Continually I’m being inundated with requests from Kenya. Practically on a daily basis I received one. They are cries for assistance and various claims are made to try to enlist our help. All of them get forwarded to Jared for further investigation. I understand the huge desire that people from a extremely poor culture must have. They view someone from the West as a opportunity to help financially. Most of their lives are quite desperate. Many of the request have sprung up from the initial encounter I had with some not so trustworthy individuals . Extra scrutiny is now necessary to sift through what is legitimate and what isn’t. Jared has done a wonderful job in discerning true motives. Sad to say most of his Investigation have led to uncovering certain levels of maliciousness. There are many other organizations that try to help out, but the true impact seems to be limited.
The unfortunate discovery that I have made is that the percentage of money that actually reaches these people is quite small compared to the contributions. I am referring to several organizations that try to help but are so heavily laden in administrative cost. Because of the great burden that it takes to run such organizations the end result is much of the donations being eaten up for expenses not related to helping people. If God puts it on our hearts to have others participate we will be using a different model.
I believe part of this reporting that I’ve been doing will lead for opportunities for people to help directly. We are in the process of defining our curriculum and completion certificates to be awarded to participants. First and foremost we want to make sure that these village pastors are sufficiently suited to convey the basic understanding of Jesus Christ being personal Lord and Savior to their congregations. The sense of urgency that weighs heavy on my soul continues to propel me forward as God opens up opportunities before us. Eventually we want to start qualifying these individuals as successfully completing basic training. Our next step would be to give a bio and opportunities for individuals to sponsor pastors. Also support could take the form of supplying Bibles, building materials, sustainability projects and skills training. The bandwidth that we have with our small team is limited, however through God all things are possible.
So far I’ve only spent about 13 weeks there in the past eight months. This is however enough time to begin to get a sense of the desperation that exist. I have enough awareness of the staggering population growth and lack of resources to understand the future is bleak. From a man’s perspective it certainly seems hopeless. The reality is I’ve seen God’s perspective and His will is that none shall perish. When you combine the supernatural power of a Almighty God with hopelessness there Is a transformational effect. Lessness is removed and hope remains. I don’t know how God is going to do it but somehow scores of people will be affected by all of this. As my role comes into focus the level of excitement continues to ratchet up.
In this process God is continuing to identify the specialist in our midst. Once that identification has been made clear I am to endlessly encourage them to fulfill the task that lies ahead. I thank Almighty God for all the words that are written to prepare us. Romans 8:37; NKJV, Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Most of us would be quite happy with the reality of being conquerors. To imagine that words have been spoken that we are more than that is just amazing. Romans chapter 8 is very empowering for those that are all in. I delight in the fact that whenever God places someone new on the radar I simply am to make them aware of an opportunity. Convincing that person that they are to be involved with us is not up to me. The Holy Spirit has consistently confirmed in their hearts what they are to do. Being obedient to the Almighty in this fashion lets everyone know that something supernatural is taking place. The words that do the convincing are not spoken in flesh but are instead in spirit.
Because of the supernatural way that God continues to expand this team I bear no burden to ask for donations. Simply put I just report what is taking place. There are so many interwoven stories and servants to the Almighty interacting together that it’s difficult to keep up with it all. My understanding of what it means to be a friend to Jesus and approaching the throne of the Almighty in His name is rapidly expanding. We are oftentimes shy of exercising the full scope of what Jesus has granted us. The gateway to what is granted is very narrow. If we do not shed everything of this world it is possible to achieve. Several of us on this journey together report extended periods of a dreamlike state. I am woefully insufficient on how to explain it.
With a high degree of confidence I can say this for the me (me) of this world would never do the things that I’m now doing. The Jesus (me) gladly does them. As strange as it may seem it’s almost as if I’m watching a dream. The one that has control of the dream is not me but I get to participate as an active collaborator. The reason I say this is because things that I now do wouldn't have been done by the me that I know. This sounds kind of crazy even to me, I’ve always considered myself a logically thinking person. I’m extremely saddened by the fact that many will never get to experience this. But also driven that I may play some role in someone’s life that will lead them to accepting the Holy Spirit changing them also.
I want to share a bit of our interaction with one of the men that was in hospice. I know this man for nearly 3 decades. Most of his life has been ravaged by bitterness towards others. This is one of the most destructive forces for our spiritual walk. When it fully grips somebody it’s pretty much impossible to grow in the Holy Spirit. If we do not forgive we will not be forgiven. According to the words of Jesus in the book of Matthew 6:14-15. When we entered his room it was quite obvious who was in control. He had surrounded both of his eyes with black makeup. All of his fingernails were painted black. And he was spewing negative comments about all those that had wronged him all of his life. This man was only days from death, but still wanted to hold bitterness and anger in his heart towards others.
My wife and I are beginning to more clearly understand our roles. For the most part my role is to be obedient to God when He identifies someone for a certain task. I am paying much closer attention to those that he brings around me and quickly looking for direction from the Almighty. These spiritual special forces that God is bringing into my awareness have demonstrated many spiritual gifts. These are people that are humble and meek looking for no attention to themselves, in fact they try to avoid it. I greatly respect and appreciate what God has chosen to do. Because of my weakness in the area of pride and ego I doubt those things will manifest in me. Just being a witness to how He is using others around me is magnificent.
After interacting with this man for a period of time I turn the situation over to my wife. We never discuss really what is said, she keeps those things in confidence. This is exactly the way it is supposed to be and the old me would not of been okay with that. The Jesus me accepts it completely with zero rebuttal. That’s the true power of the sanctification process that is undeniable. Once my wife had completed her discussions with the man she came and got me. We entered the room once again to have a departing prayer with him. She had managed to convince the man that his eyes were the window to his soul and the enemy had surrounded them in darkness. In addition to that she was able to remove the black fingernail polish. But it became evident with the last gesture who was still in control.
We asked the man if we could pray with him. The arm that he was unable to move because of pinched nerves in his shoulder now was able to move. We had watched him for nearly 2 hours move his left arm around with his right hand. But in this brief instance something else took over. His left arm raised up and went to his mouth as if he were puffing on a marijuana joint. There was no question with his gesture what he was mimicking. Both of us had the distinct impression that it was a demonic spirit more or less flipping us off indicating who was still in charge. We left the room with sorrowful hearts and disbelief to what we just saw. If I were asked from a man’s perspective of what the possibility was concerning his eternal destination, it would’ve been quite low. A few days later we had a return trip.
What we experienced on the second trip was completely different. The bitter and angry man had somehow been replaced with a contrite and humble spirit that was seeking God. I asked if he had forgiven everyone that had did him wrong. And he said that he did. In addition to that he had asked for forgiveness for all that he had done. He was coherent and able to communicate with a much higher level of clarity than we experienced the previous time. In fact somehow he was able to stand at his bedside and hug each one of us. This was a miracle in itself considering how far his body had deteriorated. I praise the name of Jesus and the transformation that occurred in this man. Only by the power of His Spirit could such things happen. If I were to give a man’s opinion on his eternal destination now, I believe the outcome is totally different than what I would’ve said after the past visit.
I’m continually amazed by the love of God in the long suffering of Jesus on our behalf. There’s a mighty reason why Jesus is considered King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What he did for this man at the end of his life was nothing short of miraculous. We were able to experience it firsthand and share it with others. Our God Yahweh is capable in all situations, in all things. He is simply looking for workers that are obedient and observant to the opportunities that he places before us. Then it’s simply a matter of faith and we get to participate with Him in a supernatural way. The dream state of walking with Jesus is the only addiction that we should ever crave and do everything we can to feed it. This is what I believe it means to walk in spirit and not the flesh.
