seeing a LOT of change and growth in the lives of our children. Ben is crawling now (finally), and even trying to stand! He has six teeth (and knows how to use them). But even more than that, we are really beginning to see his little (BIG) personality developing. He loves attention and has become quite a “ham.” He loves his big sister and tries to follow her wherever she goes and mimic whatever she does. (However, the “sibling rivalry” is already here - and Ben does his best to “hold his own.”) What a character - he is SO much fun! Rachel is now definitely a big girl. She wants to do everything by herself (and actually does a pretty good job). She is also a big helper to us and a good big sister. She really wants to go to school (esp. since her good friend Moses just started school). We are doing our best to teach her here at home for now. She knows her ABC’s and is learning her numbers. She enjoys doing her “schooling” (which includes learning of any kind). It’s amazing how much children can pick up at this age - they are like little sponges! What a “prime time” to teach them about the world they live in and it’s Creator. We spent over a week in Nairobi (the Capital) working on the situation with our “work permits.” Knowing that it might take a while, we did our best to turn it into a little “family vacation.” God was so good to us in allowing us to find the most affordable hotel, right near the bus station, and the grocery store-and not too far from the immigration office. The fact that it had running water (a toilet that flushed/hot shower/sink) alone, made it pretty worth it. And we were also able to get our “fill” of some of the foods that are not so easily accessible where we are. On top of all this, we were able to do a little “sight seeing.” We enjoyed walking around town doing some “window shopping” and being able to visit some places like the museum. We were able to spend some good family time together in addition to spending more time with our team mates as well. We shared a dinner together with Jeff and Van in (late) celebration of her birthday. And later they took us out to pizza for what was supposed to be a celebration of us all getting our visas (but being the situation that it was), it ended up being a celebration of the sovereignty of God. This is something we can always celebrate-and of late we certainly had reason to. Undoubtedly, this whole trip (the whole month) could possibly be summed up by saying we were reminded that God is sovereign and in control of ALL things-and we were forced to focus on Him. There are SO many different incidents where we have specifically seen the hand of God on us, and we would like to share some of these with you. In the course of the last few weeks in which we were trying to secure our visas (from a distance by phone and in person), we have experienced several obstacles. First, the “cell service” was down making it very difficult to get in touch with anyone, then there was a “fire scare” in the immigration building that turned out to be a false alarm (but still cleared out the building and prevented any work on our paperwork that day), the next day there was a “blackout” caused by the generator (which was the reason for the false alarm the previous day) preventing Jeff & Van’s paperwork from even being reviewed, followed by the riots caused by Muslim protesters the next day (this was quite an experience for us in and of itself). It was started by Muslim protesters, to which the “Christians” (anyone who is not Muslim) retaliated-and ended with 5 deaths and many wounded later. In an attempt to control the situation, the government used tear gas and rubber bullets (but ended up using live bullets as well). There were police all over the place some on foot, motorcycles, and even horseback. And the police helicopters were constantly flying overhead. The people were all standing around staring, until the sound of shots fired caused them to duck and run. Our whole family was on foot on our way to the immigration building (which turned out to be a target area for “something bigger” but was stopped before anything could happen). The Lord certainly protected us from harm in this situation. And in addition to that, He also allowed our paperwork to be processed. I was “approved” by the board and by the end of the week, I was finally able to get my passport stamped (which means my visa is now good for 3 yrs.). PRAISE THE LORD! Ellie and the kids will have to come underneath me being the “head of household” and file as “dependents.” This process has not yet been completed but we are promised that there is no problem in allowing them to be under my “umbrella” until their paperwork is done. Jeff and Van were given a 3 month extension to complete their paperwork. We will continue to trust the Lord to take care of this as He has already taken care of mine. He has been faithful to allow us all to be able to stay in the place where He has called us. And we praise the Lord for His goodness in our lives! He has provided for our every need: for the people He has put in our lives to help us with this process, for the time we had to take care of this business (and have a little vacation), for the finances which also made this possible, for allowing my paperwork to be done, for protection and safety from harm: traffic accidents to and fro, the riots, or sickness. (While in Nairobi, I woke up to find myself covered in over 100 mosquito bites and the Lord protected me from getting malaria, allowing me to take care of business while there). He gave us the strength and patience to endure, and encouragement from His Word and from the Body of Christ. Thank-you so very much for all of your e-mails, phone calls, and prayers. You play such a vital role in this ministry by lifting us up in prayer before the Lord. It means so much to us and truly serves as a tremendous encouragement to us. I have been learning a lot about the culture and life of Africa. Among some of the most interesting and yet sad things I have learned since being here, is the way “the people love the dead so much.” They believe that when a person dies he can come back and haunt the people he used to know - if he is unhappy with them for whatever reason. It is because of this that a funeral is one of the most expensive things a family will have to pay for…sometimes selling just about every thing they have to pay for it. They believe if they do not give him a good “going away party” it would displease him. They put so much money into this, hiring D.J.’s (to play loud music all night long), professional cooks, even sometimes people to set up tents and chairs. The body of the deceased is brought back to the house and stays there for about a week before they will finally bury the body near the house. All the friends and family of the one who passed away (which makes up a LOT of people) will come to take part. For the week prior to burial they party every night - all night long. It is out of control with the funeral party turning into a “drunk fest” by night with all kinds of sexual immorality going on. And it is expected that the host is to take care of them for the time that they are there. However, they do receive a little help from others. It is custom for those whom the deceased knew, to give money to his family, because again, they believe that if they don’t, the person that died can come back and haunt them or bring them bad luck. Sometimes even after all of this is over, people will continue to put food outside the house of the deceased to feed him. And when the food is gone the next morning, they believe it is because he came and ate it. The way I understand it, it is not so much because “they love the dead so much,” but rather because they have a great fear of the dead. And yet while they fear the dead so much, I am shocked at the contrast in the way that they value life. Jeff and Van told us about a dead man they happened to come upon laying right there on the sidewalk in town. It is presumed that the man had probably been caught stealing and therefore, had been stoned to death - according to the report of others. But you could never tell that a human life had just been taken by the behavior of those around him. Or again, during the riots in Nairobi it was reported that 4 civilians and 1 police officer were killed. I can’t help but think about the families and loved ones who will be missing their father/husband/brother/friend, etc. Or even more, about what the Lord might think about the fact that someone created in the image of God, by God Himself-had his life stripped from him by other mere sinners like himself. And what’s more, rather than being held accountable for these acts of murder - it is somehow “justified.” I just have to remind myself, that God in His sovereignty allows this to happen, and that He has a plan and a purpose far better than my own - in EVERYTHING He does and allows. I may never fully understand this culture, but I will do my best so that I may better share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those from this culture. Hebrews 9:27-28 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” We will someday die physically, but Christ died so that we would not have to die spiritually. I have a wonderful confidence in his saving work for us past, present, and future. Death can cast a frightening shadow over us because we are entirely helpless in its presence. We can struggle with other enemies, like pain, suffering, disease, injury - but strength and courage cannot overcome death. Only one person can walk with us through death’s dark valley and bring us safely to the other side - the God of life, our Shepherd. Because life is uncertain, we should follow this Shepherd who offers us eternal comfort. John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” If you would like to see a video of the family on YouTube, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t5E6u_jSng |
