Those of you that have spent the time to read these blogs will be familiar with this statement. If I was not witnessing the things that are taking place firsthand it would be hard to believe them. In Malawi we instituted a morning Scripture and prayer time as a group, lasting at least an hour, or usually more each day. The Holy Spirit showed us a very particular way to conduct these meetings, and by doing so, His presence would be magnified. Experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in a small group under these circumstances had always eluded me. At very best, brief intercessions of His power were experienced in America. Following any kind of man-made regiment quenches the moving of the Holy Spirit. The meetings must always be under His authority and direction.
Each morning another person is selected to begin our time together. Usually it only takes one gathering under these circumstances before people realize something special is taking place. When the Holy Spirit is given complete authority over the group, wonderful teachings take place. The intensity and rapid pace of scriptural truths being revealed is supernatural. One person after another after another are led to the Word and given the appropriate Scripture to speak at the correct time. Almost every Bible study group I have ever been in is led by people and not The Holy Spirit. I myself have been guilty of this countless times. God continues to show me that just because I have something to say does not mean He wants me to say it. The more He refines me in this area, the more I realize His timing on when I should speak is much, much better than mine.
The level of corruption particularly by pastors in Kenya is astounding. If the Western culture only knew that 90+ percent of the money they send over here goes directly into someone’s bank account, the dynamics would certainly change. Many pastors are getting rich some with millions of dollars of investments. They claim to have orphanages and other programs while the reality is they have none. It has been a generational scam and they got quite good at it. I myself just realized that $12,000 had been sent to “help a struggling school and small church” but it was used to buy a car for a guy that is not even really a pastor. The ability to tell a lie that you will know there comes very naturally for most that I come in contact with. Little did I know the amount of corruption that we would really uncover.
We had already come to an agreement with Henry and Linda to use the vacant building at the orphanage for pastor training. I was not quite sure why I felt such a compelling sense to stay in Kenya. I already had my ticket and was planning on spending some time with my spiritual brothers and sisters in Malawi. Jared had some visitors coming in from a different country. They had worked together on other projects for several years. That Saturday he had a lunch gathering scheduled and we were invited. Martin and I have been connected through the presence of the Holy Spirit in many situations. This was one of those times. There were certain red flags that were raised by a couple of the individuals. I was quite sure that Martin would address the issues with appropriate questioning. Answers however were crafted in such a way to avoid the question at hand. I chalked it up to being overly sensitive, bordering on judgmental.
The conversations that we had with them were Jesus-centered and filled with love towards our Savior. When we hugged one another goodbye, I felt the love of Jesus in our embrace. Any previous thoughts that I had pretty much evaporated at this point. All was well when we departed each other’s company on Saturday afternoon. First thing Sunday morning Martin and Samuel drove back to Nairobi. Martin would catch a flight early Monday morning back to Malawi. I packed my things up at the hotel and went and stayed at the orphanage for the remainder of the trip. It was a simple room with a toilet and buckets of water to shower with. I felt quite peaceful my entire time there.
Nearly from the beginning, I had a strong connection with Linda. Sometimes we would hug for an extended period of time but it never felt uncomfortable. Jesus seemed to be a part of it every time. Very quickly our appreciation for each other grew. Henry was the pastor and friend of Linda’s. He had been connected with the orphanage from the very beginning. In fact Linda had stayed in his house with his family. Needless to say there was quite a strong bond between them. I was able to spend a considerable amount of time with Henry as we drove back and forth to town picking up supplies and tools to do maintenance.
Since God has blessed me with handyman and mechanical skills I was able to work on a variety of projects. One of the most surprising ones to complete was on a Toyota land cruiser. One of the front coil-over shock absorbers had broken off at the bottom. Normally this repair would be done with the hoist special tools and jack stands. The upper control arm needed to be removed to access the broken part. I barely had enough tools to remove the hex nuts. I asked Jesus if He could lend a little mechanical help and He did. I still cannot explain how we were able to get everything apart and back together the way we did. To me it was a bit of a miracle. At the time I had no idea how important fixing this vehicle would be, but Jesus did. There were several times on different repair projects that somehow we were able to make things work. I was able to experience the favor of the Lord even when repairing things.
Dennis was one of the young men that worked at the orphanage. He cooked meals, watched over the children, managed the front gate, plus a variety of other duties. He also picked up how to use tools and build things rather quickly. Job, a 17-year-old that stayed at the orphanage was also a quick study. One of the most enjoyable times I had was working with half a dozen orphans building a bunk bed. There are many skills I hope to have the opportunity to teach these young men. They were courteous and polite and very willing to help. They showed me a special handshake that they had and would laugh every time I tried to do it.
